8 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 15, 1999 bbey Lincoln passionately ignites in A2 debut By Lauren Rice Daily Arts Writer Jazz diva Abbey Lincoln kindled a fire of excitement in the Michigan Theater this past, Friday night with her soulful UMS debut. Joining Lincoln mance were Marc Abbey Lincoln Michigan Theater March 12, 1999° for the evening's perfor- Cory on piano, Michael Bowie on bass and Alvester Garnett on drums. The instrumental trio kicked the evening off with their powerful contribution to the show's high degree of, talent. After that exceptional introduction, it's hard to imagine that anyone could top it off. But from the moment she confi- dently strolled out onto the stage and graciously bowed, Lincoln set the voice permeated the theater, rendering the sensation of a comfortable lounge setting. Lincoln took a shot at love in the regretful, "And It's Supposed to be Love," in which she explored the craziness of commitment. She succeeded in employing her sassy side to lament the perils of love. Her sentimental feelings radiated with "Midnight Sun," in which she declared a vow to remember the gentle touch of her lover's lips, despite the surrounding world that could crumble around them at any moment. Before the end of each piece, she reassured the audi- ence that she always picks herself up and moves on. But don't mistake Lincoln for a lovesick puppy. She also takes on an idea of repetition throughout generations in "Wholly Earth," comparing the spherical structure of the planet to the cyclical nature of human lives. Her songs were fascinating in the way she succeeded in taking complex issues, such as love and the world in which it resides, and deals with it in a very straight forward man- ner. Her simplistic style is what makes her so inviting and readily understood, which is probably the most powerful message of Lincoln's music. Her smile and generous laughter are a reminder that she, too, has been there. While her dynamic performance was mostly composed of original works, she also featured covers of Bob Dylan's "Tambourine Man" and "If I Only Had a Brain" from Judy Garland's MGM film debut, "The Wizard of Oz." While she retained the majority of the original melodies, her own flavor couldn't help but shine through. These light-hearted segments took a break from the sentimental mood and evoked a chuckle from the audience. Especially interesting was the use of back- ground lights to convey the various moods and tempos of the music and lyrics. In the initial instrumental set before Lincoln's appearance, the lights followed with a bluish color to represent a moderate tempo, and changed as they crescendoed to a bright, illu- minating orange. Throughout her songs, Lincoln would often switch back and forth from the regretful to the optimistic. The col- ors varied from blue, communicating loss or sorrow, escalating up to magenta and some- times red, which exposed her emotional intensity. Lincoln is clearly no new kid on the jazz block. Her complacent demeanor and ease in soft, yet passionate mood, interspersed with raw heartfelt emotion. Accompanied by the trio, she held her audience captive with soothing vocals and an enthusiastic performance. Her deep, melodic 4 Abbey Lincoln wowed the crowd with her Ann Arbor debut this past Friday evening. courtesy of Verve interacting with the crowd places her in the same league with the finest of performers. .Onstage, she constantly moves, smiling and enjoys herself. She clearly has fun with the audience and the sheer joy she derives through a love of music. Lost kid sinks in By En Podolsky Daily Arts Writer Television movies of the week range from the topical to the weepy; that's the medium where they belong. It's when they bleed into movie theaters that we ought to be worried. "The Deep End of the Ocean" is a film that not only has been made before, it's been made as an odious TV movie ("I Know My First Name is Steven" has essentially the same plot and S .Fruit and Ice and' Everything Nice That's What Smoothies are made of. $1.00 off Any Smoothie Expires 03/30/99 ' 522 E. WilliamI (Next to Cottage Inn) arc). It's a film that offers nothing new, nothing unpredictable: every fear that you can imagine about losing a child and then getting him back ten years later fulfills expectation. Beth Cappadora (Michelle Pfeiffer) takes her three young children, Vincent, Ben and infant Kerry to her high school reunion, leaving husband Deep End of Pat (Treat the Ocean Williams) at home. In her mad and inevitably futile At Briarwood attempt to handle and Showcase three little kids by. herself amid the mass hysteria that stands in for old friends reuniting, Ben disappears. Everybody goes through the motions -and emotions- associated with a missing child: Beth turns withdrawn and depressed, Vincent is neglected and left to his own young devices, Pat is left to raise the remaining children on his own. Ten years later, the Cappadoras seem to have gotten their life back together and given up on ever seeing Ben again. In a bizarre twist of fate, Ben, now known as 'Ocean Sam (Ryan Merriman), lives two blocks from their new home in Chicago. The ensuing histrionics and mawkish reactions are, as earlier, underscored by an over- bearing string soundtrack, emotional breakdowns and coping difficulties that are at once utterly imaginable and utterly laughable. It's