AG
EM
EN
T
G
ER
LI
ED
CE
EN
NT
Tuesday Feb. 8, 1 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 9, 9:45 a.m.
trained violin and viola Black Violin is a classically , along with DJ TK, duo. Kev Marcus and Wil-B th classical and hip-hop perform arrangements of bo n sense of style. songs while adding their ow ir Violin first learned to play the When the members of Black and old rs yea 14 at a viol on the signature instruments—Wil-B could the tender age of 9—neither at in viol the on s rcu Ma Kev it ugh tho od, become their liveliho have foreseen that it would ives nat rida Flo two passion. The was already becoming their ing Dillard High School of Perform the ng ndi atte le whi t first me sic mu l ool whose exceptiona Arts in Fort Lauderdale, a sch ir already budding talents. the ture nur to programs served
It was not until the two were exposed to the work of legendary violinist Stuff Smith that the seeds that would one day become Black Violin were truly planted. Smith, born in 1909, was a pre-eminent jazz violinist of the swing era, and performed with jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Sun Ra throughout his career. His final and most soulful album, Black Violin, so inspired and influenced Kev Marcus and Wil-B that they named their band in honor of the man who showed them that there are no limits to what the violin can do.
Now in their own unique career, Black Violin’s primary goal is to give young people the same opportunities in music the y had. Kev and Wil have embarked on a campaign of social change working with youth orchestras and music programs to show young people that they are capable of expressin g themselves in ways they have never dreamed of.
Black Violin’s improvisational elements are truly unique. The show is like a concert, consisting of jazz, rhythm and blues and hip-hop. The role of the DJ Hip-hop DJs cut and loop beats to recreate music. They also pause, scratch, backspin, speed up or slow down, and/or delay music. In its simplest form, cutting involves isolating a few bars of the beat and looping them to create a continuous sound. When DJs use turntables to cut, they use two identical records on two record players. The DJ spins the first record to a place in a song where the music stops, but the beat keeps on going. This is known as the break. The DJ plays the beat on the first record, sets up the second record to play the same sound and then stops the first one and lets the second one play. Then the DJ sets the first record back to the break again and plays it when the second record finishes. The DJ goes back and forth between the two records indefinitely, creating one long beat.
Questions When you hear the word “hip-hop,” what comes to mind?
Things to think about
“
Black Violin’s improvisational elements are truly unique. The show is like a concert, In an age where music is consisting of jazz, more and more defined rhythm and given elsblues by the lab hip-hop. shows ck ViolinAbout it, Bla to and sic does not exist t muperformance thathe Black box, but rather hin a Violin’s wit sts in another space, exiimprovisational and one as ope elements aren truly as the ed show unrestrain unique. The produce it. min is ds liketha a tconcert, lin k Vio -Blacof consisting jazz, rhythm and blues
”
What kind of instruments do hip-hop artists usually play? What style of music does a violin usually play? What do you expect Black Violin to sound like? Do you play a musical instrument?
Links to check out http://blackviolin.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip-hop_culture http://pbskids.org/jazz/ http://www.dsokids.com/listen/ComposerDetail.aspx?composerID=15 http://www.classicsforkids.com/games/
Hip-hop grew from its inner city origins into a huge cultural movement. Can you think of other musical styles that have swept the country and transformed our culture beyond the realm of music alone? What is it about music that gives it the power to change society? Black Violin blends a number of different musical forms, like classical and hip-hop. Can you think of other innovators who created new forms out of different combinations? Are there any forms you can imagine combining that haven’t been tried yet? What do you think would be the result?