7?rh d rrr;; 3rri E ....ht . A Chat with a Master Garrick Ohisson visits North Campus. Acclaimed pianist Garrick Ohlsson has been in town this weekend on what has become his annual stop in Ann Arbor. This morning he'will be hosting "A Conversation with Garrick Ohlsson" at the School of Music Recital Hall from10.:30 to noon. All interested may attend. Monday February 5, 1996 5A 5A Marsalis and friends amaze at The Michigan royal perfonnance By Ted Watts aily Fine Arts Editor The King's Singers is a group that erforms both classic choral works and rrangements of more popular songs.. Sometimes some non-traditional inter- retations of music can cause the spirit f the original to be lost. At times, the 's Singers' performance on Satur- E REVIEW The King's Singers Hill Auditorium Feb. 3, 1996 i~ a captured the essence of the original p es, but at other moments the spirit escaped them. The program began with Henryk Gorecki's "Totus Tuus," written for a papal visit to Poland in 1987. A long, gentle and stoic piece, the six-piece English a capella group got off to a rather subdued start. Frighter'ngly so, as a possible two hours of religious music is not a pleasant possibility, even ifit issung in Latin. The rather cycloptic a* nature of the composition led to a rather disappi nting opening number. But the King's Singers are known for their eclecticism. Their next three se- lections were Renaissance French mad- rigals. The fast paced "Au Joli Jeu" allowed the group to show their prow- ess at interesting singing as well as , permitting them to move. Their heads moved rapidly and separately, in line w their parts. Tenor Bob Chilcott Wieven allowed to be witty, breaking the mood established by "Totus Tuus." Chilcott explained the story ofthe mad- rigal, an incomplete tale about attempt- ing to get some Renaissance French lovin'. Incomplete because "what hap- pens next, we can only guess at." The third madrigal, "La Guerre," fea- tured some amazingly entertaining war sounds as voiced by the Englishmen. The lilting voicing of"Fan frere le le Ian fan" and other noises of battle created a most happy-go-lucky scene of mass death. Like barking without a throat or spitting without saliva, the vocaliza- tions were quite satisfying to the audi- ence, which seemed to enjoy the levity in the pieces. "The Waking Father," composed for the King's Singers, suffered from a disparity between the original material and the performed version. The lyrics themselves are derived from very per- sonal poems and the singing of them by a group is fairly disconcerting. There really should have been some question- ing of the efficacy of a single voice being mouthed by a chorus. It was al- most like a palimpsest, the result of which was that theperformance seemed to run counter to the poems themselves. The group performed several arrange- ments of Irish folk songs following the intermission. The arrangements were thoroughly modern,and they were well- sung as far as the group's style goes. However, all except"Mairi's Wedding" seemed stripped ofany Irish spirit. Quite a feat when dealing with "Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)." The King's Singers do what they do well, but it is definitely not suited to all the works they perform. The style is, however, very appropri- ate in conjunction with their trademark arrangements of popular songs. Saturday's menu included three Beatles' songs, "Help,""Blackbird"and"Honeyj Pie,"the last of which gave bass Stephen Connolly an opportunity to loosen up and be a bit of a Ringo. Another inter- esting arrangement was "Seaside Ren- See SINGERS, Page 8A By James P. Miller Daily Arts Writer "All jazz is modern," said Wynton Marsalis. It was a fortuitous way to begin the show. Under the auspices of this open- ingremark, the band proceeded to prove that jazz defies precise'quantification, playing the music of Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk and Marsalis with equal amounts of style and enthusiasm. The opening tune, a somewhat acer- bic Marsalis composition called "The Majesty of the Blues," although a well- composed piece, and well-played by the band, was not representative of the restofthe set. Thesolos consisted mostly of tricks and novelty bits like overtones REVIEW Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra The Michigan Theater Feb. 1, 1996 and bizarre lip slurs. The pianist, Eric Reed, began to bring it to the church by turning in a gospel styled solo