The Michigan Daily - Friday, January31, 1992 - Page 9
Kelsey digs up Dixieland's dandiest band

by Amy Meng
W hat images come to mind with
the mention of Dixieland music?
Musicians dressed in suits the color
of the American flag, complete
with bow tie and boater, having a
rollicking old time and playing
tunes that are reminiscent of '40s
and '50s jazz?
Dixieland music is like old time
rag, a frenzy of authentic jazz music
known also as New Orleans or
Chicago-style jazz. Presented by a
traditional Dixieland band called
the Olivia Street Stompers, The
Kelsey and All That Jazz benefit
show will surely lure the laziest
individuals into a night of foot-
stomping entertainment.
Most of the musicians, culled,
from Ann Arbor and the area, are

semi-professional or retired, and
have been. lovers of this musical
genre for years.
David Ross, one of the younger
amateur musicians in the ensemble,
has tooted a jubilant trumpet in the
benefit with the Olivia Street
Stompers for ten years. Ross, a Uni-
versity professor of Latin and Greek
languages and literature said, "the
music, once you hear it, is easy to
dance to - it's great fun!"
Howard Schumann, percussionist
for the Stompers, has been playing
drums for over forty years. He pur-
sues Dixieland music as a hobby, and
says it has "more of a two-beat
rhythm, whereas modern jazz has a
four-beat rhythm. I provide the
rhythm section."
Expect loud, lively music to ex-
plode from the corners of their per-

formance space in the Michigan
League Ballroom; it's the kind of
music intended for great celebration
The Kelsey and All
That Jazz benefit
show will surely
seduce even the
laziest individuals into
a night of foot-stomp-
ing, heart-throbbing
entertainment.
and happy times, almost like Mardi
Gras brought to Ann Arbor. The
musicians won't wear the gaudy
clothing often associated with Dix-
ieland, however. The Stompers will

Tales of Tuna, Texas

Never mind Mozart, here's Prokofiev
Mozart, Mozart, Mozart. All we heard about last year was the
celebration of the anniversary of Mozart's death. What nobodyj
;noticed was that 1991 marked the 100th anniversary of Sergei
Prokofiev's birth. One of the greatest Russian composers of the
century (along with Dmitri Shostakovich), his accessible music injects
a spiky wit to classical forms such as the symphony and the concerto.
Aggressive, tender, violent or lyrical, Prokofiev's music is always full
of the irrepressible spirit of life. Take the genius of Mozart and add an
almost rock 'n' roll energy, and you might get close to the essence of
Prokofiev. Drive to Detroit to catch an all-Prokofiev show with Neeme
Jarvi and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this weekend. The
performances are tonight at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8:30. Tickets range
;from $17 to $45, call 833-3700 for more information. If you're not up to
"the road trip to Detroit, hear Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto played by
the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra at the Michigan Theater on
Saturday, February 15. Tickets are $12 to $18. Call 668-8397 for further
information.

by Caroline J. Gordon
want this show to be a legend."
With that, Brad Burke, director
of this weekend's Basement Arts
show, Greater Tuna, smiles. "I
hope people talk about it."
Starring Matt Letscher as Arles
and John "Nipper" Knapp as
Thurston, Greater Tuna is the story
of the life and gossip of Tuna, Texas,
told through two radio deejays and
the men and women who phone in to
chat everyday. "The absolute source
of all the gossip comes right out of
the radio. At any given moment
somebody can call in and speak their
mind," says Burke.
Tuna's citizens are members of a
tight, small community. They could
easily recount any neighbor's family
history. As Burke categorizes Tuna,
it's the "staunch, baptist, fire and
brimstone approach that goes with
Texas." Everybody knows what's
good for everybody else.
The play is a journey through the
lives of families, the death of the
judge, weather reports and a plea
from the humane society, just to
name a few Tuna happenings.
Rehearsals for the show began
over winter break with about 40
hours of "very concentrated" work.
The cast "wasted very little time.

All of us are so committed, and it
was wonderful," says Burke.
The actors were so committed, in
fact, that they knew their lines in
four days. "The rapport between
(Letscher and Knapp) is just magic,
absolute magic. I love their
comraderie and their playfulness.
Besides that, they're good actors. I
almost can't even call myself the
director. I more or less just gave
them a few ideas and they ran with
them," admits Burke.
The characters of Thurston and
Arles are as unique as the actors that
play them. The audience watches, ac-
cording to Burke, an "incredible day
that they take completely in stride
while we're in hysterics."
Letscher and Knapp each play the
two deejays, as well as about ten
other characters. The play doesn't
run at a slapstick pace, however.
"We do find some depth in these
people that make them extremely
human ... and while we're laughing
at them we really like them and
that's the important part of the
play," says Burke.
GREATER TUNA will be per-
fbrmed at 5p.m. Jan 30 and 31 and 2
j.rm. Feb. 1 at Arena Stage in the
basement of the Frieze Building.
Admission is free.

