Dr. Brian Stark

Saturday, March 29, Esber Hall MB1, 2:00pm - 2:30pm

Rap on Sax: Wu Tang and Beyond 

“Method Man” (from the Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, 1993),

 Clifford Smith, Jr. (b. 1971) and Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (b. 1969)  

“Shimmy Shimmy Ya” (From Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return to the Wu Tang: The Dirty Version, 1995), 

Russell Tyrone Jones (1968-2004) Diggs (b. 1969)

“6 n’ the Mornin’/Boyz in tha Hood” (Ice-T, 1986/Eazy-E, 1987)

Tracy Lauren Marrow (b. 1958); O’Shea Jackson, Sr. (b. 1969), Andre Romell Young (b. 1965)

“Cake” (From Lupe Fiasco’s Samurai, 2024), Wasalu Muhammed Jaco (b. 1982)

Dr. Brian Stark: Saxophone, arrangements

Mark Shiner: Drum set

Matt Vacanti: Bass

The acceptance of jazz by many colleges and universities as a suitable music for academic study has been considered a landmark achievement for African American culture. However, this acceptance has sometimes resulted in the devaluation of other Black American musical styles such as Hip Hop, whose continued commercial success often masks the types of craft and virtuosity displayed by the greatest artists in this style. This project is an effort to recognize great works in Hip Hop by performing my own transcriptions and arrangements in an instrumental setting that highlights the exciting melodic and rhythmic content of great Hip Hop performers. I have selected pieces that lay well on the saxophone, and each piece features improvisations that respond to elements of the rapper’s cadence or the underlying accompaniment, or beat. I hope that this performance encourages other musicians to consider incorporating the many exciting musical elements of Hip Hop into their own performance style.

Dr. Brian Stark (he/him) is a saxophonist whose research employs his jazz training to dialogue with various styles of music, opening up spaces for intercultural understanding through improvisation. His most long-standing project has been an ongoing collaboration with flamenco musicians David Chiriboga and Jose Moreno, and he has also contributed to projects led by musicians from Brazil, Bolivia, Serbia, and Puerto Rico. His latest project is an exploration of compositions by Hip Hop musicians as vehicles for instrumental performance and improvisation, in collaboration with drummer Mark Shiner (he/him) and bassist Matt Vacanti (he/him). Stark is currently Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Colgate University; starting next year, he will begin a new role at Colgate as Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Jazz Studies and Jazz Ensemble Director.