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Show arts & entertainment A & E editor: Debra Jandreau Phone: 626-7507 JyoiclfDOoi Jazz WSghu 'sozzl By Tom Purdue a&e writer-The Signpost As the Utah Jazz faced a disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets last Wednesday, Junction Jazz Night at the Weber State University Skyroom had an audience tappin' their feet and bobbin' their heads to the rhythms and chords oftime-winning jazz music. The smell of barbecued ribs and chicken hung in the hot air as the setting sun si mmcred the room. A sizzle sound from Trent Porter's cymbal started the audience cooking to the tune of the first song, "Do You Have a Name?" Porter is a senior majoring in physical education and has been a drummer for the WSU Jazz Ensemble for several years. The audience boiled over with excitement as Kenji Aihara, music major and senior at WSU, heated the strings on his electric guitar with fast rhythms and chords that chemically reacted with the jazz band to make a sweet sound. People applauded and loudly yelled after Aihara 's first solo, which is unusual because a nice, quiet applause after each solo is all that is required. Chopping out the bubbles of the boiling jazz music was Laurisa Ward on the piano. Ward, whose mission is to provide keyboard skills to children, is a WSU music instructor with a master's degree in music from BYU. The second song the band played Escape the workday; get out and enjoy By Tina Noycs a&e writer-77 Signpost Enjoy something new, something unique, something unusual. "Working," a plot-based musical, is something you'U appreciate . Tlic Weber State University Department of Performing Arts has decided to take advantage of their over Russian pianist, Peskanov: By Tiffany Thomas a&e writer-The Signpost Speed, amazing precision and passion summarizes Thursday's performance of Russian pianist, Alexander Peskanov at Peery 's Egyptian Theater in Ogden. As the concert began, a single light rested on the stage piano. Peskanov came forward in tailed tuxedo, bowed twice, then paused before beginning. The Baltimore grand piano came to life as Peskanov brilliantly played classical and contemporary songs for two hours. Peskanov's music was moving and filled with strong emotion. His first piece was Sonata in D Minor, Op. 31, No. 2 "Tempest" by Ludwig Van Beethoven. This piece had three sections: largo allegro, adagio and allegretto. Peskanov's asile fingers was "Bud Powell" by Chick Corea. The song brought the boil up to a little faster tempo and threw in some spicy Latin rhythms for flavor. On the third song, "Old Folks," Lars Yorgason played those dark blues on his beautiful dark brown upright bass and gave the audience that stylistically cool breeze to keep the audience going. A musician since he was 5, Yorgason is currently the president of the Jazz Arts of the Mountain West organization. Yorgason retired several years ago after 27 years as a seminary instructor at the Ogden LDS Institute. He has also taught classes at WSU, conducted a vocal jazz ensemble and currently teaches bass lessons, as well. The fourth song of the night was "Maiden Voyage" by Herbie Hancock. The song is a rhythmically unusual song, which, at the time it came out, was considered revolutionary. The fifth song of the night, "Day by Day," held a surprise for the audience, and her name is Kelly Eisenhour. Eisenhour currently is a vocal instructor in Harrisville, Utah, but she originally draws her jazz background from the night clubs of Las Vegas. Eisenhour gave the band musicians a voice that was smooth and well trained. She even did some "scat" singing for the audience. Melanee Corry, a junior in the music department, said, "I like her Eisenhour's style. She reminds me flowing, talented, musical-theater students by replacing its dinner production of Das Barbecu with a concert version of the musical "Working." The musical will explore the state of working Americans in the 1 970s. The unique production is scheduled Wednesday through Saturday at 7: 30 p.m. in the Slepherd Union Junction. Ranging through all of the economic moved smoothly without fault through very fast then soft lilting sections."Liebestraume" by Franz Liszt was Peskanov's second piece. This song had many up and down moving scales. At one point, the music sounded like an intense chase, growing intense, then preceeding down to a peaceful thinking mode. Peskanov's third piece was "Mephisto Waltz" by Franz Liszt. This song was quite enjoyable and familiar. The contrast in sections was obvious as he went from fast and loud to soft and barely audible. It seemed as though the audience held their breath as to not interrupt his concentration.Many families came to the performance to gain a stronger appreciation for the art of playing the piano. "My mom wanted to come, and 7 i " .A.. of Dionne Warwick in a way." Eisenhour told the audience that when she was 19, she learned two jazz "standards" and auditioned for a night club gig. When she got the job, she asked how many songs she would have