(By Logan Polak ’25, Staff Writer)
The hard work of one premier music ensemble at LVC has paid off, and it can be found on all streaming services.
The Valley Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Jeff Lovell and Dr. Justin Morell, released an album in September titled “Vicious Fishes.” The 51-minute album is comprised of six pieces composed by Morell.
Over his decades of experience in the music industry, Morell built his reputation as a highly accomplished composer. Eventually, he started writing and arranging his pieces for LVC’s jazz band.
“As the Valley Jazz Orchestra got better and better, I started to be more motivated and excited about writing real music,” Dr. Justin Morell, composer for “Vicious Fishes” and co-director of the Valley Jazz Orchestra, said.
Over the course of the past few years, the Valley Jazz Orchestra, or VJO for short, has stayed consistent in its size and quality of membership, constantly challenging itself with advanced repertoire and frequent performances. Little did the performers know that the biggest project of their musical careers was brewing as merely a thought amongst the co-directors.
“We were trying to think of other things that we could do to help push the band and tackle professional types of activities,” Dr. Jeff Lovell, co-director of the Valley Jazz Orchestra, said. “One of the things we felt early on that we’d like to do was to take the band into the studio.”
Since Lovell and Morell took over the band after a lengthy tenure from the legendary Professor Tom Strohman, VJO has had the opportunity to play with renowned jazz musicians such as the aforementioned Tom Strohman, Jihye Lee, Josh Deutsch, and even Grammy-award-winning artist John Daversa.
Daversa’s involvement on campus last year was incredibly influential to the music department, giving individual advice to musicians whenever he could and offering lessons during his residency week in May 2023. His most recent involvement included a featured solo in the “Vicious Fishes” track titled “Seventy-Three Falling.”
“It felt warm and welcoming to be invited into the family,” John Daversa, chair of the Frost School of Music, said. “I feel like I’m an honorary member of the LVC community.”
Even with star-powered guests such as Strohman, Deutsch and Daversa giving the album instant credibility, there were still plenty of challenges to face. Leading up to the final few weeks of the semester, there was doubt as to whether or not the band could logistically record any of the pieces due to the band not fitting in any one studio.
Fortunately, this project was tackled head-on by Adam Young ’24, who took it upon himself to solve many of the issues faced in the recording process as the sound engineer. Young and his sound crew, Trent Coulon ’25, Jacob Pegher ’25, and Zach Krouse ’26, devised a plan to use three separate studios and connect their inputs into one control room, essentially taking up most of the Blair Music Center’s second floor.
“Logistically, it was a challenge making sure we could have all of these studios for two entire days as well as the majority of equipment,” Adam Young ’24, B.M. Audio Music Production, said. “Overall, the experience tested my patience and ability to maneuver on a dime when something possibly went wrong.”
While the compositions themselves were elaborate and intricate for the performers, the complexity of the recording process could not be understated. Without the work of Young’s crew, there would have been no album to record, let alone listen to.
The project was ultimately recorded over the weekend before finals in May 2024, with each guest artist recording their part over the summer. Recently, selections from the album were performed in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Blair Music Center.
“I think everybody really stepped it up, and I feel very comfortable sharing this album with the public and saying that this is my music, this is who played it, and this is what it sounds like,” Morell said.
“Vicious Fishes” is now available on all streaming platforms and can be purchased on vinyl for $15 by emailing Dr. Morell or Dr. Lovell. VJO’s next performance will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Leedy Theater.