aceo ai Blues an By James Miller Daily Arts Writer :The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is as much a part ofAnn Arbor frigid winters, dirty hippies and bad gels. James Miller knows this town better than most and attacked the annu- al festival for the Daily with all his might. Here's his recap of this year's phenomenal event. Day One, Michigan Theater Scott Adams, the creator of"Dilbert," once said that "Life is making mistakes, is knowing which ones to keep." At Taj Mahal show Friday night, the scheduled opener, Alvin "Youngblood" -Hart, could not make it. The staff scrambled and found some one to fill in. They needed a ringer. They found a bluesman with rare evocative powers and disarming charm. Robert Jones hosts the superlative WDET radio show "Blues from the Lowland," a stalwart of traditional blues radio. Jones' set con- sisted of the mainstays of an acoustic *ues repetoire, such as "Kindhearted Woman" and "If I Had Possession Over the Judgement Day" (Robert Johnson), "Dust My Broom" (Elmore James) and Son House's "Death-letter Blues." Jones worked his way through these tunes with near-peerless' musicianship and a style of slide guitar that is as deep as Elmore James and as athletic as Bukka White. His finished his set with tune called "Gospel Train" which micked all the different kinds of peo- pie he heard in church as a boy. Jones is definitely one of the most underrated and unappreciated talents on the blues scene today. On to Taj. It's important to realize that Taj Mahal's career has spanned more than thirty years. Any show of his is.going to be a salute to eclecticism at its finest. The first several tunes were decently played blues-rock numbers h a taste of Creole thrown in for od measure. Toward the middle of the set, he launched into some of his old classics: "Further on Down the Road,",a H'ammond rich New Orleans cruiser, and "Mailbox Blues." The end of Taj's set consisted of tunes from his beautifully executed new album "Phantom Blues." The stride-laden Fats Domino piece "Let the Four Winds Blow" began the trend ich let into the boogie-woogie ivory rocket "Hustle I On" and culminated in the high-octane rendition of the idtwlt p1 Arf, arf Want to understand more about the language of animals? Ted Andrews will be talking about the language of animals and nature at 7 p.m. at Crazy Wisdom, 206 N. Fourth Ave. He will also be signing copies of his latest book, "Anima-Speak: The Spirit and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small." Admission is $20. For more information, call 665-2757. Wednesday September 18, 1996 September 18, 1996 nd Allison make SJazz Festival a hit album's hottest barn-burner, "I Need Your Lovin'." For his encore, as a salute and I-told-you-so, Taj played his most famous tune, "She Caught The Katy," which was featured prominently in the following evening's showing of "The Blues Brothers." In fact, most of the evening Taj made a point of demonstrating the difference between popular music and the music he plays, as well as the little recognition that soul and blues artists get. But the evening was presented without a trace of bitterness or ego, and for a few REVIEW Blues & Jazz Festival Sept.13, 14 & 15 Michigan Theater, Gallup Park moments, a man could believe that the Michigan theater was a Mississippi roadhouse. Day Two, Gallup Park Rain and outdoor concerts go togeth- er about as well as ... well, metaphor fails me. Anyway, Saturday's leg of the festival was not the paradigm of a rockin' good time it has been in the past. The first band, Al Hill and the Love Butlers, are a talented bunch of jump blues players, but had a difficult time collecting with each other and with the audience. The next two acts suffered from simi- lar problems. Ed Moss and John Sinclair performed a spoken-word set, consisting of fluid poetry about the great musicians of the past 50 or 60 years. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell them that rather pompous beatnik verse performed to a wet, cold festival crowd fifty yards away is not the best way to get a crowd hyped up. Next, two excellent trumpeters, ubiq- uitous session man Marcus Belgrave and former Blue Note leader Louis Smith, took the stage with their band. Adding more muscle to the equation was local and international piano stud Rick Roe and University jazz studies faculty mem- ber Gerald Cleaver on drums. All parties involved played beautifully, with taste and elegance. But the weather, which drove the audience back to a distant tent, made the subtleties upon which their music depends difficult to hear. This is a brilliant combo to hear indoors, in their element. I recommend them highly. Bringing up the blues side of the equation was Texas (by way of Canada) plank spanker Sue Foley. She and her trio put on an admirable show, with her languid, almost surf-styled guitar, that bordered on sinister at times. But on her more torchy songs like "Long Distance Lover," her voice proved to be clear and expressive, yet slight and lacking depth. Good, but not great. Beginning the evening's upward swing was Terrence Simien and the Mallet Playboys. The Playboys played a good sized set consisting of happy, effulgent dance music, heavy on the accordion. In a fit of musical worldli- ness, several of the songs contained passages from such famous tunes as the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back" and War's "Low Rider." At any rate, the Playboys were the only band that got members of the audience out from under the shelter tent and dancing. Big accomplishment on such a nasty day. I