ENTERTAINMENT
IN BRIEF
ho
or . breezy,j
tyl re oin be surp
by hi 1 t t e ort, an lbum
called "Heaven and Earth".
It' . m t R B-oriented
project to d and ith it, he
hope to recapture hi core
udienc.e.
"I really felt the d to
reintroduce m elf to my core
udienc:e ... my core ho
are R&B love who enjoy
little jazz too," Jarre u ys of
his latest project. It n't easy
for AI J rreau to decide how to
reintroduce himself to his core
udience.
Since the five-time Gram­
my winner' I t lbum in
1988, he' been touring and
writing and even did two al­
bums in the process, both of
which he ended . up belving.
AI solved his problem by hook­
ing up with producer Narada
Michael Walden. "Narada's
special ty is R&B and I really
wanted that for thi album",
Jarreau explains.
So far, the audience AI is so
seriously courting hasn't exact­
ly answered ye to his new
proposal. His first single, "It's
Not Hard To Love Yau" peaked
just outside the R&B top forty.
But the remainder of his balled­
filled album is a likely can­
didate for more attention. AI
says it was his goal to provide
young R&B listeners an alter­
native. "I think that they could
do with some more alterna­
tives. When you tum on the
radio, there isn't a whole lot of
breadth in what you hear.
I just want to be an alterna­
tive voice." AI took time on
"Heaven and Earth" to pay
tribute to the late Miles Davis.
He's got two versions of "Blue
In Green", a song Miles per­
formed with pianist Bill Evans.
"I've been listening to this song
for two decades. I think it's a
� co that putleeS ott."
With two complete a bums
waiting in n you
ured it won't be four years
between albums again for AI
Jarreau.
Even with all of that ac­
complished AI says he's still
got work to do. He's got plans
to possibly do a big band
album, or a small trio album
filled with old standards. Says
Jarreau, "I need 36 hours in a
day, - 500 days in a year •.. "
Denzel
turns kiUer
Denzel Washington will
soon be heading to Hong Kong
to begin production on "The
Killer". The film will be based
on John Woo's 1989 film of the
same name. It's a thriller about
a hired assassin and a disil­
lusioned cop who team up to
take on the Hong Kong under­
world.
The film also stars Richard.
Gere and will be directed by
Walter Hill. Currently, Hill has
other things on his mind. He's
also the director of "The
Looters" - that film starring
Ice Cube and Ice-T, Apparent­
ly, test audiences haven't been
hap'py with the film's ending,
By)he end of the flick, Ice- T
and Ice Cube, who play drug
dealers, are dead. A new en-
, ding has been shot and the film
is still going to get a title change
because df the 1.A riots.
Ty on being
exploited In
prl on
Action is underway to have
Mike Tyson released from
prison, A national prisoner ad­
vocacy group says Tyson
hould be released on proba- ..
lion. They claim Indiana
prison employees are exploit­
Ing the ex-boxer. They're sell­
ing surveillance tapes of Tyson
to a national tabloid and have
profited by giving Tyson
preferential treatment in ex­
change for money.
- complied by K Barks
- ap clal contribUtions:
Behlnd-Th -Seen & Radlo­
SC?pe .... The Column
Some groups choose names
that just don't fit them. Usually,
they use references that ar big­
ger than they are, leaving much to
be desired. 21-ye r old D vid
Tolliver, nd 18-year old J on
Champion, a.k. . Men At Large,
have cho en a name musically
and literally th t is a perfect fit.
With absolutely no sensitivity
about their size, David and Jason,
both weighing in t over 300
pounds, ee their size as nothing
but an asset. Says Dave, "We're
not sensitive about it. We look
good and when you see us on
stage, we move around a lot. .. we
have live singing and we dance
like little guys. It's crazy hype:
ness."
Says Jason, "That's the thing
that's going to get us over. That's
the thing that people will remem­
ber. Everyone thinks that we're a
rap group because of the way we
dress. They expect us to rap.
Then when we get on stage, sing­
ing and dancing like we do, it's
like watching a dog talk to
you ... you don't expect to see it
It', because we're bil that we're
I:l1mlDdlm't bOut h dD
and bow we do it. It
"Men At Large," their elf­
titled debut album is proof that
these two Cleveland natives are
not just full of confidence, but
refreshingl y solid talent. They
are definitely the biggest thing to
hit R&B in a long whil�.
. DISCOVERED BY Gerald
Levert at a housewarming party,
the two impressed the R&B su­
perstar enough to get the wheels
in his brain spinning. He told
them that he was impressed and
that soon they would be perform­
ing. Dave and Jason ran into him
several times after that, but
Gerald had nothing concrete to
tell them .. Until he walked in on
Dave who was rehearsing a dance
music to fall back on in case
music doesn't work out. Dave, a
radio nnouncer is also trained in
opthalmic dispensing. Jason
graduated from Cleveland's
School of Performing Arts but
left there to pursue a degree in
accounting. The opportunity to
sing has interrupted this plan,
"But I'm definitely going back,"
he says.
