ARTS
Page 9 Tuesday, May 17, 1983 The Michigan Daily
UNIQUE JAZZ A T THE CAFE:
Belgrave triumphs as trumpeter
By Jerry Brebenec
G O TO A BAR featuring live music,
and you'll see a lot of people there
to dance, to seduce, or to check out the
lead singer's clothes and haircut. This
is all well and good, but in the basement
of the Blind Pig, -people come to listen,
and to help the performer along.
People sharing the cramped tables
always end up getting acquainted, and
performers relish the give and take that
develops. This is definitely one of the
city's great music rooms - dusty rafters
and all.
The temptation is always present to
compare Marcus Belgrave's playing to
Miles, or to Freddie Hubbard, or to Clif-
ford Brown, or to whatever god of the
trumpet comes to mind, but it's impor-
tant to remember that Belgrave . has
been around playing great jazz as long
as any of them, and has always had a
unique and independent voice of his
own.
Belgrave is simply one of the masters
of the trumpet. Unique things, in ad-
dition to Belgrave's style, are his
devotion to jazz education, and his
openmindedness. He'll listen to just
about anything that's played well and
promptly label it good jazz - whether
it's Duke Ellington or the Rolling
Stones. A good example of this attitude
is the typically exciting solo he con-
tributed to the recent album by Detroit
avant-funkers Was/Not Was.
Belgrave's last appearance in Ann
Arbor was at the University Club,
leading a traditional jazz quintet
featuring master drummer Roy
Brooks, in an evening devoted to the
compositions of the late, great pianist,
Thelonius Monk.
This weekend's appearance at the
Pig featured a totally different, and
very interesting group. Anchoring this
quintet were drummer George David-
son and the excellent young electric
bassist Robert Hurst, who seem the
most familiar with Belgrave's original
material.
Pianist Claude Black is a veteran
bebopper with awesome technical and
stylistic resources, out of the Detroit
piano tradition which includes players
like Tommy Flanagan and Hank Jones.
The group's ace in the hole is
guitarist/vocalist Robert Penn, who
lays out on a lot of the jazz but can sing
and play the blues with a vengeance.
Belgrave's new band is a combination
jazz group and Chicago blues band.
The seams that hold the group
together were pretty obvious at times
Saturday night, as the pianist and
guitarist shuffled sheet music trying to
find their way through tunes, and as the
guitarist disappeared during a Charlie
Parker number, only to reappear, toast
the audience with a glass of beer, and
launch into "Every Day I Have the
Blues."
The first set opened with an original
that Belgrave wrote for his daughter, a
fast paced, exciting number that shif-
ted moods and tempos frequently.
Belgrave played fiery solos on trumpet
and flugelhorn, concentrating on the
high range of the instrument, where dif-
ferent notes, fingerings and overtones
begin to run together.
Belgrave's lines twist and turn, often
starting on a high note and spiralling
down, leaving brass players shaking
their heads in wonder. Pianist Claude
Black was reading furiously on this
number, having first played it the night
before, and his solo work was restricted
to the sections of the tune he knew - he
reverted to comping through much of
the forms. Guitarist Penn made only a
few sketchy contributions, but the
rhythm section surged on regardless,
lending the performance a sort of
reckless, schizoid excitement.'
A midtempo, altered blues followed,
with witty chord changes written by
Mickey Tucker for a record date that
featured Belgrave along with
saxophonist Junior Cook. The guitarist
took some space on this one, playing
with the tight, trebly, heavily picked
sound of a true blues guitarist.
Belgrave's solo featured witty rhyth-
mic punches and faint plumes of vapor
that emerged mysteriously from the
bell of his trumpet.
Charlie Parker's classic "Confir-
mation" followed, and Claude Black at-
tacked this number with ferocious
exuberance. The Blind Pig's old upright
piano looks like hell, but a lot of good
notes must have been played into it
over the years. Each chorus seemed to
fuel the next, winding up with an unac-
companied display of Art Tatum style
virtuosity that left excellent trumpet,
bass, and drum solos in the shade.
The balance of the set was devoted to
the expressive singing and gritty
playing of Robert Penn, singing about
hard times, blues, and women who
demand new Cadillacs and mess
around with the mailman. Penn led the
band with yells and gestures, bringing
them up to belt out big lines or cutting
to a whisper for the sad ones. Oc-
casional bits of unorthodoxy would peek
through the blues framework from time
to time as the drummer added some
unusual rhythms or the pianist stacked
up some altered harmonies.
The main theme with Belgrave's
group has to be spontaneity and fun.
These musicians have enough sheer
talent to wail through just about
anything: the loose ends are just part of
the fun of jazz.
Panic in Detroit:
David Bowie part II
The space oddity has scheduled a fragette City," and Panic in Detroit,"
second Detroit appearance. Buoyed by has gone far beyond most artists in his
the popular success of his recent Let's efforts to remain interesting,
Dance release (and by enthusiastic challenging, and provoking. His
ticket sales), David Bowie will perform dramatic performances in The Man
on Sunday, July 31, at Joe Louis Arena Who Fell to Earth, The Hunger, Baal,
in addition to his original July 30 show. and the stage version of The Elephant
Bowie, author of such critical won- Man attest to the diversity of Bowie's
ders as Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders talents.
from Mars, "Golden Years," "Suf- The Bowie concerts represent a new
step for Prism Productions, the Ann
Arbor-based promoters. Normally con-
tent to booking acts for the local music
scene, Prism is hoping to broaden their
reach to include more big names and
larger Detroit audience.
"It's taken us time to line up the right
connections," said Prism represen-
tative Tom Stachler. "But (the Bowie
concerts) are definitely a turning
point."
Both shows begin at 8 p.m. There are
still plenty of good seats left for the July
31 performance, and a few tickets
($12.50-$15) remain for the Saturday
night show as well.
-Ben Ticho
THE DAILY
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David Bowie CALL 764-0557
.. adds second show
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