Dallas Jazz Orchestra

Founded by Galen Jeter and Thom Mason in 1973,[1] the DJO was once called "the only community-supported jazz orchestra in the world" by radio show host Dr. Cone Johnson.

[8] Co-founder Galen Jeter played trumpet in the University of North Texas One O'Clock Lab Band and in the Woody Herman Orchestra.

[8][3] In 1973, Jeter and Thom Mason, then a professor at Southern Methodist University, decided to look for local musicians to jam with and "help keep the big-band spirit alive".

[1] Forming the Dallas Jazz Orchestra, they held rehearsals at the SMU band hall,[8] which they quickly outgrew, and performed live for the first time the following year.

[11] Leon Breeden, Director of Jazz Studies at the University of North Texas College of Music, who had taught Jeter as a student, served on the governing board of DJO.

[1] Later that year, the DJO started playing at jazz singer Maxine Kent's Club on Lemmon Avenue in Dallas once a month and attracted standing-room-only crowds.

[14] In a review published in D Magazine, David Ritz characterized the band as "first-rate Dallas musicians who play together, not for profit, but sheer pleasure.

"[15] From 1978 through most of the 1980s, the Dallas Jazz Orchestra played every Sunday night at Popsicle Toes, a club owned by Wayne Morgan, who became more involved with the group and served as chairman.