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MUSiC
A growlgin
Green highlights
Depot
Town
By Linda Gardner
Jazz from the mouthpiece of a
Legend? Saturday night may be
your chance to swing!
The Depot Town Winter Jazz se-
ries in Ypsilanti winds up its season
by spotlighting Detroit classic
swing trumpeter Russell Green and
his Quintet, a group featured last
year at the Montreux/Detroit Jazz
festival. Green also participated in
the Trumpet Summit at the festival
with Dizzy Gillespie and other
trumpet greats.
A veteran of the national jazz
scene, Green has played with every-
one from Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah
Washington to Count Basie and
Louis Armstrong. He toured with
Jimmy Lunceford's Big Band for
nine years on and off, where h e
mastered the "growl" trumpet. These
days he prefers the swing sound of a
smaller ensemble, where the sweet
voice of single trumpet can shine.
"Ballads are my forte," he said
from his home in Detroit. "I treat
each note separately; I put all I can
nto it. I don't run up and down the
horn. I'm playing what you call
'my thoughts to myself.' When I'm
sad or glad you can tell it through
what I play. When you play, you
have to tell them that you were in
love, and you fell out; that you saw
a pretty girl. I want people to sit
back and talk to the girl next to
them, be able to hear what they're
saying. Like good food, every bite
Pick of
the Week
should be enjoyable, get the diges-
tive juices flowing."
Russell Green knows what he is
talking about. A lover of good
Italian food ('I only use olive oil -
you know I'm Italian"), and good
music, his experienced voice radiates
a rough warmth. Inspired by his
grandmother, a concert singer, to
study piano and violin, he switched
to the trumpet at age 16. Six
months later he was a traveling pro.
See GREEN, page 13.
The Butcher hacks it up
HAIRSPRAY
Continued from page 5
Hefty Hideaway clothing store into
an hilarious escapade when mother
and daughter shop to meet the Corny
GREEN
Continued from Page 4
"Times were tough. If you
couldn't play, you couldn't eat. I got
the hell out of town with a suitcase,
one suit, a horn, and one pair of
shoes. You've heard of roadhouses? I
played for gangsters. The 'Purple
Gang' bought me my first horn in
'34 or '35. I loved the music,
though, I loved it."
Early inspirations were Cooty
Williams and Freddy Jenkins "from
Duke's band." (Duke Ellington in-
vited Green to join his group three
times, and Green's nephew Billy
Easeley recently headed the reed sec-
tion of the Ellington Orchestra for
the 'Sophisticated Lady' tour).
The Ellington influence continues
in his music - "I loved that band
with a passion"- but Russell
Green's music is his very own.
"I went through three or four
changes of styling. I don't copy
from anybody. I play like me, Rus-
sell Green." An original improvisor
with an award-winning sound, he
received three awards in 1987 for his
playixag (including a DIA Jazz com-
petition). "I don't have arrange-
ments, I don't want arrangements.
When I get on the bandstand I just
start playing. I like to hear my men.
It starts out sometimes, just me and
the bass, I tell him Just hang in
there,' and then I let the rest come in
the second time around."
Appearing with Green will be
Detroit veterans Pistol Allen, Lefty
Edwards and Jeff Halsey, and also
vocalist Darrin Jackson, a singer in
the Billy Eckstine tradition who
Green personally discovered ("I
heard him one night in Detroit. I
said, 'Jerry, that boy can sing!"').
The group appeared last year at the
Montreaux/Detroit Jazz festival, but
this Depot Town gig is a rare public
appearance, and a great chance to
hear enthusiastic music from a man
who has played with the legends on
both coasts and around the world.
The brick-walled Farmers Market
building in Depot Town provides
both close-up concert seating and ta-
bles further back from the stage,
where you can "sit back and talk"
and enjoy the atmosphere where hot
food will also be available. The a
capella soul group Popular Demand
opens the show at 7 p.m.. Russell
Green and his Quintet appear at 8
p.m., and the nine piece rhythm and
blues band The Regular Boys will
follow with dancing music until 2
a.m. Tickets are available locally at
Schoolkid's, PJ's used records, the
Little Professor Bookstore, and the
Peaceable Kingdom, or call WEMU,
487-2229 for more information. 0
Collins Show's neon and polka-
dotted image.
Waters, himself, turns up as the
demented Dr. Frederickson, and
there's also brief cameos by Ric
Ocasek and Pia Zadora as a beatnik
couple who smoke reefer and listen
to Odetta. Singer Ruth Brown is
another highlight as a loud soul
singer named Motormouth
Maybelle.-
Surprisingly, Hairspray isn't the
9th Annual Conference on the Holocaust
SUSANNAH HESCHEL
THE GERMAN-JEWISH DIALOGUE
Introduction By Senator Lana Pollack
TUESDAY MARCH 22, 8PM
RACKHAM AMPHITHEATRE
"Why do we try to establish a dialogue in a country which has yet to confront
its anti-Semitism?" asks Ms. Heschel in her sensitive and insightful article,
"Something holy in a profane place." Ms. Heschel will share her personal
experiences on this complex issue. She has studied and lectured in
Germany on numerous occasions.
