ARTS *The Michigan Daily Friday, February 1, 1991 *El Conguero plays Page 5 h hot, by Peter Shapiro In the American jazz community, Latin jazz has never received more than a perfunctory ho-hum by critics and historians, who merely note that it exists as an obscure sub-genre. This disregard is due in large part to the canonization of jazz by critics who wish to keep jazz enshrined among an elite who "appreciate the harmonic sophistication" of the mu- sic. What this has done is to replace the passionate fire of jazz with a cloak of arcane intellectualism. Latin jazz grows out of the same Afro-Cuban roots that Dizzy Gille- spie and Xavier Cougat popularized in the '40s, the same roots that started millions of feet in Africa moving along with Zairean soukous. The message of Afro-Cuban is rhythm, rhythm, rhythm; sometimes it's subtle, sometimes (usually) it's hot, hot, hot. In a more obvious manner than the African-American jazz that critics have dampened with their arty pretensions, Latin jazz musicians lay out and jam in endless blowing and percussion sessions. This is particularly true of Tabakov' s .by Robin Kitzes 0 leg Tabakov's Moscow Theatre Studio, making its U.S. debut in Ann Arbor tonight at the Michigan Theater, was banned in the Soviet Union in 1958 due to its "Jewish" subject matter. Today, the group travels extensively through Europe. In a cultural exchange with Amer- ica's Acting Company, the Soviet * troupe will tour a few select cities to perform the two plays. "The exciting thing about il," says Margot Harley, executive producer of the Acting Company, "is that although there has been Soviet theater in the United States before, it has only reached major cities. This production will enable smaller cities, like St. Louis, Poughkeepsie and Ann Arbor, (to have) the privilege of Soviet the- 4 ater."' hotja conguero Poncho Sanchez, whose conga mastery is moving him into the pantheon of Latin jazz greats along with his mentor, Cal Tjader, as well as Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria. While staying anchored to his ranchera Tex-Mex roots, Sanchez has fused the more sedate Mexican style of Tjader with the tor- rential rhythms of Puente's tipico salsa. Shedding the gentle and mel- lifluous melodies of early salsa, mambos and cha-chas that are occa- sionally too harmless to work on American ears, Sanchez removes their skeletal poly-rhythms and brews the bones with the hot jazz improvisation style that was a re- sponse to the West Coast's cool. The result of this cross-cultural stew is a jazz with its eyes and ears on the dance floor. The band's sound is reminiscent of Art Blakey's ver- sion of "A Night in Tunisia" (which Sanchez's band plays as an up-tempo mambo) with the woodblocks re- placed by Sanchez's persistent con- gas, the sterile timbres of Lee Mor- gan and Wayne Shorter replaced by scorching salsa workouts by trom- bonist Arturo Velasco and reed player Kenny Goldberg and with the Renier Werner Fassbinder defi-I nitely believed "it's better to burnI out than to fade away." In under 201 years he made close to 40 feature; films, most of which he both wrote+ and directed. His lifestyle - flam- boyant, vindictive, gay and addicted - was both the driving force behindi most of his work (he supposedly shot films during the day and, with the help of barbiturates, wrote screenplays for future films at night) and, ultimately, his undoing. In a Year of 13 Moons, though not the epitome of his work, is a deeply tragic semi-autobiograph- ical piece which, through its essen- tial themes, touches the uncertainty and precariousness of each of our lives. Though this sounds like the description of every Bergman film, this work is simultaneously much harsher and much more adventurous than many of Ingmar's works. In the film, while eavesdropping on the last days in the life of Elvira, a trans-sexual who changed her sex on a whim, we are forced to re-examine our own seemingly trivial actions and their often unexpectedly serious consequences. Moreover, even though we never see him on screen, we constantly feel the will of Fas- binder behind every shot and every word. In the final summation, it may be that Fassbinder's hurry to corn- plete film after film after film led him to make some unwise decisions - this film, for instance, has a ton- dency to get talky and drag -- but his final statement, the quantity and profundity of his work, will ulti- mately be recognized as one of the most original filmic visions in tle whole medium. In a Year of 13 Moons is playing at MLB 4 at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday. - Mike Kuniavsky Poncho Sanchez, looking vaguely similar to Topol, of Fiddler on the Roof fame, shakes his proverbial cow-bell. Trains, plains and: addition of the heavily percussive pi- the percussion's undulation ano work of Charlie Atwell. But the PONCHO SANCHEZ per poly-rhythms are never overstated or the Mendelssohn Theater S too dense to mire the salsa without a 7:30 p.m. Tickets are groove, nor are the solos so cumber- available from TicketMas some that they betray or drown out evilse rvi- hro-). S. forms at Sunday at $16.50, volcanoe by Julie Komorn a, . "' GYL OG( Y GG G(Id.N G studio: M Alexander Galich's Russian-Jew- ish drama, My Big Land, carries its audience through three acts that ex- tend from the late 1920s to the dev- astation encountered by the Russian people during World War II. The play traces the struggles of David Schwartz, a Jewish violin prodigy, and his father Abraham, a warehouse administrator. The settings of the play range from a small village in the Ukraine to the Moscow Conser- vatory and, ultimately, to a medical train carrying wounded soldiers back from the front in 1944. Abraham, along with many other Jews, is exe- cuted by the Nazis. The play's mes- sage evolves when Abraham later appears to his dying son in a dream, during which David realizes the im- portance of homeland. Tabakov, famed Soviet actor-di- rector and founder of the Moscow [oscow on the Hur( Theatre Studio, recently described the play to the New York Times. "It is the old story of the return of the prodigal son," he said. "I like to think of it as polyphonic - a drama with many