JAll_LOOKING AHEAD

BLUES

Upcoming
Events
Volume 1, Number 1

soc1ETY

The View
From Here ••
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hippest greetings to all our friends
and best wishes for a groovin' 1989.
Welcome
to the first edition
of
Looking
Ahead, Coastal Jazz and
Blues Society's current entry into the
information
age
sweepstakes.
Looking
Ahead
is a bi-monthly
publication,
providing
advance
information about upcoming Coastal
Jazz and Blues Society productions and
othe; live jazz and blues related events
in Vancouver. We'll also provide radio
listings
for local jazz and blues
programming, the occasional interview,
review and other talkative tidbits in a
cohesive format to impress friends and
fiends alike.
Every two months
Looking
Ahead will be mailed to
Coastal Jazz and Blues Society's friends
and distributed to local music shops,
book stores,
community
centres,
libraries, cafes and other hip drop-off
spots around Vancouver. If you want to
receive a copy by mail just drop us a
line at the address across the bottom of
this page. Enjoy, and believe it, LIVE
MUSIC is where its at!

Bob Berg with Miles Davis
1986 du Maurier International
Jazz Festival Vancouver

Coastal

BOB
MIKES

on the
·

V anco uv er Music See ne
January/February, 1989

BERG/
TERN BAND

January 19 • 10 PM • Town
Pump
66 Water St.

FULL STERN AHEAD
Good news to start the New Year.
After a particularly powerful display of
his guitar mastery during the Michael
Brecker Band's performance here in
November, Mike Stern is returning
to Vancouver as a co-leader of the Bob
Berg/Mike
Stern Band. Berg and
Stem lead an outstanding unit (Jeff
A n d r e w s - bass and D e n b I s
C ham be rs - drums) that dazzles
audiences .with its technical brilliance
and emotional ferocity. On any given
night, they stretch the boundaries of
jazz - from ballads to bebop to fusion
to funk. It's virtually impossible to
label them or to fail to be captivated
by this foursome whose music is
intelligent, passionate, full of nuance
and always just a matchstick away from
boiling point.
Mike Stern's resume is impressive
- he's played with Miles
Davis,
Jaco Pastorius and Billy Cobham
among others. A modest person, for
the last 10 years he's been honing his
considerable
skills
in relative
obscurity.
However, with his increased workload of projects
that
include Michael Brecker, Berg/Stern, a
solo recording career and his killer trio
work with Harvie Swartz and Adam
Nussbaum at the 55 Bar in New York
City, Stern is quickly living up to his
reputation as one of .the greatest young
guitarists in the world. Right now, he
has most of the required elements,
including strong compositional talents
and phenomenal playing skills that
integrate monster technique and a
creative flair for improvisation.
In contemporary jazz circles - and
among guitarists in particular - Stern's
musicianship is held in the highest
regard.
His style is a blend of
divergent approaches, with his arsenal
featuring
everything
from electric
hailstorms of cascading single notes to

Jazz and Blues Society,

203-1206

Hamilton

Street,

thoughtful, complex and liquid melodic
ideas, Stem's pluralistic approach to
improvisation is prominent on his two
solo recordings
"Upside Downside"
(WEA) and "Time in Place" (WEA).
The other leader of this band is
saxophonist,
Bob Berg. Like Stern,
he too was an integral member of the
Miles Davis Band. He stayed with
the group for three years up until 1987.
Bob's professional
career actually
began at the ripe old age of 18, when
he hit the chitlin' circuit with Jack
McDuff.
In the early 70's he began
touring and recording with Hor ace
Silver. He later joined pianist Cedar
Walton for about 5 years. In 1984,
he joined Miles Davis which exposed
him to a much wider audience around
the world.
He garnered critical and
popular acclaim while performing in
that band and is featured on the album
"You're Under Arrest".
Like many
players
of his generation,
Berg's
Co It ran e influence
is obvious.
However, there is a highly charged
aspect to his music which reveals a
sense of invention, individuality and
modernity that . is his and his alone.
These qualities come through on Berg's
latest solo effort called "Short Stories".
Together,
Stern and Berg are
finding new directions for jazz, all the
while
incorporating
traditional
elements in their thoroughly modern
approach.
Their
collective
past
histories show they can play with
anybody.
•

Ticket Information - page 4.

