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Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 29, 1985
Avalan
By arwulf arwulf
B LUE NOTE, BLUE NOTE,
everybody catch the Blue Note.r
As promised, the Blue Note reissue
campaign is in full swing, building up
steam and dumping literally dozensl
of reissues and new sessions in our
laps. The WCBN FM music staff is
hard pressed to keep up with the1
avalanche, but who's complaining?1
Arwulf.
I should be grateful for this, and I
am, but upon pinning the hundredth
album I detect a serious lack of
visionaries in the reissued
multitudes. Hard Boppers have got-
ten the exposure they deserve, but
Andrew Hill, Herbie Nichols, Cecil
Taylor, Sam Rivers, and Booker Er-
vin seem to be as invisible in the
catalogue as they have been all along.
Not entirely invisible, but certainly
no limelight falls upon the aforemen-
tioned Mr. Hill, for example. And he's
been a part of the earlier reissuing
programs. Eric Dolphy's "Out To
Lunch" is back in print, and for this
we are grateful. Where are the rest of
the visionaries, though?
Wayne Shorter's "Ju Ju," a fiery
session indeed, has had yet another
printing, even though I swear it came
cheof
in to our studios about two years ago,
before the reissuing stampede began.
Now it's back again, and I'm not
complaining. In fact I wish Wayne
were still playing with such molten
metallurgic insistence. He should do
what he damn well pleases, as he's
paid lots of dues. But so did Nichols,
Hill, Booker and Cecil. Where are
their recordings?
Mr. Taylor is getting the attention
he deserves, and they even included
him with the Blue Note all-star lineup
live at Town Hall. That's very ap-
propriate, as Cecil's been a
dangerous force in the music for 30
years now. The next step, friends, is
the reissuing of Cecil's Blue Note
recordings: the prophetic sessions
from the mid-fifties, as well as total-
assault productions such as "Unit
Structures."
Then they can start in on Sam
Rivers, which should keep everyone
busy enough, and the legendary trio
sessions of Herbie Nichols. These are
monumentalwaxings, and should be
riding along getting as much press
and promotion as Art Blakey's Jazz
Messengers and Miles Davis.
It's all terrifically inspiring stuff,
and there are certain Hard Bop
sessions that have been knocking me
out lately. Blue Note 84047, A.T.'s
Delight, is one such session. Drum-
mer Art Taylor leads a young Stanley
Turrentine, Gillespie Big Band
veteran Dave Burns on trumpet, and
an exciting combination of Wynton
Kelley, piano, Paul Chambers, bass,
and Potatoe Valdez, conga drum.
Paul Chambers has a positive effect
on every session he ever participated
in. This is no exception. They cover
Coltrane's "Syeeda's Song Flute,"
Monk's "Epistrophy," drummer Den-
zil Best's "Move," and a couple of
Kenny Dorham numbers. The very
most interesting cut would have to be
Taylor's own "Cookoo and Fungi,"
with its polyrhythms and unusual
twists. This LP is a good example of
why Blue Note should be given gover-
nment grants. We need to hear these
little-known episodes in Black
Cultural History, and maybe a bit less
emphasis should be placed upon ar-
tists who are already laden with
plaudits and reissued reissues.
I was mildly disappointed with
McCoy Tyner and Jackie McLean's
first shared session. "It's About
reissues
Time." I dearly love both of these
fellows, and I will fight to the death
for their right to make whatever the
hell kind of music they wish, as both
have made plenty of excellent records
and should be treated with reverence.
But for the first session they've
ever made together, I guess one
would expect less production sheen
and more cooking or communicating
or maybe even wailing. Both gents
are solid as weathered cliffs, and
perhaps I'm accustomed to hearing
staggeringly powerful statements
from them. Four of the cuts on this
album are extremely formulated,
with a conked funk drum beat and
generally a slick edge to them. "You
Taught My Heart To Sing," the only
ballad featuring Jackie, stands out as
the gem that I'd expected the entire
album to be.
There's a trio take of "No Flowers
Please," which is a delight, and I wish
Jackie would have blown on it, but he
didn't. That means there was one cut
with the two of them together that
really sent me. But who am I? A sch-
muck with a typewriter and some
ears. I hope with all my heart that
these two wonderful guys team up for
more albums and loosen themselves
up a bit. I know it's in them
somewhere. Get that A&R Director
out of the room and do what comes
easiest, OK, fellas?
Much more touching for me was a
posthumous Red Garland release,
with Leo Wright on alto saxophone.
Having lost Red just awhile back, I'm
still sensitive on the subject, and this
disc hit me right in the viscera. "Body
and Soul" was probably the deepest
cut, with "Please Send Me Someone,
To Love" following closely. This is a
new MUSE LP, MR5311, and it stands
as tangible proof that straight-flung
quartet jazz is alive and well in the
belly of the beast.
