The McKay Auditorium was packed as students and faculty gathered to hear the BYU–Hawaii Faculty World Improv Ensemble, aka CrossCurrent, paid tribute to music artist James Taylor.
The band threw a twist on each song, a style made apparent with the opening song “How Sweet It Is,” a 70’s rock song, arranged as a swing and shuffle mix. Dr. David Kammerer, professor of music and lead vocalist for the band, arranged each song into a jazz, Latin or Caribbean influenced piece.
Among this performance group was Jennifer Duerden, adjunct piano instructor at BYUH, who said, “I think in some ways the music was more accessible to a lot of people because it was more familiar to them, but I think David Kammerer also put a twist on it by altering every song to a new style.”
She said, “It’s amazing how a group of such talented musicians can practice on their own and thrive in their talents and then come together to create something even greater.” Duerden played the piano, steel drums and marimba alongside her husband Darren Duerden.
Student musician Beau Kapeliela, a junior from Washington studying international cultural studies, played bass for the band because “the bassist was off island so they asked me to fill in for them. I was humbled to be able do that.”
Reflecting on the performance, Kapeliela felt like it “went very well. We had good crowd reaction, we had crowd participation and it was a lot of fun to play for such a big group of people.”
Student Michael Nightingale, a senior studying business management from Minnesota, who attended the concert, said, “The jazz music really spoke to me. I’m a big fan of John Taylor so the whole concert was really nice. Besides that I was a big fan of David Yamasaki on the guitar. He has a lot of soul.”