Road to Nowhere Stephen Jones & Ben Haugland

• 1 Without a Song 07:12
• 2 Silhouette 06:17
• 3 Milestones 06:03
• 4 Evening Song 07:01
• 5 Autumn in New York 08:55
• 6 Road to Nowhere 07:24
• 7 A Hidden Walk 05:33
• 8 Second First 06:24
• 9 Estaté 09:26
• Total Runtime 01:04:15

Info for Road to Nowhere

From intimate readings of jazz standards to their wide-ranging originals, the duo of saxophonist Stephen Jones and pianist Ben Haugland display an easy and compelling rapport. Now anchoring the jazz program at Texas Tech, they both have had long careers teaching, publishing, recording and performing, each beginning with stints in the North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band at different times. Inspired by the musical challenges of duo performances, they have developed a masterful and imaginative creative dynamic that coalesces on jazz classics such as "Without a Song" and John Lewis's "Milestones," or through their 5 melodic originals. They're also joined on two compositions by trumpeter and colleague Kevin Whalen.

Ben Haugland, piano
Stephen Jones, soprano and tenor saxophone
Kevin Whalen, trumpet, flugelhorn (tracks 2, 5)

Ben Haugland
An accomplished and experienced musician, Dr. Ben Haugland has a history of musical distinction. In August 2012, he completed a Doctor of Arts degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Northern Colorado and is a recipient of nine DownBeat awards, including "Best Instrumental Jazz Soloist." As a master's student at the University of North Texas, he played and toured with the world renowned UNT One O'Clock Lab Band and is a featured soloist on their album Lab 2009, which received a Grammy nomination for "Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album."

An avid composer, one of Haugland's compositions, "Lift," won a DownBeat award for "Best Original Song." In April 2012, Haugland released his debut album Point of No Return featuring NYC alto saxophonist Dick Oatts and bassist Jay Anderson. Through the efforts of the Dazzle record label, his album has received national radio airplay and was ranked on the jazz charts by jazzweek.com.

In April 2015, Haugland released his second commercially-released album as a leader, A Million Dreams, featuring internationally renowned jazz trumpeter Scott Wendholt and Grammy award-winning bassist Jay Anderson, and in 2015, the album was ranked on the JazzWeek national radio charts for twenty-one consecutive weeks peaking at the sixty-fourth position out of one thousand new releases. The album also received a jazz review in "All About Jazz" from New Jersey jazz critic David Orthmann who rated the album four-and-one-half out of five stars stating, "A Million Dreams is a confluence of excellent original compositions, empathetic ensemble playing and group interplay, as well as memorable solo statements. Highly recommended."

In February 2018, Haugland's book entitled The Mulgrew Miller Collection was published by Jamey Aebersold Jazz who is widely considered the leading publisher of jazz education materials. The book represents an important style study of iconic jazz pianist Mulgrew Miller, which has become a best-seller for the publisher and represents an important resource used in jazz pedagogy.

Haugland has also played in professional and academic settings with several prominent jazz artists including Randy Brecker, Terell Stafford, Greg Gisbert, Snooky Young, Chris Potter, Dave Pietro, Dick Oatts, Tim Warfield, Donny McCaslin, Jeff Coffin,Bob Mintzer, Steve Davis, Curtis Fuller, Jay Anderson, Chuck Berghofer, Jay Leonhardt, Billy Hart, Jeff Hamilton, Adonis Rose, Ed Soph, and John Riley.

Stephen Jones
is the Director of Jazz Studies at Texas Tech University, a position held since 2009. Prior to coming to Texas Tech, he held teaching positions at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Texas Christian University, and The University of North Texas. As a clinician, he has presented and/or performed at international conferences such as the Jazz Education Network, The Midwest Clinic, and the North American Saxophone Alliance. Professor Jones holds a Bachelor of Music degree with a Performer's Certificate in Clarinet from the State University of New York at Potsdam, a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas, and additional study at the University of Illinois.

As a saxophonist, Stephen can be heard on recordings by the University of North Texas One O'clock Lab Band, the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, The University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band, The Bicoastal Jazz Collective on OA2 (Origin) Records, Texas Tech colleague Benjamin Haugland on Dazzle Records, and a soon to be released original project on Origin Records. He has been employed as a woodwind performer with the Walt Disney Company and Carnival Cruise Lines; has been a member of The University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band and the Dallas Jazz Orchestra; and has performed with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Irving (Texas) Symphony Orchestra, and the Tulsa Philharmonic, as well as other regional orchestras in Texas and Kansas. As a featured saxophone soloist, he has performed with the Springfield (Missouri) Civic Orchestra, the Ozark Lyric Opera, and the Juneau (Alaska) Symphony Orchestra.

Stephen's compositions and arrangements for big band have been recorded on the University of Illinois Concert Jazz Band's albums As Of Yet and Freeplay. He has also written commissions, and his composition "Sierra Blanca" was premiered at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago by the Del Valle High School Jazz Ensemble I (El Paso, TX) Other work has been performed by the George Robert Jazz Orchestra in Geneva, Switzerland.

Through affiliation as a leader or performer with ensembles both professionally and academically, he has performed with these and other prominent artists: Jay Anderson, Wayne Bergeron, Dave Brubeck, Conti Candoli, Rosemary Clooney, Bob Dorough, Peter Erskine, Maynard Ferguson, Slide Hampton, Marvin Hamlisch, Tom Harrell, Conrad Herwig, Steve Houghton, Ingrid Jensen, Jack Jones, Geoffrey Keezer, David Liebman, Rita Moreno, Bob Newhart, Dick Oatts, Marie Osmond, John Riley, Jaleel Shaw, The Temptations, Bill Watrous, and Scott Wendholt. Also active as a clinician, Stephen has appeared as a guest artist, clinician and/or adjudicator at contests and festivals in Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. From 1996 to 2019 he was on the faculty of the University of North Texas Summer Jazz Combo Workshop.

This album contains no booklet.