in the tradition of Cannonball Adderly. Then the rhythm section intertwined its part, transforming the piece from a cerebral, angular jazz tune to a savage, primal, polyrhythmic drumming experience. The Morton pieces were by far the high points of the evening. Tk first one, "Sidewalk Blues," was everything a Dixieland tune shouldbe.Often, Dixie tunes are played rather obligatorily. Bands tend to trudge through them be- cause they want to seem cultured and well-versed in their history. Marsalis and the orchestra were the real article. You can tell they play the music be- Madonna Something to Remember Maverick/Warner Bros. Records For 12 years, Madonna has rocked many a party with her up-tempo songs. With the help of the "Material Girl," you can "Express Yourself' with a touch of"Vogue." But the truly memo- rable songs of this former University student aren't her faster ones. Herr slow songs have been the true atten- tion-grabbers. Mind you, Madonna isn't the world's best singer; I doubt she could sing a single refrain flawlessly with- out the aid of electronic alteration. Nevertheless, Madonna has done the semi-impossible. She has taken some ofthe raunchiest, most prostitute-like characteristics to be found and pre- sented them in a way that is kind of... you know, sexy. Besides, her music's accompany- ing beats do a great job of covering her vocal shortcomings, and over the years, Madonna's singing has im- proved a ton. "Something to Remember" features some of Madonna's most well-known slow tunes. It spans back to her ground- breaking freshman release, "Like a Vir- gin," with the nicely done "Love Don't Live Here Anymore." It also features cuts from other re- leases including "Oh Father" from Madonna's quadruple-platinum "Like a Prayer" LP and "Forbidden Love" from her most recent CD, "Bedtime cause they really love it; they love play- ing it for people. Making the first truly inspiring solo of the evening was Michael White on the clarinet. During the swingera, when the saxophone rose to become the domi- nant reed instrument, the clarinet fell to the wayside. But White played his solos with all the vigor and humor of the old school. Going beyond the usual Dixieland arpeggiated chords (as they all did) he wove in and out of the rhyth- mic framework, stretching it with inhu- man bends in the high register and growls on the low. Their selections of Monk were var- ied and showed great musical depth. The first offering, "Hackensack," was from the earlier Monk period, with swing andblues overtones. The soloists turned in perfect bluesy solos. Once again the band showed its grasp of history, the bassist quoting Clifford Brown's "Blues Walk" in his solo. The pianist managed, in a relatively short solo, to capture the whimsical nature of Monk's music often overlooked in fa- vor of a more dense interpretation. The last Marsalis composition of the evening was especially indicative of the band's tenor and spirit. "The Su- preme Serenade" consisted of only the trumpet and piano. Playing in front of the piano's quiet support, Marsalis played a beautiful obbligato solo, the kind that is nearly extinct today. With an obvious but unstated Miles Davis influence, every note of Marsalis' had depth of feeling and elegance. Just like the Creole lilt to his voice, Marsalis' solo possessed a deep New Orleans melancholy like the fall magnolias. The set ended with Morton's "Black Bot- tom Stomp," an up-tempo Dixie barn- burner, the clarinetist sporting a big ol' We Wynton Marsails led the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra on Thursday. can of whup-ass at all times. Apart from the iridescently powerful Morton tunes, the second set was domi- nated by Monk. "Green Chimneys" was first, apart from a wonderful interpreta- tion the song was dedicated to: "Darryl Morris, the most free throw shootingest man in the world." That was probably the first time a Monk tune has been mentioned in reference to someone's marksmanship from the line. To prove again the unrelenting taste of Marsalis and Reed, they tackled the great Monk ballad "Reflections." Be- ing a rather young group, they played with a sensitivity and maturity well beyond their years. It was a joy to behold. Before closing with the great Morton stomper"Jungle Blues," the band played another Marsalis composition, "Proces- sional," an excerpt from his larger piece "In This House, On This Morning." Start- ing out as a typical bebop grinder, the piece