wasn't sure what to expect from Pharaoh Sanders. Sanders was one of the men who picked up the free jazz torch after the death of John Coltrane. His music is often wild and unpre- dictable, involving strange instrumen- tation and saxophone playing that is aggressive, bordering on violent. But I was pleasantly surprised. The first two tunes were free jazz, but in the most genteel sense of those words. Free jazz is often hard to listen to because its energy seems both boundless and pointless. But Sanders' music was filled with positive energy, at the risk of sounding like hippie. The last two tunes before the encore were actually danceable. The first was a laid-back Latin number with Sanders leading a call and response with the audience and living it up with various auxiliary percussion instruments like a dement- ed grandfather. The second was a funk tune. Really, an honest to God Pharaoh Sanders funk tune. And it was really good too. A damn fine capper to the second day. Day Three, Gallup Park The third day was vastly improved from Saturday. Sadly, due to logistical problems, I missed the first act. But the second band, local titans Big Dave and the Ultrasonics played their hearts out, as if they we're capable of any less. Opening the set with Louis Prima's "Jump, Jive and Wail" they had a good chunk of the crowd doing just that before the end of the tune. Songs like "Where'd You Learn To Shake It Like That" and "No Sweat" showed off Dave Morris' harp chops (and new spiffy haircut), Ben Wilson's tasty ivory tickling and "Big" Dave Morris' smoky vocals. Big Dave and the Ultrasonics continue to be the epit- ome of high energy jump blues. Bless those boys. The Dave Douglas String Group. Um, I'd rather not talk about it. Let's just say if you see Dave coming to your town, run. Following Douglas was Corey Harris, a one-man army of dreadlocks and dobro. His set tore out of the gate with an incendiary "Gonna Get My Religion" and never let up. He moved effortlessly from Bukka White stom- pers like "Do The Jitterbug" to west African-flavored workouts like "Jungle Partner." He also managed to call forth Luther Allison plays the blues at Gallup Park on Sunday. JENNIFER IBRADLEY- SWtiI/al the somber, almost demonic side of the blues that is almost lost these days with tunes like "Death-letter Blues" and "5- 0 Blues" (his composition). Harris has one of the rare gifts of the blues, incor- porating both the sinner and the saved in his music. Luther Allison. What can one say about such a man? Returning to the festival after his now legendary 1972 festival appearance, Allison put on a show that never let the crowd touch the ground for a minute. Even though he showed up late due to a mistake with his transportation, he crammed the full allotment of blues power into his somewhat compressed set. Allison proved just how deadly the Buddy guy, don't-just-play-to-them-play-through- them school of the blues can be. Leading the crowd through massive, dense 10- to 15- minute tunes with numbing crescendos and mesmerizing bridges, Allison even simulated a con- versation with his reluctant wife, using his guitar tremolo as the whine of her voice. And in one of the better set closers I've ever seen, he walked off stage while still soloing (he was hooked up to a radio mic) and was car- ried around the crowd on the shoulders of some lucky fan. Now that's a show- man. And what to say about Maceo. I sup- pose I could tell you that he played "Pass the Peas," "Shake Everything You Got," "Funky Good Time" and "Let's Get It On." I could tell you how good the bass and drums were. I could tell you how his son came out and rapped on a few songs and even danced 3vith his father a little. But that would be bor- ing and predictable. What I'd rather tell you about is ihe crowd. Every single person, from wing to wing, was grinning like a ghoul at a fat man's funeral. White, black, young, old, aging hippie and confused Community High freshman - they were all putting their back- fields in motion to the best of their abilities. Maceo's show was a reminder of what music can be' and should be: an expression of our deep- est joys and the blessed sonic tonic for our souls. Or maybe it was just a funky good time. JENNIFER BRADLEY-SWIFT/Daily Maceo Parker Jazzes It up at Sunday's Blues and Jazz Festival. Social Distortion rocks out on new LP social Distortion White Light White Heat mhite Trash 550/Epic Records Social Distortion, a name synony- mous with punk ethic and attitude, has returned to deliver yet another offering of powerful tunes with their fifth album, "White Light White Heat White Trash." Although they've been around over 0 years, Social Distortion doesn't bw any signs of slowing down or giv- ing up. Like punk grandfather counter- parts Bad Religion, Social D. went on hiatus for much of the mid-'80s and returned in 1988. Social D. differs from Bad Religion, though, in that they are done to those he's met and loved in the past, and is now admitting his errors. When Ness belts out "I was wrong / Self-destruction's got me again" so convincingly, you almost wonder if the lyrics aren't totally autobiographical. "Crown Of Thorns" reflects on what love has meant to Ness in the past: "I wish I knew then what I know now / It's no bed of roses / It ain't no crown of thorns / Better than lonely / I've been there before." The most aggressive track on the disc is the last track, a hid- den one called "Under My Thumb," which really gets you hyped up to start the disc over and listen to the whole thing again. - Colin Bartos ;: .... ., ,,.., ; . . .. .. s . .