Director: Steve Rucker
The Frost School’s Funk/Fusion Ensemble has won the prestigious Downbeat Student Music Award almost every year for the past seven years including 2010. Their repertoire varies extensively from year to year, ranging from original material to covers by Weather Report, Tribal Tech, Aaron Parks, Avishai Cohen, Joshua Redman, Tower of Power, Soul Live, Herbie Hancock and Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Former members of this creative and exciting group include Jeff Babko, Andrew Synowiec, Brendan Buckley, Gabriel Vivas, Kevin Stevens, Darrell Grant, Ludwig Afonso and Van Romaine.
The ensemble rehearses twice a week, records and performs concerts locally and on campus. Students will acquire skills while learning repertoire and performance techniques leading to an advanced performance level. The course aims to:
- Develop interactive skills between soloists and rhythm section.
- Expand knowledge of electric rock, fusion, funk, Latin jazz, and pop styles.
- Develop appropriate sounds and equipment necessary for this style of music.
- Strengthen compositional and arranging skills in this genre.
Each student must contribute original compositions and arrangements to the ensemble's repertoire.
