Black Violin creates unique synergy

Wil B. aka ‘Simply Sick’ and partner Kev Marcus came together on stage at Clarence Brown Theatre as the incredibly talented and innovative violinists known as Black Violin on Monday night.

Graduates of the Dillard Performing Arts High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and winners of the 2005 title “Apollo Legends,” Black Violin demonstrated musical fusion at its finest by blending elements of jazz, funk, hip-hop and R&B with classical pieces the violin is traditionally known for.

The band’s disk jockey DJ TK manned turntables that provided familiar backdrops of songs like 50 Cent’s “I Get Money” and Linkin Park’s “Numb-Encore” during the performance. Black Violin has worked with an incredible list of famous artists that includes Aerosmith, The Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Lloyd Banks, Kanye West, Nas, Fabolous, Ciara, Fat Joe and Lil Wayne.

Takara Clay, a junior in sports management, seemed pleased at the committee’s ability to attract such an incredible artist.

“For them to be featured in so many arenas, like on MTV, BET, at the Super Bowl and the Grammy’s with Alicia Keys (and) for us to be able to get them to come here was great,” Clay said.

Black Violin came together out of inspiration created by past legends such as Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Nat King Cole and Mozart.

“Two weeks before jazz violinist Stuff Smith died he recorded an album entitled ‘Black Violin’. It really inspired us so we took it as our name,” said Marcus.

Despite the abundant catalog of A-List artists Black Violin has worked with, the members of the ensemble appeared humble and remained personable while encouraging crowd participation during the performance.

“Wow. The crowed really turned out tonight, especially considering there’s a basketball game going on right now,” DJ TK said. “If you’re looking for the basketball game, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

The crowd appreciated the casual nature of the band’s demeanor.

Isaac Witt, a senior in German and an underground hip-hop enthusiast, had much to say about the violinists’ performance.

“I’ve never seen such an amazing thing done with mainstream music before,” Witt said. “What’s great about these guys is they don’t take themselves too seriously. But when you think about it, their talent is on par with orchestra legends.”

To find more information about Black Violin, visit www.blackviolin.net.

The Black Cultural Programming Committee sponsored the event in partnership with the University of Tennessee.