Happy Holidays to Generation X

 

 

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 Ying Yang Twins

A mass crowd of students filled the rec field to watch the Ying Yang Twins in concert on Friday night.  Most students were eager to hear a spectacular, or at least mediocre, performance by the twins.  Students were surprised however, to find that the concert was nothing of what they expected.

The first sign of trouble was when D-rock, got on stage and announced that they were having to start a few minutes late because they were having problems with the sound.  Once the concert did get started though, it was apparent that they didn’t completely fix the problem, because the soundtrack was louder than the artists were.

To make a mediocre concert even worse, the twins were forced to edit most of their lyrics and cut a lot of their show, because the school felt that the alumni would not have approved of them as they normally are. Because of the cut backs, a lot of the songs played were other people’s songs that they had verses on, or songs that normally didn’t feature them at all.

Most students seemed to make the most of the situation, though, by singing and dancing along to the songs.  But, it was obvious that the concert was not what they had been looking forward to for the past couple of weeks.

A Review By: Tonorey Bishop

 

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Review of Events

 

     

Alabama Jazz Ensemble

Review

 

By Sarah Pitts

 

            The Million Dollar Band is not the only place where students can experience good brass. The Alabama Jazz Ensemble put on a great show last Thursday night as they played both jazz standards and some 20th century pieces. Conducted by Dr. Thomas Wolfe, the group gave the audience merely a list of pieces to play, keeping the crowd on its toes as to the next selection. One of the best parts of jazz is the cool, free feel of not only the music, but also the performance. Soloists ripped through scales playing 16th notes and triplets with ease, even taking the rhythms into their own hands. One song involved the entire saxophone line to play flutes, while the percussionist had bongos and a tambourine for another selection. Interestingly enough, what many do not know is that saxophones, clarinets, and flutes have lots of the same fingerings for notes. So while the crowd may be impressed by the musicians’ change of instrument, really it is the same fingers on a different object.

            As described by Dr. Wolfe, “Rhyme” was a montage of popular themes. Using the saxophones as a small flute choir, the piece begins small with only piano, but builds into a multidimensional sound that includes tambourine, drums, and an electric upright bass. “Elvin’s Empire,” a piece written in memory of a famous drummer who died a year and a half ago, explored the art of the drum solo. Drummer Thomas Furlough got his fifteen minutes of stardom doing an Elvin-style act. Other, more standard pieces, were played with less freedom and a more “concert band” feel that one finds in the symphonies and concertos of the orchestral literature.

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


     

 

Articles

 

“Songs of America” Tuscaloosa Community Singers

            While most choruses enjoy performing well-known European music, the Tuscaloosa Community Singers took on a program filled with American favorites. Separated into three sections, the performance touched on American folksongs, spirituals of the plantation era, and 20th century songs arranged by some of the country’s newer musicians. Personally, I thought that the group capitalized strongly on their large male sections, using bass and baritones to provide a well rounded harmonic sound during “Elijah Rock” and “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.” Six part harmonies were a bit difficult for the women in “Agnus Dei” considering that most of the first second soprano parts were near the top of the staff and the breaking point of some ranges. With the help of organist Jeff Binford, the group was able to pull off Samuel Barber’s vocal adaptation of a string quartet.

Articles

 

    Singers  Cont'd

 

American favorites, such as “Danny Boy” and “Shenandoah” were received with much applause. Even though the crowd was not familiar with an arrangement, they still recognized the original melody of “Shenandoah.” Rippling like the Missouri River. The five part harmony repeated “Shenandoah valley” in a canon form, one voice one after another. As the piece closed, the voices got softer, representing the arranger’s desire for dying wave effect. “Danny Boy” was performed very traditionally in terms of melodic structure, but the males opened up the song with four part and a soloist. After a dramatic pause (a fermata), the women entered hesitantly at first, but building as the second verse continued. Ending in eight part harmony, the chorus glorified this widely performed song with a mature and full sound.       “

 

A review by Sarah Pitts

 

Poetry

           

 

Submit your work here"

 

"The Clock On The Wall"

The clicking of key board keys

Coincides with the tick-tock of the clock

Hanging ominously upon the wall.

....read »

 

Critics' Pick