PREVIEW MUSIC

Candy Outfer: funky stuff great man for cancelling her band‘s planned support slot on one of his tours.

‘l worked with Prince at Paisley Park on Graffiti Bridge. which was a very high energy experience. but it was really demanding. The musicians all had to carry a little beeper at all times, and if it went off we had to rush straight back to the studio. The whole thing has really happened very quickly for me we all know that saxophone players don‘t always make such a great living. and here i was making all these great trips and playing with fantastic people right away.‘

Dulfer has appeared in Scotland before. but this is the first time she has been here as the leader of her own ten- piece band, Funky Stuff. Her material is a mix of original tunes by herself and writing partner Ulco Bed, and covers of tunes like Prince‘s ‘Sunday Aftemoon' and the Average White Band‘s ‘Pick Up the Pieces’, both on the Sdt-A-Go- Go album.

That disc also contains a tongue-in- cheek put-down of a white girl playing saxophone. but she is quick to claim that she has ‘never actually encountered that attitude. l'm playing the kind of music that was created by black American musicians, and so l’m sort of stealing it from them to some extent, i guess, but it’s not a big thing. We decided to put that on the album just as ajoke.‘

Candy Dulfer and Funky Stuff/flay at

the Queen '3 Hall in Edinburgh on Wed 4.

mm! New vulces

Two new contemporary vocal works receive their world premieres in Edinburgh and Glasgow this fortnight. First, Bearsden Burgh Choir give the first performance of ‘Harmony Of Angels’ by Jennifer Barker, 3 young Glasgow-born composer currently lecturing at the University of Pennsylvania. A highly rhythmical work scored for brass ensemble the Scottish Brass Ensemble directed by Nigel Boddice are the players on this occasion percussion and choir, the

new work is the latest in a series of regular annual or biennial

commissions from Bearsden Burgh Choir and their conductor James Hunter which have been made possible by an enlightened bequest made to the choir specifically for the purpose of commissioning new work. Even more used to commissioning and presenting new music is ECAT (Edinburgh Contemporary Arts Trust) who, for their final concert this season, present The John Currie Singers and Orchestra on Thursday 28 April. Alongside Messiaen’s ‘Cinq Bechants’, included as part of ECAT’s continuing tribute to this giant of 20th Century music, is a new work for four voices and six strings by New Zealand- born but Edinburgh resident composer lyell Cresswell.

Entitled ‘The Pot Of Basil’, it is not some horticultural instruction for springtime, but Cresswell’s own setting and interpretation of the story, set by Keats in the 1820s, from Boccaccio’s ‘Oecameron’. The

brothers of lisabetta of Messina murder her lover, Lorenzo. She finds the body, places the head in a flower- pot and sticks a basil plant on top. The brothers notice her over- attentiveness towards the plant, discover the head and Lisabetta dies from the pains of wretched love.

The work marks the first collaboration between the JCS and Cresswell, and has been commissioned in celebration of John Currie’s 60th birthday. (Carol Main) The Bearsden Burgh Choir play St Andrew’s College, Bearsden, Glasgow on Sun 24; The John Currie Singers play The Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh on Thurs 28.

um- Jam toda

The McCluskey Brothers The mania for ‘unplugged’ rock continues apace, finding its latest outlet at the cavernous Arches venue in legow. Jan Jar, which begins with sets by The Trash Can Sinatras and new band Sugar Town (fronted by Gwen from The Wild Hiver Apples) on Mon 2, is a club devoted to acoustic music, and has been put together by The Arches’ Keith Moore and McCluskey Brother Ken McCluskey.

‘It seemed such a popular idea,’ explains Moore, ‘and nobody had taken it that step further in Glasgow. We’d been messing around with it for a while and finally decided to do it

about a month and a half ago.’

McCluskey whose band will be doing their own headlining set in the second week - programmed the series and will be comparing the shows.

‘Ken seemed the ideal candidate for it because he’s pivotal to that whole acoustic music scene in Glasgow. We thought he could get a good solid programme together as well as bringing in special guests each night that we’re not actually advertising. The idea was that we would get bands that don’t normally play acoustically to do acoustic sets, or alternatively to put together a programme that would allow people to get on stage together and jam, which is where Jam Jar comes from.’

Already lined up for future weeks are Rory McLeod, Fionna Duncan and Sid Griffin, and there are plenty of local worthies to fill a complete programme . for each night - the plan being that there will be some kind of live music playing from the moment one enters the building.

The Arches, thinks Moore, is an ideal venue for a venture like this. ‘Because the capacity is around 300, it bridges that gap between pubs and places that are slightly larger, so it gives the opportunity to people that normally just play pubs, which is quite a _ thriving scene for acoustic music, to come in and do something.’ (Alastair Mabbott)

Jam Jar is at The Arches, Glasgow, every Monday. See listings for details.

i. v LISTEN!

1 I It’s the Second

5 Coming! OfThe Kevin

( McDennott Orchestra. that is. And to announce

2 their re-emergence and new album. The Last

I Supper after a period of

covert operations under

the name The Orphans.

. the KMO have been

sending out loaves of

bread with Maltese Cross- type designs stamped on

the side. Said loaf is now

in the hands of highly-

qualified sanitation

workers having turned a

fetching shade of blue.

But what we want to

know is a) will it

mysteriously return to us

in three days‘.’ and b)

continuing the Last

Supper theme. shouldn‘t

there be a voluptuous

bottle of red following

close on its heels? We're

waiting.

I Sound City personnel

are somewhat crestfallen

by the lack of tasty

anecdotes thrown up by

their musical jamboree;

but we have to doff our

caps to whoever was

responsible for sending all

of Buffalo Tom's stage

gear to i.os Angeles when

it was supposed to go to

' Glasgow. is there perhaps

I a venue called Tramway

I in East LA we haven‘t

heard about? And special

congratulations to the

London hack from an

( important daily newspaper

f (which shall, of course. go

i nameless) who entirely

l failed to set a debauched

' tone for the ensuing week

despite passing out

completely senseless on

Nice 'n' Sleazy‘s floor on

the first night. Above and

beyond the call ofduty.

we say.

I The Rocking Horse on

Victoria Street is the new

showcase venue for bands

to be seen in Edinburgh.

apparently. Local band

1 First Real Target were

given demo time in a

London studio by island

Music's A & R

department after a gig

there, and what do you

know, the venue is

looking for more bands to

5 play there. especially in

support slots. The number

is 031 225 3326.

CORRECTION Michelle Shocked

The Sound City programme published in The List (223) referred to a dispute between Michelle Shocked and her former ‘manager, agent and record company boss'. This was a reference to Martin Goldschmidt of Cooking Vinyl who has asked us to point out that although the legal dispute continues. he has not worked with Michelle Shocked since 1989 in any capacity, and since 1987 her record company has been Polygram (US). Martin Goldschmidt has also asked us to make clear that he has never tried to prevent Michelle Shocked from touring in the UK. We apologise for any misunderstanding.

The List 22 April—5 May 1994 41