The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, November 21, 1978-Page 5 i mge Jazz guitarists mesmerize RC u/I IV By KEITH TOSOLT "The Liberation of the contemporary jazz guitar" is the aesthetic intent behind the guitar duets of Rodney Jones and Bruce Johnson, whose combined improvisation was the feature of Eclip- se's second Bright Moments concert of the season Friday night. The "liberation" the duo is attem- pting is as much a reaction as it is a release. It is a reaction against the pop- jazz idion, the commercially palpable music of George Benson, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and others, in order to re-orient the priorities back to more purist intentions. In turn, it is a release of that supreme concept of originality from its confinement under the quagmire of commerical acceptance. "WE'RE WORKING on another new wave of music that hasn't, been ex- ploited," said Bruce Johnson, the more outspoken and extroverted of the two. Johnson, who has played bass behind drummer Chico Hamilton (with whom Rodney Jones also played before moving on to Dizzy Gillespie's quartet), speaks of the importance of the self in the creative process, drawing on one's life experience and own feelings to in- spire truly unique music. The highly personalized styles of the guitarists at- test to the extent to which this philosophy has been integrated into their playing. Jones is more the technician, reflec- ting a serious demeanor, but his playing is by no means mechanical - even though he concentrates on playing runs. While he is no less serious about his work, Johnson tends to be more flashy (as far as this description ap- plies to the usually reserved jazz guitarist). He does little tricks like strumming his guitar pick-ups and muting the strings to achieve per- cussion sounds. His solos show a strong element of the bass, and he will often play a bass line in conjunction with his lead runs. THE COMMUNICATION between the two guitarists is remarkable. It is as if their improvisational instincts have merged together, yet each retains an element of individuality. At one point they left the structure of a piece and each pursued his own (but related) line of dynamics in chords and runs. This cpntinued for some time as they moved farther away from the original struc- ture. Suddenly, they came together on the same chord, seemingly without any cues, and took the piece into another direction. One piece began with some mellow 4 1 ..._ Heart causes. palpitations in Toledo By TIMOTHY YAGLE When a band succumbs to the gimmickry of flame throwers and flash pods to tantalize their audience, this usually implies that the banderequires something aside from their music to put on a good show. Although it was somewhat exciting (and blinding) to see Heart engage in such theatrics onstage in the Toledo Sports Arena Saturday, the band proved that it does not need these gimmicks; their blend of heavy-duty rock and certified mellow easy-listening tunes does the job quite well. Although her sister and four other fellow musicians provide a searing and powerful back-up, lead vocalist Ann Wilson clearly dominates Heart, both in conceptual orientation and in sheer stage presence. Onstage, Wilson typifies the sort of threatening sexuality singers like Mick Jagger and Robert Plant flaunt. Although Wilson's, like Plant's, is a shade pre- packaged, she is very intentionally intimidating, sauntering to the front of the stage and putting on a show for the rabid, largely high school crowd in the arena (which, incidentally, resembles an oversize high school gym). HEART OPENED their show with guitarist/keyboardist Howard Leese pounding on the bongos and lead guitarist Roger Fisher leaping like a hungry tiger from behind his sound monitors as he launched into the hard- hitting opening chords of "Cook With Fire." It was on the haunting "Devil's Delight" that they introduced their exploding gimmickry, a la Kiss. The music quickly dispelled the need for it. A superb "Magic Man" began the group's hit parade, continuing with "Love Alive" and "Crazy on You," which featured Nancy Wilson for her acoustic guitar prelude.Exuberant versions of "Kick It Out" and "Barracuda" ended the regular set. The band concluded with several encores, and lined up before drummer Michael Derosier like they were taking a family portrait. And Heart is very much like a rock and roll family. One of the few sexually integrated bands in rock, they have shown in their past LPs, and continue to prove, with their new Dog and Butterfly, that despite everything else that's going on, they can keep their love for rock alive. GLEE CLUBS SMOKE A T JOINT CONCER T: U,' Purdue bothwinners By BILL BARBOUR The University of Michigan Men's Glee Club sang to a packed house Saturday night, which was really no great surprise. Even though the concert was well-publicized and had the benefit of a large alumni contingent in town for the afternoon's football game, people were drawn to the event by that which makes many return year after year: the Glee Club's incredible musicality and diversity. This was demonstrated in abundance Saturday at Hill Auditorium. It is a tradition of this group every year to perform a joint concert with' another school. They invite the glee' club from a school that the