Welcome to "Volume Two," the second offering from the Professors of Pleasure, Tulane University's Jazz Faculty band. In addition to some jazz standards ("Half Nelson," "This I Dig of You"), a sumptuous ballad ("Nancy with the Laughing Face") and a 'second-line' version of the rallying cry for Tulane's Green Wave football team ("Tulane Fight Song"), we've also thrown in a number of originals from band members as well as two tracks by the great New Orleans composer, musician and jazz educator Harold Battiste.

 The Professors of Pleasure: Tulane University Faculty Quintet, are an aggregate of longtime jazz faculty instructors (bassist Jim Markway) and new, post-Katrina hires brought onboard by jazz performance studies department coordinator John Doheny.

THE PLAYERS:

 ONE UP, TWO BACK

"This tune is an example of just how much mileage you can get out of two diminished scales and a couple of dominant seventh chords. The ridiculously long form was originally even longer. I'd wanted to write something with a long and contrasting solo form like Mingus' "Sue's Changes", and so the original version had a big rhapsodic ballad section in the middle of it, which I eventually decided was just too much. Everybody carries on in a grand fashion on this one, especially our very special guest pianist, Tony Foster."

The Real Cool Killers (the name is taken from a book by African-American crime novelist Chester Himes) had originally intended to record some compositions by bassist Rob Kohler and tenor saxophonist John Doheny and had in fact actually rehearsed them. But when Kohler, Doheny and drummer Geoff Clapp convened at the recital hall at Tulane University on the night of November 8th, 2009, the original plan was scrapped and the band agreed to 'play free' for this initial session. Nothing was discussed; saxophonist Doheny set up the six-four groove of "Parades and Saints" and the trio played uninterrupted for 20 minutes.

An invitation to Vancouver-based jazz singer Colleen Savage, to headline a vocal workshop and concert at Tulane University in New Orleans last February, brought with it a recording opportunity with the school's jazz faculty. Savage recorded... Full Descriptionher new CD ALGIERS in New Orleans, accompanied by very active members of the jazz community there including, John Doheny, tenor saxophone (CBC radio's 'Our Man In New Orleans'); John Dobry, guitar; Jesse McBride, piano; Jim Markway, bass; and Geoff Clapp, drums.