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Arts
November 1 – 14, 2014
57
Black Violin strings along fans with diversity BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI
Entertaining crowds ranging from ages 8 to 80, as well as dignitaries at Barack Obama’s inauguration ball, Black Violin has certainly created a buzz. But thanks to a new record deal with Universal Music Classics, virtuoso violinists Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus, along with DJ TK on turntables, will bring its classical-meets-hip hop sound to the masses. The new album is tentatively due to hit stores next summer. Black Violin fans can expect more of the same, while those unfamiliar with the act will hopefully, Baptiste says, hear the Floridians for the first time. “We want to give people who we truly are—the classical, the hip hop— and make sure our music is appealing to any age, any color,” Baptiste says. “We just want to be who we are and stock to what we’ve been doing for the last 11, 12 years.” Baptiste and Marcus meld highbrow and pop culture through a fusion of classical, jazz, hip-hop, blues and R&B. Baptiste says Black Violin enthralls lovers of Bach and Beyoncé. “Our show is fun filled,” he says. “Just imagine coming to a concert and letting loose. There’s a lot of dancing, a lot of moving around. Our show is very big and very music driven. It’s all about having a good time. “It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are. From 5 years old all the way
to an 80-year-old, they’re all putting their hands up and having a good time. I’ve seen that plenty of times.” Baptiste explains that it’s moving to see “older generations and younger generations dancing and having a great time and experiencing music like they’ve never experienced it before.” The trio also enjoys shattering audiences’ perspective or perception of violin and/or hip hop. “They can expect to see something they’ve never seen before,” he says. “Expect to sweat a little from the dancing.” One person they impressed was Obama and the audience at the president’s 2013 inauguration ball. “It was such an amazing experience— where do I start?” Baptiste says with a laugh. “It was one of the highlights of our career for sure. We met the president. We were backstage with a lot of legends in terms of artistry—Smokey Robinson, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, Alicia Keys. All of these individuals are backstage with us and we’re like, ‘What are we doing here?’ We’re independent and we performed between Usher and Smokey Robinson and we’re the talk of the night?” He calls that “extremely unique.” “We were on cloud nine for about a week.” Baptiste says that it’s the band’s
VISITING THE VALLEY: Black Violin, which melds hip-hop and classical music, will perform at the Chandler Center for the Arts and the Musical Instrument Museum. Submitted photo
diversity that makes it appealing. “I say it all the time: We’re like baseball in the ‘70s, the Disney Channel, the Beatles or Michael Jackson. We’re all of those things put together because everybody seems to enjoy what we do. We captivate everybody.” Black Violin has two area appearances. The duo performs at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. Tickets are $18 to $28. For more information, call (480) 782-2680
or visit www.chandlercenter.org. Black Violin also hits the Musical Instrument Museum stage a day earlier at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6. The museum is located at 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix. Tickets are $27.50 to $32.50. Call (480) 478-6000 or visit www.mim.org to purchase tickets. Christina Fuoco-Karasinski is the executive editor of the SanTan Sun News. She can be reached at christina@ santansun.com.