slowly began to shift into a Mingus- esque, chain gang moan. Using only a tenor sax solo over simple clapped fig- ures, the band, in the span of a few seconds, conjured up an image of suffer- ing and redemption - the essence of the blues. This was not a concert that was just good, or even great. It was one of those musical moments when you want to fall down in the aisle and thank God you're alive and in that auditorium. The church has come through town. Thank you brother Wynton. Stories." "Something to Remember" also fea- tures many cuts that this Pride-of- Stockwell-Residence-fHall contrib- uted to various movie soundtracks. "Crazy for You" (from 1985's "Vi- sion Quest"), "Live to Tell" (from 1986's "At Close Range") and the truly memo'able "This Used to be My Playground" (from 1992's "A League of Their O n," the only really good movic Madonna ever starred in) are the choices: Looking ahead, Madonna performs three new selections on this album. ";You'll See" is OK, but nothing to gloat about. Backed by Massive At- tack, her remake of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" at one-third its original speed is outstanding. The simple "One More Chance" has Madonna singing alongside a single guitar. This song shows that her voice has definitely im- proved, though it is far from spectacu- lar. - Eugene Bowen Catherine Wheel Waydown E.P. Fontana Records The British have invaded the United States. It seems like every time you turn on the radio or MTV, there is another British pop band making it big. Although most of the British bands making headlines pretty much sound like a rehash of some other band, like Oasis (a.k.a. The Beatles) or Bush (everything Nirvana ... I don't think so), there are a few origi- nal bands from overseas not receiv- ing theirdue praise. Catherine Wheel is definitely one of these bands. After three unique, dark, beauti- fully noisy albums on Fontana records, the latest being 1995's "Happy Days," Catherine Wheel has decided to release an EP they re- corded in 1992. This four-song EP was only available on very limited- edition vinyl, but now has been in- cluded here, along with Catherine Wheel's latest single from "Happy Days," called "Waydown." The EP consists of three obscure covers and an original tune. "30th Cen- tury Man" was originally recorded by Scott Walker, but definitely sounds like a Catherine Wheel original, with its wall-of-noise guitars and thought- provoking lyrics. "Free of Mind" is standard Catherine Wheel. Although it's a good track, it pales in comparison to what Catherine Wheel is truly ca- pable of. "That's When I Reach For My Revolver," originally recorded by Mission of Burma, is a great song, probably the best on the disc. It's a typical Catherine Wheel classic, with an upbeat, slightly harsh, catchy rhythm, and dark, cynical lyrics like, "Once I had my heroes, once I had my dreams. But all of that is gone now, gets twisted inside-out. The truth is not that comfortable ..." Husker Du's "Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely," a good pop-punk love song, rounds out the Catherine Wheel pretends that it Is in Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. disc-a nice ending to this collection. This disc is essential listening for any Catherine Wheel fan, and it is a great disc for anyone who enjoys good music with some thought behind it. Although "Waydown" is not as strong as Catherine Wheel's last two albums, "Chrome" and "Happy Days," it is definitely worth a listen, too. - Colin Bartos See RECORDS, Page 8A ** k*** .Classic ** * ... Excellent ** ...Good ** ... Fair Poor Zero ... A Bomb Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful 'Beautiful Girls' It's the movie we've all been waiting for! in what has been called the "Big Chill" of the '90s, Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon and Rosie O'Donnell (seen above shopping for tampons and other cool things) star with many other Generation X celebrities in a film about love and relationships in America. And, lucky for you, Daily reader, we have free passes for a sneak preview of this film. The special show is at the Ann Arbor 1 & 2 Cinema on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. To get your just come to the Daily Arts office, 420 Maynard St., after noon today, and tus the name of another movie in which we've seen Rosie act. i I . .... I I Chicano lliitoty Week 1996 A3"s l'It4 me4 X ~'rc~ckciw - #iworoVwwwv ul w'ul u i WUaeV9iiii Wa