Mike Stern Bumin' with the
Michael Brecker Band
Vancouver

B.C. V6B 2S9

page 3 • LOOKING AHEAD • January, 1989

page 2 • LOOKING AHEAfJ • January, 1989

Tabackin blowin' hard at the Cultch

LEW

TABACKIN
TRIO
February 6 • 8 PM
Vancouver East Cultural
Centre
1895 Venables St.

IMPERIAL TABACKIN
HOLDS COURT AT
CULTCH
Deja vu! A year to the day later,
the Lew Tabackin Trio returns to
the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.
Reviewing last year's performance ·for
the Vancouver
Sun, Gary Pogrow
wrote:
"The
evening
was
deseriptive
and evocative
jazz
at its best."
We couldn't agree
more, the concert provided one of the
year's most memorable performances.
An astonishing yet subtle virtuoso,
Lew Tabackin led .the trio through an
engaging program of Ellington, bebop
standards and original compositions.
The show was both familiar
and
adventurous, powerful and sublime.
A graduate of the Philadelphia
Conservatory of Music, Lew Tabackin
"grew up" musically in the surging jazz
world of New York in the 1960's.
He moved to New York after his
army discharge in 1965 and began
playing with various bands and small
groups, quickly moving on to such
commercial bands as Les and Larry
Elgart, Herbie Green and Buddy
Morrow. He toured with Cab Calloway,
and spent about 6 months with the
Maynard Ferguson band.
Clark Terry's Big Band, the
Duke Pearson Big Band, and the
Chuck Israels Orchestra were next
on Tabackin's long list of top jazz

group memberships,
topped by the
Thad
Jones
and
Mel
Lewis
Orchestra.
At the same time he was
working in smaller groups with people
like
Elvin Jones, Donald Byrd,
Attila Zoller, Don Friedman and Roland
Hanna.
In 1969, Tabackin was a soloist
with both the Hamburg Jazz Workshop
and The Danish Radio Orchestra,
followed by a tour of Switzerland with
the International Jazz Quartet.
He first began working with
Toshiko
Aklyoshi in· a New York
quartet. Their first partnership was in
the co-leadership
of the Personal
Aspect Quartet at Japan's Expo 70 Jazz
Festival, followed by many subsequent
tours of Japan.
In 1973, Tabackin and his wife,
Toshiko Akiyoshi,
moved to Los
Angeles and formed the Akiyoshi Tabackin Big Band, the freshest,
most invigorating big band in jazz.
When he's not performing as featured
soloist
with the big band, Tabackin
hits the road with his trio displaying
his dual mastery
of the tenor
saxophone and the flute.
Jazz fans are sure to enjoy this
award-winning performer in concert
with the exceptional rhythm team of
Dennis
Irwin, bass, and Eliot
Zigmund, drums.
Irwin has been a stalwart with the
Mel Lewis Orchestra for several years
in New
York
City
and often
accompanies Tabackin on the road, as
he did for last year's concert at the
Cultch. Zigmund is well known as a
member of the latter-day Bill Evans
Trio and last appeared in Vancouver in
May of '85 as part of the much talked
about
Michel
Petrucianni
Trio
performance at the Wes tern Front.

Ticket Information - page 4.

