University of Denver Winter 2023

posing several commissions for different bands, including the Air Force Falconaires. And this January, he began a stint as chief conductor of the Nordkraft Big Band in Denmark. The Grammy Awards are scheduled for Feb. 5 in Los Angeles. Le Boeuf plans to be on hand for the big event. “Jazz music is not very in the spotlight for the general public, so to be a musician who gets nominated for a Gram my puts you in the public eye,” Le Boeuf says. “It puts your accomplishments in a lens where people can understand the significance [of your work], even if you operate in a smaller field like I do.”

machine that had a tape recorder on it, and he would plan out epic orchestral compositions. “I never wrote them down or anything, but I had these big ideas in my head,” Le Boeuf recalls. “It wasn’t until many, many years later of trying to force really big, epic ideas into a small band that I realized, ‘Oh, I should just have a big band.’ So, when I put together my jazz orchestra, that’s when a lot of things clicked for me.” In addition to conducting Lamont’s jazz orchestra and working with students on saxophone and composition, Le Boeuf has another album coming out in 2023 with Le Boeuf Brothers. He’s also working on a saxophone book and com

Photo by Shervin Lainez

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