After months spent in the studio laying down tracks, Loyola’s own funk-fusion band, Naughty Professor, is releasing their second album, “Until the Next Time.”
The band is set to release the album as the headlining act at One Eyed Jack’s on Friday, April 12.
Hailing from all corners of the U.S., the original men of Naughty Professor met at Loyola through jam sessions in the music complex’s practice rooms in September 2010.
“We were all hungry to get out there and play music,” Nick Ellman, alto sax and jazz studies senior, said. “Everyone wanted to find their voice.”
Ian Bowman, tenor saxophone and jazz studies senior, joined the band two months later, followed by Sam Shahin, drummer and Loyola alumni, in the summer of 2012.
Naughty Professor consists of guitar, bass, drums, alto and tenor saxophones and trumpet. All members are former or present students of Loyola’s jazz studies program.
The band has opened for acts such as Soul Rebels, Rebirth Brass Band and Victor Wooten, and was recently nominated for the Big Easy Foundation’s Big Easy Music Award’s Best Emerging Artist.
The group released its first album, “Theep,” in December 2011. The difference between the
albums is said to be homegrown. “Theep” was recorded in one studio session at Loyola, whereas the new album was written, practiced and recorded in the band’s house.
Bill Daniel, guitarist and jazz studies junior, built the studio out of his bedroom.
“It’s the best recording we’ve ever made by far,” Noah Young, bassist and University of New Orleans junior, said. “We had more time to make it so it’s a lot more thought out.”
Living together made the album more personal for the musicians, Bowman said.
The album was a “breathing thing for three months,” Daniel said. “We made these songs feel alive.”
Although all members of the group have a jazz basis, personal influences range from rock, hip- hop to funk.
“It’s a combination of different ideas and different people colliding,” Shahin said.
If there’s one influence the group collectively cites, it’s New Orleans.
Naughty Professor’s style “has a lot to do with this city; our sound is tailored to fit New Orleans,” Daniel said.
The band credits their success not only to the commitment to the music, but to each other.
“What we do is more than music to us; it’s about the relationships,” Shahin, affectionately known as Papa Sam, said. “We all care about it. It’s fully collaborative.”
The collaboration keeps growing, with members continuing to write and practice new material.
“The band is constantly evolving,” Ellman said. “There’s always something different – that’s what makes us naughty.”
Lauren Irwin can be reached at [email protected]