0 'K ;Tho Michigan Daily ARTS r Page 8 Thursday, April 5, 1990 i 4 t f M 1 He's the real McCoy of jazz h- pnfat -r - nflmr o~y razor aIIapiro AFTER playing for one year in Benny Golson's Jazztet, McCoy Tyner became a member of the greatest jazz band ever assembled. The John Coltrane Quartet, consist- ing of 'Trane on saxes, Tyner on pi- ano, Elvin Jones on drums and Jimmy Garrison on bass, re-invented jazz between 1960 and 1965 and sed- imented itself so strongly in the jazz tradition that everything since has borne this music's indelible stamp. Whereas gospel expresses the hope that redemption will come in the future, the quartet's music was an expression of spirituality in the present. The music strove to find a higher meaning in senseless events (like the deaths of five young chil- ;dren in Alabama) while still depict- ing a pious devotion to God, Allah s nd Jah. A Muslim since age 18, Tyner's faith fit in perfectly with :oltrane's questing vision. The group's music consisted mostly of long extended improvisa- tions based on Ornette Coleman's free jazz. Along with Cecil Taylor, Tyner was the piano pioneer within this unstructured form. His style is deeply rooted in the short, soulful blue note runs that Horace Silver in- jected into the intellectual bebop formula and heavily percussive "key banging" that seemed to ignore melodic structure altogether. Although it is quite ironic that these two distinctly earthy styles would come together in a musician who plays such ethereal jazz, this style allowed him to play with passionate chaos in his exploding chordal comping behind Coltrane's soaring solos. This tension was finally resolved with delicate single- note glides across the keyboard that made the beauty residing in disorder and turmoil the concluding message of the piece. When Tyner left the group his music continued along the same path. He explored the possibilities of the dulcimer and jazz based on Japanese folk songs, but his spiritu- ality remained at the core and his musical vision unchanged. His al- bums on Milestone in the early '70s provide the best examples of his playing since Coltrane. With intense songs based on heavy rhythmic pat- terns and subtle ballad interpreta- tions, Tyner proves himself to be the most exciting and innovative pi- anist since Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. MCCOY TYNER plays at The Ark, 6371/2 S. Main, tonight at 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $16 and are avail- able at the Union. wr Don Pasquale tells operatic tale of greed by Sherrill L. Bennett GAETANO Donizetti was born in 1798 to a poor family. His father's meager earnings from janitorial work had to feed and clothe six children. But from this impoverished environment grew a composer whose output includes a stammering 60-plus operas. Among them are the famous Anna Bolena (1830), Lucia Di Lammermoor (1835) and L'Elisir D'Amore (1832), which was performed last spring in Ann Arbor by the Comic Opera Guild. Tonight, the University School of Music Opera Theatre will perform another of Donizetti's comic operas at the Mendelssohn Theatre. Don Pasquale is the story of a rich miser who falls into a trap set by his own greed. "It's the kind of story and music that transcends any period," says Martin Katz, chair of the accompanying and chamber music programs at the School of Music and conductor of the production. "It could have happened in the cavemen's time, tomorrow or 1920 or '30." The 1920s theme was chosen by Katz and internationally acclaimed director Travis Preston for their production. Essentially, they have placed Donizetti's opera of 1843 in a time warp; the opera is updated, but the vintage charm and authenticity remains intact. Preston and Katz both have active careers in the theater. Preston's work, including premieres at the Yale Repertory Theatre and the American Repertory Theatre and several productions in Europe, has earned him a solid reputation in his field. Katz, in addiction to recording for Decca, Philips, CBS and RCA, has accompanied some of the most celebrated voices in recent history, including Marilyn Horne, Fredrica von Strade and Kathleen Battle. Experienced costume designer Laura Crow will contribute her talents in period attire to this new production as well. "There's no fool like an old fool," says Katz about the opera's moral message. Don Pasquale, a greedy, wealthy miser, schemes a way out of leaving his fortune to his nephew. With the help of his dear friend the Doctor, Pasquale decides to wed the nephew to a woman the nephew does not love. But the Doctor is also a friend of the nephew, and the two get Pasquale to marry