ARTS The Michigan Daily Sunday, September 9, 1984 Page 5 Master Murray energizes 'U, Club By Marc S. Taras T HERE IS a particularly deceptive style of Kung Fu known as the drunken man form. The David Murray Octet demonstrated this form as it caroused its way into the hearts of an animated audience at U-Club Friday Night. In Chinese, Kung fu means 'work done' or 'energy spent'. And Murray's band did beautiful work and spent delicious energies in two high powered U-Club sets which kicked off the season for Eclipse Jazz. Like the drunken man, the band teetered along, sounding slightly inebriated, as if the music might fall over at any minute. But drunkenness was not the case. It was instead a clever use of musical slight of hand. At 29, Murray is already one of the most accomplished composers in con- temporary music. His compositions are firmly rooted in traditional swing spirit. Forward motion is what Murray demonstrated so vigorously. The Octet is Murray's vehicle for tunes written for large ensembles and Friday's per- formances testified to his skills as an, arranger. Murray is aware of his players and writes for their particular abilities. The music was spirited and inspirational, descending from the Charles Mingus church of Saxophone soul-saving. The first set opened with the ap- propriately up and out "Fast Life" which set the tenor and emotional tone of the evening. Billy Higgins was grin- ning at the drumkit and kicking the en- tire band forward. When Murray's solo reached its peak that forward velocity was incredible. The beautifully funky "Morning Song" featured both trombone virtuoso Craig Harris and former Ann Arborite Rod Williams on piano. The music emerged grinning darkly and laughing lightly. The point is feeling good. "Dewey's Circle" served as a showcase for Higgins and trum- peter Roy Campbell. A riotous upbeat swing break left happy horns chugging over irresistible rhythmic eddies. The duet between Harris and Campbell here highlighted the first set. highlighted the first set Murray's reserve of energy was still evident as the second set charged along. He delighted the crowd with the Octet's seemingly infinite array of musical textures and colours. The ballad "Ming" showcased Harris' on trombone backed by sensitive en- semble playing. Baikida Carrol showed us that his reputation as one of the finest trumpeters to emerge in recent years is richely deserved. Wilbur Morris, who records with the Octet, combined with Higgins creating a rich and deep rhythmic foundation. Perhaps the greatest surprise was the consistently strong soloing of altoist Steve Coleman. Coleman's playing is best described as a thoughtful, con- sidered, and strong solo performance.- The whole band was strong, -in music as well as loving energy directed at their audience. The celebratory lines of "Flowers for Albert" brought Murray's compositional joy to the fore again and provided a fitting climax to the evening, showing each player in a wonderful light. The crowd was clap- ping in time and swaying to the horns that seemed for all the world like the in- side of a glass of champagne. The drunken man style is deceptive, however, and David Murray's vision is truly clear. Daily Photo by CAROL L. FRANCAVILLA Tenor saxophonist David Murray leads his octet through two sets at the 'U' Club Friday night. Cooney dazzles folk at new Ark By Andy Weine T O A . NEAR-capacity crowd, Michael Cooney shined in his per- formance at the Ark on Friday night. And the audience shined back, singing along joyfully throughout the show. Cooney's concert opened the Ark's fall season and its new home at 637 S. Main. The new location proved worthy of the old Ark; its character is dif- ferent, neither better nor worse. The new coffeehouse has more space and can accommodate more people, so listeners won't be cramped shoulder to shoulder on benches and cushions. But that closeness was part of the old Ark's flavor, as was the image of the old converted house, with its doors and windows open in warm weather. While ventilation and "hominess" suffer a lit- I tle at the Main Street location, the new Ark has enough of the same flavor to draw folk fans to many enjoyable shows. Cooney, returning after fift- een years, said it best- "It's still the Ark." Cooney played a wide variety of good tunes, including old college songs, sea songs, coming-home ballads, and camp tunes. While the periods and subjects of the songs changed, they had something in common: good humor. For instance, one song satirized a parental voice warning against using the "f-word" too much ("We sit down to have a chat, and it's f-word this, f-word that . . ."). In another tune, Cooney wittingly por- trayed two characters in the story of a "city slicker" trying to get directions from a "country bumpkin." Cooney's more interesting songs had a political tinge to them, such as one which described worn-out activists pouting about the threat of ther- monuclear war while defrosting their refrigerators. Another humoruous and thought-provoking tune was "The Bourgeois Blues," the lament of someone livinig in a segregated, wealthy white neighborhood. Though Cooney's repertory is large, he could add to its quality by drawing