Squeeze
Play
Reprise
These days, whenever a new
Squeeze album comes out, someone
is bound to say, "It's good, but it's
nowhere near Singles." Singles is a
"Best of." That's like comparing
R.E.M.'s Out of Time to Eponymous.
Actually, Play should not be
compared to any of Squeeze's other
records. This is the "new Squeeze,"
with no full-time keyboardist and a
new label that markets the band by

sending promotional discs
flower pots with the band
printed on the side.
Musically, Play sounds
like a Crowded House record,
mix of acoustic instruments,

inside
name
more
with a
weird

play pure music unadorned by tradi-
tional costume.
Be sure to wear your dancing
shoes - there will be plenty of
room in front of a bandstand con-
sisting of a front-line section with a
trumpet, trombone, and clarinet, and
another section of piano, drums,
banjo, and tuba, making for a evening
of vivacious melody-making. Drinks
and desserts concocted from recipes-
of the Ancient world will be also
served in true Kelsey fashion.
THE KELSEY AND ALL THAT
JAZZ BENEFIT FEATURING TH'
OLIVIA STREET STOMPERS will
perform tonight at 9 p.m. at the
Michigan League Ballroom. Tickets
are $30 for non-Kelsey associates,
$20 for Kelsey associates, and $10
for students. Call 763-3559 for more
information.
tunes are not so diverse that the
record becomes a mess.
"The Truth" is a simplistic pop
number with strings, but the transi-
tion to "House of Love," with its
power drill sound effects, odd chord
progression and lyrics like, "Her
nails were long and sharp, but she
couldn't play the harp," does not
sound clumsy. Nor does the subse-
quent lead-in to the sultry soul of
"Cupid's Toy."
All the songs work together to
make something which is fluid and
cohesive. No one song overshadows
the others, and it is evident that
band has worked hard on each one.
Squeeze even put extra effort into
the liner notes, which are easily the
year's best.
The lyrics are printed out of se-
quence, and the band used dialogue in
a play starring Beckett's, Didi and
Gogo. The stage directions refer to
everything from farting, Kraft
American cheese, Rod Serling, Easy
Rider and Monty Python perform-
ers as women, but not in that order.
- Andrew J Cahn

guitar and keyboard noises (by
sidemen Matt Irving and former
Attraction Steve Nieve), an occa-
sional pair of brushes sweeping over
a snare drum, and funky horns.
The musical arrangement for
each tune complements the lyrics
perfectly, making it unique enough
from the next. Fortunately, the

4
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The University of Michigan

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CONTINUES..

Sun. Feb. 2
Wed. Feb. 5
Thu. Feb. 6
Thu.-Sun.
Feb. 6-9
Fri. Feb. 7
Sat. Feb. 8

)OL OF MUSIC
Facr"-; Brass Quintet
Cristopher McCourry, trumpet; Armando
Ghitalla, trumpet; Lowell Greer, horn;
Daniel Harris, trombone; Fritz Kaenzig, tuba
School of Music Recital Hall, 4 p.m.
Arts Chorale
Paul Rardin, conductor, with special guests
bluegrass band Deadbeat Society and the Go-
Bluegrass Orchestra
P.D.Q. Bach: "Cantata: Blaues Gras" and
"Liebeslieder Polkas," and works by Emma
Lou Diemer and William Bergsma
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Jazz Combos
Ed Sarath, director
Tickets: $2
North Campus Commons, 8 p.m.
University Dance Company
American Masterworks:
Graham, Copland and Bernstein
Tickets: $12, $9, $6 (students)
(764-0450 or 763-5460)
Power Center for the Performing Arts
8 p.m. (Thu.-Sat.), 2 p.m. (Sun.)

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The University Dance Company' in a special collaboration
with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra
American Masterworks
Martha Graham's
Diversion of Angels
and faculty dances
to the music of
Bernstein,. Bolcom,
and Copland
U. Dance Company
Power Centerr
Feb. 6 -8 at 8 PM;
Feb. 9 at 2 PMn
Featuring the Ann Arbor
Symphony Orchestra,
made possible by
funding from the Dayton H d o F u d to
Tickets: $12 and $9;

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Concert Band
Dennis Glocke, conductor
Husa: Divertimento for Brass and Percussion
Jacob: William Byrd Suite
Barber: Commando March
Gould: Ballad for Band
Dello Joio: Variants on a Medieval Tune
Hill Auditorium, 8 p.m.
Faculty Recital
Yizhak Schotten, viola, and Katherine
Collier, piano, with Michael Udow,
percussion, Hamao Fujiwara, violin, and
Erling B16ndal Bengtsson, cello
Beethoven: Duet for Viola and Cello "With
Two Eyeglasses Obbligato" and Notturno for
Viola and Piano
Colgrass: Variations for Viola and Four
Drums
Mendelssohn: Piano Trio in d minor
School of Music Recital Hall, 8 p.m.
Faculty/Guest Recital
Frank Ward, bass-baritone, and Kelley
Benson, piano
Works by Handel, Bizet, Beethoven,
Swanson and Gershwin
School of Music Recital Hall, 8 p.m.
Contemporary Directions
Ensemble
H. Robert Reynolds, director
Rackham Lecture Hall, 8 p.m.

JEANS FROM


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