TSU's Aristocrat of Bands goes for a Grammy nomination with 'The Urban Hymnal'

Almost every night of the school year in North Nashville, anyone who passes Tennessee State University's campus may be serenaded with the sounds of the school's marching band.

Bass lines bellow from mighty sousaphones and trombones. Bold yet smooth melodies croon from trumpets and saxophones. Light and airy notes whistle from flutes and piccolos. And high-speed taps bark from snare drums. One of Nashville's most enduring musical institutions is practicing.

The institution has a name that fits its many accolades.

The Aristocrat of Bands.

The band — the pride of Tennessee's only public historically black college or university — has a long legacy filled with firsts. It was the first HBCU band to appear on national television in 1955, the first HBCU band to perform in a president's inaugural parade in 1961 and the first band to play on the White House lawn in 2016.

"My predecessor used to say nothing big happens in Nashville or the state of Tennessee without the Aristocrat of Bands," director of bands Reginald McDonald said.

This year, the band is adding another first to its list: the first HBCU marching band to create a gospel album.

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And band members hope for another win within the next year.

In early September they submitted the album to the Grammy Awards in pursuit of a nomination in the "Best Gospel Roots Album" category.

Last year, the Fisk Jubilee Singers — an HBCU ensemble housed on the same street as TSU and the source of Nashville's Music City nickname — won a Grammy after gaining a nomination in the same category.

"We're talking about going back to our roots and our ancestors, so how fitting for Fisk to win it and then to turn around and have the Aristocrat of Bands," McDonald said. "For us to go in that category was very fitting and connected those pieces of the puzzle together."

How 'The Urban Hymnal' came to life

The idea for "The Urban Hymnal" stemmed from the band's connection with the musical artist and songwriter Sir the Baptist.

Baptist got to know assistant director Larry Jenkins during a visit to campus. Then a clip of the band on social media inspired Baptist to attend a practice.

After the pandemic, the Aristocrat of Bands moved him in unexpected ways.

"They sounded like legends," Baptist said. "When I got here, I hadn't toured, I hadn't done anything, so it'd been more so me locked away as an artist.

"And to come out of that into over 350 horns and drums, to feel the vibrations... I couldn't stay still. I was moving and shaking."

Jenkins worked to make Baptist TSU's artist in residency for the spring semester. Then, during a February lunch at Cinco De Mayo on White Bridge Pike, the duo jotted down their ideas for the residency program on a napkin.

"I remember (Baptist) kind of had a sage-type vibe to him on this day," Jenkins said. "So I said, 'Hey, bro. We should do an album.'"

"I was waiting for you to say that," Baptist answered.

The result? "The Urban Hymnal," which debuted on Sept. 23.

In 10 original tracks, the album uses gospel to convey not only the importance of the genre to African Americans, HBCUs and the band's history. Tributes to songs like "Going Up Yonder" and "Wade in the Water," which have been cemented in Black culture and history over time, blend seamlessly with marching band tunes and tastes of other music styles like jazz, Afrobeat, hip-hop and R&B.

"For the Black community in general, gospel music sustained our people.... All these things are infused because they've never been separate, anyway," Jenkins said.

He and Baptist agreed that a nod to ancestors was only right for an HBCU band. And Baptist, a powerhouse in the music and gospel industries, connected TSU and its students with the many professionals who lent their hands to the project.

The essence of the band

This all wouldn't be possible without the students, and the album captures the diligence and talent of not only the band but also the Sophisticated Ladies (TSU's majorettes), the university's gospel choir, and other campus talents.

Whenever they could, Baptist and Jenkins pulled in students, whether recording the full band or just a few students. They layered the band music with recordings sent in by major artists and producers like Dallas Austin, J. Ivy, Jekalyn Carr, Kierra Sheard, Dubba-AA, Fred Hammond, Mali Music and more.

One of McDonald's crucial takeaways as the band's leader was seeing his students buy into the process, which was somehow professional yet grassroots at the same time.

"I can remember times when Sir the Baptist or Professor Jenkins were editing something and all of a sudden they realize, 'Man, we just need, one cat to play trumpet,' or, 'We need somebody to play flute,' and a kid just happened to be walking down the hall," he said. "And then Jenkins is sitting there writing out the part and transposing it for the instrument there on the spot to have that kid play the riff."

One of those "cats" was Curtis Olawumi, a senior trumpet player and drum major who's been a musician since age 4. His improvisations are featured throughout the album, and he's on the cover of the album's initial single "Fly (Y.M.M.F.)"

"One day, they were like 'Curtis, we need a solo,'" Olawumi said. "And I never hesitate, I'm just like 'OK, I got you.'"

He put his headphones on, played and the rest was history.

Today, Olawumi looks back on the experience as he awaits Grammy nomination announcements. The experience of playing his instrument and being of service, and then seeing his name and likeness on the album, was "beautiful."

"That really tickled me because that's set in stone forever," he said.

Another student on the album is freshman Me'Kayla Smith, who attended TSU because of "The Urban Hymnal."

The 18-year-old singer was invited to sing on the album before she even thought about TSU as an option for college. She planned to go to a community college until the Aristocrat of Bands and TSU became family and eventually awarded her a scholarship.

"HBCUs are just different than anything else you'll experience, and it was something I wanted to be a part of, I just didn't know how," she said. "So they made a dream come true for me."

It's stories like these that prove to Jenkins the creation of the "The Urban Hymnal" was worth it. He, Sir the Baptist, and McDonald also hope the album will help audiences and viewers understand that the Aristocrat of Bands and other HBCU bands like it are more than a cultural trend.

"This is the essence of who the band is in a completely different way," Jenkins said. "You're getting the personality of the band, and I think that's why it's resonating with people."

Anika Exum is a reporter covering youth and education for The Tennessean. Reach her at aexum@tennessean.com, 615-347-7313, or on Twitter @aniexum.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee State University's marching band goes for Grammy nomination