Joe Jewell Band electrifies ULV

photo by Gloria Diaz

Founders Auditorium hosted the Joe Jewell Band on Friday night. Jewell has been playing the guitar for more than 40 years, and is primarily inspired by Belgian gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Other members of the Joe Jewell Band are Jeff Hawley, bass; Hiroe Sekine, keyboards; and Mike Bennett, drums. As an orchestral guitarist, Jewell has performed with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

by Jay Aguila
Staff Writer

The University of La Verne was treated to a very entertaining performance by a group of musicians currently taking the stage as the Joe Jewell Band on April 30 in Founders Auditorium.

From the very beginning of the performance, one could sense that it was going to be a very exciting show. As soon as Joe Jewell stepped on stage he made his presence known. With his electric guitar in hand, which looked more like a ukulele in comparison to his enormous stature, Jewell approached the crowd and gave them an idea of what exactly they were in store for.

“We are billed tonight as The Joe Jewell Band but that’s just a name only. The next time we play I’ll make up a name that doesn’t have my name in there, but for today that’s all we’ve got,” Jewell said.

Jewell is only the second recipient of the doctor of musical arts degree in studio/jazz guitar performance at the University of Southern California.

The show was organized with the help of Mike Bennett, senior music major, who has known Jewell for many years. Bennett was a student of Jewell’s at Cal State Fullerton, where Jewell now teaches.

The show was a collection of Jewell’s tracks as well as pieces by his favorite artists.

One of Jewell’s songs featured was titled “Purity Control.”

Jewell’s magnificent talent was not alone on the stage. His fellow band members provided just as much enthusiasm and mastery of their respective instruments as he did.

Jeff Hawley, lead bass, entertained the crowd with a stunning solo performance as he treated the audience to some of the smoothest sounds a bass has ever made.

“It’s really fun and really not fun to follow him solo wise, especially because it is almost impossible to top what he is doing,” said Hawley about performing with Jewell.

“It felt really good and it had a lot of good energy,” Hawley said.

“I enjoyed our performance and I think we played really well,” said pianist Hiroe Sekine, who also celebrated her 24th birthday that evening.

Sekine gave an impressive display of quick fingers during her solo performance, as her punctual fingers hit the ivory keys with grace and force.

“For someone who had never been too fond of the sound of the electric guitar, the sounds of the Joe Jewell Band gave me a great up close impression and had me wanting to know when the Joe Jewell band was going to return to La Verne,” said Luis Chavez, junior TV broadcasting major.

The show ended with a song by Jewell titled “Four on Seven.” It flowed from slow sounds to a more upbeat feel. Bennett’s drum solo closed the night well, with a very upbeat melody that the audience was happy to take home with them.