2500 College Drive • PO Box 428 • Rock Springs, Wyoming 82902-0428

www.wwcc.wy.edu

Contact: Allyson Cross

Coordinator of Marketing and Public Information

Office Phone: 307.382.1661

Email: across@wwcc.wy.edu

News Release

News Release Number: RNSP11083

Date: March 2, 2011

For Immediate Release

ROCK SPRINGS — WWCC Music Department Presents Funk N Rock Jazz Concert

The Western Wyoming Community College Music Department will present Funk N

Rock Jazz on Tuesday, March 8 at 7 p.m. at the WWCC Theatre. The WWCC Jazz Band

and Six Digits Saxophone Ensemble will highlight funk and rock tunes written in the

1970s. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Six Digits Saxophone Ensemble will open the concert with ―Greased Lightnin’‖

from Grease, Mike Mower’s ―Full English Breakfast,‖ and Herbie Hancock’s

―Chameleon.‖ The Jazz Band rhythm section joins the saxophones on ―Chameleon,‖ and

Cierra Bolinder will present a solo on tenor saxophone.

The Jazz Band will perform the ―Blues Brothers Revue‖ which is a medley of ―I can’t

Turn You Loose,‖ ―Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,‖ ―Soul Finger,‖ and ―Soul

Man.‖ The soloists are Christy Lev on trumpet and Nick Gomez on guitar. Other

selections include ―Red Clay‖ with Brandon Fields soloing on tenor saxophone and

―What is Hip?‖ with solos for Ceira Lee on trumpet, Nick Gomez on guitar, and Casey

Terrell on trombone. The Stevie Wonder hit, ―Superstition‖ will be performed with

Whitley Pelton soloing on trumpet and Candace Gregory on alto saxophone. Herbie

Hancock’s ―Watermelon Man‖ will feature a solo by Aryk Anderson on alto saxophone.

Michael Jackson’s ―Thriller‖ offers guitarist, Nick Gomez, and bassist, Logan Arey,

trading fours as well as a solo by Jared Fillingim on trombone. The Jazz Band will

conclude their presentation with Average White Band’s ―Pick up the Pieces.‖

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2500 College Drive • PO Box 428 • Rock Springs, Wyoming 82902-0428

www.wwcc.wy.edu

The Six Digits Saxophone Ensemble and the Jazz Band are under the direction of Dr.

Martha Holloway. Members of the Six Digits Saxophone Ensemble are Aryk Anderson –

soprano and alto , Amber Barker – alto, Candace Gregory – alto, John Moore – alto,

Cierra Bolinder – tenor, Taylor Golightly – tenor, and Brandon Fields – baritone.

Members of the Jazz Band are saxophones – Aryk Anderson, Amber Barker, Cierra

Bolinder, Brandon Fields, Taylor Golightly, Candace Gregory, John Moore, and Linda

Kulp; trumpets – Ceira Lee, Christy Lev, and Whitley Pelton; trombones – Jared

Fillingim, Landry Jones, Casey Terrell, and Porter Williams; and rhythm section with

Nick Gomez on guitar, Jared Menlove on keyboard, Logan Arey on bass, and Nathan

Creager and Cody Wilkinson on drum set and percussion.

The Funk N Rock Jazz Concert showcases music written and popularized in the 1970s.

―Greased Lightnin’‖ is from the 1971 musical, Grease. The music recreates the sound of

early rock and roll. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class

youth subculture known as the greasers. ―Chameleon‖ is a 1973 jazz standard notable for

its bass line and funky beat. Originally, Herbie Hancock played the signature bass line on

a keyboard. Hancock was one of the first jazz musicians to embrace synthesizers and

funk. The Blues Brother are an American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978

by comedy actors Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as part of a musical sketch on Saturday

Night Live. Belushi and Aykroyd in character were lead vocalist ―Joliet‖ Jake Blues and

harmonica player/vocalist Elwood Blues. The band took on a life of its own beyond TV

with the release of an album and a film. ―Red Clay‖ is a 1970 soul/funk influenced jazz

tune by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. ―What is Hip?‖ is one of the best-known tunes by

Tower of Power, a funk/soul ensemble from California that was very successful in the

early 70s. ―Supersition‖ was written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie

Wonder for Motown Records in 1972 when Wonder was only 22 years old. It went to

number one. ―Watermelon Man‖ by Herbie Hancock was released for the second time in

1973 after Hancock radically reworked it and combined elements of funk. Hancock

stated, ―I remember the cry of the watermelon man making the rounds through the back

streets and alleys of Chicago.‖ Both ―Chameleon‖ and ―Watermelon Man‖ appeared on

the album, Headhunters, which was a defining moment of the jazz-fusion movement.

Thriller, the album, was released on November 30, 1982. It is one of the bestselling

albums of all time. It helped Michael Jackson break down racial barriers with his

appearances on MTV and meeting with President Ronald Reagan at the White House.

―Pick up the Pieces‖ is a 1974 song by the Average White Band from their second album,

AWB. In February 1975, it went to number one.

For more information on this concert, contact Holloway in the WWCC Music

Department.

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2500 College Drive • PO Box 428 • Rock Springs, Wyoming 82902-0428

www.wwcc.wy.edu

Amber Barker, Aryk Anderson, John Moore, Brandon Fields, Cierra Bolinder, and Taylor

Golightly. In the back row from left to right are Nick Gomez, Jared Fillingim, Casey

Terrell, Jared Menlove, Cody Wilkinson, Landry Jones, Porter Williams, Christy Lev,

Ceira Lee, Whitley Pelton, and Logan Arey.