sEnTHE MICHIGAN DAILY
Arts & Entertainm ent Tuesday, April 12, 1977 Page Five
® '
Screenwriter
Tewkesbury
By OWEN GLEIBERMAN ed her direction, and Tewkes- made, and in another, a girl
and ANDREW KURTZMAN bury impressed by his film was in heavy-duty drug trou-
M*A*S*H, became 'script girl' ble."
I AST THURSDAY evening, as on Altman's frontier drama "A black man sat down next
part of UAC's Robert Alt- McCabe and Mrs. Miller. to me, and asked me if I ever
man festival- screenwriter Joan a ot hiih_ and if I'd like tos take
S**t1.fl *.VJLSV S, S S*, 144ci itCt A*
Tewkesbury spoke to an en-
thusiastic group at Rackham
Auditorium. Tewkesbury collab-
orated with Altman on the
screenplay for Thieves Like'
US, and -went on to write the
critically acclaimed country -
western epic, Nashville.
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Doily Photo by ANDY FREEBERG
Sonny Stitt a Veteran sax player and friend of the great Charlie "Bird" Parker, performs
Sunday evening in the Union Ballroom.
Sonny Stiett: '~iving it up
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By STAN FREEMAN
QONNY STITT, the grand old
man of bebop saxophone,
appeared at the Union Ballroom
Sunday night with two shows of
swinging jazz that happily ,re-
called the rapidly disappear-
ing era of acoustic instrumen-
tation and melodic, structured
improvisation.
Stitt performed a "series of
standards, ballads, and blues,
switching off at will between
tenor and alto and was backed
by Terry Pollard 'on piano, Dan
Jordan on bass, and Burt My-
reck on drums.
The first show was the more
polished of the two. After kick-
ing things off with a fast blues
on tenor, Sonny turned to an
altotrendition of "Star Eyes"
that brought calls of "Bird"
(referring to the late Charlie
Pa ker) from the crowd. "Con-
stellation", taken at a murder-
ous tempo, showcased Stitt's
gift for smooth phrasing and
lightning attack. The crowd, al-
though below capacity, lacked
nothing in enthusiasm and re-
sponded accordingly.
BOTH STITT and the audi-
ence were more laid back for
the second show. On "Blue and
Boogie" and "Shadow of Your
Smith", Sonny blew earthy ten-
or roles that employed repeat-k
ed riffs and rhythmic twists.
For "Groovin' High", originally
recorded by Parker and Gil-
lespie, Stitt once again picked
up his alto. Though his staminai
was wearing a bit thin, Sonny
produced a soaring solo which
confirmed that such perform-
ance has become second nature
over years of gigging.
At one point in his career
Stitt, (who originally played
only alto), switched chiefly to
tenor and even baritone saxes
in an effort to step out of Char-
lie Parker's shadow and estab-
lish his own individuality. Al-
though he claims to this day
that he played just like "Bird"
before ever hearing him, Son-f
ny's melodic, polished alto
phrases are yet reminiscent of
his mentor. On tenor, however,I
his bluesy, rhythmic style is
unique, and reflects the influ-
-ence of the great tenor men,
NASHVILLE SHOWINGS
In conjunction with the Rob-
ert Altman festival, Cinema II
is scheduling not one, but four
showings of Nashville this Sat-
urday, the 16th. In addition to
the already scheduled double
feature (California Split at 7:00,,
Nashville at 9:15), an additional
three showings of Nashville have
,been added at 1:00, 4:00, and
12:00 midnight. Tickets for the
additional shows are $1. For the
double feature, tickets are $1.50
for Nashville, and $2 for bot+
pictures. All showings will be:
at Angell Aud. A.
particularly Dexter Gordon. Chaser", and also offered his
The strength of the quartet own improvised compositions.
lay not in any surprises. Rath- Though his percussive approach
er, the group was warmly re- to the left side of the keyboard
ceived because the band swung was somewhat tiresome, the
immensely while staying on the swinging renditions of "Sunny
"inside" (sticking close to the Side of the Street" and Fats
chord changes). Terry Pollard Waller's "Rosetta" made up
exhibited slick technique that for it.
remirided me of Bud Powell-
with embellishments. She and
Stitt have long been associated
within the Detroit jazz scene, See the Final Guest Ai
and their bop styles are compli-
mentary. Dan Jordan on bass
was rock solid, and soloed with
true style. Burt Myreck com-FREE
pleted the trio with relentlessT
swing. Quotes from numerous
jazz tunes, particularly those
written by Parker, were made TAM B URIN
extensively by all soloists.