There are also many dozens of Red
Garland records hovering in the void,
awaiting reissue. Keep your eyes and
ears open, and if Mr. Garland hasn't
made his way into your life just yet,
this might be a good first album to
procure. It's also one of the last
sessions ever blown at the now-erased
Keystone Korner, San Franciso's best
Jazz club of the 1970s. Clubs may
close, musicians may split the planet,
but the music will outlive us all.
Exotic and colorful
The internationally renowned National Folk Ballet of Yugoslavia will perform at the Power Center
for the Performing Arts on Thursday, October 31 at 8 p.m.
GO FROM COLLEGE TO THE ARMY
WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT.
The hardest thing about break-
ing into professional
music is-well, break-
ing into professional
music. So if you're
looking for an oppor-
tunity to turn your
musical talent into
a full-time perform-
ing career, take a
good look at the
Army.r n
It's not
all parades
and John Philip
Sousa. Armys
bands rock,
waltz and boogie
as well as march,
and they perform
before concert au- ..';Y {
diences as well
as spectators. 2
With an average
of 40 performances a month, there's
also the opportunity for travel-
not only across America, but possibly
abroad.
Most important, you can
expect a first-rate pro-
fessional environment
from your instructors,
facilities and fellow
musicians. The Army
has educational
programs thatM
can help you
pay for off-
duty instruc-
read music, performing in the Army
could be your big break Write:
Chief, Army Bands Office, Fort
Benjamin Harrison, IN 46216-5005.
Or call toll free 1-800-USA-ARMY.
:2
tion,andif
you qual-
if, even
elp you
repay
your
federally-insured
student loans.
If you can sight-
ARMY BAND.
BE ALLYOU CAN BE.
Jangly, bu refreshing
W ELL, FOR THOSE of you "Fireworks."
scoring at home, Chain Link Singer Billy Barret's early Joe
Fence's appearance at the Blind Pig Jackson-ish voice and Prescott
Tuesday night makes them the four- Cronin's electric guitar style - from
th band from Boston to roll through driving chords, to jangle-picking,
town in the last three weeks. And by to the omnipotent guitar solo -
now, euphemisms for '60s rock like make the album both a testament of
"guitar-oriented" and "jangely- the band's studio talent, as well as
retro" have damn-near worn holes their potential for some truly ex-
in my typewriter ribbon. So when I static live.work.
hear about Chain Link Fence, I'm Despite misleading press infor-
looking for something a little dif- mation, checked with lines like
ferent than the oh-so prevalent "Miami Vice inspired" and "Oh,
R.E.M.-isms of today's new music, and girls, watch you hearts;" that
And as soon as the needle hits the seems to make CLF the Romantics
first anthemic note of CLF's sans red leather, CLF has plenty to
Fireworks LP, I think I may have offer with their pop-and-then-some
found it. rock 'n' roll approach. So leave your
The six-song album on Throbbing hearts at home and ready yourself
Lobster is a strong testament of the for some serious perspiration.
band's diversity, as they vary from Chain Link Fence will perform at
the pure-pop likes of "Generate" to the Blind Pig tonight at 10:00.
the thrashy "Next Stop, Please" and -Hobey Echlin
ballad-esque approach of
Speak
your miii
was
I
il
WHAT ARE
WEEKENDS MADE OF?
s
EHEN
AND REDING HE WEEEND MGAZIN
It's more than just talk. At ROLM, your career is always a two-
way dialogue. Right from the start, you have an immediate
voice in important business communications projects, while
flexible assignments broaden your professional experience.
Your voice makes a difference. In the future of a company
that is standing on the threshold of the most exciting years in
the history of telecommunications. Bringing full-feature
desktop voice and data systems-complete with PC capabilities,
digital memory and more-to a market intense with
competitive challenge.
Your ideas hold the answers. And ROLM is listening. Our phi-
losophy, and all our products, continue to be unique expres-
sions of the people who create them. It's hardly surprising
coming from one of the first companies to make "Create a great
place to work" one of its founding goals.That's why you'll find
ROLM attracts and motivates the brightest in the industry, and
provides physical surroundings and benefits befitting that kind
of quality.
After the hard work you've put into preparing for your career,
ROLM wouldn't think of offering you any less.
Electrical Engineering &
Computer Science Majors
9
F
'ick Up
a Copy!
rakers
Olit of ore
TeX(
THEATRE i
Report to
First 1
RUn "**
Fil
sic
Q
4 4! I
' \ i' -.odd&
Come talk about the opportunities at ROLM.
Sign up with your Placement Office for an on-
campus interview, and mark your calendar for
our pre-interview presentation, or send your
resume and letter of interest to Vicky
Anderson, Engineering Recruitment, M/S 372,
AklI