The Michigan Daily-Thursday, July 9, 1981-Page 7
Lorber's jazz alchemy
By STEVE HOOK
Daily Opinion Editor
It was a hell of a night, with the Jeff Lorber Fusion
funking themselves wildly from 6:30 to 9:30, and the
Duke opening a two-night stand at Rick's American
Cafe soon afterward.
The madness began early-in an unlikely spot, at an
unlikely hour. Barely past rush hour, with the July sun
still bright in the west, barely fifty yards from the I-94
on-ramp-an outdoor gig at Mantels, the trendy night-
club for the graduate-school, low-level-executive set.
Gin and tonics, Bloody Mary's, grumbles about a long
day in the office. We sat listening to the Fusion play in
a back parking lot of the Hilton Hotel, cleverly secluded
from the rumbling highway traffic.
THEIR THREE-HOUR show clearly pleased the 400
or so customers, who responded to the band rap-
turously between tete-a-tete's, enjoying a more-than--
suitable Tuesday afternoon Happy Hour.
Around town, you hear grumbling about .Jeff Lor-
ber's product. Some say that it is watered-down, com-
mercial. Well, Lorber himself is the first to concede the
conscious marketability of the sound ("There's com-
mercial music that has aesthetic merit, and there's
music without aesthetic merit," he explained between
sets) but for the clubbers at Mantel's, this tight, techno-
pop side of the jazz mainstream was just fine.
The compositions were precise; the mixing was
(generally) superb. Music not to pick apart, but to en-
joy in stride, accompanied by other stimuli, such as
card games and wet bars. Yes, it's commercial, but
turn it up when you get up for a beer. The composition
"City" is up next, and you should hear the sax solo by
Kenny.
OCCASIONALLY, a newly introduced piece would
get snarled a bit, and Lorber would be the first to right
it with his elaborate keyboards - providing bass and
rhythm tempos on two boards while the others retur-
ned to synch. The complex progressions, a trademark
of Lorber, reflected qualities of other notable "fusion"
bands (Passport, Sea Level), but also encompassed a
savvy, ground-breaking element that was uniquely
Lorber-without the frills of others in the field.
Hell, this wasn't a concert, it was a cocktail party,
and the music was damn good, too. We heard some
spirited sax, clarinet, and flute from Kenny Gorelick,
who has been with Lorber's band for three of its five
years on tour. Danny Wilson-Lorber's bold, no-
bullshit bassist - accompanied him step-for-step,
stealing the show at one point by polishing off a
dramatic solo with the handicap of a broken string.
. Dennis Bradford, the drummer, remained incon-
spicuous, but dazzling when the time called for dazzle.
Substance, not form. Quiet confidence, satisfaction
with the product.
Lorber's new co-star, Marlon McClain, has been
producing the Fusion's sound since their first album,
and recently joined the band as a lead guitarist and
vocalist. His knack and grace drew the spotlight his
way, and an infectiousstage presence kept it there.
Here is a group that you'd never want to see in Hill
Auditorium, a band that requires this sort of open-air,
get-up-and-mill-around atmosphere to really make the
gig swing. Their goal, therefore, is not quite so for-
midable and their buoyant, frisky personalities on-
stage reflected this. For everyone but the most jaded
and cynical, this was pure and simple fun in the sum-
mertime sun.
Fontana
By GERARD PAPE
Daily Arts Writer
The Fontana Ensemble, a new
eleven-member chamber ensemble,
opened the University Musical
Society's 103rd season in a most
refreshing and delightful way. As a
welcome relief to the day's sweltering
heat, the Ensemble provided the
cooling sounds of Mozart, Brahms, and
Faure.
Although young, the ensemble suffers
from no lack of experience or talent.
Particularly noteworthy for their vir-
tuosity were Winifred Mayes, former
cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra
and current Ann Arborite; Barry Ross,
violinist for the ensemble and concer-
tmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony;
and Deborah Moriarty, pianist and
faculty member at Michigan State
University.
THE CONCERT began with Mozart's
"Quartet in F Major." This piece was
perhaps, the least successfully perfor-
med. Though the strings formed a
delicate ensemble, the oboist, Robert
Humiston, played unevenly. He per-
formed well on slow selections with
notes of long duration, but hesitated on
passages requiring agility and high pit-
ches. And while maintaining good
balance in the slow passages,
Humiston was too loud in the fast sec-
tions. But the successful conveyance of
the Mozartean mood of gentle
playfulness and bittersweet ex-
pressiveness outweighed the flaws in
the performance.
Brahms' "Trio in E-Flat Major" was
performed in a very exciting way. The
driving rhythms of violinist Ross and
pianist Moriarty threatened to leave
French hornist Neill Sanders behind. At
first it appeared that this was due to a
more reserved, less energetic approach
on the part of Sanders, but the problem
may be more basic to the instrumen-
tation of the piece.
Brahms seems to have written a
violin and piano sonata with the horn
part added to suggest the symphonic
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complement. Indeed, French horns are
mainly orchestral instruments and are
rarely included in non-wind ensemble
chamber music. The tone quality of
horns suggests the vast, slow-moving
sections of a Bruckner symphony
rather than the concentrated energy of
a Brahms' quintet, for example. Thus,
the horn part sounds as if it is holding
back the forward motion of the piece, as
it struggles to keep pace. This problem
seemed least acute during the adagio
section, where slow chordal harmonies
provided a nice basis for violin, piano,
and horn.
Faure's "Quartet in C Minor" could
be considered successful without any
reservations whatsoever. An early
work, this quartet straddles the musical
world of both Brahms and Debussy.
Passages harmonically and rhyth-
mically reminiscent of Brahms' cham-
ber works alternate with daring,
chromatic, impressionistic harmonies.
At times, conventional chamber music
textures and formulas give way to more
original writing.
THE FONTANA Ensemble gave a
most convincing performance. The
blend of piano and strings was flawless.
Playing was always committed and
See FONTANA's, Page 10
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