hard to believe that the same Stephen Schiff who penned last year's marvelously witty and tragic "Lolita" is responsible for the tripe that passes for dia- logue in this film. Pfeiffer sounds sickened as she mouths her lines, as if she knows how obviously bad they are. Ulu Grosbard's direction is nothing special and contains several inexplicable camera movements that seem an attempt at art, but are truly out of place. There is, however, a ray of light visible even from what might as well be 20,000 leagues under the sea. Whoever said that the children shall lead- them may have been talking about thisfilm,because that's where "The Deep End of the Ocean" gets it right. Maybe it's because Jonathan Jackson, who plays the wayward, guilt-rid- den youth Vincent as a teen, has done time on "General Hospital" and therefore knows how to' deal with a soapy script. Maybe it's because Jackson and Merriman are too young to know better than to be better than their material. Whatever the Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Michelle Pfeiffer hugs Cory Buck. reason, the two boys manage to elevate their drama of brotherhood above the string-pulling level of the rest of the film. It's enough to make you wonder what the film could have been had more time been spent on the siblings (including their little sister). We may imagine what it would be like to lose a child, but what about the brother who was left behind? This is where "The Deep End of the Ocean" had a chance to go the untrodden path. In choosing to focus on the entire fami- ly, especially on the parents and their pained if predictable reactions, "The Deep End of the Ocean" sinks itself. The ingre- dients for a good film are here, but they're just floating in a sea of emotional mania that are all too familiar, thanks to tabloids and news magazines. Crime Wave James Eliroy Vintage Genre writers often don't garner as much respect as those whose work transcends genre. But crime writer James Ellroy has beat the odds with his novel "American Tabloid." This crime thriller won Time magazine's novel of the year in 1995 and his memoir "My Dark Places" won universal acclaim as well as a Time magazine book of the year and a New York Times notable book of the year in 1997. In addi- tion to this, GQ named him 1998's literary man of the year, joining previous winners Norman Mailer and John Updike. While Ellroy's latest book, "Crime Wave," is a collection of his short fiction and reportage for GQ, it is a wonderful showcase of his work. This mix of crime reporting - from '50s crime to the O.J. Trial - and short fiction packs a punch unchar-, acteristic of most writers. Ellroy' brings you into the sleazy world of Los Angeles, chronicling it less as a physical being, and more as a social being. Ejlroy works his prose around dif- ficult subject matter, not shying, away from gruesome details in both his fiction and non-fiction. Instead, he uses lean, meaty sentences, free from the fatty frills of writers, such as Bret Easton Ellis, to convey the horror of murder. Refusing to pull any punches, Ellroy doesn't glamor- ize the process of a murder investi- gation or the people involved, giv- ing it a stark realism unavailable on television or in the cinema. As a skilled novelist, Ellroy works his magic on short fiction, using alliterated sentences to give snap and sizzle to his narrator Danny Getchell. Getchell is a racist, homophobic drug-addicted reporter for the scandal rag "Hush-Hush." In the stories "Hush-Hush" and. "Tijuana, Mon Amour", Getchel makes himself a part of the lives o the movers and shakers in Hollywood, getting involved in their. improprieties and trying to avoid getting murdered. While the stories themselves are.a stretch, their satiric nature create~ intricate plots. Ellroy derives a great deal of humor from Getchell, not just screwing with Frank Sinatra's private life, but from tea ing up with Sammy Davis Jr. an drugging the late crooner in. "Tijuana, Mon Amour." Aside from a strong hand at fic- tion, Ellroy creates as much interest in his non-fiction works. Included in this collection is "My Mother's Killer," which is of interest because it grew into the memoir "My Dark Places." Aside from looking into the death of his mother, Ellroy extend his quest looking into the unsolve murder of Betty Jean Scales in "Body Dumps." Ellroy recounts the failed investigation of this brutal murder, in part, because Scales' murder was at the time only the sec- ond unsolved murder in El Monte, Calif.; the first was that of Jean Ellroy, Jamegs: Elroy's mother. Obsession with murder and unsolved crimes plays out in hi 'other non-fiction, "Glamour Jungle" and "Sex, Glitz, and Greed: The Seduction of O.J. Simpson." Ellroy doesn't just use his medium as an exercise in exploitation, giv- ing just the grisly details of death and murder. Rather, he makes the victims and perpetrators into real- life, flesh and bones, which is exactly how it should be because they didn't spring from his imagina- tion, but from the belly of the beas known as L.A. - Ed Sholinsky Eliroy's newest mixes' true crime with fiction I PR.OBLW PEGNNYHL 9754357 w homeopathy chiropractic colonics massage acupuncture I.V. THERAPY chelation bach flowers herbology psychotherapy nutrition enzymes r ...,.....' =:=: 7Y.:,..,,....,:.... 'S' C '::itii ..ti:?t.: ?^C:vfY.:,., :v .xr::i:'tii:2 ?::i3S«:"rr."xis II