BY SUNNY COWELL

In print | November 15, 2007

On Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m., the Jazz and Soul Festival was held in Upper Tarble. The event was sponsored by the Black Cultural Center, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Student Activities. Twan Claiborne ‘08 co-hosted the show, along with Stephanie Renee, the DJ of a local Philadelphia Internet radio show. The Jazz and Soul Festival featured Swarthmore students and local performers from Philadelphia. Swarthmore’s only R&B and soul a cappella group Essence of Soul opened the show singing an improvised “circle song,” along with “In the Still of the Night,” most famously recorded by Boyz II Men, and soul singer Angie Stone’s “Wish I Didn’t Miss You.” Essence of Soul’s groove set the tone for the rest of the acts, which performed a mix of funk, jazz, R&B and soul music.

The first act, Erica Hawthorne, also known as RhapsodE, is a spoken word artist and singer, who combines meaningful lyrics with soulful melodies and hot beats. For the concert, RhapsodE performed tracks from her latest CD, “Spoke Inward.” Hailing from Minneapolis, RhapsodE moved to Philadelphia to pursue a graduate degree in African American studies and has been performing in the Philly area ever since. Nominated for a 2003 Minnesota Music Award, she has been writing and performing all of her life.

Next, Shirley Slaughter performed with her band, singing a combination of 1960s soul and disco music. Shirley, a Dining Services employee, has been singing in church and in other local venues for most of her life. She recently released a solo album in 2007 called “Philadelphia Story.” Twan Claiborne ‘08 said, "I was glad to be a part of such a unique concert that incorporated professionals as well Swarthmore’s students and workers."

Widely acclaimed jazz bassist Gerald Veasley and his band concluded the concert, performing a variety of soul, funk and jazz. Veasley, a University of Pennsylvania alum, has been playing the bass since he was 12 years old. Veasley’s talent and beautiful music wowed the audience. Amelia Kidd ‘11 said, "Jazz musicians are so talented. It is so impressive to be able to improvise and I loved every musician’s interpretation."

The weekend of jazz continued with the Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble Concert. On Saturday, Nov. 10, the Swarthmore College Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Combos performed in the Lang Concert Hall. The concert featured tunes from the likes of Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. Opening with a drum roll, the first jazz combo performed “This I Dig of You” by Hank Mobley, featuring Hannah Epstein ‘10 on the tenor sax, Garth Griffin ’09 on piano, Dan Perelstein ’09 on bass and Yaeir Heber ’11 on drums. The next group performed Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” showcasing Alicia Lemke ’09 on vocals and Mark Loria ’08 playing an impressive solo on piano. The next group, featuring Jacob Socolar on the vibes, performed “Passion Dance” by McCoy Tyner. On vocals, Anna Grant ’10 spiced up the stage with a Brazilian bossa nova called “No More Blues)” by Antonio Carlos Jobim with solos by drummer Greg Albright ’10 and pianist Garth Griffin ’09. The jazz combos ended the first half of the concert with a traditional Dixie-land jazz tune, “Tiger Rag” by Edwin B. Edwards. With an upbeat tempo and a catchy melody, this combo amused the audience by singing “Hold that tiger!” in the middle of the piece. The audience joined the group in clapping to the beat and showed their appreciation with an early standing ovation at the conclusion of the first half.

After a 10-minute intermission, the full Swarthmore Jazz Ensemble graced the stage with “Groove Merchant” by Jerome Richardson and arranged by trumpet player Thad Jones. This piece featured soloists Ben Rachbach ‘11 on piano, Soren Larson ’11 on tenor sax, Ed Dewey ’10 on trombone and Dan Perelstein ’09 on bass. Next, the ensemble played “Such Sweet Thunder” by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, a product of the ensemble’s collaboration with Mercedes Ellington for the Swarthmore Music Department’s recent Jazz Symposium. Jeff Santner ‘09 on alto sax was featured in the Shakespeare inspired “Star Crossed Lovers” also by Ellington and Strayhorn. The ensemble then performed “How High the Moon,” an infectious melody from the musical “Two for Show,” featuring Alicia Lemke ’09 on vocals, Hannah Epstein ’10 on tenor sax, Ben Rachbach ’11 on piano and Dan Perelstein ’09 on bass. “Moonlight Serenade” featured a beautiful solo from Kara Peterman ’09 on clarinet. Susie Willis ’09 said, “Kara was amazing.” After this piece, the ensemble performed a more extensive piece with two movements called “The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady.” Originally conceived as a ballet, the piece experiments with orchestration and harmony. According to director Drew Shanefield, this piece was a “wild ride” with all of the performers on stage soloing at the same time at one point. The ensemble finished the concert with the famous “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Louis Prima showcasing Travis Rothbloom ’10 on trumpet. Cathy Ng ’10 said, "It’s great to see that the performers are enjoying themselves while performing even though I know they have the same hectic Swat schedules like the rest of us." G. Patrick ‘10 said, "You see them in class but you don’t realize that they have such fierce talent."

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