Award-winning Percussionist Brings World Music to Jacoby

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@ Jacoby Arts Center | ALTON, IL

About this event

When artists produce their work, their creations are a reflection of their thinking, experiences and worldview. Such as it is with Kevin Lucas. His latest work crosses cultural borders while reflecting his concern for the earth and social and economic inequality.

The award-winning percussionist will perform from his new CD, “Echoes in the Sand,” Saturday, May 27, 7:00 p.m. at Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E. Broadway, Alton. With rhythms of the Middle East, India and Africa, “Echoes in the Sand” calls to mind the music of the people native to those regions. Lucas will use his trademark instrument, a 9-foot marimba, along with drums and other percussions to take the audience on an intense emotional journey through orchestral, tribal and jazz styles.

“Echoes in the Sand” received three silver medals at the Global Music Awards and the music video was nominated for a “Global Peace Song Award. Making the CD marked a turning point for Lucas’s career because he was able to collaborate with Ricky Kej. Kej is a Grammy winning producer and composer and owner of Raveolution Studios in Bangalore, India. Lucas’s previous CDs were interpretations of other artists’ songs.

“Stylistically, I always liked the Indian style of music. This was a great opportunity because I got to experience (Ricky Kej’s) style and mix it with mine,” says Lucas.

Lucas began playing the piano at age 7 and picked up percussion in the fifth grade. It wasn’t until he was a young man that he began playing the marimba and vibraphone and started perfecting his unique style. That’s when he began using four mallets on the instruments. He lately has been integrating two more into his performances.

“The six mallet technique is new but I’m not the only one using it,” he says. He likens it to playing chords on a piano.

Lucas was drawn to the energy of drums but missed the sonic tones of the piano. When he was introduced to the marimba, he thought it was the “best of both worlds. The marimba has the diatonic of the piano and the percussion of the drums,” he says.

Many musicians co-create videos with their CDs. “Echoes’” second track, “Little Man,” is a condemnation of child labor. It juxtaposes images of a First World boy having fun at an amusement park with the harsh life of a Third World street child shining shoes to survive. Another music video, “Africa,” is due out late summer.

“Apocalypse” is an independent artistic video that expresses his concern for the earth’s sustainability. Set somewhere in North America in 2021, it’s dedicated to the men and women in the military. In the background, gunshots and sirens can be heard as Lucas bangs out a staccato beat on drums and marimbas.

“It’s a journey into my dreamscape, a recurring nightmare of mine.”

Lucas’s lifestyle reflects his values. He lives in the Shawnee Forest in Southern Illinois and is a survivalist. He compares how humans are treating the earth to folding a piece of paper over and over – it can only take so much pressure before tearing.

“I believe something big is coming but it may not be typically what we think. It could be economic, nuclear or a world-wide pestilence.”

But Lucas considers himself a realist, not a negative person.

“Apocalypse doesn’t always mean an end; it could be just a new beginning.”

“Echoes in the Sand” is Lucas’s third CD but his first with all original music. Two older CDs, “Moonlight Fantasies” and “Revelations,” recently were re-released. All three will be on sale for $10 each the evening of the performance. An audio clip is available at http://www.jacobyartscenter.org/audio-kevin-lucas.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or follow the link at http://www.jacobyartscenter.org/tickets. Seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis but advance ticket holders receive preferred seating. Doors open 30 minutes in advance. A cash bar is available.

About the Jacoby Arts Center

The mission of the Jacoby Arts Center is to nurture and promote the practice and appreciation of the arts through education, exhibits, cultural programs and community outreach initiatives. Jacoby Arts Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Jacoby Arts Center is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E. Broadway, Alton, IL 62002 / 618-462-5222 / jacobyartscenter@gmail.com

 

When

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
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Where

627 E Broadway, ALTON, IL 62002 (Driving Directions)
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