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destroys preconceptions ot eccentric Elvis lans.
When I metthem neither was wearing a sequined lurex jump suit or sporting a monstrous quill. Both admitted they don't even have every record Elvis ever made: ‘That sort olthing's nonsense. Hare Elvis artelacts pass through our hands all the time and we just give them away.‘
So what is landom about torthem? ‘We all usedto drool over little bits ol8mm lilm but it‘s justas important to give ordinary people a really good night's dancing.‘ The Memphis malia was lormed to give lan's something local rather than endurance tests at night bus trips to London tor a tour hourtilm show.
Underneath this down to earth approach there is also intense enthusiasm: ‘I think a lot at people have a leeling there's something missing in their lives.‘ says tan. ‘For us. Elvis isthe missing piece.‘
They admire the man as much as the music: ‘lt‘s a hackneyed thing to say. but he really was just a normal guy. He was someone who came lrom nowhere. who was dillerent trom other talented musicians because he really dug the black music he heard.‘
Julian thinks that people choose how they see Elvis: ‘When I visited Graceland. i saw the way he had accumulated dillerent things at dillerenttimes. like in anybody‘s home. Then you getthe tourists who tind the plaque to Elvis‘ brother and say “Oh my God! The grave ol Elvis' dog." ‘
The Memphis Malia hope this year‘s convention will give Elvis landom greater credibility. Modelled on US conventions. they have tried to arrange the most diverse selection 01 events possible. These include a show by Jim White. the UK‘s top ‘Tribute Act‘. just back lrom the USSR. There will
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also be the ‘grooviest Elvis disco inthe world‘ and an opportunityto wearthat homemadejump suit inthe miming competition. And the Memphis Malia stress: ‘We wanta lot oltrendy peopleto come along.‘ Elvis Presley Fan Club Scottish Convention is on Sun 7 Nov at the Stakis GrosvenorHotel. Haymarket. Edinburgh. (Ruairi Maclnnes).
BILL MURRAY
Fouryears agothe Christmas smash hitwas Ghostbusters which eventually became the most I commerciallysuccessiul l comedy evermade. It provided an incalculable boost to the careers olall concerned except Bill Murray who quietly backed outolthe glaring celebrity limelight. Apartlrom alew cameoroles he has been absentlromthe screen sincethen but now returns. very much as belore. in a brash. big-budget version olAChristmas Carol called Scrooged.
Murray has spent the past . lew years as an American in | Paris. seeking tranquillity and anonymity. Now he
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GUEST LIST
appears readytotacklethe lame game. second time around.
‘Alter Ghostbusters l lelt radioactive. itwas justtoo successlul lor me. When you have somethingthat goes that big. you leel like John Wilkes Booth and people shoutas you walk down the street. there he is. he shot Lincoln. lreally don‘twant to be as recognisable as Frank Sinatra. I like being ableto walk down a street and just walk.‘
When Murray was content to resumethe rat race he lound little to entice him.
‘I‘ve seen all the movies that I turned down andl certainly don‘tregretallthe ‘no‘s‘ overthe pastcouple olyears.‘
The decisionto say yesto Scrooged seems inexplicable as itcan‘thave been betterthanthe numerous parts he claims to have relused. However. it is a starvehicle and was developed bylriends.
‘I really liked the idea at Scrooge who was so evil you laugh athim;lknew there was comedythere.l didn'tthink anybody would wantto see another traditional Scrooge. but they would wantto seea lunny one. We started working on the script two years ago. butwe tore it apart so much there was justthe skeleton lelt. so we had to missthatChristmas and start again.“
Tempted back. Murray now seems itching to try his hand atatl aspects oi lilmmaking including production and direction. First. however. there is Ghostbusters Ilwhich began shooting earlierthis month.
