MUSIC LIST
COUGHING UP
Scottish Opera. who already receive a 25% share of arts sponsorship in Scotland. not to say a whacking Government grant. have announced a major new fund-raising drive aimed at squeezing some cash from the more affluent members ofthe community. Taking the government‘s admonition to raise private funding to heart. and armed with a list of likely donors. the Company set up a ten thousand letter mail-out inviting these prime targets to become Patrons of Scottish Opera by covenanting £501) per year over five years. with a number of benefits offered in return. The money raised. said Managing Director Richard Mantle. will be vital in helping the company mantain its position in the arts world. and will enable them to invest now for the future. It will be interesting tosee how many opera lovers are prepared to pledge their allegiance in hard cash. (KM)
ANDY SHEPPARD In last year‘s pantheon of memorable concerts. the Andy Sheppard Quintet‘s performance at the Henry Wood Hall in Glasgow ranks among the very best. The band were in superbly tight-knit form. negotiating the complex twists and fearsome tempos of Andy‘s compositions with remarkable aplomb. I say remarkable because the band had played in Edinburgh only a few months earlier. and had sounded decidedly uneasy on much ofthat same repertoire.
The transformation proved yet again that there is no real substitute for regular work on the road in forging the kind of mutual understanding which marks offa genuinely creative band.
MUSIC THIS ISSUE
CLASSICAL 31 FOLK 32 .JAZZ 38
ROCK 40 LISTEN 43
Next Issue: Folk Festival Special
and which is too often passed over in the soloist-with-pick-up-band situation which economic reality foists on jazz. The fine honing which a year of hard work has brought to the music is evident in Andy‘s new album. Introductions in the Dark (Antilles). on which he has augmented the basic quintet with additional vibes. guitar. synthesizer and percussion contributions.
‘I didn‘t really want a synth sound to begin with.‘ Andy explained. ‘but on the first day of rehearsal. I asked Steve Lodder just to try it out. and I thought it sounded great. It was much the same with guitar. I think it is a very expressive instrument. and people like Bill Frisell are playing it in a very exciting way now. I wanted to bring out the extra tonal and textural possibilites that I could hear in these tunes. but I decided very early on that I didn‘t want to
: i III
ROCK
I THEN JERICHO. Edinburgh Playhouse. March 10 (557 2590).
I THE MONKEES. Playhouse, March 19 (557 2590).
I NEW ORDER, Glasgow SECC. March 25 (226 4679). I ROACHEDRD. Glasgow
Barrowland, March 30 (226
4679).
I KOOL AND THE GANG. Playhouse, April 3 (557 2590).
I THE COMMODORES. Livingston Forum. April 6 (0506 419191).
I DURAN DURAN. Playhouse, April 16 (557 2590); Barrowland April 16 (226 4679).
I WOMACK & WOMACK. Playhouse, April 20 (557 2590).
I THE PIXIES. Edinburgh Oueen’s Hall, April 30 (666 2019).
I ELVIS COSTELLO. Playhouse, May 25 (557 2590).
I BATTLEFIELD BAND Glasgow Mitchell Theatre. March 19 (221 3196).
SOLD OUT
I ELVIS COSTELLO (Pavilion)
I THE WATERBDYS (Playhouse, Barrowland) I BROTHER BEYOND (Playhouse)
I JOHNNY MATHIS (Playhouse)
I DEACON BLUE (SECC. Playhouse)
I DIANA ROSS (SECC) I STEVIE WONDER (Playhouse)
I ELTON JOHN (Playhouse)
CLASSICAL
I JOHN TUNNELL MEMORIAL CONCERT.
l
overdub syntheziser or percussion. I wanted the record to be as near live as possible. and even more importantly. I wanted the sound to be as contemporary as possible . which is why I decided on that mix of electric and acoustic instruments. I won‘t be doing that on the tour. but a record isa special thing— it‘s not the same as just capturing the band live in the moment.‘ The thirty year old saxophonist. still sporting the infamous Number 3 cropped haircut. remains based in Bristol. and must be fed up with being referred to as one of the new generation of young players now emerging in this country. followinga hard ten-year apprenticeship in England and France. during which he learned to play in the old-fashioned way. on the bandstand. His major breakthrough came when he was runner-up in a national jazz competition in 1987. but so impressed
Usher Hall. March 12 (666 2019).
