[5][6][7] The DekaJaz Tentet first came together as an all female jazz group in the winter of 1999 as an idea of co-leaders Scheila Gonzalez (sax), Glenda Smith (trumpet), and Megan Foley (drums, arranger).
The group called upon the writing and arranging talents of Jack Cooper, David Caffey, Rick Lawn, Dan Higgins, Paul McKee, as well as their own Lee Secard, Megan Foley and Josh Nelson.
Working with such a diverse group of players and composer/arrangers gave the band its unique style and sound.
By the time the group was ready to record a CD in 2002, they had settled on a set of personnel who was consistent and knew the book of original, challenging music.
The most noted performance of the group was at the 2005 International Association for Jazz Education Conference in Long Beach, California.