ARTS rage ~ T aA ichian fDailvi Thursday, November 15, 1984 4 ne wa a,+uyu " vuny - bcid Rain Parade marches A;tA _ '1 By Dennis Harvey ., ., -, } ,. ' a C ry a. " d- t j' John Thorman, Steve Roback, and Matthew Piucci reign over the enthusiastic crowd at Joe's Tuesday night. The musical vision of McCoy Tyner By Marc S. Taras T T ISN'T often that one has the oppor- tunity to encounter a legend. McCoy Tyner will bring his trio, his music, and his mystique to the Union Ballroom tonight at 8:00 p.m. McCoy Tyner. Piano visionary. To jazz fans and music historians the name is synonymous with musical vir- tuosity and power. He carries with him a history of accolades and experience ^ that few can match. But his love affair with the piano had tentative begin- . { nings. Tyner was born into a middle class Philidelphia family on December 11, 1938. His father worked in a lab and his mother ran a beauty parlor. She played the piano a little bit and encouraged the -' young McCoy to take up the instrument. - Tyner was reluctant at first, deeming the piano a feminine pursuit, and favoring athletics. He finally took up the instrument at the age of 13 and found that after a couple of years, and thanks to a little tender parental prod- ding, he was hooked. Initially he practiced on a neighbor's piano, and as soon as his own family bought one he began hosting jam sessions, some of which took place in his mother's beauty parlor. Counted among his friends, neighbors, and fellow players of the time were several " people who have achieved international recognition including trumpeter Lee Morgan (now, alas, deceased), ' sexophonist Archie Shepp, and pianist Bobby Timmons. ' Also at hand to aid and influence the young lion were the brilliant pianist Bud Powell and his brother Richie Powell, also a pianist. Along with Thelonious Monk and Art Tatum, Powell was to be a major influence on the developing Tyner. His ability to model his playing after the styles of these giants coupled with his own r rapidly developing chops earned Mc- Coy the youthful nickname 'BudMonk.' Tyner was an apt students. At 15 he led his first group; sort of an R&B band that worked on popular tunes of the day. He studied at the West Philidelphia Music School and later Y enrolled at the Granoff Music School. During this period McCoy began working nights, doing club dates with visitng luminaries such as Sonny Rollins and Max Roach. He became a member of a local group led by trum- peter Cal Massey. One evening, while working with Massey's band at a club called the Red Rooster history was made. McCoy Tyner met John Coltrane. Tyner was 17. Coltrane was in town as a part of Miles Davis' band and was im- mediately impressed with the young pianist. He avowed his desire to enlist Tyner as a part of his own group to be formed in the future. Trane left town with Miles and McCoy was unable to resist an offer to go to the West Coast with the Art Farmer-Benny Golson Jazztet. Tyner had been working in a factory; the gig with the Jazztet, which also included the fine trombonist Curtis Fuller, represented his first regular employment as a musician. It was a big step, and consequently the young Tyner was reluctant to part ways with the Farmer-Golson group when he was approached by Coltrane a scant six months later. He had stayed long enough to record with the Jazztet, but... The decision was made, and the group that eventually evolved, John Coltrane's 'classic' quartet would change the shape of jazz, and in fact, modern music. According to Tyner, "I knew he was someone exceptional." Coltrane was ". .. the only person I wanted to play with in those days." The impact of this quartet, rounded out by drummer Elvin Jones and, after a few others, settling in with bassist Jimmy Garrison, is difficult to exaggerate. It was the musical-summit of the mid-60's New Thing movement. Tyner's association with the group spanned five years from 1960-65 and in- cluded over 20 recording dates. During his tenure with Coltrane, Tyner had recorded several albums of his own. in these sessions he tried to use a different approach than the quar- tet, even when borrowing some of its members. It was a question of am- plifying his musical identity.. If nothing else Tyner's music has always been deeply, almost hypnotically, personal. To dissociate himself from the quartet ("Oh yeah, McCoy Tyner. He played with Trane.") while extending the musical ideas he shared with his men- tor proved to be a slow and sometimes painful process. He did not at first garner the atten- tion, kudos, and gigs that he deserved. He played occasional jobs at colleges and was forced to record with artists for whom his talents were not entirely suited, such as Ike and Tina Turner. The late 60s were hungry years for jazz in general and the hungriest years for McCoy Tyner in particular. At one par- ticularly low point Tyner considered turning to driving a taxi cab. He resisted the electronic-fusion wave of the late 60s and early 70s com- miting himself to elemental acoustic earth music (really!). Finally in 1972 things began to happen for Tyner. He hooked up with the Fan- tasy/Milestone/Prestige family of labels, and with the production talents of Orrin Keepnews. Keepnews had worked with the likes of Thelonious Monk and Wes Montgomery and proved to be sympathetic to Tyner's musical intentions. Since that time McCoy Tyner has recorded successfully with CBS and Elektra. His music never stays still and there is seemingly no end of sur- prising arrangements from this gifted leader. His bands have included such brilliant players as Gary Bartz, Woody Shaw, Al Mouzon, George Adams, and Bennie Maupin. He has teamed up with guest