EUGENE

CHADBOURNE

and the Vancouver Folk Music Festival
in 1987.
Chadbourne is a musical maverick
whose subversive course has taken him
from psychedelic garage rock as a
teenager to avant garde jazz in the '70's
to the mutated rock/country/
folk
hybrid that put him on the map with
his band Shockabilly in the early '80's.
He's collaborated
with a diverse
assortment of musicians ranging from
John Zorn, the Red Clay Ramblers,
Camper van Beethoven, the Violent
Femmes to Frank Lowe, Tom Cora, a,d
the Butthole Surfers.
His late '80's solo performances
have drawn raves throughout North
America and Europe.
Chadbourne
incorporates
a completely
selfcontained approach to performance art,
dealing with topics such as militarism,
social
ignorance
and government
corruption. The Mad Dr. Chad 'trashes'
everyone from Jerry Falwell to Ronald
Reagan, to his own beloved senator
Jesse Helms (he resides in Greensboro,
North Carolina).
In Chadbourne's
'protest
songs' serious
issues are
addressed,
but humour
is never
abandoned.
His songs are searing
satires - hilarious and outrageous. And
the man can play!
Witness his
amazing dexterity in one of the Folk
Music
Festival's
finger
picking
workshops.
Some critics lament " ... (Eugene)
could be as good on the guitar as Al
DiMeola
if (he)
quit . screwing
around ... ". Others put Chadbourne in
the elite ranks of Robert Fripp and Jimi
Hendrix.
When politics, protest and free improvisation venture into the cowpieladen terrain of country and western,
one could say that the resulting
performance has been 'Chadbournized'.
Have you ever seen someone play
a rake while raking the KKK over the
coals? Don't miss this show!

Ticket Information - page 4.

February 12 • 8 PM
Waterfront Theatre
Granville Island

THE LITTLE EDDIE
CHATTERBOX TOUR
Are you ready for Little Eddie
Chatterbox's
triumphant
return
to
Vancouver? Widely known as Eugene
Chadbourne, this wild man of the
guitar, electric rake, birdcage, plunger
and other sundry items, literally
stunned and amazed audiences during the
du Maurier International Jazz Festival

Il-. Oia:bormeopernt.es
\\ith satire& song.

Portrait of Sheila

SHEILA
JORDAN
with Harvie Swartz
February 20 • 8 PM
Vancouver Community College
King Edward Campus
Auditorium
1155 East Broadway

A VOICE THAT
SOARS LIKE BIRD
Purity. Strength.
Imagination.
Sheila Jordan is, by any definition,
a true "jazz singer". She interprets her
material,
she improvises
with her
material, and she swings like crazy.
She is above all, the genuine article.
She has fashioned her own unique
singing style and she's been refining it
for years. No one on earth sounds like
Sheila Jordan and she's never sounded
like anyone .else. She is Sheila Jordan
and she is sublime.
"Most of my learning is from the
mountains, the coal mines and the city
streets.
I sing out of the need to
express
and
share
my
life's
experiences."
Critic Don Heckman writes: "Sheila has
the rare ability to draw her audience
into a world that is completely her own
- to reach them with an emotional
impact that is devastatingly personal."
She does this not only through her
unusually distilled emotional power but
also by means of rem ark ab 1e
musicianship. Yet, for all her musical
skill,
Sheila
never
allows
her
performances
to become
mere 1y
excercises
in the subtleties
o f

