University Daily Kansan / Friday, February 10, 1989
Arts/Entertainment
11
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Festival features jazz trio, a cappella group
by Rias Mohamed Kansan staff writer
Billy Taylor, who has performed every
lily for eight years on "CBS Sunday Mor-
ning" with journalist Charles Kuralt, can be seen
for the first time in person in Lawrence this
weekend.
The jazz pianist will perform at 8 p.m. tomorrow in
the chamber of the 12th annual Jayhawk
Infestival Jazz Festival.
The festival will feature the Billy Taylor Trio and Take Six as headliners and other high school and college jazz ensembles and choirs from Kansas and the Midwest.
Ronald McCurdy, assistant professor of music and coordinator of the KU jazz program, said the 1989 festival could be one of the best in recent years.
"We have an outstanding lineup of high school and college ensembles scheduled to perform," he said. And you just can't beat the Billy Trayer Trio and Tayler Taylor from throughout the Midwest to perform and listen.
Jazz ensembles will perform tomorrow from 8 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. in the Craft-Preyer Theatre, and jazz choirs will perform from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall. After the individual performances, Taylor will conduct a clinic for participants at 3 p.m. in the Craft-Preyer Theatre.
Guest clinicians for the festival are Paris Rutherford from North Texas State University and Valerie Lippold-Mack from Wichita State University.
"The festival provides an opportunity for students to be critiqued by a panel of experts," McCurd said.
Take Six will be featured in concert 8 p.m. Sunday in the Crafton-Prever Theatre.
"There are about 24 groups performing for each other and the public. They can get immediate feedback."
the six-member group, formed in 1980 by four freshmen at Oakwood College in Alabama, blends vocal jazz and traditional black quartet gospel music, McCurdy said.
"They are an a cappella group," he said. "They are outstanding. They are unbelievable and so versatile." A cappella means singing without instrumental accompaniment.
The festival is sponsored by the KU department of music and dance and is financed by the Student Senate. It is also part of the office of minority affairs' Martin Luther King Celebration.
Both Jacqueline Davis, director of the Concert Series, and McCurdy spoke of Taylor in high regard.
"We are looking forward to having this eminent jazz artist and to giving the people of Lawrence his great artistry," Davis said.
Taylor, one of the most vocal spokesmen for the American jazz movement, was the first to make the statement that jazz is classical music. A versatile jazz pianist, composer, arranger, teacher and actor, he has written more than 300 songs and 12 books on the art of the jazz piano, and has made 30 recordings.
"He is the best of both worlds," McCurdy said. "He is a jazz performer, excellent concert artist. He is a wonderful educator — articulate, and able to convey and teach the concepts of jazz very well."
Take Six offers a refreshing, original blend of gospel, blues,jazz minus the instruments
Looking for an innovative way to exercise those too and leg muscles? May I
ooc an innovative way to exercise those toe and leg muscles? May I suggest checking into the gospel or jazz section at the local record store for Take Six.
While listening to Take Six's self-titled album, I discovered my toes and legs developing their own groove. So it's his group's upbeat, swinging tunes.
Take Six — otherwise known as Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, David Thomas, Mervyn Warren, Mark Kibble and Claude V. McKnight III
This a cappella ensemble composed of six men, ranging from ages 24 to 21, is the freshest and hottest creation to hit the gospel charts, and will be performing at The Preyton Theatre Sunday evening.
have developed their original style from scraps of gospel, jazz, and easy listening; they make easy harmonies form new, yet familiar harmonies and melodies pleasing to all types of music lovers.
Christy Ward
Reviewer
1/2 on a five-star scale
What is utterly amazing about the members of Take Six is their individual gifts of perfect pitch. They sing incredibly intricate parts while maintaining a beautifully matched, moving harmony. It sounds as if one voice recorded all six parts.
Take Six's first album, recorded under the Reprise Records label, features mostly gospel music, including the original ballad "He Never Sleeps" and recognizable songs from the series, such as the stirring "If We Ever."
Adding detail to the balanced
This group is becoming a smash fast. They have been nominated for three Grammys and are in demand to perform with dozens of famous musicians, such as Whitney Houston and Quincy Jones.
blend of the upper voices, a resonant bass provides a steady beat and chord progressions. I found it hard to believe that Alvin Chea's work was "Spread Love," was actually a human instrument and not made-man.
But what makes the sextet so appealing to me is its courage to create a new style. Take Six is making a brave statement for our generation by combining American-originated music and by successfully promoting the members' own religious beliefs.
Christy Ward is a Phillipsburg sophomore majoring in music education.
NY artist combines music, film, dance
Meredith Monk going to perform at Liberty Hall
by Christine Winner Kansan staff writer
Meredith Monk hopes to nourish the hearts and souls of her audience on Tuesday at Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St.
"I hope the concert is entertaining but also gives the audience a deep sense of feeling." Monk said in a telephone interview from her New York home. "I want the audience to leave feeling energized and alive."
Monk, who is a composer, singer, filmmaker and director/choreographer, will present "Book of Days: A Music Concert with Film," at 7:30 p.m. with her six-member Vocal Ensemble.
Joining Monk in the performance are Robert Een, Ching Gonzales, Andrea Goodman, Naaz Hosseini, Nick Parra弥,和 Nurit Tilles. The concert is part of the School of Fine Arts' New Directions Series.
Excerpts from three Monk films will be shown. They include "Quarry," her Obi-Award-winning opera about World War II; "Ellis Island," a film about immigrants entering the United States at the turn of the century; and "Book of Days," her soon-to-be-released film that parallels and contrasts the Middle Ages with modern times.
The performance will include "Songs from the Hill," a selection of solo works by Monk, and a series of songs with Monk and the ensemble.
