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Free Jazz/Rock
Showcase at Lincoln College
[NOV.
30, 2002]
Lincoln College is hosting
its first Jazz/Rock Showcase on Sunday, Dec. 8. The concert starts
at 7 p.m. in the Johnston Center on campus. The evening will begin
with the Lincoln College Jazz Ensemble performing songs influenced
by jazz and rock. The group will perform tunes including "Land of a
Thousand Dances," "Cantaloupe Island," "On Broadway" and "Mercy,
Mercy, Mercy."
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The band Elevator Shoe will be the
second and final group to perform at the showcase. Elevator Shoe is
one of the most successful bands in central Illinois. The group has
a huge following around the Springfield area and can be seen about
twice a month at Jazz Central Station, located on the 30th floor of
the Hilton in Springfield.
[Photo copyright Elevator Shoe]
[Elevator Shoe]
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Elevator Shoe
presents a mixture of jazz, funk, hip-hop and rock. This mixture is
sometimes known as acid jazz. The band consists of many talented
musicians from the Springfield area.
Frank Trompeter, who plays sax,
keyboard, sax synthesizer and sampler, was voted best male musician
in Springfield by the Illinois Times readers’ poll in 2001. The
band’s bass player, Bruce Williams, is also the bass player of the
internationally famous funk/punk band NIL8. The vocals of Trina
Madonia will rock the entire auditorium with funk and soul. The
band’s drummer, Scott Neuweg, is simply amazing.
The concert
is free to the entire community. A reception in the Johnston Center
will follow the performance.
[Lincoln College news release] |
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This is an enchanting story of a young
magician, Princess Lidi, and her quest through Renaissance Italy.
Lidi's father was a magician and her mentor, but his problem with
alcohol caused him to die at a fairly young age.
After his death, Lidi continued to take
the show on the road with the help of a man named Jericho, who also
traveled with her father. He takes care of the wagons and sets and
is a father figure to Lidi. Her father often told her that she could
be the greatest magician in the world if she could perform the
fabled rope trick. He tells her that she must find a man named
Ferramondo to teach it to her. The only clue to his whereabouts is
that he may reside in a town in the south of Campania called
Montalto.
As Lidi is heading back to the wagons
one evening after performing in a tavern, she is followed by what
she describes as a burlap sack with a pair of skinny legs. It turns
out to be a small girl named Daniella who has been a slave to the
tavern owner and very mistreated. He comes after her, but Lidi
tricks him into giving Daniella to her. The first night she is with
them, they discover that Daniella has an amazing gift of seeing into
the past and the future. She soon becomes the "added attraction" to
their show.
The next person to join their caravan
is a young fugitive tenant farmer named Julian. He has a price on
his head after a run-in with an abusive landlord. One of the
landlord's thugs known as the "Baboon" kills a man, and Julian is
blamed for the murder. Lidi trusts him immediately and finds herself
attracted to him romantically. Jericho doesn't trust him at first,
but when Julian helps them escape from the greedy moneylender, Scabbia, who wants to buy Daniella, he has a change of heart.
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One of the most interesting characters
they meet on their travels is Pompadoro and His Performing Porkers.
He is a kind man and a magician. He invites Lidi and her crew to
travel with his troupe and be a part of their show.
When Lidi tells him about her quest, he
provides her with some helpful information about Ferramondo.
Pompadoro tries to dissuade Lidi from continuing her quest because
he believes Ferramondo to be dead, but she has to find out for
herself. They part ways as he heads for the seacoast to spend the
winter and Lidi heads for the town of Montalto.
It is at this point in the story that
things begin to happen at a fast pace. Daniella is kidnapped and the
rest of them are taken captive. Daniella tells Lidi what she must do
to save them all, but Lidi doesn’t think she can do it. She learns
something about herself that day, and the story ends in a thrilling
and magical finale.
Lloyd Alexander is the author of many
books, including "The High King," which won a Newbery Medal, and
"The Black Cauldron," a Newbery Honor book.
This story
is recommended for children in grades five to seven. For more
information, please visit the library at 725 Pekin St. or call (217)
732-5732.
[Linda Harmon, Lincoln Public
Library District] |
