w w w w w w w w w T T T T T T _qw T T 1 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 r. gN Q' Q 44 1 \\ / PY t t 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 GIFT WRAP & BOWS JELLY BELLY & GOELITZ CANDIES GLOW IN THE DARK STARS DOODL ES 769-4211 LOCATED ON THE LOWER LEVEL OF 222 STATE PLAZA ON THE CORNER OF STATE AND LIBERTY WOMEN IN JUDAISM SERIE SUSANNAH] WHY GOD IS A HE: A FEMINIST WEDNESDAY MARCH 23 8PM S RACKHAM AMPHITHEATRE C R 1 ' I' HA'IDU Specializir T U of M St Need a stu Come to Vll for all the late as well as allt VIDEO HUT i " over 7,000 tit " Hottest relea: required rea " FREE MEMB " Open 10 a.m. 7 days a wee , Snacks & Por Enjoy a full var and soft drinks your viewing p1 83 O Wolverines: Make u stop evening o 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. .,