The Michigan Daily - Friday, Novemberr 12,1993-9 Uptown String Quartet will bring S9 improv style to Hill By KEREN SCHWEITZER "Jazz musicians are unique individuals in the world of sound. Along with the improvisatory aspect, the jazz musician also composes, orchestrates and transcribes music." (Max Roach, New York City,May 1989) Max Roach, the legendary jazz drummer, was referring to the Uptown String Quartet, a group he assembled as a direct outgrowth of the Max Roach Double Quartet. This group performs contemporary American music consisting exclusively of works from the African American genre, as well as new improvisatory works by the members of the string quartet. Their success in introducing new sounds and compositions into the concert hall is what makes their Ann Arbor debut this weekend such a special treat. All four members of the group were classically trained in some of the country's leading music conservatories. The quartet consists of violinists Diane Monroe and Lesa Terry, cellist Eileen M. Folson and violist Maxine Roach. Cellist Eileen M. Folson is an aluhna of the University of Michigan School of Music, where she received her Bachelor and Master of Music degree. Maxine Roach, daughter of Max Roach explained, "the concept of the string quartet was conceived of by my father twelve years ago, he wanted four Black female musicians, and this particular personnel has been together for five years." Roach spoke of the ensemble's longstanding commitment to expanding the traditional image of the string quartet. "The string quartet is a unit taken from the Western European classical tradition,"she said. "We have taken that form, and we have added our creative part, which is improvisation. The tradition of improvisation in this country is not new, but the idea of incorporating it into a string quartet is." Roach acknowledged and applauded the existence of other ensembles that have also been successful in expanding the concert hall repertoire, particularly for string quartets. "There are other groups breaking out of the mold like the Kronos Quartet to namejust one, that are creating their own repertorie outside of the classics," she said. TheUptown String Quartethas mostnotably enriched theirrepertoire from performing improvisations and arrangements to composing original works for the group. Each member of the quartet composes and arranges works that they regularly perform. Nevertheless,this expansion into composition has taken the members time to develop and to perfect. Roach said, "We are all students, and we are always learning. Our art is improvisation, and because we were all classically trained it has taken time to move from improvisation to original compositions." Roach spoke of the importance ofperforming "America's classical music," including composers such as Scott Joplin, Duke Ellington, James Brown and Charlie Parker. The group also loves to perform rags, gospels and spirituals all of which will be heard this weekend. The Uptown String Quartet has already recorded two albums, the mostrecententitled, "Wait A Minute." Roach spoke of returning to the studio again in the near future. The Uptown String Quartet will perform this Saturday night at Hill Auditorium at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available from the UMS box office (763-2458) for $14-$22. $8 Student Rush Tickets available at the Union Ticket Office on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. UMS and North Campus Commons are co-sponsoring North Campus Rush, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, next to Little Caesar's. cows Boy oh boy! The Cows are coming to the Michigan Union Ballroom (that's the U-Club to those of you in the know) on Saturday. Following in the footsteps of rock gods MC5 and the Stooges, who are both rumored to have played the Union, this Amphetamine Reptile Records staple is using the U-Club to play the Detroit area for the third time in nine months. Known for their whacky stage antics, such as wearing triple-breasted woman costumes, the Cows are masters of loud and angry guitar music coupled with nifty twisted lyrics of a sexy and violent Flintstone bent. They're fun, fun, fun and they're here, here, here. Doors open at 8 p.m., and you can Entree Plus a ticket to see the bovine boys, along with opening bands Vineland, Rodan and Don Cabellero. RECORDS Continued from page 8 The Afghan Whigs Gentlemen Elektra While Sub Pop Records has been the breeding ground for such "grunge" bands as Nirvana, Mudhoney and Tad, the king of independent labels also started the rise of the Afghan Whigs, a band with as much intensity as the aforementioned bands but without the abrasive guitars. The Whigs, from Cincinnati, were also the first band outside of the Seattle area to release an album on Sub Pop. The Afghan Whigs are fronted by singer/guitarist Greg Dulli, whose songwriting focuses on disillusion- ment in life. Dulli