Hope College jazz ensembles will perform on Saturday, March 13, at 7:30 p.m. The concert can be viewed online at hope.edu/live.
Out of an abundance of caution due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no in-person audience.
The college’s Jazz Arts Collective and Jazz Combo I will be presenting music that reflects the students’ studies and commemoration of Black History Month. The musical selections will include gospel, bebop, and hard bop compositions, including music that tells the story of jazz in the Civil Rights Movement.
The program will include “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” by James Weldon Johnson; “Donnie’s Tempo,” by Michael Kocour; “I have a Dream,” by Herbie Hancock; “Keep the Faith,” by Donald Harrison; “Joe’s Idea,” by Joe Wilkins; “Love of God,” by James Cleveland; “Yes and No,” by Wayne Shorter; “A Change is Gonna Come,” by Sam Cooke; and “I Love the Lord,” by Richard Smallwood. In addition, the program will include “Spain” in memory of the work’s composer, Chick Corea, who died on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
The Jazz Arts Collective and Jazz Combo I are directed by Dr. Jordan Van Hemert, assistant professor of music.
Participants in the Jazz Arts Collective include Carson Bretz, trumpet; Liam Coussens, bass; Liam Diephuis, saxophone; Carlos Flores, drums; Charles Jordan, saxophone; Jessica Kean, saxophone; JaeKi Park, saxophone; Houston Patton, saxophone; Matthew Patton, saxophone; Michael Pineda, saxophone; Michael Sherman, congos; and Daniel Tague, piano.
Participants in the Jazz Combo I include Carlos Flores, drums; Ka'niya Houston, voice; Houston Patton, saxophone; Michael Pineda, saxophone; Dylan Sherman, bass; and Joe Wilkins, piano.
The Jazz Arts Collective is the premier large jazz ensemble at Hope College. The collective places a creative focus on ensemble communication and improvisation. Comprised of a rhythm section and flexible wind/string instrumentation, this select group performs compositions and arrangements from across the full spectrum of music. The collective’s repertoire ranges from the great historical jazz composers such as Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, to works by modern jazz masters like Vince Mendoza, Jim McNeely and John Hollenbeck. The Jazz Arts Collective frequently performs commissions, works by emerging young composers and originals by Hope College faculty and students.