Decades Later, TCU Jazz Alumni Are Still Making Music Together

What began as a retirement celebration has become a traveling reunion more than a decade in the making.

Members of the Curt Wilson Alumni Big Band (CWABB) have reunited every few years to perform internationally, bringing together TCU alumni from across the country whose careers span medicine, education, business and music. This summer, the ensemble completed its fifth European tour, performing in Paris, Bruges, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

A Tradition That Endures
The ensemble traces its origins to 2012, when former students of Professor Emeritus Curt Wilson reunited to celebrate the retirement of the professor who founded TCU's jazz program and taught at the university for four decades.

“I think we all thought that was going to be sort of a one-and-done trip, but we all had so much fun,” said Skip Dolt '89. “It became like a traveling reunion.”

Today, the band brings together alumni from across the country, many of whom do not work professionally in music but have continued performing since their time at TCU. Eight members have participated in all five international tours, often traveling to Fort Worth for just one rehearsal before departing.

For Drew Ruiz '85, director of the TCU Center for Supply Chain Innovation in the Neeley School of Business, and a longtime CWABB member, the motivation to keep returning comes down to the relationships the musicians have maintained.

“We're all so proud of each other,” Ruiz said. “When we all get together, we get to tell those stories about how we're doing in life and how our families are doing.” As he jokes, one of the group's biggest motivators is simply “FOMO” — nobody wants to miss the next trip.

Passing the Music Forward
This year's tour marked a new chapter as Allen Cordingley, assistant professor of music and director of jazz studies, took the artistic lead. The band also privately funded scholarships for three current TCU students to travel and perform alongside the alumni — the first time CWABB has provided this opportunity.

“It is so inspiring what this group of alumni does,” Cordingley said. “Where else on the planet do alums keep in contact well enough to pull off tours like this?”

Cordingley helped select repertoire for the tour, including several arrangements by Wilson. He was featured on Quincy Jones' The Midnight Sun Will Never Set, arranged by Wilson, creating another connection between the program's past and present.

“They got to witness how special it is to keep in touch with Frogs through the years,” he said. “Hopefully, they can carry this torch forward through the years.”

The group's investment in TCU Jazz extends beyond the tour. Alumni established the Friends of TCU Jazz Endowment Fund to support jazz initiatives and provide resources for the program under Cordingley's leadership. Curt and his wife, Kay, also established the Curt and Kay Wilson Jazz Scholarship, which provides annual support for a TCU student.

As CWABB looks toward another international tour in 2028, its continued success offers tangible evidence of the community Wilson created at TCU.

“Very few professors, when they retire, have tangible evidence of their own legacy,” Dolt said. “As a professor, that's your legacy — creating a passion for something you teach that extends not just for the four years people are in school, but over the course of their life. For Curt, that's job well done.”