Friday, November 27, 2015

Up From The Roots, A Concert Commemorating 150th Anniversary of 13th Amendment, Randye Jones, Damani Phillips, YGB, Fri. Dec. 4, 7:30 PM Grinnell College

Randye Jones
www.artofthenegrospiritual.com


Dr. Damani Phillips

Randye Jones writes:

Greetings, Bill.  

Please share the notice below on your blog.  Pictures attached.  Thanks, Randye

Iowa area musicians will gather in Herrick Chapel to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 13th Amendment with “Up from the Roots.” The program focuses on the African American influence on music from the end of the American Civil War to the Civil Rights’ Movement of the mid-20th Century.

The program will feature soprano Randye Jones and saxophonist Damani Phillips along with Grinnell College’s Young, Gifted and Black Gospel Choir. 

"We are taking a different approach to the impact African Americans have had on the history and culture of the United States," Jones said. "We want to look at the role they played in shaping the musical development of this country by touching briefly on the roots, the Negro Spiritual, and some of its many branches, namely Gospel music, Blues, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, and even how African Americans influence the world of Western Classical music. 

Jones holds her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from Bennett College in her hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Florida State University, Tallahassee. She is currently a doctoral student in Vocal Literature at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Jones has gained recognition for her research of and published writings on African American vocalists and composers and as a performer and lecturer through her projects, The Art of the Negro Spiritual, Afrocentric Voices in “Classical” Music, and the recently published The Spirituals Database. She regularly presents lecture-recitals and concerts or has served as a panelist at events such as the Research, Education, Activism and Performance (REAP) National Conference on Spirituals, African American Art Song Alliance Conference, the National Association of Negro Musicians conference, and the Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium VIII in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Jones currently serves as the media room supervisor for the libraries at Grinnell College.

Philips is a native of Pontiac, Michigan, where he began playing at the age of 10. Formerly on the music faculty at Grinnell College, he currently serves as Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and African-American Studies at the University of Iowa. He has earned Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from DePaul University (Chicago) and The University of Kentucky in classical saxophone, and a second Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from Wayne State University (Detroit). Phillips completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Jazz Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. An active performer, pedagogue and composer, Phillips has taught and performed throughout the United States, England and Japan and is actively sought as a guest artist, clinician and adjudicator. As a performer, Phillips has performed with artists/groups such as Lewis Nash, Christian McBride, Terrence Blanchard, Wycliffe Gordon, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Belgrave, Terrell Stafford, Maceo Parker, Pat Bianchi, Ira Sullivan, The Temptations, Red Holloway, Greg Gisbert, the Lexington (KY) Philharmonic, the Pontiac-Oakland Symphony, the touring Dave Matthews cover band “Crush” and many others. As a recording artist, Phillips released his debut CD "Yaktown Nights" in 2004, “The String Theory” in November of 2010 and “The Reckoning” in December of 2013. His most recent recording project "Duality,"a double album featuring a unique synergy between straight-ahead jazz and hip hop music, was released in August of 2015.

In addition to Young, Gifted and Black, Jones and Phillips will be joined by pianists Marlys Grimm and Ha Na Song, vocalist Gary Jackson, Sam Salamone, Hammond B3 organ, and Tim Crumley, drums.

"Up from the Roots" is co-sponsored by the Grinnell College Office of Intercultural Affairs, Grinnell College Libraries, and the Grinnell College Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The program is free and open to the public.
--
-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-=*=-   |   | Randye Jones
  |)  | Soprano and Researcher
 /|   | The Art of the Negro Spiritual
( | ) | research@artofthenegrospiritual.com
  |   | www.artofthenegrospiritual.com
      | Phone: 641-821-0188

No comments: