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Faculty Artist Series: Brent Weber, Saxophone

Friday, May 3, 2024 7:30–8:30 PM
  • Location
    Pealer Recital Hall, PAC
  • Description
    FSU’s Department of Music to Present Dr. Brent Weber in Faculty Artist Series Concert, “React”

    Frostburg State University’s Department of Music will present saxophonist and tenor Dr. Brent Weber in a Faculty Artist Series concert on Friday, May 3, at 7:30 p.m. in the Pealer Recital Hall of FSU’s Woodward D. Pealer Performing Arts Center. He will be accompanied by the FSU Faculty Jazz Combo and the FSU Saxophone Quartet. The concert is free and open to the public. This event will also be livestreamed; click the “Join Stream” button on this page a few minutes before the recital is scheduled to begin, or any time during the recital, to view the live performance.

    In addition to Weber, the Faculty Jazz Combo includes Dr. Donald Albrecht on trumpet, Tom Harrison on piano, Peter Lewis on bass and Dr. Mackenzie LaMont on drums, and the FSU Saxophone Quartet includes soprano Raegan Barrett, alto Gabe Hicks and baritone Eileen Martin.

    The concert will feature “Pitch Black” by Jacob ter Veldhuis, “My Funny Valentine” by Richard Rogers, “Donna Lee” by Charlie Parker, “Sandu” by Clifford Brown, “Gertrude’s Bounce” by Bud Powell, “A Remark You Made” by Joe Zawinul and “Wayne’s Thang” by Kenny Garrett.

    “Pitch Black,” for sax quartet and audio, was composed in 1998. The audio track reproduces the voice of trumpet player Chet Baker, from one of the last interviews before his tragic death by falling from an Amsterdam hotel room window in 1988. Baker talks about his past as a drug addict and his life in prison, his first audition with jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer Parker and playing without drums.

    “My Funny Valentine” is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Lorenz Hart coming-of-age musical “Babes in Arms.” The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on more than 1,300 albums performed by more than 600 artists.

    “Donna Lee” is a bebop jazz standard attributed to Parker, although Miles Davis has also claimed authorship. Written in A-flat, it is based on the chord changes of the jazz standard “(Back Home Again in) Indiana.” Beginning with an unusual half-bar rest, “Donna Lee” is a very complex, fast-moving chart.

    Brown’s “Sandu” has long been a jam-session staple for anyone who wants to shred some E-flat blues. The familiar melody is featured with a trumpet and tenor sax duet at the top of the tune and returns with the duet at the end. “Sandu” also includes written or improvised solos for tenor sax and trumpet with a great “rhythm out” interlude between the solos. There’s also an excellent sax section solo and a roaring shout chorus before the recap.

    The lesser-known Powell composition, “Gertrude’s Bounce,” features an upbeat melody and happy-go-lucky style that works well for a jazz ensemble.

    “A Remark You Made” is a composition by Zawinul, one of the founders of Weather Report, and is included on the band’s seventh album, “Heavy Weather,” released in 1977. It would prove to be the band’s most commercially successful album.

    “Wayne’s Thang” is from “Sketches of MD: Live at The Iridium,” one of the few live albums by Garrett, released in 2008. The “MD” of the title track refers to Garrett’s old bandleader, Miles Davis.

    For more information, contact FSU’s Department of Music at 301-687-4109.
  • Website
    https://events.frostburg.edu/event/brent_weber_saxophone_-_faculty_recital_1364
  • Categories
    Music, Performance, Recital

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