Rhythm & Soul

A very special birthday is coming up. April 20 will be the 30th anniversary of one of IU\'s most prominent musical groups, the IU Soul Revue, and the highlight of the weekend will be -- of course -- a concert. \nFounded in 1971, the IU Soul Revue was the brainchild of Herman Hudson, who was an associate professor of linguistics at IU and in 1974 organized the larger cultural entity of which the IU Soul Revue forms a part -- the African American Arts Institute. The ensemble was a response to the currents of the '60s and the Civil Rights movement. \n"In the '70s there was a big push to offer courses outside of the European tradition," said Charles Sykes, director of Afro-American Studies. \nVery little African-American history or culture was being taught, and so students pressed the University to offer courses pertinent to them. The result was a course that covered both the history and the performance of contemporary black music.\nThe first director of the ensemble, Director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture Portia K. Maultsby, said the course's mission was two-fold. There was a "need for a formalized structure for the students to develop and…present their talents…(and) there needed to be a more formal way in which the…culture of African Americans could be integrated into the mainstream of the university."\nOriginally called Soul Music, Culture and Performance, the course focused on post-World War II popular music. Over the years the type of music the IU Soul Revue played evolved with the contemporary music scene. \n"It has evolved just as the music has evolved -- to a point," Sykes said. "IU Soul Revue has remained conservative." \nWhat this means is that when rhythm and blues and soul music gave way to funk in the '70s, the IU Soul Revue included the new music, but it has only selectively performed pieces from the disco music of the '80s and more recent styles. \nThirty years later, the IU Soul Revue has earned a prominent place among collegiate musical ensembles. Whereas gospel music has spread across the U.S., the IU Soul Revue is still nearly unique in playing its modern repertoire. Over the years, the IU Soul Revue has played in cities such as Indianapolis, Chicago and St. Louis, even going as far as Georgia and Florida.\nThis Saturday\'s performance will be at 8 p.m. in the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, crowning the events planned for the anniversary weekend. The man whose vision started the ensemble and the African American Arts Institute, Hudson, will be returning to celebrate this anniversary. Friday night alumni from the IU Soul Revue and some of the group's first directors will return to Bloomington to attend a banquet opening the anniversary proceedings. Some children of former IU Soul Revue members are now performing in the ensemble.\n"It'll be a really great thing to…see those two generations kind of fuse," said professor Tyron Cooper, director of the IU Soul Revue since 1999. \nAnyone who wishes to hear the IU Soul Revue before its concert Saturday can find two previously recorded sound clips from both 1976 and 2002 at www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/avmedia/soulrevue . Tickets for the concert are on sale at the door of the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre or in advance at the African American Arts Institute Office, 812-855-5427. General admission tickets cost $15 for adults, $10 for students and senior citizens and $5 for children under 12. cam