ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, September 28, 1980 Page 7 ANN ARBOR JAZZ FESTIVAL bo Day o By R. J.SMITH I know Eclipse Jazz and didn't for- mally dedicate this year's jazz festival to anyone, as they did the past two years (1978: Ellington; 1979: Charles Mingus), but they can't fool me: Friday night's edition of this year's fest, at -least, went out to Mom. How else to ex- plain the milk-and-cookies timidity so prevalent in Oregon and Stephane * Grappelli's performance? . Now don't get me wrong. I like Mom. --But one might have wished that Oregon shad explored their charts a bit more ":riskily, that Grappelli had played his '-violin with a bit more vinegar. At it 0*was, the show provided a twin-bill of 'easy-chair jazz, a show pleasing enough while in Hill Auditorium though one 'hardly destined to be remembered once ,outside. OREGON LED off, and unfor- - tunately rarely got far away from the in- tentionally open-ended song structures they set up. The novelty of their in- strumentation, and the very genuine warmth and exuberance of their melodies, give the charted parts of their songs a very listenable quality. But since they don't really work with the brevity-asserting aesthetic of mod- ern day minimalists or much Oriental music, their spare and light melodies, often repeated endlessly, become in- cessant and nagging. Repetition can ,,work in two ways, Herbie Hancock said once -n better days; it can be mind- .numb ng, or it can be transcendental. At Hill Friday night, Oregon was too of- ten of the former. * . rWhen they played at the Power Cen- ter the last time they were here, early in 1979, Oregan took off a lot more from ,the formats they pen. What makes Oregon really work, what makes them, well, transcendental, is their free-form playing, the intuitive webs spun when they improvise collectively in the uniquely chilly, organic sound- they ,,.,have. But Friday, we got little of that. ,Guitarist Ralph Towner and reedman IPaul McCandless came through on a By MICHAEL KREMEN It's Iggy Pop week in Detroit as the former Iggy Stooge and sometimes James Osterberg returns to his home turf for a seven night run at Bookie's. A 0 Sunday night show has been added and tickets are available for this show only. It was a decidedly hard-rocking Iggy that was on view Thursday night. While there was lots of audience interaction, and confrontation for those locals who insist that the 1980 model Iggy must still play :the Stooge on occasion, the music was decidedly the main attraction. IGGY IS A veteran of more than a decade's worth of rock and drug wars and he is truly a survivor-an ap- pellation that has been seriously cheapened due to indiscriminate overuse. During that time, if you hadn't noticed, he has amassed a large catalogue of songs and they made for surprisingly satisfying listening. Iggy Pop is no longer a teenaged primitive, one of the original punks who was as likely to cut himself with glass as he was to successfully complete a set. Yet, at 33, his stage presence still communicates a sense of theater. Like David Bowie, Iggy continues to rein- vent himself, incorporating his .previous personnas with his newer in- ne: Is nice enough? couple of notable occasions, best of all a duet they performed. None, though, really brought a whole lot of ideas to fruition. ' AFTER THIS, Stephane Grappelli, the septugenerian French violinist, came on and picked things up con- siderably. Grappelli and his trio play a knockabout, friendly sort of jazz that one imagines hasn't changed much at all from the days when Grappelli traded fours with Django'-Reinhards in the hottest of Paris clubs. There was nothing but standards: "How High The Moon," "Love For Sale," "Chicago." Immediately his set established the essential comfortableness of his style. Grappelli does nothing too rough, and he prefers to be shiny and witty rather than especially meditative. But it is the relaxed warmth of his playing, ironically, which can get in the way of truly appreciating what he is doing. There is an awful lot of elegance caught up in his light-hearted swing-and wit is something that has rarely fitted together with contem- porary jazz as well as it does in Grap- pelli's. When the rest of the group drops out at the end of "How High The Moon" and Grappelli takes a quick coda,, though, all his eloquence shines through. Ultimately, it was a set as geared for enjoyment in a small club setting as almost any 1 can remember. Grap- pelli's is a sweet art, one with sugar in almost every line and with ribbons tied to the ends. Yet the casualness of it all is a tad out of place at Hill Auditorium. A group of jazz ascetics like Oregon and an old-timer like Grappelli may not have much in common, but plopping down in a Hill Auditorium seat Friday night helped the listener forge a few previously undiscovered connections. When listening for several hours to these two acts, the results are fairly identical: a sensation of blanketing niceness. OPEN HEARINGS ON THE FUTU RE OF THE MICHIGAN UNION Discussion of student proposals concerning: " Student role in Michigan Union decision-making (advisory or actual priority setting authority). " Proposals for Michigan Union decision-making structures. " Definition of the basic objectives and mission of The Michigan Union. SPEAK OUT ON YOUR STUDENT UNION Hearings Sept.29 (Monday) 7pm-KUENZEL ROOM, Oct. 1 & 2 (Wednesday Thursday) Michigan Union Veteran French jazz violinist Stephan Grapelli kicked the third annual Ann Arbor Jazz Festival off to a flourishing start Friday night. Performing with a drummerless trio, Grapelli exhibited the swinging style that has established him as the master of his instrument in jazz. oes Iggy terests to create an identity that is both current and classic (embodying as it does the entire Iggy-history). We, the audience, are free to select those aspects of Iggy's performance that most fulfill our individual needs. My Iggy show featured a versatile vocalist fronting a powerful and dynamic hard rock combo. The promises of musical excellence that would briefly surface his recent area appearances were fully realized this time out. It began with a suitably raw "Raw Power" and a desperately urgent "I Want To Be Your Dog." PLAYING OLDIES to win over the audience was a calculated move, but the performance was so powerful that Iggy deserved our full support. From his most recent LP, Soldier, we heard "Dog Food," "Take Care of Me" as well as Iggy's strategy for urban sur- See IGGY'S, Page 6 Bring This Ad To Open House and Get A Free Raffle Ticket The University Activities Center Presents ANOTHER OPENIN Open House: Mon, Tues, Wed Sept. 29-Oct. 1-12-5 pm Organization Fair: Oct. 1, 5-10 pm Raffel At 7:00 pm-You Must Be There To Win! I I Prizes Include Dinner At One Of These Spots: I Second Chance Kamakura Japanese Restaurant Count of Antipasto Bicycle Jim's Jason's Wolverine Den El Greco Olga's Bacchus Gardens Drake's Stage Door Suppenkasper .......- - - --................ .......- ......... ...... Sponsored by Union Discussion Committee & MSA HEALTH CARE ERS DAY An Opportunity To Visit With Representatives From Over 25 Health Fields, Including Dentistry, Medi- cine (D.O., M.D.), Nursing, Art/Music Therapy, Optometry, Physical And Occupational Therapy, Physician's Assistant, Public Health, Veterinary Medicine, And More! WEDNESDAY, OCT. 1st 10Om12,1-=4 2nd fl-Michigan Union Sponsored By Pre-Professional Division Of Career Planning & Placement 3200 Student Activites Building The Arthur Blythe Quartet Sunday Sept. 28 8pm Hill Auditorium ...part of the 1980