STITT SAID during the firstHeor the words of
show that he'd "rather stayHertew dsoI
broke with this bag than get ON-$
rich with that other", and he's
unfortunately part of a rapidly
diminishing group of musicians Sign up atthe PT ofi
who feel that way. In a world
of electronic gadgetry and mu- For further in
sicial freedom, it was a relief Frfrhri
to be assured that jazz in its
true form is - still around and
cooking.
Kirk Nurock, the interesting
solo pianist who provided an
unlikely lead-up for Stitt, gave
a performance that was at
times offensive in its disson-
ance and at times sensational,
Flashing incredible technique, -
Nurock dissected standard
tunes such as "Straight, No
- - - -
TONIGHT AT 7:00 & 9:05
OPEN 6:45
Besides being a screenwriter,
Tewkesbury is a playwright,
theatrical director and dancer,
and plans to direct her first
feature film this fall. During
her talk,. she stated "I am not
doing what I set out to do in
my life." This certainly seems
to be true in the light of the
numerous changes her career
has undergone.
At 17, after studying dance
for several years, she went to
Broadway as Marty Martin's
- flying understudy in Peter Pan.
She says that when the asked
Jeromq Robbins (the director-
choreographer) about choreo-
graphy, "he told me to go 'back
to school, but not to study
dance." She returned to Cali-
fornia, attended junior college,
and won a scholarship to USC.
Tewkesbury went on to become
a director, playwright and
choreographer, and in 1969, di-
rected a ,play starring Michael
Murphy, a member of Altman's
stock company. Altman admir-
rtist Series Production
USHER
ieatre Program's
ES- TO GLORY
LANGSTON HUGES
STAGE
ice-Michigan League
nfo: 763-5213
-- -- - - - --- -
SHE FOUND that she worked g i'1 L
well with Altman, and that a walk on the wildside. He said
his name was Tom, and that
they had similar ideas concern- he'd been in prison for 26 years
ing film - making. Like Altman, for premeditated murder.
she believes in allowing actors That's what the city of Nash-
a great deal of freedom. When ville is all about; all these dif-
writing a script, Tewkesbury fretelemebtstathesmdu-
claims "You provide the struc- aerent elements that ram up
ture," and feels that it is the against each other'"
actor's and dirctor's job to take SHE BASED the screenplay
it from there. on these experiences, weaving
It was during the shooting of her story "like a loom; each
Thieves Like Us that Altman of the 24 characters had to be
asked her if she would like to seen each day, and have a be-
write a script about Nashville.
She explains "I went to Nash-
ville for three days, came
home, and realized I'd learned Have a flair for
nothing. I went back for a wek artistic writina?
during the- shooting of Thieves If you are tnterest-
Like Uskand leftvmyself open ed in reviewldg
poetry. and music
to any kind of event. " went or writing feature
to recording studios anony- storIes a b o u t the
mously," she continued "and to ! drama, dance, tum
a club called the Exit Inn. In-d arts: contact Arts
side, I heard a singer repeating Michigan Daily.
lyrics 'The words to this song
don't mean a thing.' In one cor- f
ner, a big record deal was being
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ginning, middle, and an end.
The viewer should be the 25th
character."
j Tewkesbury said that the
script she wrote differed in
some ways from Altman's final
conception. She says "the movie
I conceived was quieter and
darker. As the film was being
made, Watergate broke and
Altman added the political line
and the assassination."
