Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin State University’s new Electric Guitar Ensemble will perform in a virtual concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 28, under the direction of Larry Greer, School of Music adjunct faculty member and guitar instructor.
“Baroque to Bossa to Blues” concert will feature “Sinfonia XX” (fourth movement) by J.H. Roman; “Tequila” by D. Flores; “Blue Bossa” by Kenny Dorham; “Blues in the Closet” by Oscar Pettiford; and “Blues Walk” by Clifford Brown.
The newly formed electric guitar ensemble will showcase works arranged for up to six guitars in a variety of styles, according to Greer.
The first piece by Roman, considered by many as the “Swedish Handel,” is the fourth movement from his “Sinfonia XX” arranged for guitar quartet by Manley Mallard. The second piece is the well-known tune “Tequila” made famous by the 1950s R&B group the Champs, arranged for six guitars by Steve Briody. “Blue Bossa,” the third piece, is a popular jazz standard that Greer arranged for the ensemble. The final selection is a medley of the two standard blues tunes, “Blues in the Closet” and “Blues Walk.”
Performers include Hayden Udy of Nolanville, Tanner Tankersely of Tyler, Joshua Hall of Frisco, Drew Williams of Fairfield, Sam Slape of Houston, Chandler Barton of Burleson, Noah Harper of Spring, Sean Clifton (electric bass) of Clyde and Lucas Freer (percussion) of Whitewright. All guitarists are sound recording technology majors except for Barton, who is a music performance major, and percussionist Freer, who is a music education major. Featured soloists are Tankersley, Udy, Slape, Hall, Clifton and Barton.
The concert is accessible at https://music.sfasu.edu. For more information, contact the School of Music at (936) 468-4602.