voices, many themes and many meanings." On Saturday, the Michigan The- ater will feature The Teacher of Rus- sian by Alexander Buravsky. The play is set in a contemporary Soviet hospital located in a reputable sea- side resort. Doctor Popov, a corrupt and scheming individual, rents pa- tient's rooms to vacationing tourists for personal profit. "The contempo- rary play deals with a vision," says Harley. "It is a black comedy and probably an allegory on modern So- viet life." The play features a guest performance by the famous 80-year- old Soviet actress, Maria Miranova. The productions will be per- formed in Russian with si ous English translation viat "The translation comes headphones which are quite says Harley. "The headphon one ear and after a few m melds together." The live tr is contemporaneous with t action, so that the actors' pa dramatics are preserved. "I chose these two play repertory of twenty othe Harley. "I thought these best for the United States, easily travelable and ones th ican audiences could connec MY BIG- LAND will be p tonight at 8 p.m. an TEACHER OF RUSSIAN urday at 8 p.m. at theA Theater. Tickets are $26 night, or see both showsfc ster (plus A lthough the era of the railroad train has declined, the image of the train still evokes a sense of excite- ) ment. Michigan artist Karen Moon Schaefer has attempted to capture multane- this dramatic relationship between headsets. humanity and machinery in the post- through Industrial Revolution era. Together z usable" with Bern Pedit, she has created an ie goes in engaging photography show at the. inutes it Ann Arbor Art Association. anslation Pedit's half of the show intro- he play's duces Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of acing and fire. His photographs contrast Schae- fer's gentle black and white photog- ys from a raphy with colorful images of rs," says Hawaii's fiery volcanic activity. Ti- were the tled Conversation With Pele, the most Pedit's photographs document the hat Amer- ongoing activity on Kilauea Vol- t to." cano's East Rift Zone, while won- werformedderfully conveying the volcano's in- erfTrlE tense power and dynamic colors. It is ndI THE Pedit's shots that are the true fire of on Sat- the show. Michigan On his photography expeditions, .50 each Pedit wore five layers of clothing to $ protect himself from the volcanic way. Amazingly, no colored filters were used to create the highly lumi nous results. Several of his photographs show immense flashes of light such -as Curtain of Fire which is framed by ominous bluish-grey clouds. Thi i' also seen in Enigma's lush single streak of orange lava surrounded by lavender and pink clouds. Many bf the photos have a surreal quality that provokes imagination. These include Littoral Explosion' whose detailed Lava resembles melted candle wax sprinkled with cinnamon or Dome Fountain's rep7 tile-like tail. While some resemtle streaks of paint, the shots which i'ni- clude nature such as water, and shdre' remind us that these are all real life images. This is seen in Curtain of Fire, with its dead tree with splattbr's of lava dancing behind it. Pedit begins his work in the field, studying the environmental conditions - the eruptive history, terrain, weather and lunar/tidal pIjt-, terns. The knowledge he gath rs, merges with his past experiences, and allows him to become one with his surroundings, enabling him to predict volcanic behavior with a high- degree of accuracy. Pedit's knowl- edge of his subject is reflected in the See PHOTOS, Page? Danny Elfman Edward Scissorhands: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack MCA Once again, Danny Elfman proves himself the composer of the '90s with the fantastical soundtrack for Tim Burton's Edward Scis- sorhands. The score deftly evokes the fairy-tale imagery Burton utilizes as he guides us into a world where pseudo-humanity is disrupted by the intrusion of fantasy. Elfman's music displays the wide range of themes the film presents - as listeners, we are swept through pastoral wonder- ment to horrific scenes of danger. Elfman combines many of the theatrical elements of his previous soundtracks to create a musical equivalent of the movie's thematic content. Methods used on such soundtracks as Nightbreed and Darkman are presented in the context of this film quite effectively - the haunting choir used throughout the score conjures up the fairy tale land- scapes of the film, while the driving march of "The Final Confrontation" is representative of the film's focus on the battle between good and evil. Both Elfman and Burton are fond of contrast, which is evident in their work together. The elements of comedy and tragedy present in Bur- ton's film Pee Wee's Big Adventure were reflected in the soundtrack (also by Elfman), and those same themes exist in Edward. For example, the "Ballet De Suburbia" provides a per- fect background to the comedic hus- tIe-bustle archetypal world presented in the movie; and in "Edwardo The Barber" Elfman uses a Spanish flair to capture Edward's amazing use of his scissors in a manner as original ash Edward's haircuts. Conversely, the tragic aspects of the film are ex- pressed in "Farewell...," while goth- icness is highlighted in "Castle on the Hill." The choir, which is pre- sent throughout the soundtrack, con- tributes an overwhelming feeling of sadness to the work. See RECORDS, Page 7 r- Need the hot news fast? Find it in the Daily. 00 'Burnham Associates Monda >5 .Ca , t < 'aii >>< pi~ THE PREFERRED PLACES TO BE >'' :'fi yi Jiias MARYCE :: :.. :: .:.::::A ::. . ::::::::::d:::":.. : .A . .C :. "..:E..:F: .......R......k.......:.......E..... ::":" :..:.:.: A: .d.........y heat. He set the timer of his camera and then ran in the other direction. Yet, his photos show no fear. They capture the incredulous colors of an eruptiveearth in a very professional tt a 1 t Ii PONCHO SANCHEZ J L A T I N J A Z Z an Eclipse Jazz Presentation February 3, 1991 Mendelssohn Theater at 8pm NEA .g campus wide talent competition with guest performance by Randy Scott, three-time Apollo winner.- Day: Saturday, February 2 Time: 8:00 p.m. Place: Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre Tinlrt tc VA M atAtl,4crn ITniTr irpt Office