Michigan football team is playing that afternoon. This year Purdue's Varsity Glee Club was invited and, though their com- patriots fared less well on the playing, field, their vocal performance was im- pressive. MUCH OF the Club's literature is sacred music. Their best efforts in this area included "Pilgrim's Chorus" from Wagner's Tannhauser, which balanced well and accentuated the linear chromatic movement for which the composer is famous. In "Wandering," the Club proved themselves a true en- semble responsive to their director's whims for abrupt tempo change. "If You Believe," featured John Myers as a tenor soloist. Myers has the sort of classically good voice one could imagine encountering in an old movie CIGAR STORE INDIANS ASCUTNEY, Vt. (AP) - Edward Boggis, who has a secluded workshop near here, claims to be the last full-time cigar store Indian carver in the United States. "Occasionally you will hear of some other person carving a cigar store In- dian," said Boggis. "Usually that per- son is somebody I taught how to carve wood. As far as I know I'm the, only woodcarver around who specializes in wooden Indians. "I've carved thousands of them over the years. There's quite a demand for them." His most famous Indian, an eight- footer, can be found in the gallery of a tobacco company in New York. Boggis, 55, started carving large statues when he served with the Coast Guard during World War. II. Later, while employedrat the Vermont State Correctional Institute, he taught wood carving to inmates. or radio broadcast. The poor solo microphone, unfortunately, made it sound exactly that way. Of their popular repertoire, two num- bers stood out. The first was "All The Things You Are" by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, performed with extreme sensitivity. It was a showcase for the group's ability to sing at a soft dynamic. The second was "You Will Be My Music," which featured bass- baritone Michael Needham as soloist. Needham, who plays basketball for Purdue in the "off-season," has a powerful and penetrating voice, and hit each note of this usually unwieldy song with perfect clarity. Purdue closed their portion of the program with "Bat- tle Hymn of the Republic," and after an intermission, the Michigan Glee Club took the stage. THOUGH Purdue's performance was good, Michigan's was an order of mag- nitude better. On songs such as their opening number, "Laudes Atque Car- mina," which they do differently every year, the Club showed why they won their fourth first prize in the Inter- national Musical Eisteddfod in the summer of 1978. Every number evinced their fine ensemble tone and perfect blend of voices. The highlights of their portion of the program were "The Bridal Party," where their subtle musicianship at fragile, soft sections came through; "Cockles and Mussels," which featured an excellent solo by tenor Kevin Doss; and a performance by the Friars (a sub-group of the Glee Club) of Steve Martin's "King Tut." This choice bit of comedy was helped along by funny choreography and a good Steve Martin imitation by bass Jeff Sinclair. Michigan finished its part of the pro- gram with a series of classic Michigan songs, including "Go Blue," "Michigan Men," and, of course, "Hail to the Vic- tors." The two clubs then combined to sing "Brothers Sing On" and the alma mater of each school - "Hail Purdue" and "The Yellow and Blue." Although both the groups displayed admirable professionalism, the University of Michigan's Glee Club is simply more than a polished ensemble. I left Hill Auditorium that night convinced I had heard the most musical group on cam- pus. GRIN AND BARE IT? DONCASTER, England (AP) - Bridgroom Steve Morris of Doncaster flushed his top set of false teeth down the toilet on the eve of his wedding. Morris phoned a dentist friend, who managed to put the smile back on his face just in time for the wedding. His wife said he never complimented her on her wedding dress, but "just kept on about his teeth." chording which was built upon until Jones turned it into a boogie-woogie, which Johnson then varied into a rock and roll progression. It ultimately ,n- ded up with a Spanish flavor. Another piece had Jones laying out some of the all-time classic beginner guitar licks from tunes like "Secret Agent Man" and "Purple Haze." Though these ex- cursions into various styles and riffs may have seemed to negate the premise of originality, I think they're better explained as touches of humor. Besides, the improvisation around them was too strong to point to anything else. THE BEST piece (of the first show, at least) was a very unorthodox version of John Coltrane's "Giant Steps." Though marred at times by Johnson's en- thusiasm (like plucking his nearly un- winded low-E string), it was an ex- cellent arrangement of this jazz classic. Improvisational music, at its best, is a spontaneous artistic process. But of- ten the indulgences of the artist can make it an unbearable thing to be sub- ject to. Jones and Johnson indulge themselves with disharmonic phrases (at times), but they generally create a style of free-form guitar which is not only pleasant to listen to, but challenges our pre-conceived notions of that elusive idiom known as "jazz." HOME INSULATION TOLEDO, OHio (AP) -,Homeowners considering use of fiber glass