Courtesy of Jack Mitchel
A shortened version of the film "Book of Days," will be broadcast on PBS in August or September.
Mok described her performance as a tapestry of elements, a combination of images, costumes, music and movement.
"I want to offer a multiperceptual experience that stimulates people
Meredith Monk
and helps them see things in a different way," Monk said.
The sources for her project ideas vary. Activities such as sitting at the piano, reading a book or remembering a memory, dream present images to the artist.
artist and especially with her film projects. Coeteau was also a painter, poet, author and playwright.
"The image is the instinctive part." Monk said.
"His films have a sense of magic and wonder and poetry," she said.
The hard part is working with the image and developing it into a project, she said.
Monk has created more than 60 music/theater/dance and film works since 1964. In 1968, she formed the House, a company dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to performance.
Mok received her degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., where she studied dance, theater, music and composition. She has received two Guggenheim Felix Award awards and a National Music Theatre Award and awards for sustained creative achievement and music composition.
She said French filmmaker Jean Cocteau had influenced her as an
She has won First Prize for Performance Programming from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and the grand prize at the first Video Culture Canada festival in Toronto for her video collaboration with Ping Chong, a contemporary theater artist.
The concert was booked by Jacqueline Davis, director of KU Concert Series.
"She is a performance artist with a major reputation," Davis said. "It is appropriate that the people in the gallery see her and know about her."
Davis saw Monk perform in New York and decided that Liberty Hall, with its 600 seats, was the ideal setting for the performance.
Tickets for the concert are on sale at the Murphy Hall Box Office at KU and at Liberty Hall. All seating is general admission. Tickets are $14 for KU or K-12 students, and $13 for senior citizens and other students.
The concert is partially funded by the Kansas Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts through the Mid-America Arts Alliance. Additional support is provided by the Fee, Swarthout Society and the Kansas University Endowment Association.
C A L E N D A R
The Visiting Artists Series will present Eileen Dishinger on the harp at 8 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall.
The "Happy Birthday, Dr. King" celebration will begin at 8 p.m. in Crafter-Pronounce Theatre.
- Lawrence Community Theatre will present "Night of the Iguana" by Tennessee Williams at 8 p.m. in the theater, 1501 New Hampshire St. Tickets are $7 Call the theater for more information.
SATURDAY
■ The Jayhawk Invitational Jazz Festival will take place all day in Murphy Hall. The Billy Taylor Trio will perform at 8 p.m. in Hoch Auditorium in conjunction with the festival. Tickets are $6 and $5 for KU and K-12 students, $12 and $10 for the public and $11 and $9 for senior citizens and other students. Call the Murphy Hall Box Office for reservations.
"Night of the Iguana" will begin at 8 p.m. at the Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 New Hampshire St. Tickets are $7.
SUNDAY
*Take Six will perform as part of the Jayhawk Invittal jazz Festival at 8 p.m. in Cronk-Preyer Theater. Tickets, on sale at the door, are $4 for KU and $7 for the public and $7 for senior citizens. All seating is general admission.
■ The Lawrence Chamber Players will perform a Baroque Concerto Festival at 3:30 p.m. in Liberty Hall. Tickets are purchased at the door.
"Night of the Iguana" will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 New Hampshire St. Stickets for the matinee are $6.
- The Mid-America Record Convention will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Holiday Inn Holdemore 200 in Fairfield, CA.
- Music will be on sale. Admission is $1.
MONDAY
A student recital featuring Don Miller on the clarinet will begin at 8, p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall.
TUESDAY
The New Directions Series will present Meredith Monk and Vocal Ensemble in "Book of Days"; A Music Concert with Film," beginning at 7:30 a.m. in Liberty Hall, 642 Massa chussetts St. Tickets are $7 for KU and students. $14 for the public and $13 for senior citizens and other students.
- The band Dreams So Real will perform at the Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St. Advance tickets are $6 and tickets Tuesday are $7. To be admitted you must be at least 21 years old. The Lonesome Hounddogs and the Memphis-based Dig Mandrakes will open.
WEDNESDAY
- Pot-Pourri Productions will present the play "All God's Creatures," written and directed by Owen Le Beau, Gettysburg, S.D. graduate students. The play will begin at 8 p.m. in Inge Memorial Theatre at Murphy Hall. Tickets are $2.50 for KU students, $6 for the public and $4 for senior citizens and other students. Call Murphy Hall Box Office for reservations.
THURSDAY
The Kansas Chamber Artists will perform at 8 p.m. in Swarthout Recital Hall.
*Pot-Pour Productions will present the play "Red, Black, and Ignorant," directed by Mark Jennison, Lawrence graduate student. The play will begin at 8 p.m. in inge Memorial Theatre in Murphy Hall. Tickets are $2.50 for KU students, $5 for the public and $4 for senior citizens and other students. Call Murphy Hall Box Office for reservations.
ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM A
TENSION HEADACHE NOW?
Call Kathy Gorman immediately at Watkins Memorial Health Center (913)864-9595 to see if you qualify for a medication study.
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BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH GROUP
Friday & Saturday, Feb.10&11 Rock n' Roll with THE VEE'S
"Their style ranges into the '60s power pop and with a little touch of world beat, they've got a sound that is unique. The stiring qualities of their sound is a sense of those enchanting 1950s and '60s classic rock tunes, combined with the electric '80s style. As brothers, you get tight harmonies and solid musicianship that comes with being around each other all their lives. They have just released their first full LP and are getting their deserved airplay from the college markets."
The Jazzhaus
Option Magazine
Coming Wed., Feb. 15 The man himself: EDDIE KIRKLAND AND THE ENERGY MACHINE