It's About Time is the first CD digital format album release by the California State University, Los Angeles Jazz Ensembles completed in 1990. In addition to two big bands (1989/1990) the CD features the CSULA Jazz Sextet. The jazz bands had numerous student musicians that have made a name for themselves as professionals to include Luis Bonilla, Jack Cooper, Corey Gemme, Alan Parr, Randall Willis, Paul De Castro, Alex Henderson, Sheffer Bruton, Ruben Ramos, and José Arellano.
Background
In 1984 and 1985, the California State University, Los Angeles Music Department and CSULA Associated Students decided to fund LP recordings of the jazz ensemble to better serve as a teaching tool for student music, jazz groups. It's About Times is the fifth of six albums to come from CSULA during the 1980s featuring the award-winning CSULA #1 Jazz Ensemble.[1] The CD contains tracks from the #1 CSULA Jazz Ensembles of two successive years and a sextet to include compositions of five students and from the two directors (professors David Caffey and Jeff Benedict).
There has been a consistent tradition of musicians coming from the CSULA program who have worked with major musical acts, on major studio and movie projects, and hold positions in higher education in music. The roster on this album is self-evident as to the diversity and level of student musicians CSULA developed at that time and has for many years dating far back to musicians (graduates) such as Lennie Niehaus and Gabe Baltazar.
Saxes and woodwinds: Jack Cooper, David Quillen, Randall Willis, Victor Cisneros, Brian McFadin, Erick Clements, Luis Segovia
Trumpets and flugelhorns: Alan ParrArchived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine, Howard Choy, Corey Gemme, Jim Bynum, Steve Sotomoyor, Bub Gordon, Mike Collins
Recording engineers (Group IV Recording): George Belle
Recording engineers (Sage & Sound): Jim Mooney and Jerry Wood
Mixing engineers: George Belle (1989)
Mixing engineers: Jim Mooney and David Caffey (1990)
Mastering: CMS Digital, Robert Vosgien
Cover photo: Greg Parks
References
^1982 Playboy Jazz Festival winner (Playboy Jazz Festival Volume I, OCLC16737109), 1986 finals of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival, 1988 combo winner of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival, special invited performances at the 1987 MENC Convention in Seattle and the 1989 IAJE Convention in San Diego