a young, alluring beauty, the nephew's true love. After a counterfeit ceremony, the young girl begins to squander Pasquale's fortune. Furious, he turns his energies to dismissing this wretch from his life. The twisting plot is interwoven with a multicolored musical fabric - witty, spirited and sentimental. The orchestration is brilliant and robust and the tunes are alternately romantic and hilarious. This production of Don Pasquale will be sung as it was originally conceived, in Italian. There will be English supertitles so that nobody will miss a single line of Donizetti's inventive humor. DON PASQUALE will be performed in the Mendelssohn Theatre in the League tonight, tomorrow and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $Sfor students, $7 and $10 for all others and are available at the League Ticket Office. 0. McCoy Tyner has tickled the ivories for Benny Golson's Jazztet and the legendary John Coltrane Quartet. Now he's playing his intense style of jazz piano on his own. They Might Be Giants Flood Elektra They Might Be Giants, the neato duo of cool geeks named John (Flansburgh and Linnel), return with a :sober outlook for their third LP. Best known for their rather absurd, "eird songs that for any other band wuld be regarded as throwaway Ailer, TMBG has carved a niche for ;heir accessible stupidity. Their al- fnins, chock-full off songs (19 on thes outing), display their prolific songwriting (300 songs by 1987), wiLich also has an immediate outlet on- their Dial-A-Song answering machine. No 900 numbers at $2 for Id first minute - just call the tape Ot changes daily) at the cost of a phone call to Brooklyn (It's (718) 387-6982). Past albums combined their unusual instrumentation (accordion, homemade rhythm tracks, guitar) with lyrics about mundane subjects (puppet heads, detectives, folk fami- lies, etc.). The songs seem to make people want to dance in stupid ways, like when they were six and wanted to start their own bands. Pseudo- clich6s with highly satiric overtones remain upbeat and positive - songs the entire family can enjoy together when going on car vacations. This album's cynical, noir-funny words oppose the still way-nifty sound. The album only drags as a whole be- cause of its overall negativity and sheer number of songs, but if one doesn't listen to it all at once, Flood is much more digestible. With a real drummer, the two Johns cover being dumped ("Twisting," "Lucky Ball and Chain," "Letterbox") and say dis- turbingly negative things like "Now it's over, I'm dead and I haven't done anything that I want or, I'm still alive and there's nothing I want to do" (from "Dead"), and "Because I'm not as messed up as I want to be" (from "Hearing Aid"). They haven't lost their sense of humor but instead channel much musical energy into displaying pain in a cynical fashion. Statements such as "Everybody wants prosthetic foreheads on their real heads" ("We Want a Rock") and "Fondue forks for everybody" ("Hot Cha") lighten the dark tones, making the album work. Flood shines on the Johns' ec- centricities, as expressed in songs like "Theme from Flood," "Istanbul (not Constantinople)," and "Twisting." "Theme" reeks with all the ambiance of the opening of a commercial car show, like models slowly pulling the curtain back to display the shiny new car. Even though they have tons of their own songs they cover "Istanbul" anyway, doing so in an amusing fashion. "Twisting," a nod to '60s music similar to John Cougar Mellencamp's "Rock in the U.S.A.," parodies the decade with the classic girl-dumping-him story and name-drops good bands along the way. Maybe the uplifting experience of being roadies for the Replacements has worn off, or their lives sucked when they made this record. Whatever the case, the negative shit wears thin by the end when, luckily, these guys save themselves by mix- ing in some positive sarcasm. Flood continues TMBG's own kitschy vein in this respectable third release. -Annette Petrusso John Wesley Harding Here Comes The Groom c' Reprise Among the liner notes and pro duction credits of John Wesley Hard ing's debut album is a note from the' artist detailing the evolution of the album and enumerating its many See RECORDS, page 9$t * ~ U * c~W~'i /: U f U " "ACogh.Cough. " * n Were ricd loer hannatonalchans o cmpet -a -lft agis thirgaavriigdes . 30 MINUTo U /~''~ Ye ou.uferGaate sgo ars meiaaU * '~I.-.*pp- ove 12,0UNEEDN uflrsos osmr n MIU tha anUhi!AAK A V So coetUsadkepSoe wy 233 JakoUv. n lc ato tdu ld * U BAR Summer is just around the corner and HOT times on The Rooftop are near... Be a part of it! 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