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PeopleJazz professor
Miles Osland exudes California coolness Jazz professor Miles Osland exudes California coolnessFrom his long ponytail and small, wire-rimmed glasses to the hot licks he can hit on an alto saxophone while performing a gig with his band, DOJO, at Comedy Off Broadway, Miles Osland exudes California coolness.
And deservedly so, because he grew up and cut his musical teeth (and lips) in a town in California whose very name conjures up the imagery many people envision when they think of that left-coast state - Escondido. Except for the cruisin' up and down the local strips of Escondido in a low-rider, Osland's youth did include a lot of cool California living - but not so much the cruisin'. "I spent so much time practicing, there wasn't time for cruisin'," Osland said. Osland was anything but a jazz recluse hiding away in a musty loft belting out Glenn Miller-esque pieces while the world went by, according to "The Gong," the 1978 yearbook for Escondido High School. In an edition titled, "A Slice of Life," Osland is pictured as a fun-loving, typical high schooler who had played some football and had already developed a good bit of musical talent. Osland credits his early love and interest in jazz music to "a real hip mom." "I'm adopted, so I can't blame it on genes," Osland said wryly. "My mom, Pat, was a big jazz fan, and she was always playing Dave Brubeck on the stereo." So it was natural that when he entered the fourth grade, he would take up a musical instrument, but his first choice was not the saxophone. It was the flute. By the sixth grade, he had decided to try the saxophone, and in the seventh grade, he picked up the clarinet. His dad, Mel, had an influence on young Osland's off-the-job interest, scuba diving. "Dad was a commercial diver and had a dive shop in San Diego. He invented a spear gun that Jacques Cousteau used," Osland said. Through the influence of Dick Harvey, the band director at Escondido High School and a man from whom he studied music for more than eight years, Osland finally settled on the alto saxophone. Osland said he remained lifelong friends with Harvey who died last year, only one day after Osland had visited him in California. Harvey not only influenced Osland's music, he sent him students after Osland began teaching music in higher education. There was never any doubt that jazz would be Osland's way of life. Through the '80s and '90s, musicians as diverse as Chuck Mangione and Michael Brecker continued to impress his musical style. "Even Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass had an influence, as corny as it is," Osland said. Osland, like many musicians, began teaching as an income supplement to the musical performances he scheduled, especially after he was accepted to the Eastman School of Music as a teaching assistant. It was there that he made the discovery that would set him on the academic path: "I really liked teaching. "While at Eastman, I remember making the conscious decision to either go to New York City or back to L.A. and starve while pursuing my musical career, or go anywhere and pick up on the educational track," Osland said. "Either way, you have to pay dues, either starving-artist dues or struggling-educational dues." After Eastman, Osland served on collegiate faculties in Maine and Wyoming before coming to UK. "This is a nice gig here at UK," he said. "You don't land these gigs right out of college." What he likes about being at UK will fill a big book. That's one of the things he likes - being able to write books. At 41, he already has six books to his credit and more than 60 published articles on saxophone technique and jazz improvisation. "I'm fortunate in that I've been able to maintain a healthy, professional relationship with Warner Brothers publications along with many other commercial and scholarly magazines and journals," he said. Another thing that's very high on the list of things he likes is being able to record his music. "At UK, I can still perform, while I make recordings, write and teach. You can do these things anywhere in the world. You don't just have to be in New York or L.A.," he said. And the recordings serve a scholarly purpose, too, he said. "The recordings and the performances are my research," he emphasized. "A compact disk is the documentation of my research." If the musical reviews he's received for the recordings is any indication of the quality of that research, Osland gets an A. Sea Breeze Records has recommended five of his CD's for Grammy nominations. Reporting on DOJO's most recent CD, "Off the Charts," a Jazz Times reviewer Harvey Siders said he was skeptical about the CD when he saw a promo on the label that said, "Roaring out of Kentucky like a tempestuous Appalachian storm...." DOJO stands for DiMartino/Osland Jazz Orchestra. The D is for popular trumpeter Vince DiMartino, a former UK music professor who is on the faculty of Centre College in Danville. "Until I heard the band's debut for Sea Breeze," the reviewer said, "I thought the only thing that roared out of Kentucky was moonshiners on the lam. It's been a long time since I've heard such excitement and intensity. The whole band deserves all kinds of superlatives." Osland's teaching gets good marks, too. Christ Strange, a graduate student from Maine and an Osland teaching assistant, said of his mentor's teaching style: "He's very clear in his expectations. He sets reasonable goals. He caters to the students, and he knows who they are and where they're going." Like many students being attracted to the great and growing jazz program at UK, Strange learned about the program on Osland's Web site, www.milesosland.com. The UK jazz program was not always flush with students however. "I had one saxophone major at UK the first year," Osland recalled. "Now there are 25 to 30 with two TAs." Osland's wife, Lisa, is also a saxophone artist and an integral part of the saxophone studio in the School of Music, serving as an adjunct professor. Lisa also teaches students at home. "About the only time we see each other," said Miles Osland, "is when we play together." And they do play music together quite often. Along with their duties in DOJO and the Osland Saxophone Quartet, both are players in the Kentucky Jazz Repertory Orchestra that has performed several times in the Singletary Center with UK's Richard Domek as jazz pianist and several band members from other colleges and universities around the state. Another of DOJO's recent gigs was playing for the ceremony in March in which members of the new Country Music Hall of Fame in Renfro Valley were inducted. Besides playing "You're in Kentucky" for Nick Clooney (accepting for the ailing Rosemary), DOGO played "Coal Miner's Daughter" to honor inductee Loretta Lynn, "Bye Bye Love" for the Everly Brothers, and "Rocky Top."