I EDINBURGH GRAND OPERA. Edinburgh King's Theatre. March 15—16 (667 4022).
I IGOR DISTRAKH. Oueen's Hall. March 13 (666 2019).
I SCOTTISH OPERA/SCOTTISH
BALLET 'S OEDIPUS REX/PETRUSHKA. Glasgow Theatre Royal. opens March 23 (331 1234/332 9000).
I LONDON FESTIVAL BALLET’S SWAN LAKE. Theatre Royal, April 3—6 (331 1234/332 9000)
FOLK
I EDINBURGH FOLK FESTIVAL. 17-26 March. Details from 031 220 0464. I EDINBURGH HARP FESTIVAL. 17-22 March. Details from 67 Swanston Avenue, Edinburgh EH10 70A.
I DAVY SPILLANE BAND. Edinburgh Oueen's Hall. March 17 (668 2019).
I DANNY THOMPSON'S WHATEVER. Oueen’s Hall. March 24 (666 2019).
JAZZ & BLUES
I ROADSIDE PICNIC. Edinburgh Oueen's Hall, March 10 (666 2019).
I B.B.l(lNG. Edinburgh Playhouse, March 15 (557 2590).
I CHICK COREA/GARY BURTON. Oueen's Hall. March 17 (66B 2019).
I TOMMY FLANAGAN TRIO. Oueen's Hall, March 31 (666 2019).
I TOMMY SMITH OUARTET. Oueen's Hall. March 31 (666 2019).
I MISHA MENGELBERG TRIO. Oueen's Hall. April 16 (666 2019).
Antilles records that he was immediately signed: Virgin. who were pledged to record the winners - the saxophone quartet Itchy Fingers— might be excused for thinking that Antilles got the best ofthe deal.
One of the nicest guys on the current jazz scene. Andy has emerged as the strongest and most imaginative of what we might call the post-John Surman generation of British saxophone stars. He brings his Sextet - Dave Buxton on piano. Pete Maxfield on bass. Simon Gore on drums. and Mamadi Kamara on percussion. augmented by the presence of Jazz Warriors vibes maestro Orphy Robinson. to Queen's Hall on March 3. No one who saw the last tour will need any further recommendation. but if you have not yet encountered Mr Sheppard. don‘t miss out this time. (Kenny Mathieson)
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VESPERS REVISITED
Present day composers may wonder when the next performance oftheir music is going to be. but if they thought it could be as long as 374 years. well. they might be just slightly put out. Yet that is the length oftime that the music in Edinburgh University Renaissance Singers‘ programme on Wednesday 8 has lain unperformed. quite happy in Rome‘s Vatican Library. The choir‘s director. Dr Noel O‘Regan. whose research led to the discovery ofthe music. says ‘We're reconstructing one of the big Feast days forthe dedication ofthe Basilica. 1615 was the first time that St Peter‘s. as we know it now. was available for use and the idea ofour concert is to try to reconstruct what Vespers would have been.‘ Finding a venue for Italian polychoral music in Edinburgh is not easy. but Dr O‘Regan is confident that the University‘s McEwan Hall will work. ‘It‘s an experiment. of course. but the four choirs should be as far apart as possible physically. while keeping together musically.‘ One major difference between 1615 and 1989 isthatwomen are allowed to sing. so any prospective new male members of the choir should have no fears ofa totally authentic performance with castrati on the top line. (Carol Main)
Edinburgh University Renaissance Singers.
McE wan Hall.
