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The Big Time Jazz Orchestra is based in Duluth and is made up of college and high school jazz instructors as well as members representing many other occupations. BTJO performed for the MN Music Educators Convention in 1994 and again in 2001. With its non-profit status, Big Time has been awarded grants for such activities as the commissioning of a work from jazz

composer/arranger Tom Matta and bringing in arranger and virtuoso trombonist, Paul McKee, to perform with the band. Another grant funded the making of a CD, recorded at Studio M in St. Paul, comprised of original compositions and arrangements by current and former members of the orchestra. These grants were awarded by the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council and the MN State Legislature.

The ensemble programs selections from such jazz masters as Thad Jones, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Miles Davis, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Jim McNeely as well as doing works of its own ensemble members and other local composers and arrangers. BTJO is dedicated to the continuation of the art form.

The band not only features fine musicianship, but also benefits
local charities. Over the last decade beneficiaries have included such organizations as Camp Connection, Habitat for Humanity,
Loaves and Fishes, KUMD - FM radio jazz programming, the University of Minnesota-Duluth's Bernstein/Krenzen Jazz Scholarships, the Duluth Playhouse, Woodland Hills Children¹s Home, YMCA Summer Camp scholarships, the Duluth Bethel Society, the Salvation Army, and KUWS - FM radio. Currently, plans are under way to help with a University of Wisconsin- Superior jazz scholarship fund.

Part of the "mission" of the band is to educate youth about this uniquely American contribution to the world known as jazz. Big Time annually does a shared concert with a local school or university band, often finishing with a song performed jointly.

Thanks to the vision and support of its Executive Board and the commitment of its musicians, the future looks bright with plans for more grant applications, projects, help for charities, and jazz education opportunities for our area youth.

RANDY LEE teaches middle school band, jazz band, and general music in Hermantown, MN, and is an adjunct staff member for the U of M, Duluth (UMD) Music Department. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education with a minor in Jazz Studies from UMD and his Master of Science degree in Education-Instruction from the U. of Wisconsin, Superior. He is a regional representative to the Minnesota Unit of the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE) and is past state chairperson, and currently secretary, of the MN Chapter of
ASBDA. He was recently selected to the Executive Board of the MN Band Director¹s Association (MBDA). Mr. Lee has twice been the director of the IAJE MN Northeast Region High School Honor Jazz Band and guest directed the Wisconsin Lakeland Region High School Honor Jazz Band. Randy was awarded the "Distinguished Young Band Director of the Year" Award in Minnesota in 1991 by the state chapter of ASBDA. He is active

as a saxophone clinician and professional musician including performances with the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, the
Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra, the Lake Superior Saxophone Quartet, Twin Ports Wind Ensemble, and as a busy free-lance musician for various jazz gigs, dances, and receptions involving everything from Dixieland duos to big bands. He has

conducted the UMD Junior High Honor Band, judged the Iowa High School Jazz Championships, was asked to be the sax section coach for the MN All-State High School Jazz Ensemble, and has been a guest soloist with the UMD Jazz Bands.