‘lnitiallythere was a lot at resistancetoa sequel.‘ he admits. 'Exceptlor Godlather II and some olthe horrors which gotbetter alterthey spent more money on the scripts. there's never been a good
sequel. they've all been dog
lood.‘
Strong words lrom the star of Stripes And Meatballs. Scrooged only suggeststhat his essentially unsubtle. sledgehammerstyle ol humour remains unaltered bya lengthy absence. Ghostbusters ii is unlikely to be David Mametwith special effects. However. Murray does yearn to sample a driercomic perspective on the world as he has revealed a desire to work with Bill Forsyth.
‘I love his sense at humour. Alriend olmine has got a great treatmentlor a lilm and Bill really likes it too. lknow Bill wants to go backto Scotland because he's been stuck in America lartoo long. but we will do something together.‘ (George Bailey)
Scrooged opens allover Scotland on 25 November. See Film Listings lor Details.
PHARAOH SANDERS
The visit olsaxophonist Pharaoh Sanders to Edinburgh Queen's Hall ranks as one ol the
undoubted jazz highlights ol
the year. These days. Sanders plays a much more mainstream version at the postbop music on which he grew up. lusing the lrenetic passion olthe196lls avant-garde with a more mature. considered understanding olthe melodic and harmonic underpinnings olmodern jazz. but Pharaoh lirst made a majorimpression in one olthe mostintense. exploratoryjazz units ever. it came aboutwhenthe 25 yearold saxophonistwas invited to join John Coltrane's group in 1965. but. as he later recalled. he was not a unanimously welcome addition.
‘lwas nervous. lnlact.l was aboutto cry. lplayed aboutone tune and putmy
S. ‘2
' ’s.
T_w_ogreat saxophonists in action. Above: Charlie Erkerin the Film Below: Pharaoh Sanders appears live in Edinburgh.
horn back in my case. but John asked meto come backthe next night. ldidn‘t even knowthe tunes.l didn‘t know nothin'. lwas kind olnervous because (drummer) ElvinJones has a way at playing. especially with new people. he‘d tryto messthem up. He andlbass player)Jimmy Garrison got mad atJohnlorletting me sit in. lcould reallyleel it.‘
Coltrane obviouslyliked it. though. and Pharaoh soon became a regular member 01 the increasingly experimental Coltrane group until the leader‘s death in 1967. alter which he played with Alice Coltrane‘s band until 1969. The 1970s saw Sanders lose direction a little. but he has re~emerged in the current decade as one 01 the major pertormersinthe music business. Notto be missed. (Joe Alexander)
CHARLIE PARKER
Charlie Parker notonly emerged as the greatest soloist to come out olthe iiery new crucible ol bebop in 1940s New York. but stands. with Louis Armstrong and John Coltrane. as the most inlluential at all jazz
players. nordid his example stop at other saxophonists: Bird inlluenced players on all instruments.
Parkerwas born in Kansas City in 1920. and grew up lrequentingthe club district in histeens. where he painlully(and occasionally humiliatingly. as in the jam session louI-up recorded in the lilm) picked up the rudiments at his instrument. as well asa lite-long heroin addiction.
Bird moved to New York in the early 1940s. playing in the influential Big Bands at Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine. and jamming at inlormal alterhours sessions in Harlem. the twin progenitors oi the new music. Parker‘s peakyears olachievement came between 1945—50. lirstly with Dizzy Gillespie. then in the lamous sessions cuton the West Coast lor hisluture biographer Ross Russell‘s Dial label. then with Miles Davis.
Bebop conlirmed the predominant role at the soloist in jazz. but its main shitts lrom the earlier styles lay in the introduction ola more diversitied rhythmic texture which setthe drummerlree lrom straight time-keeping. and an enriched harmonic vocabulary which encompassed until then rarely used altered chords. and a more chromatic approach to melody.
Parkerwas the pre- eminent stylist in the music which dictated the shape at modern jazz. and the release 01 the lilm Bird has triggered a series at welcome re-issues at his original recordings. Newcomers should start with the budget-price retrospective Boss Bird (Ollicial). but would do best to treat the newly recorded lilm soundtrack. using only Parker‘s original alto lines. with some caution. Hearthe real thing lirst. (Joe
Alexander)
The List 25 Nov — 8 Dec 1988 3