Who says jazz, philosophy and politics don’t share common ground?
School of International Service sophomores Colin Wick and Jesse Drucker combine all of those interests into their musical repertoire. They are also College of Arts and Sciences students: Drucker is studying philosophy and Wick is studying music.
On campus, you can find them jamming in the practice rooms at Katzen. Occasionally, you might find Drucker doing something for AU’s student radio station, WVAU, like writing for the website or DJing.
Wick, Drucker and a few of their friends formed an Afro-funk band called The Neologians last semester. Their sessions have produced sounds emulating artist Fela Kuti and other Afro-influenced genres.
On Feb. 10, they headlined Capital Punishment, WVAU’s free concert series. You can find out more about the group on their Facebook page at facebook.com/theneologians.
You won’t find any Top 40 artists on Wick’s and Drucker’s list of musical influences. Wick cites many jazz greats such as Plas Johnson, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins and more. Drucker is a little bit more unconventional and suggested groups that play what he calls “cracked-out blues,” like Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band from the ’70s.
The two musician friends are on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to how they learned to play music.
Wick grew up in a musical family and started classical training early on the piano. He experimented with multiple genres and eventually “fell in love with jazz.”
Now, Wick performs piano, saxophone and clarinet in AU jazz ensembles and workshops.
Drucker, on the other hand, started teaching himself piano and eventually guitar through the influence of a friend. Even now, he doesn’t rely on sheet music or formal training to strum chords on his guitar or bass. He also dabbles in percussion, chanting and spoken lyrics and has performed at past WVAU Open Mic Nights.
Wick and Drucker offered a few suggestions for how to improve AU’s music scene.
Wick said AU underestimated the growth of its music program when it designed Katzen Arts Center.
Wick said that, while it is “very nice for small groups, [it doesn’t accommodate] large ensembles.”
He and Drucker said the music program could be further improved with the creation of an AU-hosted media-sharing website or forum to “share [original] music, connect and collaborate with other [student] musicians even if they’re not in the music program.”
Drucker also said, “Internet and recording equipment is getting cheaper. If we can get this, then students won’t be so [creatively] isolated”
The two suggest the possibility of collaborating with WVAU to host students’ music samples in their library or to play them during radio shows.
thescene@theeagleonline.com
