2008 Woodie Awards
'Space funk' theme sets mood for BC ensemble
Katherine J. White
Issue date: 4/25/07 Section: Campus
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A space alien's music was played at Bakersfield College's Indoor Theater on April 21 during BC's annual "Swing in Spring" jazz event.
BC music professor and Jazz Ensemble Director Kris Tiner said that this concert focused on composers not usually performed and who were influential as innovators and leaders of small-group jazz, such as Sun Ra (aka Herman "Sonny" Blount) who believed he was a space alien.
Other jazzmen featured were Theolonius Monk, Benny Golson, Charles Mingus and Woody Shaw, as well as the more well-known Dizzy Gillespie and Herbie Hancock.
Two of Sun Ra's compositions, "Kohoutek Theme" and "Moon Dance," were performed. According to Tiner, Sun Ra had an extensive jazz history, beginning with Duke Ellington-influenced '40s swing. However, at some point in his career, he decided he wanted to do more experimental jazz.
Sun Ra eventually claimed to be from the planet Saturn, and that he was from a race of angels sent to Earth to teach humans about music. Sun Ra even went so far as to dress his fellow band members as well as himself in spacemen outfits for their performances. Many people began to see him as psychotic, Tiner said.
"Sun Ra ventured off into his own playing; it's called 'space funk,'" said ensemble member and alto saxophonist Elvis Bates, 18, who is also a BC mechanics engineering student. Bates said that Sun Ra's professional name is a play off of both the nickname "Sonny" and the name for the Egyptian Sun-god Amon Ra.
To create a balance, Tiner said, jazzman Benny Golson's "Whisper Not" composition was played. According to Tiner, Golson emerged in the late 1950s, and his style is smooth and relaxed and not particularly experimental. In a small cameo, Golson played "Whisper Not" on his saxophone in Tom Hanks' film "The Terminal."
Ensemble member and percussion player Erick Recher said that there was a variety of jazz and jazz instruments played: African, Cuban, Contemporary, etc. Recher feels that the different jazz forms are vividly infused with the cultures and times each form hails from. Recher, 24, is a BC music major and plays bass guitar and piano as well as drums.
BC music professor and Jazz Ensemble Director Kris Tiner said that this concert focused on composers not usually performed and who were influential as innovators and leaders of small-group jazz, such as Sun Ra (aka Herman "Sonny" Blount) who believed he was a space alien.
Other jazzmen featured were Theolonius Monk, Benny Golson, Charles Mingus and Woody Shaw, as well as the more well-known Dizzy Gillespie and Herbie Hancock.
Two of Sun Ra's compositions, "Kohoutek Theme" and "Moon Dance," were performed. According to Tiner, Sun Ra had an extensive jazz history, beginning with Duke Ellington-influenced '40s swing. However, at some point in his career, he decided he wanted to do more experimental jazz.
Sun Ra eventually claimed to be from the planet Saturn, and that he was from a race of angels sent to Earth to teach humans about music. Sun Ra even went so far as to dress his fellow band members as well as himself in spacemen outfits for their performances. Many people began to see him as psychotic, Tiner said.
"Sun Ra ventured off into his own playing; it's called 'space funk,'" said ensemble member and alto saxophonist Elvis Bates, 18, who is also a BC mechanics engineering student. Bates said that Sun Ra's professional name is a play off of both the nickname "Sonny" and the name for the Egyptian Sun-god Amon Ra.
To create a balance, Tiner said, jazzman Benny Golson's "Whisper Not" composition was played. According to Tiner, Golson emerged in the late 1950s, and his style is smooth and relaxed and not particularly experimental. In a small cameo, Golson played "Whisper Not" on his saxophone in Tom Hanks' film "The Terminal."
Ensemble member and percussion player Erick Recher said that there was a variety of jazz and jazz instruments played: African, Cuban, Contemporary, etc. Recher feels that the different jazz forms are vividly infused with the cultures and times each form hails from. Recher, 24, is a BC music major and plays bass guitar and piano as well as drums.
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