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 CLASSIFIEDS ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET FAST RESULTS David Bowie CALL 764-0557 .. adds second show Dance Theatre 'Studio 711 N. University (near State St.) Ann Arbor""