The Texas Instruments Jazz Band: AlgoRhythm

So much for the positive. Not to knock Judy Hester, but even though she's an able singer with a seductive voice and admirable diction, she is given far too much time and space to prove it. She's also one of a half-dozen "guest members of the ensemble who aren't employees or former employees of Texas Instruments (not counting director Kris Berg, head of the Jazz Studies department at Collin College in Plano, who qualifies because he owns a TI calculator—and he's the best foreman they could find).

Without Hester on board, the band performs Bronislau Kaper's "Invitation, Jimmy van Heusen's "Come Fly with Me, Bill Holman's "Kingfish (a tad too meekly) and Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn's "Time After Time, the arrangement of which is credited to Tommy Newsom but sounds suspiciously like Don Schamber's (one may even say exactly like Don's). The best among a garden-variety group of soloists are Drs. Gerry Burnham (tenor sax) and Rob Hicks (trumpet); pianist Scott Clemmons plays well on "Kingfish and "Time After Time.

Even though the TI Jazz Band's first album, Jazz Bytes—Version 1.0, recorded seven years ago, had no less than half a dozen vocals by Hester's predecessor, Stephanie Mayo, at least there were five instrumentals, and the playing time was a shade above 41 minutes. While it's true they were paying attention when I wrote "next time, guys, please hold the Mayo, that wasn't meant as a green light to replace her with another pallid side dish in Hester.

In closing, a word of advice: if I were hosting a twentieth anniversary celebration, I wouldn't compel the guests to leave in less than 35 minutes. Let's hope the 25th is a longer and more pleasurable party.

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