to know, and the owner said about 30. A little overwhelmed by the number of songs to learn, Eisenhour asked when she would start working. The owner said Friday. "I struggled through those 30 songs, but it gave me a love for the music," Eisenhour said. "That was my first experience with jazz standards, and my first time falling in love with jazz." classes, the production allows everyone to look into the lives of tlic people who keep things moving those who actually work. Through monologues and songs of more than 20 working people, the production gives the working-class entertainment they can relate to. "Working" is directed by Tracy Callahan and Jim Christian. The cast includes Corey Atkins, Seth Barney, so did I," said Ogden High freshmen, Jessie Szalay, 14. "I'm just learning how to play the piano. I just started two weeks ago, so I thought it would be good to hear someone who knows how to play. My sisters only took piano for two weeks, but I hope to learn more than they did." After intermission, Peskanov played "Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35" by Frederic Chopin. The most familiar part of this piece was the "Funeral March." Many audience members recognized this one among the seemingly endless melodies in the song. Peskanov recently recorded some of his own compositions on a CD entitled "Spirits of the Wind: Peskanov plays Peskanov." Of his own songs, he played "Spirits of the Wind," which he wrote for his first piano teacher; "Ghost Story" written f "1 rprj,:; : if ft - . s ' ' J f The rest of the night was filled with jazz hits like "Take the A-Train" and "Embraceable You." After the last song of the set, "Since I Fell For You," the audience gave the musicians a standing ovation and called them back for an encore. A member from the audience yelled out, "Play the Girl from Impanema!"The musicians looked at each other, agreed they all knew it, and played the song with no music in front of them. Yorgason talked about the skills jazz musicians have to play songs without much preparation. "That's the way jazz musicians work," Yorgason said. "Everyone is conversant with the literature we MarLce Brinton, Jcnnilyn Brockbank, Melissa Backstrom, Judy Campbell, Jeremy Crawford, Brad Crews, Carrie Famsworth, Lacey Jensen, Kristen Morgan, Daniel Simons, Wendy Waklen, Rx;k White and Jolene Zito. "With this production, we have the opportunity to showcase our manymusical-theater students. Although we are presenting a concert version of tlx; pro master for his second child and the delicate "Forever Lasting." "I wrote this song for my wife of 10-and-a-half years," Peskanov said. "I guess this is like taking temperature of the marriage." Peskanov ended the evening with a speeding journey through "Carmen Concert Paraphrase" by Georges Bizet, arranged by Moszkowski and Peskanov. "Music and piano have always been a love of mine," said Ogden resident Chyrese Robinson. "It seems that precision at the piano is becoming a lost art. It's nice to sit with others who appreciate this kind of dedication to music as well." Peskanov is an artist, author and founder of the Piano Olympics designed to stimulate progress in piano pedagogy. His methods come from training received at the Russian Pi Lars Yorgason, Laurisa Ward, Kenji Aihara and Trent Porter bring Junction Jazz back to-Ogden in WSU's o Skyroom kF i all know the tunes. It doesn't take much time to make a great ensemble when you start with experienced musicians."If you're looking for some jazz music in the area, check out Yorgason 's JAM organization at their website: http:www.jamwest.org. The website has a calendar of jazz events, information about the 1998 Summer Jazz Festival in Utah, and a list of clubs and restaurants featuring jazz music and musicians. Junction Jazz Night can be summed up best in the words of Aihara who simply said, "I had fun." Junction Jazz Night was fun for all. 'Working' duction, we arc incorporating acting and movement, taking advantage of the large space in the Junction," Callahan said The audience is invited to join the cast and directors after the May 7 performance for a discussion of the play. Purchase tickets in advance at the Dee Events Center ticket office or call 626- 8500 or 1-800-WSU-TTKS. at his art ano School at the Stoliarsky School of Music in Odess, Ukraine, as well as receiving degrees in piano at the Juilliard School of Music. After leaving Russia, Peskanov made his American debut as an orchestral soloist with the National Symphony Orchestra directed by Mstislav Rostropovich. Peskanov has continued his career as a featured soloist and collaborator with many other musicians including a recent recording of an all Brahms Sonatas CD with violinist Eugene Fodor. Peskanov recently judged the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition in Salt Lake City and received rave reviews in the "Salt Lake Tribune" for his performance there. This concert was a gift to the community presented by Weber State University's Department of Performing Arts and an anonymous donor. |