has done some brilliant work on "Gentlemen," the bands major label debut on Elektra. His writing delivers whole stories, rather than scattered lines of poetry, within the framework of the songs. The finest example is "Fountain and Fairfax" which tells of a man who sobered up for his girlfriend only to have her leave him, and he then turns back to the bottle. The song contains such stunning lines as "Angel, I'm sober /Igot off that stuffj ust like you asked me to / Angel, come closer / So the stink of your lies sinks into my memory." Dulli's singing is powerful and demands that attention be paid to the lyrics. However, even though his voice is the focal point, the Afghan Whigs' music is just as good. Their music can be subtle ("Be Sweet" and "When We Two Parted") or more aggressive ("Debonair" and "Now You Know") but is always intricate. The guitar melodies are beautiful and the rhythm is strong. The addition of piano on a few tracks also adds some wonderful melody to the mix. Dulli has said before that the Af- ghan Whigs are influenced by soul music more than any other style. This isn't very obvious by listening to the album, but, in fact, this is music of the soul, of the heart and of the mind. "Gentlemen" is one of the best re- leases of 1993. - Matt Carlson The Dead Milkmen Not Richard, But Dick Hollywood Records Some of you may remember the Dead Milkmen as the band that did the hilarious "Bitchin' Camaro" in the '80s. Well, the days Qf "Bitchin' Camaro" and even "Punk Rock Girl" are gone. The Dead Milkmen's latest release, "Not Richard, But Dick,"'has nothing that even comes remotely close to the sharp, bratty wit of their earlier albums. There are a few decent tracks on the album including "I Dream of Jesus" which is about a boy whose mother finds Jesus in aMinneschevitz bottle and starts her own religious cult. As far as lyrics go, "I Dream of Jesus" is the only song that can actu- ally be called funny. The Dead Milkmen venture away from their usual lightweight rock / punk rockabilly on acouple of tracks, and the outcome is vaguely humor- ous. "Not Crazy" is a trippy piece of 'ate Sr"om * Stdy e "eqVL YC Co Mper" " Lwdny9 'i1tiu 24 hurJttenedLobb Gamse" m1fat and Water Jnc(l&d "discofied" elevator music, and "The Woman Who Was Also A Mongoose" adds a little flute to the mix which creates an Irish-folk sound. Unfortu- nately, the words are not witty enough to back up the music. "Not Richard, But Dick" fails to hold up to expectations created by previous albums like "Big Lizard in My Backyard" and "Beelzebubba." Hopefully, The Dead Milkmen are in a temporary rut and will eventually return to the humor of prior efforts. - Matt Carlson Souls at Zero Souls at Zero Energy Records The unfortunate consequence of being preceded by a band with your sound is that you are accused of rip- ping them off. The first band that has a release is not always the originator. Take Stone Temple Pilots as an ex- ample. They claim to have been play- ing for years in the LA club scene using a version of what is now the Seattle sound. Do you believe them? Whether you do or not, you probably consider them worthy of blame none- theless. Souls at Zero has a similar problem. Souls at Zero sounds so much like Pantera, it's painful to listen to at times. There are segments through- out almost every song that can be identified as staples of the Pantera sound. Even the lyrics try to copycat Phil Anselmo's isolation and anger. The music is well executed, but the compositions are unimaginative and easily forgettable. They can't match the power of Pantera. Every band starts out consciously or unconsciously emulating the sound of their influences. The groups that survive are the ones that add their own elements to the style so as to make it their own. Groups like Souls at Zero, however, fade quickly into obscurity. -Gianluca Montalti 5th AVE. AT LIBERTY 761-9700 THE AGE OF INNOCENCE (PG) - Fri, Mon, Wed, Thurs: 4:00, 7:00, 9:50 Sat, Sun, Tues: 1:00, 4:00, 7:00, 9:50 THE JOY LUCK CLUB (R) - Fri, Mon, Wed, Thurs: 4:15,7:15, 10:05 Sat, Sun, Tues: 1:15, 4:15, 7:1 5, 10:05I BARGAIN MATINEES $3.50 BEFORE 6 PM STUDENTS WITH ID $4.00 EVENINGS 1 s --- Present this coupon with purchased ticket thru 1 15309$ 'A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell In such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.' - Caskie Stinnett 'Every time an artist dies, part of the vision of mankind passes with him.' CLASSIC SUBS 301 E. Liberty at Fifth across from Ann Arbor Theater. 668-7900 regular sandwich $4 99 bag of chips med. drink exp. 11/30/93 arge sandwich 9 bag of chips med. drink .$5 ,9 exp.11!30/93 University Towers Apartments 536 S. Forest Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 751.258 - Franklina Delano Roosevelt 0 Read the Daily ----- Tie.lion and thes!ewe by Woke Soyinka (RANK IT. d SELF-SERVE COPIES -U" app I '&X& '~..- Uk:. *N~I~ nW. ~FIZ I I PI i