CAJE UNCAJED MELODIES III

Categories:
Event Date: 
Apr 8 2017 - 8:00pm
Event Date: 
Apr 9 2017 - 6:00pm

Out of the programme of increased music participation and interest, instituted by Senior Music Fellow Peter Ashbourne on his appointment in 2013, the Classical and Jazz Ensemble (CAJE) was created at the Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts, University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Campus.

CAJE (pronounced “Cage”) is comprised of present students of the U.W.I., some staff members of the university and a few invited guest performers, who are not necessarily graduates of the institution.

As the name suggests, CAJE combines members of two distinct musical groups, the Classical Ensemble and the Jazz Ensemble. The Classical ensemble comprises mainly a group of players of string and wind instruments who play mostly classical music; while the Jazz ensemble is a group of players of popular band instruments who perform mostly Jazz.

CAJE is not a paid group and its work is sustained by the individuals’ love of playing music and the informed guidance and passion of Mr. Ashbourne.

The group, in whole or part, performs regularly throughout the year at mainly university or university related events, but the highlight performance of each year is the annual concert season at the Phillip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts. The first such season, in March 2014, was entitled “The Waters of March” and featured the performance of Echapaya (The Ultramarine Jazz fusion classic) and established the group as an entity with much promise and a unique Caribbean style driven by Ashbourne’s classical, jazz and folk sensibilities and arranging skills. Peter Ashbourne’s compositions and arrangements as well as his conducting skills have from the onset been an important part of the group’s identity and have been showcased in every season.

Under the direction of Ashbourne, the group grew and in 2015 its season titled “Uncajed Melodies” played to larger audiences and increased interest from music aficionados and critics as well as the campus community and was an unmitigated success.

2016 was an even greater success with demand requiring that “Uncajed Melodies II” be held over 2 days. Even with the additional performance there were large audiences for both performances.

2017 promises to be even more important for the group (now over thirty strong in combination) as it cements its identity and presents its third concert season titled “Uncajed Melodies III” on April 8 & 9.

In 2017 the concert will again follow the now established format of a three-part show. The opening segment will feature the Classical Ensemble in performance and this year will highlight a performance by the newly inaugurated wind ensemble sub-section.

The Jazz segment will feature a ska item, and a Teddy Wilson piano solo. The final segment is the “Show” segment, featuring a loose amalgamation of compositions from musical theatre, film and stage and highlighting performances by the vocal ensemble, inaugurated in 2016 to enthusiastic audience responses. It will feature a medley of TV theme songs as well as an original composition of Joel and Peter Ashbourne entitled “Rainweaver” using the concept of narrator and orchestra (aka “Peter & The Wolf”). The show concludes with a rendition of the Manhattan Transfer version of Weather Report’s seminal jazz fusion hit, “Birdland”.

The show is approximately 2 hours long with intermission.

 

 CAJE  UNCAJED MELODIES III

Venue: 
Philip Sherlock Centre for the Creative Arts
Target Audience: 
Staff
Target Audience: 
Students
Target Audience: 
General Public
Event Image: 
Contact Information
Peter Ashbourne
Tel: 
876) 990-9902, 927-1047, 927-1456.

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