more songs from one of folk music's most valuable resources: progressive, political music. Cooney's voice was unspectacular, but his playing was deft. On the guitar and banjo he approached virtuosity. The concertina (a relative of the accor- dion), kazoo, jaw harp, and a modified banjo complimented the familiar folk instrument, guitar. Folklore..seemed to be Cooney's main interest in playing, and his folktales added flavor to the show. Frequently he related different ver- sions of songs, stories about the songs' origins, and stories about the in- struments he played. He related the Scottish and Irish origins of the concer- tina,for example, and told about how a North Carolina man made Cooney's banjo from a piece of stove pipe. Cooney prefers to use songs he hears rather than write and play his own songs. The number of songs he knows should boggle his mind, or anyone else's. He said he once listed all the songs he had known at one time or another, and the total was around nine hundred, five hundred and fifty of which he knew at any one time. Cooney is still learning songs. "I used to think I knew all the great songs," he said, "but there are great songs everywhere." This weekend, Ark audiences got a taste of some great songs and of what should be a good season at the Ark. Join the / - Ipoe .. .".; PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT - NIGHTS The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts is currently interviewing students interested in participating in an alumni fundraising telethon. LS&A alumni across the country will be called from campus. The telethon runs five nights per week, Sunday through Thursday, September 30 through Novem- ber 15. Each week you select two of the five nights available, .with some opportunity to work additional nights. Hours: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Pay: $3.55 per hour LS&A STUDENTS PREFERRED Call 763-5576 The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer Records The ichigan Daily Colour Radio, 'Colour Radio' (Gold Mountain/A &M). Milwaukee-based quartet Colour Radio deserves some credit for sheer r nerve, since they've opted to be a con- ventional synth-based dance band at a point when that is definitely not cool (unless you're British, in which case it remains questionable). Their self-titled debut LP doesn't earn many other credit marks, though. This is adequate, instantly forgettabel synthpop that already seems dated by a year or two, not so much by the routine sensitivity- goes-dancing lyrics or the ordinary in- strumentation or the mildly mannered Ric Ocasek-type vocals as by simple mediocre songwriting. The whipsnaps, occasional guitar flourishes and business-as-usual synth lines are enough to keep you dancing if helped along by a Valium or two, but nothing is capable of retaining the more alert attention. Produced with professional disinterest by Rick Derringer (and with an unnoticeable spot-the-celebrity guest backing vocal by Rick Springfield), Colour Radio never do or say anything momentous in their ten tracks, though in their favour it must be said that they certainly never achieve any degree of real em- barrassment either. It seems cruel to give another bored shrug to yet another much-loved-on- the-local-level band, but there's no real punch to any of the material on Colour Radio. They compose perfectly passable songs of this sort ("Bound for Life," "Straight from the Heart," "Adrianna Dreams"), but haven't yet acquired the commercial knowhow of bands like the Thompson Twins, who have learned how to dress up an or- dinary tune with the one or two gim- micks that will stick like Silly Putty to a listener's brain. Without those studio smarts, Colour Radio is just another featherweight pop also-ran, doomed to the cut-out bin though it doesn't really sound all that inferior to work by bands safely en- sconsed in the top 40. -Dennis Harvey University Health Service at " ANNOUNCING THE 1984 TUESDAY LUNCH - FORUMS *1 12 NOON AT THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER 603 E. MADISON A New Dimension in YOUR Educa.-tionl Opportunities Available in: WRITING PHOTOGRAPHY ADVERTISING MARKETING FINANCE MASS MEETING, STUDENTS, FACULTY, COMMUNITY - WELCOME SEPTEMBER 11 "THE SOVIET UNION: IMPRESSIONS OF A JOURNALIST" Speaker: DON FABER, Editorial Writer and Columnist for THE ANN ARBOR NEWS who spent 3 weeks in the USSR and Eastern Europe in June, 1984. SEPTEMBER 18 "PERSPECTIVES ON ISRAEL TODAY" "Settlement and School for Peace for Arabs and Jews in Israel" Speaker: Dr. Len Suransky, UM Faculty member and educator. "peace Prospects in Israel" Speaker: Richard Cleaver, Peace Secretary, American Friends Service Committee SEPTEMBER 25 "KOREA: FUTURE PROSPECTS AND HOPES" Speaker: DR. SEONG SOO HAN, UM Professor of Dentistry and Anatomy, from Korea Health Screening Clinics for: " vision " blood pressure " blood cholesterol " colo-rectal cancer " lung capacity . immunizations on the Diag - Friday, Sept. 14, 11 am-4 pm (Rain date: Friday, Sept. 21) .-.-..................-.-.-..-......... Win a Comprehensive Visual Exam at University Health Service. Fill out the coupon and drop it off at the UHS Festifall Booth on Friday, Sept. 14