technique.
She creates and sustains a
wide range of moods, and she infuses
the lyrics with expressions of personal
experience.
"A good jazz singer",
Heckman notes, "like a good jazz
musician, performs out of a deep inner
need that can only express itself
musically.
Style and personality are
secondary to the expression of a natural
and spontaneous emotion."
Born in Detroit, Sheila spent her
early years in the coal-mining region
of Pennsylvania.
She returned
to
Michigan
for high school
and
discovered jazz ... "Somebody played me
a record by Charlie Parker...
the
emotion was so strong ... Bird became
my musical guru."
In 1952 Sheila moved to New
York and married Duke Jordan, one
of the pianists who worked with
Charlie Parker.
The marriage lasted
five years and a child, Traci, was born.
Sheila pursued her musical interests in
the company
of Charlie
Parker,
Thelonious
Monk,
Bud Powell
and Sonny
Rollins
who were
frequent visitors to the Jordan loft.
A chance encounter with George
Russell
in 1962 led to her first
recording session - a unique rendition
of "You Are My Sunshine" on George
Russell's "Outer View" album on
Riverside.
Russell also told Alfred
Lion at Blue Note Records about
Sheila's special talents and an album
under Sheila's leadership
ensued "Portrait
of Sheila"
with Steve
Swallow,
Barry Galbraith
and
Denzil Best. The album was released
to widespread acclaim and an award
from Downbeat's International
Jazz
Critics Poll.
Between 1962 and the late 70's,
Sheila's career as a jazz vocalist waned
as she battled severe personal problems
but the late seventies brought renewed
recognition and audience awareness. A
tour and recording with Roswell
Rudd, an NEA grant, a duet recording
with Arild Andersen
(Steeplechase)
and a date with pianist Steve Kuhn
on ECM announced her triumphant
return to the jazz scene.
Subsequent
events included another recording and
extensive touring with Steve Kuhn,
teaching at New York City College's
Davis Centre for Performing Arts, and a
special recording of Robert Creeley's
poetry (with Dave Leibman, Lyle Mays
and others) - "Home".
Recently, Sheila has been touring
and recording with bassist Harvie
Swartz whose credits include playing
with Jim Hall, Art Farmer,
Pat
Metheny, Stan Getz, Thad Jones, Gil
Evans and many others.
Harvie
currently teaches at the Manhattan

School of Music in New York and also
leads his own group called Urban Earth.
Together, Harvie and Sheila are a
formidable duo and this sparse musical
setting puts Sheila in her favourite
context - with nothing but a strong
bassist.
Indeed bass and voice might seem
too much of a "bare bones" situation,
but the musicianship of these two is so
extraordinary, their alchemy so vivid,
additional instruments would seem intrusive. The duo format leaves them
completely uncovered as they swing
and improvise without caution and
restrictions, bringing forth a parade of
delights and surprises.
Come and check it out. You won't
be the same again.

"
she floats ch a r act er istically above the rhythmic
flow like a butterfly,
darting
in and out to make
her
points ... His uptempo
walking
lines are virtually
flawless." Don Heckman, High Fidelity
Ticket Information - page 4.

SHEILA JORDAN
VOCAL WORKSHOP
February 20 • 3:30 PM - 5 PM
Vancouver Community College
Auditorium
1155 East Broadway

FREE FOR STUDENTS
A MASTERFUL TECHNICIAN AS
WELL AS A BRILLIANTSTYLIST,
SHEILA JORDANWILL CONDUCT
HER SECOND ANNUAL VOCAL
WORKSHOPINV ANCOUVER.
MUSIC STUDENTS AND SINGERS
OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES
ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND
ANDPARTICIPATE. ADMISSION
IS FREE TO HIGH SCHOOL,
PRIVATE SCHOOL, COLLEGE
AND UNIVERSITY STIJDENTS.
($10 FOR GENERAL PUBLIC.)

To Register:
Phone Coastal Jazz and Blues Society
to pre-register : 682-0706
(You may also register 1/2 hour prior
to the workshop.)
Photos: Chris Cameron - Berg/Davis,
Stern, Chadbourne, and Tabackin.

page 4 • LOOKING AHEAD • January, 1989

on
the
air
tickets
BLUES
C

O

R

N

E

R

FIVE BLIND BOYS
OF ALABAMA
January 21 • 7 & 10 PM
VancouverEast Cultwri Centre
Tickets - $16 at VTC/ficketmaster,
Black Swan Records, Highlife Records
Formed in the early '40's in
Alabama, this legendary black gospel
quartet recently starred in the Obie
Award winning musical "Gospel at
Colonus".
They are still led by founder
Clarence
Fountain,
whose
blistering, gut-wrenching vocals are
guaranteed to rattle the windows of the
Cultch.
Black quartet singing is a tradition
that influenced the great soul singers of
the '60's (Otis Redding, Wilson Picket,
Levi Stubbs, Sam & Dave). After 25
albums and constant touring over the
last four decades, the Five Blind
Boys still reign supreme.

