Carry on and keep playing
SC Guitar Ensemble brings unique style to Freeman Sundays @ 3
Posted on: October 11, 2018; Updated on: October 11, 2018
By Annika Dahlgren, mrassist@mailbox.sc.edu
What do you get when you combine four guitarists, a bassist and a drummer? You get an ensemble that creates new tunes you can sway to. Sometimes the group doesn’t even know what they are planning to play, they just go with the flow and improvise. On Oct. 14, this unique group will be playing at the Freeman Sundays @ 3 concert series at the School of Music Recital Hall.
Brendan Bull, drums, Craig Butterfield, bass, Monty Craig, guitar, Tim Fischer, guitar, Bert Ligon, guitar, and Jim Mings, guitar, try not to bore themselves when they play together. It inspires them to keep it interesting with swing tunes, a fast jazz waltz and some funk.
“There’s a lot of written and improvised music in our set to keep it fresh,” said Ligon. “One of our songs will start with Jim playing guitar, and we actually don’t know what he’s going to play. He will play for a minute and then give us a cue to hop in.”
The ensemble will be playing “There Will Never Be Another You” by Harry Warren and Mack Gordon, “Love is Here to Stay” by George and Ira Gershwin, a fast jazz waltz composed by Ligon, along with an unrevealed Disney-inspired tune. The show will end with a funk tune called “Carry On,” written for Ligon’s friend as a reminder just to carry on and keep playing.
“This chamber music series is typically just classical, like a woodwind quintet or string quartet,” said Ligon. “This is shaking up the programming by doing jazz, especially jazz with just four guitars.”
Most of the players are connected to the University of South Carolina, but a couple travel from other colleges. Craig is traveling from Clemson University, and Fischer is coming from Coastal Carolina University. Mings is a local legend from Columbia and taught Monty at Carolina. Butterfield and Ligon are professors at USC, and Bull is a School of Music graduate student.
Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for seniors and Carolina faculty and staff; $5 for students.
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