Womenıs Forum elections open to all employeesVoting for representatives to the University of Kentucky Women's Forum Board is under way. Ballots were mailed the week of April 1 to all regular, full-time employees at their campus address. The deadline for sending those ballots back in is April 19. Employees are being asked to vote for six candidates, and this is the first time ballots are being mailed to all employees, instead of female workers only. Brief biographies of each candidate can be found on the UK Women's Forum Web page, www.uky.edu/OtherOrgs/UKWoman. "Under our revised bylaws, men and women can vote in board member elections and serve on the board. Also our mission statement defines UK Women's Forum as being an organization for all employees," said Judy Duncan, Women's Forum chairperson elect and chairperson of the group's Nominations Committee. "It will take men and women working together to accomplish a strong, supportive workplace environment for all employees," Duncan said. The Women's Forum Board oversees the entire forum, which is well known on campus for organizing such annual events as Staff Appreciation Day and the Sarah Bennett Holmes Luncheon. After ballots are counted, the candidates who win seats on the board will be listed on the Women's Forum Web site. Building operatorıs hobby begets UK Staff Senate graphicFlorez said she was determined to win. Deborah Florez has a creative streak sometimes she just can't contain. And the University of Kentucky Staff Senate Development Task Force is glad she does.
Florez, a Physical Plant Division building operator, won the task force's contest to develop a graphic identity for the UK Staff Senate. The winning design was one of several she submitted, and one of two of her designs selected for the final three. "Debbie's entry won the contest vote with a clear majority," said Scott Marksberry, chairperson of the task force's ad hoc publicity committee. "The design is clean and straight forward. It joins the UK theme with the Staff Senate nicely. We thought the laurel branches representing peace, compliment the design with a touch of symbolic integrity." There were 25 submissions to the contest, which the publicity committee narrowed to three. The Staff Development Task Force had the final say in the matter and the majority voted for Florez's winning submission. Florez, a 14-year PPD veteran, said she heard about the contest in conversation and from the UK Staff Listserv. Graphic design and drawing have been hobbies of hers since she was a child, she said. "Sometimes I get ideas to work with, and I can't wait to get home to get them on paper or on the computer," she said. "When I found out about the contest, I came up with an idea, and I had to get it down. It's an artistic outlet, I think." By the time she finished letting the art flow, Florez had nine entries for the contest. Some were based on a previous graphic she'd done for the College of Education, which that college used as its logo for several years. She said she felt strongly about the Staff Senate idea and hoped participating in the contest would support the senate. She even wrote an article for PPD's staff newsletter to inform her co-workers about the senate and how they could be involved. "The senate definitely is worth a try," she said. "People tend to be cynical and don't get involved. We've proven, though, that if we pull together, we can get results." Florez served as the college's building operator for 12 years and recently was moved to the Singletary Center for the Arts, where she oversees the building operations of the center, the Police and Parking Building, King Alumni House, the Sturgill Building, and the School of Music house on Euclid Avenue. She is UK's only female building operator. Although she said she hated leaving the College of Education, being at the Singletary Center is "almost like home" for the amateur flutist who earned her mechanical engineering degree from Lexington Community College through UK's Employee Education Program. And despite her success at graphic design, she doesn't plan a career change any time soon. "I am really happy with my job, and I work for a really great bunch of people. I love to go into a place and leave it a little better than it was before," she said. "It is a true blessing when you find what you want to do in life." Whitaker, Wiggs honored with Medical Center Dream AwardsThe University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center presented the 2002 Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Award during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration held in the UK Hospital auditorium.
For the fifth year, a Medical Center administrator and staff member were chosen for the award, given annually to an administrator and staff member who promote King's teachings of equality in their jobs and in their community. Whit Whitaker, patient registration/ records counselor for University Health Services, and John S. Wiggs, associate director for admissions and student affairs for the Kentucky School of Public Health, were this year's recipients. Whitaker received the community service award for volunteering with the Minority Affairs Office and its constituents, despite working full time, teaching regular group exercise classes at the local YMCA, and participating in church, professional acting and singing activities. "I truly believe that there are those equally or more deserving than I, and I am humbled and grateful for recognition of such an honor," Whitaker said. "I thank God, my co-workers, family, friends and enemies for all playing a part in who I am and what I have become." Wiggs received the award for his many years of dedication to the inclusion of all students, his work with the Health Careers Opportunity Program, and his commitment to maintaining a diverse staff and inclusive environment. "Receiving any award associated with Dr. King's principles and ideals is especially gratifying," Wiggs said. "The award is particularly meaningful to me as someone who has worked with Medical Center students in a number of different roles for many years." |
