MUSIC PREVIEW
HEE- l MASTER TAP '
Stanley Jordan
The return of Stanley Jordan to the concert stage is bound to produce a stir among guitar fans. He has taken a lengthy sabbatical from live performance. but the release of his Bolero album from Arista (yup. it is that ‘Bolero‘. and in a rather naff version. too) has been the signal to take his unique guitar style back on the J road.
The technique of . tapping with both hands on the fretboard was not his invention, but he took it to unexpected extremes and captured a wide audience in the process. ! That highly visual technique enables him to create an almost orchestral tapestry of sound from the instrument.
‘1 began playing guitar conventionally. but around [977 i started to experiment with other approaches. At that time i was playing a lot of piano. . and i really liked its textural possibilities. but i preferred the sound and I feel ofthe guitar. What i wanted was to have all of those great techniques and sounds you can only get from the guitar. but also to be able to orchestrate the sounds more like a keyboard. and l began to experiment with that in mind.‘
Jordan will play solo (abetted by prepared electronic effects) on this tour in Assembly Direct's Jazz Directions season. his first here since his dazzling series of trio ' concerts back in 1990. (Joe Alexander) l Stanley Jordan plays at i
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the Queen ‘.v Hall in Edinburgh on Fri 2/ . and the Cit)“ Hall in Glasgow on Sat 22.
34 The List 2i October—3 November 1994
V CONTEMPORARY
Music machines
The Paragon Ensemble have set a fine example in bringing little-heard developments in contemporary music to Scotland, and have been one of the few organisations here to offer a regular platform to minimalist and post-minimalist developments, even if they have not always performed the works with great distinction.
The opening concert in their winter season will provide a further taste of that strand of contemporary music, although they could be accused of a distinct mis-use of language in labelling the event ‘Jazz Machines’, and going on to describe the results as ‘loud and loutish music from the hardmen of new music’. Perhaps that should have been ‘Grunge Machines’, or maybe ‘Metal Machines’?
In any case, the idea is to bring together the music of four composers who allegedly cross over between the poles of contemporary composition, jazz and rock. They include Steve Martiand (who dislikes the label crossover), represented by his ‘Kgakala’ and ‘Remembering Lennon’, and Martin Butler, whose ‘Jazz Machines’ has given the concert its name.
It will be heard alongside his ‘Tin Pan Ballet’, and the programme will be completed by a roistering quartet
piece by Icelandic composer Atli Heimie Sveinsson, and ‘Prelude 6’, an unlikely sounding piece from Edward McGuire which is based on themes from the Elvis Presley repertoire. Prior to the concert proper, William Sweeney will lead a combination of Paragon members and young musicians from an associated community project aimed at creating their own works exploring the boundaries between classical and jazz music. The two-month workshop project will culminate in an early evening concert, followed by the Ensemble. (Kenny Mathieson) Paragon Ensemble’s Jazz Machines l and II are at the BSAMB, Glasgow on Sun 30, at 6.15pm and 7.45pm.
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Steve Martiand
Orienteering
From a Minnesota childhood to a new life and constant gigging in Scotland, Fiaere’s musical odyssey had already encompassed two continents before her recent sojourn to the finals of the Yamaha Music Quest in Japan.
Earlier this year, the Edinburgh-based singer-songwriter read about the competition and slipped the cassette of an unfinished song into an envelope, forgetting all about it until she was told that she and her band were one of twelve acts selected to do their thing in front of video cameras for the next heat.
That dozen was whittled down to a shortlist of six for the British final, held in the White Room of Abbey Road studios (previous tenants: The Beatles), where the judges included producers George Martin and John Leckie and DJ Bob Harris. Fjaere carried the day, and on 10 October took part in the worldwide final at the Yamaha Tsumagoi Resort (situated
midway between Tokyo and Osaka), a broadcast watched in more than fourteen million Asian households.
Out of a staggering 25,000 entries from across the globe, Fjaere was one of six winners, with only one point separating her from the outright victors, love liiot from the USA. Not that the judges’ ballot was the be-all and end-all; the experience has opened all kinds of doors, and many music industry people from Britain, America and Asia are said to be eager to get involved.
Before she left, Fjaere was given a video camera by Scottish Television to record impressions of the event. Some footage, and a live performance will be shown on the arts magazine programme ‘Bon’t Look Bown’. (Alastair Mabbott)
Fjaere plays on Don’t look Down, Scottish Television on Sun 30 at 10.30pm.
nurtu- Dig the new weed
Cat in hat and seeks pussy for rampant nights on the tiles. Must have an ability to swallow a large ego and a devotion to soul.ja27.. latin. funk. eight-track studios and old-style Adidas. Ability to grow own cannabis essential. interested? Send a sample to Box
666/ l.
‘The general point is legalisation of marijuana because it‘s just a bloody plant. We‘re allowed to go buy alcohol. get leery and beat up our wives and nobody says shit. Why can’t people sit in the privacy of their own home and smoke some weed‘.’ l‘m smoking a plant just now, but it‘s a B&H special filter.‘
Yes. this is the much—vexed return of Spaced Cowboy No 1. Jay Kay of Jamiroquai. it‘s impossible for him to be seen and not heard. Usually, he does drone on about the obvious things. such as drugs. but this time he at least deserves a little credit for sticking his credibility on the line and releasing his all—important second album in time for the Christmas rush.
‘l just want to keep on moving.’ he says. ‘that‘s what this album is all about. Sure. we're releasing an album at the tnost difficult time of the year. but it‘s a calculated risk and one which will he decided by the public. My record company wanted to have it easy . and release the album in the spring. but i wasn‘t having that. I could be forgotten by then. At the end of the day. all i want is to have music out there. I mean. as far as I’m concerned. the whole industry‘s fucked anyway. it‘s no longer like it used to be. when you just used to make music and ptit it out there. Now it‘s all about marketing and timing. That‘s bullshit: you‘ll probably never get artists like Diana Ross or Stevie Wonder who release 50—60 albums. and that‘s the real tragedy.‘
The thing about Jay is that he wants to do this. He believes he has tunpteen lives and can carry on relentless l (although the chart position for ‘Return Of The Space Cowboy‘ may put the brakes on that). He'd like to be pinned down. but he‘s not sure if it can be done.
‘l’d love to get to the day when i‘ve fulfilled certain ideas and visions. but i‘m one of those people who always wants to move on. l‘m never really satisfied. I’ve always got something missing in my life. like just now i could do with a really good shag. yeah. that would really satisfy.‘
Reply to the box number above. (Philip Dorward)
Jantiroquai play The Barrow/and. Glasgow on Fri 3.
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