Faculty members are charged with sharing their knowledge and skills with the students to help the students go on to realize their dreams. But, sometimes they are given the chance to pursue their own goals and dreams. Such is the case with a group of faculty members and others have come together to create Crosscurrent, a jazz ensemble that is influenced by several of the cultures represented on the university’s campus.
Crosscurrent just released their first CD, entitled Pacific Tinge on iTunes and on Amazon. David Kammerer, chair of the Fine Arts and Music department and member of the group shares that in the 1930’s, New Orleans jazz was receiving influence from the Latin world: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, as well as the United States. This influence was called the “Spanish Tinge”. Crosscurrent is influenced by areas such as Tonga, Tahiti, Samoa, and Hawaii and the group has aptly named their first album Pacific Tinge.
This mix is catching attention of a broad musical audience. The Hawai’i Academy of Recording Arts has nominated Crosscurrent’s debut album of Pacific Tinge for a Na Hoku Hanohano award in the Jazz Album of the Year category. This is like the Grammy awards for the Hawaiian islands. Find out more here.
The group was also recently reviewed in the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Members of Crosscurrent include Larry Cook, Darren Duerden, Jennifer Duerden, Robert “Bear” Goldsmith, Patrick Hennessey, David Kammerer, Mark Wolfersberger, Will Yokoyama, along with several other guest artists.
Members of the BYU–Hawaii Fine Arts and Music department faculty are talented and gifted musicians, but often the only people who get to hear them on a regular basis are the students in their classrooms. Given this, on their blog reads the following: “Founded in 2009 as the BYU– Hawai‘i Faculty World Improv Ensemble, we seek to explore the world’s rich improvisatory traditions while providing collaborative performance opportunities for our students and other associates in the larger Pacific Island musical community. We aspire to showcase as much Pacific Island music as possible, sharing with a broader audience the richness of this cultural heritage.” Hear previews of their album and find more information here.