Gospel music the way it
should be sung.
A Blue Planet/Caribbean Production

blues listings
Eddie "Biuesman"Kirldand
The Yale - Jan. 3-7
•John. Watkins
The Yale - Jan. 8,9
-Clarence"Gatemouth"Brown
The Yale - Feb. 7 ,8
•Zachary Richard
Town Pump - Feb. 17
•The Kinsey Report
Town Pump - Feb. 19

Brecker Broadcast
f'

Coastal Jazz and Blues Society's Nov.
production "Time Flies" featured a
memorable performance by the
Michael Brecker Band (including Mike
Stem on guitar).The concert was taped
for broadcast and will be aired on
JazzBeat February 18, 8-10 PM
•
CBC FM 105.7.

102.7 FM & Cable
10PM
Blues ..Dark
10PM
Jazz Forum
A-Trane
2:30-5:30
1-2:30 PM
Jazblu
Next Door/Blues 5:30-7 PM
The Joint/Jumping 11 PM
AM
6 9 0
C B C
Hot Air Show
llPM-Mid
Sat
Sat. Night Blues Midnight
11 PM
Sun
Jazz Beat
1 0 5 . 7 FM
C B C

CFRO
Mon
Thurs
Fri
Sun

Sat

Jazzland - Noon - 1:30PM
Jazz Beat
8- IOPM

Mon to
Thurs Easy Street
10- 11 PM
CIT
R
1 0 2
FM
The Jazz Show 9PM-12:30
Mon

information

Bob Berg/Mike Stern Band
Jan. 19 • Town Pump
$14 Advance, $16 Door
Lew Tabackin Trio
Feb. 6 • V.E.C.C.
$12Advahce
Eugene Chadbourne Solo
Feb. 12 • Waterfront Theatre
$10 Advance, $12 Door
Sbeila Jordan & Harvie Swartz
Feb. 20 • V.C.C. Auditorium
$12 Advance, $14 Door
Students $8/$10

CJIV 93.9 FM Cable
8 -10 A,M
Jazz Fusi0n
Fri
CKKS
9 7 FM
Mon
llPM-Mid
to Fri Night Flight
Fusion 40
6-9AM
Sat
Sunrise Jazz
6-7 AM
Sun
The Jazz Show 7-9AM
(David Sanborn) 7 - 9.PM
9PM-Mid
Fusion 40

Tickets on sale at an
TicketmasterNTC locations (Eaton's
Woodwards, major malls, UBC SUB)
Black Swan Records (2936 West 4th
Ave.), Highlife Records (1317
Commercial Drive)
Charg~ by Phone: 280-4444

FM
CHQM
103.5
Mon to
Gaslight
llPM-Mid
Fri
KPLU
93.5
Cab 1 e

A weekly series of live original music
by contemporary jazz artists.
Presented by N.O.W.

Subscribe to 2 or 4 of the above
Coastal Jazz and Blues Society
presentations and dig the music at
even hipper prices.
All 4 Concerts $34 (save $14)
Any 2 Concerts $18 (save $4-$8)
Send personal cheque or money order
plus SASE, payable to:
Coastal llzz and Blues Society #2031206 Hamilton Street V~couver,
B.C. V6B 2S9

grunt gallery

Clip & mail to us - we will promptly
return tickets by mail.

Full-time iazz and blues on cable.

jazz at the gallery

209 East 6th Avenue
8 - 11 PM - $3 Cover
Jan. 11 Michael Blake Quartet
18 Roger Baird & Pepe Danza
25 UNITY
Feb. 1 Chief Feature
8 Joe Bjomson Quartet
15 Roy Styffe Trio
22 Brad Muirhead Group

JAZZHOIUNE: 682-0706

SUBSCRIBE& SAVE

LOOKING AHEAD
Discount
Order Form
__ 4-concert set(s)
@ $34 ea.=--__
2-concert set(s)
@$18ea.= __
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