YJ
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gN Q'
Q
44
1
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satire it appears to be on the surface; 01
it's much too innocent to cut that sc
deep. Waters has a genuine affection th
for his characters, which lets him li
get away with making light of t
social issues that would be
CARDS
MUGS
T-SHIRTS
PLUSH
The Jazz Butcher
Fishcotheque
Relativity/Creation Records
"You know I'm exactly like ev-
eryone else," declares the Jazz
Butcher on "Looking for Lot 49."
While that might be somewhat of a
dry joke coming from a man who's
written songs like "The Jazz Butcher
Meets Dracula." Still, his latest re-
lease, Fishcotheque, shows that
while he hasn't lost his sense of
humor - just check out the title -
the Butcher can get serious too.
Fishcotheque continues his trend
toward more mature lyrical content
- evidenced on his disappointing
1986 album Distressed Gentlefolk
- taking the admirable risk of
alienating long-time fans who don't
like seeing their favorite musicians
grow up any more than they like
seeing themselves do it. But the Jazz
Butcher pulls it off by focusing his
off-beat wit on the on-beat subjects
he chooses.
Along with his content changes,
the Jazz Butcher has made extensive
line-up changes on this album; with
none of the gang from Distressed
Gentlefolk returning. Taking the
place of vocal and guitar foil Max
Eider, who left to pursue his own
cocktail lounge croonings, Kizzy
O'Callaghan proves himself a capa-
ble sidekick, strengthening several
songs with his sax work.
The album covers a wide expanse
of musical territory from the mari-
achi stomp of "Living in a Village"
to the country influences of
"Keeping the Curtains Closed." But
for the most part, the Jazz Butcher
sticks to what he does best - up-
beat, feel-good, British pop. The
peppy guitars and sweet harmonies
of "Chickentown" would do Ray
Davies proud, and "Get it Wrong"
recalls Aztec Camera before they
went bad.
Most importantly, the Butcher
distinguishes himself from the cadre
of other clean-shaven, coolly named
English guys through Lis innovation
- anybody who can throw an atonal
feedback solo into a heartfelt ballad
like "Susie" and make it sound like
it's supposed to be there is doing
something right.
Still, the album has its share of
failures. On "The Best Way," The
Jazz Butcher follows the lead of past
British rockers like Joe Strummer
and Paul Weller by trying his hand
at funk and winds up sounding every
bit as goofy. And whatever potential
there was for a good song in"Swell"
is smothered beneath a wash of
schmaltzy horns and overdone pro-
duction.
But Fishcotheque remains a suc-
cess, combining one of the Jazz
Butcher's best musical outings with
a more candid and mature lyrical ap-
proach. Sure, it'll probably leave
some fans saying he's gone soft.
But, hey, we've all got to grow up
sometime.
-By Jim Poniewozik
Kingdom Come
Kingdom Come
Polydor Records
Okay, so it's not the return of
Led Zeppelin, and none of the Zep
men appear on this album, contrary
to two popular rumors circulating
prior to the album's release. But it
sure does sound like Led Zeppelin, a
fact that is sure to upset some peo-
ple and delight a whole lot of others.
Some of the Zep-isms are so bla-
tant that there should be footnotes at
the end of the album. A casual Zep-
pelin fan can pick out the obvious
ones, and a more dedicated one can
dig out even more. Here's a few to
get you started: "What Love Can Be"
is easily "Since I've Been Loving
You"; "Get It On" is a mix o f
"Black Dog" and "Kashmir"; and
"Loving You" is dangerously close
to "Going To California."
Lenny Wolf, who handles lead
vocals for Kingdom Come (he does
Robert Plant's "Push! Push! Push!"
real well), wrote almost all of the
music and lyrics on the album. He is
ably backed by Danny Stag and Rick
Steir on guitars, Johnny B. Frank on
bass, and James Kottak on drums.
Danny Stag handles the lead guitar
work and mixes in Jimmy Page
See MUSIC, page 11
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SUSANNAH]
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YPSILANTI/ANN ARBOR
428 Hewitt Rd.
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
(313) 485-4454
(Between Packard and Washtern
MON&
4 "i y Ali.,
..-sa
' eo y
NON-STOP COPY SHOP
Kinko's is open 24 hours. Come in
anytime for fast service, outstanding
quality, and low, low prices.
Copies, Binding, Passport photos.
540 E. Liberty
761-4539
1220 S. University
747-9070
PAGE 4 WEEKEND/MARCH 18, 1988
m
WEEKEND/MARCH 18, 1988
e9aaoy 4 4 1 a. .,