Lexington High School - Crystal Yearbook (Lexington, VA)

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Welcome Distractions March was Music Month and this year, LHS students were treated to four performances by four very di- verse performers. The first assembly dealt with jazz music, and took place on Wednesday, March 8. Jimmy Heath, the leader of the Jimmy Heath Quartet, described jazz music as a marriage between European harmony and African rhythms. The band played various songs including ‘‘Body and Soul,” “Take the A Train,’ ‘‘Blue Bassa,’’ “Bluesville,”’ and a Jimmy Heath orig- inal ‘‘A Time And A Place.” The Quartet consists of guitarist Tony Perron, drummer Akita Tana, bassist Ben Staf- ford, and of course Jimmy Heath. They provided students with some back- ground on various music types and in- struments. The second assembly, which was on Wednesday, March 15, was a concert by Crucial, a local Reggae band. Students were surprised by the free- dom given to them by the administra- tion which included letting the students sit on the floor instead of the 28 Music Month usual chairs and bleachers. The mem- bers of the band include Lance Foster on drums, Chris Worsham on percus- sion, Willie Mack on keyboards, Jenny Newmark on keyboards and vocals, Jim Shurer on flute, Bob Clarke on bass, and Chris Leva on guitar and vocals. The name of the band was taken from a shop in Jamaica that is owned by a friend of the bass player. The band came together shortly after Bob Clarke played a benefit in Jamaica for the survivors of Hurricane Gilbert. During the assembly, Shurer told the students a lot of information about Reggae. He explained the important part cheap transistor radios played in the development of the Reggae sound. Jamacians could afford to pur- chase those radios. They heard AM Rock (which was mostly soul and blues) and mixed it with Carribean rhythm to create today’s Reggae. He also explained a theory that all instru- ments came from hollow logs. Long ago, when people wanted to dance, they used sticks and logs to make a beat. Modern instruments basically evolved from that. The third assembly, on Wednesday, March 22, was put on by our own sym- phonic band. They played several songs which they had also played for Festival. They included ‘‘Sonata for | Winds,” “Folk Song “Suites “Noblemen,” and ‘March.’ Another | song which they did not play at Fes- tival but did play at the assembly, was ‘“Majestia.”’ The fourth and final assembly was on Wednesday, March 29. Southe rn Com- fort, a group of young men from Wash- ington and Lee University, entertained students with their unique sense of humor. They performed mostly show | tunes and some oldies. They managed | to include several members from the © audience in their show, also. These wonderful performers were a welcome distraction for LHS students during the month of March. They were both educational and entertaining. Bet you never thought music could be both! — Bobbie Jo Clawson Crucial tears up the stage at their concert. Be- cause of the overwhelming response they got from the audience, they have been chosen to play at the senior’s graduation party.

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Hey iS Matt Jackson taking 2 break tedious work to pose for the photogrean fro er. qT? STOP

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Vice-Principal John Whitesell helps set up equip- ment on the stage for a performance. Tony Perron shows students his expert guitar skills during the assembly. (8) 6) 616) 6) Members of Southern Comfort serenade some The symphonic band gladly plays another tune ad ladies sitting in the front of the gym- for the audience. asium. Music Month 29