Steve Wiest is looking down at some huge shoes. They were worn by some of the best jazz teachers to come through the University of North Texas College of Music — and maybe the world.

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Trombone player Steve Wiest was recently named director of UNT’s One O’clock Lab Band.

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Wiest said he’ll be able to fill those shoes if he keeps the thing that matters most as his first priority: serving the talent of the students in the internationally renowned One O’clock Lab Band.

The band is the crown jewel in the prized program of the college and has produced some of the finest musicians to ever play big band jazz. Wiest was recently named the new director of the band. He’d taken over as interim conductor after Neil Slater retired in August.

“It’s almost hard to call it a job,” said Wiest, a trombone player by trade and an educator by training. “I have to call it a privilege, really. I’m getting to work with the best students, playing what I think is the best music.”

Dr. James C. Scott, dean of the College of Music, said Wiest is a strong addition to the program.

“I am delighted with the leadership appointments in our jazz studies division and am confident that our jazz program, which has been a leading edge for the university for decades, will continue to define excellence in the study of this uniquely American art form worldwide,” Scott said.

Wiest will direct a 19-piece ensemble known for rigorous rehearsals and high expectations.

“Every rehearsal is an audition for this group,” Wiest said.

He knows from experience. Wiest played in the One O’clock Lab Band when he was a master’s student at UNT. In his office, a picture from the band’s 40th anniversary concert hangs on the wall. Wiest shakes his head and grins when he remembers who held the baton that night.

“I got to play under Gene Hall, Leon Breeden and Neil Slater,” he said. “That was amazing — playing under all the great conductors. Seriously, that’s a ‘who’s who’ of conductors.”

Wiest said the conducting tradition in the jazz program is nothing to tamper with.

“The vanguard is there. That’s an expectation — that you keep that. But there’s always an expectation that you’re going to bring something new to the program. One of the things I want to amplify and expand is the student composition,” Wiest said.

Dave Richards, who graduated Saturday with an advanced degree in composition, said the One O’clock band has long nurtured student composition. He agreed that Wiest is a strong supporter of student work.

“Definitely, that’s important to him,” Richards said. “This year we’re recording a CD, and out of the nine charts we’re recording, five of them are student charts. It’s always been part of the program. It’s one of those cases where we don’t just record anything that’s brought to us. It has to be a certain level. It doesn’t get recorded if it doesn’t meet that level.”

Richards produced three of the charts the band will record.

Wiest said conducting a jazz band isn’t like conducting an orchestra. With the jazz band, Wiest counts on the rhythm section to keep the beat.

“You’re a traffic cop,” he said. “Your making sure the musicians go where they need to go and that everyone moves at the right time. Conducting a jazz band, you’re really a rehearsal conductor. Then, in performance, your job is to bring the musicians together and get them to groove — to get them ‘swinging.’ We have a saying that you want to be ‘in the pocket.’ When you’re in the pocket, that means everyone is aligned with that metric pulse.”

Richards played trumpet in the band from the fall of 2004 to the spring of 2007. Then he began playing trombone in the band. He studied mostly under Slater but enjoys playing for Wiest.

“He’s got incredible ears,” Richards said. “He can hear so many different things the band is doing, and he can do what has to be done to get the horns to balance and sound like a big band. He cares about how the band sounds.”

John Murphy, who was recently named the chairman of the jazz studies division of the college, was chairman of the search committee that recruited Wiest.

“We’re excited about Steve’s leadership with the One O’clock,” Murphy said. “He has an abundance of experience as a player, as a composer and as an educator. Even in his year of being the interim conductor, he’s found ways to present the One O’clock outside of the college. He got them the performance at Birdland in New York.”

Wiest said his students succeed in a competitive environment that keeps them on their toes. Students in the program have a lot to be proud of. His plan is to lead by example and to stay aware of creative personalities.

“You can be your own worst critic. My job is to point out their attributes, and when pointing out challenges and giving them goals to shoot for, be unwavering but very positive. Sometimes it’s OK to be down on yourself because, well, you haven’t played well,” Wiest said. “You’ve failed in this instance. But the way I look at that scenario is: ‘Now let’s learn from it.’ If you’re going to be a teacher, you always remember the human involved.”

When it comes to filling the shoes of Hall, Breeden and Slater, Wiest said he thinks back to a giant of jazz.

“Duke Ellington said at every important juncture of his life someone was there to help him,” Wiest said. “This is an important part of my students’ lives. Slide Hampton was my mentor, and now I’m theirs. I want to be that person for these students at this important juncture. That’s a privilege.”

LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877. Her e-mail address is cbreeding@dentonrc.com .