artists such as Bobby Hutcher- son, Earl Klugh, and Flora Purim. It's T HE RAIN Parade, who appeared Tuesday at Joe's Star Lounge, is probably best of all the current neo-60's ensembles. The Three O'Clock may be just as brilliant on a poppier level, and the Lyres, Chesterfield Kings and Pan- doras may strike as many sparks in the garage category, but all those bands essentially cater to nostalgia in a way that the Rain Parade gracefully bysteps. The band'd set at Joe's was unfor- tunately short but of truly expanding impact. Fortified by a revamped rollcall - new drummer Marc Mar- cum, and added guitarist John Thor- man - the Rain Parade had a suitably near-fanatical crowd begging favors until less than five minutes to closing. The Parade set was a (short but) sen- sational mix of material from their 1st LP, Emergency Third Rail Power Trip, the EP Explosions in the Glass Palace, and from elsewhere. Two previously unfamiliar songs were among the set's highlights - one was a devastating up- tempo number that took the band even further in compositional complexity than the material on Explosions (and employedthe opening band All Fall Down's sax player for some unob- trusive harmonics), the other an unashamedly pretty ballad for which Thorman and lead David Roback ex- changed their electric guitars for an acoustic pair and keyboardist Will Glenn played violin. The songs from Third Rail were won- derful - "This Can't Be Today," "Kaleidoscope" withits closing car- nival whirl-out, and the Byrdsesque final encore "What She's Done to Your Mind." But it was more intriguing to hear the material from Explosions, much of which is sufficiently slow (through aparently the EP was actually pressed a bit slower than intended), trance-ecstacy-enduring and seemingly elaborate in productin to seem a risky proposition for live performance. It all worked amazingly, though. Explosions' climactic tripout "No Easy Way Down," surprisingly placed in the middle of the basic set, main- tained its heavy-reverb, slow-burning power even without the astonishing string arrangement of the record. The huge-power-choral "You Are My Friend" that leads off the EP remained exhilerating, showing off the richness NOON LUNCHEON Friday, November 16 Don Coleman, Guild House, and David Mikethun: "Witness of Peace in Nicaragua." at Guild House 802 MONROE Homemade soup and sandwiches available for $1.00 Swkg Tomg Kikcka Take-out & Delivery 995-0422 A KewL App,'wac& i Ciue Fah 355 North Maple Maple Village Shopping Center -Mon.-Thurs. 10-9 Fri.-Sat. 10-10:30 Sunday 12-8 K U througi of the band's new three-guitar sound, while the more downbeat ventures into inner space, "Broken Horse" and especially "Prisoners" were still more impressive. A band has to be doing something very right to keep open- mouthed and grateful an audience ac- customed to listening to music about three times faster in tempo. There's no discussing the guitar work without degenerating into inarticulate complimentary sighs and grunts, but it's easy enough to say that Marc Mar- cum is about all any band (at least this one) could want in a drummer, and Page 5 Joe's keyboardist Will Glenn provides frills that lend the music much of its playfulness and variety. The vocals in Rain Parade aren't really "strong" as we normally expect - the bassist (who had some vocal-exhaustion problems that night) has an especially airy, colorless vocal both live and on record - but this emotionally distanced, almost transparent quality is in a way perfect for their material; the music is so expressive that a more distinctive singing personality would take something away from general mystique. . 0@" " " " i 0 " i $ 00 THIS ENTIRE AD GOOD FOR TWO TICKETS AT $3.00 EACH. r----- " "j - ENDS TONIGHT! "ROMANCING THE STONE" (PG) at 1:00, 7:00, 9:00 STARTS FRIJ " " " Alan Bird is getting nothing he wants this Christmas. From Bill Forsyth, the Director/Writer of "Local Hero" and "Gregory's Girl." " " FRI. 1:00, 7:00, 9:00,11 P.M. " ENDS TONIGHT! * "CHOOSE ME" (R) " at1:00, 9:30 Acdm STARTS FRI.! " Academy Award Winner Giorgio Moroder " presents Fritz Lang's classic vision of the " future, now beautifully restored with a con- * temporary music score. " Songs Performed by Pat Benatar " Billy Squier * Adam Ant * Loverboy & More! F "FRI. 1:00, 7:20, 9:20, 11:1 5 P.M. Tyner ...expansions and extensions an ever growing list of players associated with a man whose life is (to quote two of Tyner's LP titles) Expan- sions and Extensions. Tonight at the Michigan Union BallroomMcCoy Tyner will be joined by relative newcomer Avery Sharpe on bass, and the wonderfully talented rhythmacist Louis Hayes, a Detroit native, on drums. At this point I usually try to encourage everyone to come by virtue of the immediacy of the music or the integrity of the artist. No problem. Tonight we have the genuine article. And... dare I say it? This is the real McCoy. " SNEAK PREVIEW THURS. 11/15/84 " AT 7:20 P.M. of "METROPOLIS" See both "Metropolis" & "Choose Me" Thurs. 11/15 584 only at 7:20 p.m. " 2 movies for the price of one! DOLBY STEREO UM Ski Celebration It's a Student Tradition! 1 . I JOIN US AT THE U -CLUB SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17,1984 W IDES - s MICHIGAN t; 4 i; .( r COMPLETE WEEKEND PACKAGES6 0 JUST per person Package includes: 2 nights lodg- ing, unlimited day & night ski- ing, "all you can eat" meals (2 Breakfasts/1 Dinner), even taxes a _< & gratuities. GOOD TIMES FOR ALL 20 Slopes, Night & Day NASTAR, FREE Learn to Ski Lesson for Beginners, rental equipment available, 22 kms X-C skiing with lighted night trail, movies, tub- ing, entertainment, heated out- door pool. GET THE GANG TOGETHER *' ._ 4.