That's Dr. Breeden to You Now

Something very cool will take place at UNT tonight: Professor Emeritus Leon Breeden, who helped bring the One O'Clock Lab Band (and, by extension, UNT itself) to prominence during his tenure from 1959-1981, will receive an honorary doctorate during the university's commencement ceremonies. From this blog post at the UNT jazz website:

UNT Professor Emeritus Leon Breeden, Director of the One O'Clock Lab Band and Chair of the Jazz Studies program for 22 years, will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. The honorary degree will be conferred at the Doctoral Commencement and Hooding Ceremony on Friday, Aug. 14, 2009, at 7 p.m. in Winspear Hall at the Murchison Performing Arts Center on UNT's Denton campus.

I can think of nobody more deserving of this honor. I've mentioned Breeden on this blog in the past, most notably when he performed with the Original Texas jazz Orchestra a couple of years ago on his 86th birthday. He's a classy individual and a great ambassador for UNT, jazz education and jazz in general.

Congratulations, Dr. Breeden! (More information on Breeden may be found on his Wikipedia page, which "a little bird" just edited to include news of the doctorate.)