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