A gem of Salt Lake City’s music scene, Hot House West Swing Orchestra grew from a seed planted by two students during their time in the University of Utah School of Music. This month, UtahPresents brings the fourteen-piece group home to Kingsbury Hall.
"We started the first incarnation of the group while students," explained Executive Director Nathan Royal (BMU '14), James Martak [Guitarist] and I met in Jazz Improv I in 2010. We went and saw Frank Vignola perform as part of the JazzSLC concert series at the Sheraton and we were blown away. We started the Hot Club of Zion the next day and organized the group through the combo program at the U."
U Music alumnus Nathan Royal | photo courtesy Hot House West
"It was great because we could basically get school credit to rehearse and had some built in performance opportunities, but we always treated it as a band. Our first gig was at Big Ed's –– while it was still there –– playing for burgers and beer. We just tried to get out and play as much as possible and level up our skills while at school. The more we played, the more work we were offered so we were a pretty busy band by the time we finished school."
After graduating, Royal and Martak renamed the group Hot Hot House West and added three horns to the lineup. They recorded an album and set ambitious goals, but plans changed when the pandemic hit.
"We all took some time off and weren't sure about how we would approach music during that time," said Royal. "We saw a real need for more interaction and collaboration in the jazz community. Our long-time bassist left the group and we were trying to figure out what to do next when we met Dr. David Baker who runs the commercial music program at UVU. We really hit it off! The two of us took a long hike and were discussing the music scene and some of our individual goals, and we decided to make a 14-piece little big band version of the group. We thought it would be a great way to build deeper relationships in the community."
Since achieving non-profit status in 2023, things have really taken off for the band. They now have four programs that organize and promote workshops, jams, concerts, dances, and professional gigs. As a community hub, they connect musicians of all levels, help record and launch new creative projects, give musicians compelling reasons to build careers in Utah, and create fun shared musical experiences for audiences. Directors of four major University programs (Weber, UVU, BYU, and the U) play in the flagship ensemble.
We just tried to get out and play as much as possible and level up our skills while at school. The more we played, the more work we were offered so we were a pretty busy band by the time we finished school.
- Nathan Royal
Their UtahPresents performance is part of the newly minted Jazz at Kingsbury Hall series created in partnership with JazzSLC founders, Gordon and Connie Hanks, who have been at the forefront of the Salt Lake City jazz music scene since 1994.
"We were heavily influenced when we were students by the opportunity to see high caliber jazz acts come through town with the JazzSLC series. We are so excited that UtahPresents has picked up the mantle," Royal said.
"It can take a long time to see the results of inspiration on a community, but we are here because of experiences like these. Playing in this series feels like coming full circle after a winding and beautiful 15 year journey. We are really excited for the other two shows in the series and look forward to putting on an awesome show on the 23rd!"
