By Mike Emery

Noe Marmolejo will admit that preparations for this year’s Moores Jazz Festival, Feb. 20 and 21 at the University of Houston’s Moores Opera House, have been slightly challenging.

“I’ve scheduled extra rehearsals,” said Marmolejo, director of jazz studies. “I’ve never done that before, but the music we’re playing is a little more demanding than previous material we’ve played.”

Every year, the festival spotlights the UH jazz band and visiting professional musicians. This year’s guest artist is trumpet player Lew Soloff, who is most widely known for his work alongside the 1970s hitmakers Blood, Sweat and Tears.

As a fellow trumpet player, Marmolejo is overjoyed to have Soloff working with his students. The excitement, however, is transforming into a feeling of rigid determination.

The pressure of working with jazz journeymen is nothing new for Marmolejo. The past five festivals have brought bonafide jazz stars such as saxophonist Michael Brecker to campus. The experience of learning from and playing with seasoned artists is an enriching experience for the students.

Still, Marmolejo reminds his students that visiting artists exist in an entirely different realm than they do.

“I tell the students that these artists are surviving in a difficult environment,” he said. “Being a professional musician can often be tough, so I try to make sure the students empathize with that fact. The way we can make sure a performance goes well is to make these artists comfortable and at home.”

Soloff will no doubt feel at home at Moores Opera House. Among the tunes the band is readying to perform is “Spinning Wheel,” a number two hit in 1969 for Soloff and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

Marmolejo admits that this year’s arrangements have tested his students’ abilities, but he said that the music’s difficulty adds to the excitement of the upcoming performance. While keeping the audience on the edge of its seat is imperative, it’s equally important the band maintains a high suspense level.

“All of the music we’re playing this weekend is beautiful, but it’s also very difficult,” he said. “We look at it at as a chance to challenge ourselves. We’re rehearsing, but we are not going to rehearse so much that we’re going to remove the mystery of what could happen on stage. For ourselves and the audience, it’s important that we maintain an edge and see where the music takes us.”