When asked if Nashville pre-
sented a bitter vision of Amer-
ica, Tewkesbury replied "What
ever the audience chooses to
think is o.k. Each of the char-
acters is doing the best that he
peaks
or she can at that time and
space. It was never intended to
be a completed statement say-
. ing 'Isn't this awful"':
Tewkesbury last worked with
| Altman on Nashville, and has
Epursued her own film .career
t since then. She rcently complet-
e a documentary on Anna
Freud, and will be directing a
- film based on Rita May Brown's
1 "Ruby Fruit Jungle" in the
" fall. She has also begun a novel,
and plans to finish it when film
tno longer demands so much of
her tim. "When I write a novel
I want it to be perfect;" says
Tewkesbury.
JAMES CAGNEY in (1942)
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
Cagney outdid himself in his Academy
Award winning portrayal of George M.
Cohan. Not only does he give a good
characterization but he reveals that
he's a hoofer at heart. With Joan Leslie
and Walter Huston.
Wed.: LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON
and ROMAN HOLIDAY
CINEMA GUILD TONIGHT AT OLD ARCH. AUD. (
7:00 & 9:05 Admission $1.25
WILLIAM WINDOM:
(picture above with dog) comes to the POWER CENTER
on April 18 at 8:00 p.m. to give a single performance of
THURBER 1i, in which he portrays, with the help of no
other real people, the great humorist and cartoonist named
in the firgt half of the title, to wit, James Thurber.
Windom, star of TV's THE FARMERS DAUGHTER, and MY
WORLD AND WELCOME TO IT, appeared two years ago
in Ann Arbor in what should now be called THURB ER I. In
THURBER I I he gives us even more of the marvelous Thur-
bersian stories which Thurber himself admits "always'ap-
pear to have started from the beginning and to have
reached the end by way of the. middle"
Tickets for THURBER 11 are available at the Professional
Theatre Program Ticket Offic in thee Mendelssohn Theatre
lobby. Hours are Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-1 pm., 2-5 p.m. For
information call 764-0450.
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Since this will be our last Flash column of the year, we at
the Major Events Office would like to present our 1977
"Flash-in-the-Pan" Awards.
"CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR" AWARD: The "almost" Neil
Diamond concert.
"MA HAD A BIG FAMILY" AWARD: To all the people
calling, claiming to be distant relatives of Elvis Presley.
"MAIZE 'N BLUES" AWARD: To Steve Goodman, whose
hotel reservations were conveniently lost by the Campus
Inn . . . he asked, during the concert, "Whatddaya' have
to do, screw? . . . to get a hotel room in this town on a
football weekend?"
"MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED" AWARD: To the Eagles, who
just might become a big-name act, if only they could find
a hit single.
"MR. CONGENIALITY" AWARD: To George Benson's pro-
duction manager, who single-handedly managed to delay
the start of the concert for an hour and p half, while he
tried to figure out the difference between a microphone
and a spotlight.
"TIMEX" AWARD: To Donald Byrd and The Blackbyrds
who arrived at Crisler five minutes before showtime be-
cause they lost track of the time while eating dinner.
"KEEP THE CHANGE" AWARD: To Harry Chapin, for
giving the audience it's money's worth . . . he played two
complete sets, and then signed autographs for a half-
hour after the show.
"HENRY KISSINGER PEACE-TALKS" AWARD: To us, for
trying to settle a dispute between Rufus and Donald Byrd
(and trying and trying and ...).
"WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN PUBLIC ORATORY" AWARD:
To Leon Redbone, who was rumored to have actually said
four full sentences during his set. '
"CAN'T TAKE THE COUNTRY OUT OF THE BOY" AWARD:
To Vassar Clements, who couldn't stay away from the
Pretzel Bell once he heard they featured bluegrass fiddlers
he jammed for two hours.
"BUDDY, CAN YOU SPARE A HALL" AWARD: To Crisler
Arena, for being booked on the only night we could get
the Beach Boys, for the fifth straight semester.
"JUST FOLKS" AWARD: To Bob Seager, who wouldn't
accept any special treatment, and just slipped into the
audience at the Eagles concert to watch his old friend,
Glen Frey, perform.
A Portfolio Workshop
Learn to take photographs of
personal art work for a
professional portfolio
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