insulation should be aware that there are two dif- ferent types, "batts" and "loosefill," according to an insulation expert here. "Both kinds are good, but batts offer ne special advantage: assured perfor- mance," says Kevin Gallagher, a marketing manager, Owens-Corning Fiberglas. Batts are insulation "blankets" that are unrolled into place between joists in attic floors. Loose-fill refers to in- sulation in a chopped-up form, which must be hand-poured or pneumatically- blown into place, he explains. Because of its particle nature, variations can occur in the installed thickness of loose-fill which ultimately affect its ability to resist heat transfer, Gallagher adds. "With batts," he says, "these variations can't occur since the material is prefabricated into specified thickness and density before it is in- stalled." A Gambl By STEVE HOOK Between sets at the Ark Friday night, Gamble Rogers examined a long list containing the names of previous Ark performprs. He studied it for several moments, then quietly said, "I've worked with over half of 'em" Listening to his picking mastery, and seeing the warm professionalism he presented to the crowd, it's easy to believe. In a performance which lasted over four hours (and was followed by shouts for more!), Rogers built an intimate relationship with his audience. "I'm glad I came to your party here," he told the Ark crowd with a smile early on in his performance. From the sea of satisfied faces filling the room, it was clear that the audience shared his sen- timent. HE IS A tall, slender southerner in his early forties, famed as a guitar player, story-teller and singer of whit he calls "Southern Gothic Art Songs." Con- tinuing his career as a self-acclaimed "twentieth-century troubador," Rogers has brought his music and stories to clubs and coffeehouses across the country for seven years, building a sub- tle, but well-respected, reputation. But although his guitar playing does bring him acclaim, it is his long, detailed monologues about life in the South for which he is best known. Friday night he splendidly told of politicians and philosophers, cops and "commercial Indians," traveling salesmen and rednecks, all the while in- terjecting his famous "ten-dollar wor- ds." Indeed, humorous big words and all, his stories paint a picture of the South as vvidly as a Faulkner novel. A student of the Merle Travis three-' finger picking school, Rogers displayed a relaxed but in-control approach to the instrument. When he picked "Orange Blossom Special," for.instance, or his own "Rosewood," it was obvious he had perfected the style. ROGERS' SINGING, even with his less-than-superb voice, is justified, because of the song's strong and emotional lyrics. Many were light- hearted and whimsical, such as his e pays off "Black Label Blues," or "A Long Way from Breakfast to Bed." Others reflect- ed a much more serious side of the per- former. As he sang,.Dylan's "Don't Think Twice," and Kristofferson's "Bobby McGee," he was somber and contemplative. Rogers has performed with the best in his field, at folk festivals and night- clubs all over the country. Musicians ranging from Doc Watson (who shares his picking style) to Jimmy Buffett, John Prine, and Steve Goodman, have expressed their admiration for Rogers. It was Goodman who once said, "He's so talented the record people don't know) how to package him." Rogers, though, is not too upset. "PEOPLE TEND to equate an ar- tist's success on his record products," he said. I've been successful for a long time. I've everything I want beyond my wildest dreams. I have all the work I can handle doing what I love to do. I'm well paid. . . I just couldn't ask for more." And for those who saw him at the Ark this weekend, neither could they. CREATIVE ARTS IN PRISONS WASHINGTON (AP) - The National Endowment for the Arts has named five federal prisons for its 1978 Artists-In- Residence program. The program, which places professional artists in federal prisons, will be conducted at facilities in Springfield, Mo., El Reno, Okla., Ter- minal Island, Calif., Lexington, Ky., and Peterburg, Va. Besides increasing the number of creative arts programs in the federal prisons, the program aims to make the arts available to per- sons not in the cultural mainstream. Each participating prison will receive a total budget of $16,500. The National Endowment provides $5,000 of the total, with the remaining $5,000 coming from the central office of the Federal Bureau of Prisons and $6,500 from the Bureau's regional office or contributed by the prison. PERU'S GOLDEN TREASURES Buried Inca Gold NOW! THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS IM AGEliAIQ - nOC MPA NY SPECIALISTS in I Perms: Curly, Wavy, This month receive a I & Relaxers' 10% DISCOUNT I "PrecisionCuts on all services loColor " Color Correction " Facial & Nails (OFFER GOOD ONLY I " Press & Curls WITH THIS COUPON) I MON.-SAT., 9-7 Ann Arbors Cornerstone of Beauty L 311 East Liberty 994-5057 "PROTECTING CHILDREN: SOME SHARED FALLACIES IN LAW AND THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES" Robert Burt Professor of Law, Yale University Law School Today-4:00pm Schorling Auditorium School of Education Let your imagination soar with yoi University of Michigan Gilbert & Sullivan Society Presents 4