... Weil, if there's time. Both
Jason and Dave have the church
to thank for their overwhelming
vocal talents. Jason, a minister's
son, started singing with the
church's children's chorus. He
says, "Church played a big role in
my life." Dave, who sang in the
church's bud choir from five until
he was 16, says, "I even directed
the little kids choir when I was 13
or 14 years old. I always sang in
church. When I was 13, I was in
the youth choir."
MenAtLarge'sdebutalbu is
literally a fat dose of soulful R ;:.
ballads and funky dance tracks
that will never leave their chur n
origins. Men At Large have a
pure and hon t approach to lnl-
Ing H temtnlSceftt of the day
when U d wasn't luna until
every drop of emotion had been
"rung from it." Serendades,
"Would You Like To Dance,"
"Uh, Uh Good," and ''A in 't It
Grand," are proof that church
singing never leaves you.
DA VE AND JASON are not
only extremely talented vocalists,
sensitive songwriters and enter­
taining performers, they say the
thing that differentiates them
from the rest is their music. Says
Dave, "As far as music is con­
cerned Trevel (Levert sl'elled
backwards) Productions does
original music. So many other
people sample and camouflage
with a little bit of nothing. The
music business is lacking
routine in a studio a couple of
doors down from his own. As­
tounded by his light-on-his-feet
agility. Levert told him of a con­
cept he had. "Three big guys who
could dance, Sing and of course
look good."
Although Dave and Jason had
not spoken in a while, Dave
called Jason immediately. "I
knew I could depend on him and
I knew he was serious about his
music." Soon after, Gerald called
an� said, "If you want a career,
come up to the studio." The duo'
want to the studio and sang for
Gerald's father and 0' Jays
legend, Eddie Levert, who could
say one thing about what he saw,
"you guys are gonna be big."
Dave and Jason, both hailing
from level-headed families, have
both developed trades other than
creativity. That's where I think
we're different. "
Men At Large is a perfect
blend of new and old. Drawing
from the tradition of soul that was
passed so generously from the
O'Jays to Levert and now on to
Men At Large. Their smooth
voices breathe with passion and
honesty that make hearts swoon,
while their faster tracks are too
funky to keep you in your seat.
Gerald Levert' production savvy ,
is apparent as he easons the
album with just the right amounts
of rap' and reggae grooves to bring
the group into the 90's without
sacrificing its roots.
Says Dave, "Music used to
have some great Singers. Now
it's coming back to people really
singing. It keeps us on our toes.
People were giving half-assed
Men At Large - David Tolliver and Jason Champion.
performances, now they have to
get into it. No more can you sing
and stand on stage. You have to
have some kind of image. You
have to give people .something to
look at.
Until Men At Large start tour­
ing, this is something for you to
listen to. The first single, "Use
Me" breaks into a catchy call and
response chorus that will imme­
diately pull you in. Jason
describes it as "a laid back, sexy,
cool type of thing." On a quieter
tip, ballad "So A lone, " written by
Gerald, is a heart-wrenching love
ballad in memory of Dave's
mother, who died unexpectedly
three days after his birthday.
Jason says it's one of his favorite
songs on the album, "because I
know why and what we're sing­
ing about." Other magnum tracks
are the reggae-tinged "Heart­
Beat," and the rhythm rapped
flavor of "Salty Dog. " .
Men At Large really have
something big for you. They are
bringing large-ness to new
heights. Their energy, huge
talent and bigger-than-life
presence is what R&B has been
waiting for. If forced to explain
what Men At Large are about.
Dave says, �e're the newest.
the hottest new group 10 come out
since the Jackson 5. Singing.
dancing and rapping, we're doing
it all. We're bright, intelligent,
good looking guys who are ready
to show it all to the world."
Get ready world, this is big
time.
I wasn't there to see for
myself, but reports are that the
wedding of 23-year old Bobby
Brown and 28-year old
Whitney Houston went off
without a hitch at Houston's
Mendham, New Jersey estate.
Over 700 guests were on
hand to wish the newlyweds
well, including Jasmine Guy,
all of his New Edition pals with
the exception of Ralph
Tresvant, Blair Underwood,
Dionne Warwick, Pa tti
LaBelle, Pebbles, Bebe & Cece
Winans, Gloria Estevan,
Keenen Ivory Wayans, and so
many more.
Among those who didn't
show were "Bodyguard"
co-star Kevin Costner, Eddie
Murphy and Arsenio Hall.
Observers say they hadn't
seen a happier couple. Invited
guests partied with the
newlyweds well into the night.
Large balloons floated �&h
over Houston's estate, keeping
press helicopters out of bonds.
, Securi ty was so tight that
some ,invited guests didn't get
in.
The happy couple is now
honeymooning in In
undisclosed location. I'm sure
I speak for everyone in wishlDg
the very best to them.
I .