Wednesday 8, 7.45pm. Free at door.
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GRAND UNION FOR EDINBURGH
The London based multiracial music group. Grand Union is organising in Edinburgh a workshop course for community groups and local musicians.
The aim of the six sessions. which take place between 16 and 19 March and will culminate in an informal get together and jam session on the Saturday and a more formal discussion on the Sunday morning. is to identify the need for musical support for community groups. Amongst those expected to take part will be people with physical and mental disabilities and the city‘s ethnic minorities. ‘One of the principle objectives‘ according to Richard Bamford. Grand Union‘s local administrator. ‘is to increase work opportunities for
musicians. and it is hoped to establish some kind of permanent organisation in the city.‘
Ifyou would like more information or would like to take part in the workshop programme please contact Richard
Bamford on ()31 319 1590.
Norman Chalmers lIips the Folk sides
I VARIOUS: Legacy ofthe Blues (Sonet) Samuel Charters‘ 1 r book. The ' ‘ Legacy Of The Blues (Boyars) takes its title from a seriesof recordings made in the l96(ls and l970s. and now re-issued by Sonet Records on cassette. album and CD. There are twelve recordings. each devoted to one major blues artist. and two additional samplers. The double sampler has twenty-four tracks. two from each artist. and the basic sampler has twelve. Younger blues fans. getting into the music through Robert Cray and the renaissance of pub R&B bands can trace the style back through Mighty Joe Young‘s electric Chicago band and the accessible 12-bar work-outs of Lightnin‘ Hopkins (see photo). Champion Jack Dupree and Eddie Boyd steam straight ahead with their jumping dance hall sounds. and Memphis Slim oozes a near cabaret vocal smoothness and saxophone solos from his small group. Guitarist Snooks Eaglin and pianist Sunnyland Slim approach a jazz sensibility in their
' broken rhythms and
harmonic subtleties , underneath their talking. chiding. confessional song styles. but the African blues roots. and some of the greatest music on the albums. echoes out ofthe slap beats. shuffling tempos and spare guitar lines of Bukka White. Big Joe Williams and Robert Pete Williams.
I CAPERCAILLIE: Sidewaqu (Green Linnet) The last verse of the last track on Capercaillie‘s new album is a translation from ()h Mo Dhuthaich. a lament-in-exile to a painfully beautiful air sung in Gaelic by Karen Matheson. shadowed on vocals by Manus Lunny. Sombre synthesizer rises and falls slackly. between tides. and then subsides. Simple and ravishing. Yet the album is not all New Celtic Twilight. Percussive. driving. even funky. there's a lot of bottom end. electric bass and keyboards. and sometimes flashes of Moving I learts in the density ofthe sound. Producer Donal Lunny has held back the tendency ofthe band to play the tunes too fast. but they still manage to navigate a long set of reels like Phantom pilots flying down the Great Glen.
On this showing. Capercaillie are wingingover the upper slopes where the competition is rare.
I TONIGHT AT NOON: Down To The Devils (LISTTIOT) Down To The
Devils confirms the
three man outfit asthe most original band in Scotland. having invented a form offolk-based popular music that would sit happily on a club DJ's turntable. Programmed synths. clever drum machine sequences. electric guitar and bass are riveted to tightly constructed. self-penned songs.
If you want your music old-fashioned and acoustic. forget it — this is forward looking electro folk.
I VARIOUS: Songs From Under The Bed Songs From Under The Bed is a well-produced. Left- looking collection of hard-hitting allegory and satire. rallying songs and amusing irony. Tony McManus
Ukes Against Nukes Nancy Nicholson. Ileen Penman. Jim Ferguson. and prime moverJohn Greig all contribute to this antidote to the sleeping sickness spreading from transistor radios. tabloid newspapers. and Sky satellites. Copies ofthis first edition and advance orders for the second to John Greig. ZUGlen Street. Edinburgh. £3.50 each.
30 The List 24 February — 9 March