Inside: Jazz. R&B. New Wave Women

Jilt
LOOKING
AHEAD
BlUES
Special Events on the Vancouver Music Scene

September/October• 1989

SOCIETY

JIM HALL
QUARTET
Arts Club Theatre
Granville Island

October 15 • 8 PM
IN PURSUIT OF

EXCELLENCE

"Hall's influence, both as a traditional and an
innovating musician, has probably been felt
more since 1960 than that of any guitarist since
Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt!"

- Leonard Feather
Sonny Rollins has referred to Jim Hall
as "the greatest guitarist in jazz." Musicians
as discriminating in taste and as different
from one another in orientation as Hampton
Hawes, Gunther Schuller, Omette Coleman
and ltzhak:Perlman have all applauded Jim's
innovative approach and contributions to
the world of jazz. Yet the man is constantly
refining and redefining his craft. Perhaps
that's why he continues to be a major inspiration to today's contemporary artists such
as Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, John Scofield
and John McLaughlin.
"I hate to use words like 'the best', but
he's just a total master... and he gets a sound
that money can't buy." - Bill Frisell Inspired by tenor sax men Lester Young,
Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster, Hall's
solos are always passionate, but never predictable. "Clarity is the thing I'm after,"
explains Jim. "I get bored very easily, and I
think that's one thing that helps me avoid
cliches." He's recorded over 100 albums as
a leader or sideman since the 50's.
Continuously pursuing new avenues of
musical expression, Jim's career has been
one of ongoing experimentation, particularly with instrumental combinations.
Much of Jim's work today is with his quartet, adding keyboards or sometimes trumpet,
to his trio configuration that was prevalent in
the ?O's and early 80's. Jim's duo work,

however, should not be overlooked. His duo
albums with bassists Ron Carter and Red
Mitchell are beyond compare and when it
comes to guitar and piano duos, Jim's recordings with Bill Evans are legendary and
his album with George Shearing is without
peer.
Perhaps the bass and piano are the two
most common instruments to pair with a
guitar in a duo setting. But no matter what
the combination, with Jim on guitar, the
results are anything but commonplace. Jim
became keenly aware of the possible variations with instrumental combinations early
on. In 1957 saxophonist Jimmy Giuffre
invited Jim to become a member of his trio.
The bassist in the trio was soon replaced by
trombonist Bobby Brookmeyer. "Giuffre's
idea-at least after Brookmeyer joined uswas to have three linear instruments improvise ,collectively"recalls Jim. "He believed
it didn't make anytlifference whether or not
the group had bass or drums. He said the
instruments should be able to keep time
themselves. It was damn hard, yet it was one
of the most enlarging experiences I've had."
Jim has continued to experiment with
unusual combinations of both instruments
and musicians. In the early ?O's, Jim and

Bobby Brookmeyer reunited briefly performing in clubs as a duo.. In 1984 Jirn
performed a symphonic piece, composed by
Brookmeyer, featuring guitar with the
Stockholm Radio Symphony. Also of interest were the two jazz oriented record albums
featuring classical violin virtuoso Itzhak
Perlman and concert pianist/\:onductor
Andre Previn, with Jim on guitar, Red
Mitchell on bass and Shelly Manne on
drums. "Power of Three"(the title referring
to the trio of young pianist Michel Pettrucciani, saxophonist Wayne Shorter and Jim)
was recorded live at the Montreux Jazz
Festival in 1987 and provided yet another
instrumental mix with a more contemporary
flair.
Critics and writers have noted correctly
that Jim draws his inspiration from many
sources, and indeed a lifetime of experiences. One such experience took place in the
late 50's while Jim was on tour in South
America with Ella Fitzgerald. Engrossed
with the "local music", Jim left the tour to
spend six weeks in Rio de Janeiro just as the
Bossa Nova was coming into being. This
exposure was to prove invaluable and become a part of Jim's musical versatility as
evidenced later in his recordings with Sonny
Rollins("What's New"-1962) and Paul
Desmond("Take Ten"-1963 and "Bossa
Antigua -1963).
The Jim H~I Quartet is touring to
support a new album on the Concord label,
featuring a stellar unit with Gil Goldstein
(piano), Steve La Spina (bass) and Jim's
long time Canadian collaborator, Terry
Clarke. Terry is simply one of the great
virtuosos of the drums. The last time Jim
Hall played Vancouver(1982 at the Soft
Rock Cafe) Terry Clarke swung superbly
while playing with a broken left arm in a
sling!

Coastal Jazz and Blues Society • 435 West Hastings St. • Vancouver, B.C. • V6B 1L4 • (604) 682-0706

page 3 • Looking Ahead• Se tember/October1989
music centre which accommodates retail space
and a restaurant, concert hall and student
classrooms throughout its six floors.

MARILYN
CRISPELL
SCHWEIZER/
LEANDRE/
NICHOLS

Presented by Coastal Jazz and Blues Society
and Tom Lee Music.

GEORGE ROBERT/
TOM HARRELL
QUARTET
Alma Street Cafe
2505 Alma Street
September 22 and 23

HENRY
BUTLER

Tom Lee Concert Hall
Sound Spectrum
929 Granville Street

October 14 • 8 PM
CRESCENT CITY
CALLING
Pianist, composer, vocalist and arranger
Henry Butler draws on jazz, blues and gospel
traditions to make music that's uniquely his own.
The Crescent City (New Orleans), Butler's
birthplace, is not only a reflection of the pianist's
artistic voice, it's been a major impetus to what he
terms his 'omni directional' approach. Butler
grew up listening to the New Orleans musicians
who dominated the city's fertile, if not somewhat
obscure, jazz scene. After earning his Masters
Degree in voice at Michigan State in '74, Butler
continued his studies with private piano lessons
from Professor Longhair, Harold Mabem and
Roland Hanna. Since then he's taught the next
generation of New Orleans jazz musicians,
including Wynton and Branford Marsalis.

While, like most musicians in that steamy and
hedonistic part of the world, he loves the pop
music of groups like the Meters, it was jazz that
had the most effect on Butler's playing. Butler
has driven his main vehicle, the piano, with the
daring of a speed racer and the stamina of a long
distance trucker. His elaborate, sometimes
eccentric style has been compared to Art Tatum
and Erroll Gamer.
With two MCA/Impulse albums to his credit,
Butler's music is reaching a wider public daily.
His debut album "Fivin' Around", was an
eclectic offering which included everything from
a spiritual to a string arrangement of John
Coltrane's "Giant Steps". "Fivin' Around" was
followed by the ambitious double album "The
Village" in 1987. This album also displayed
Butler's wide range of influences. It features
clarinetist Alvin Batiste, bassist Ron Carter,
drummer Jack Dejohnette and muti-reedman
John Purcell. This album is a celebration of
Butler's range, heritage and personal past and
includes eight of his own compositions.
Renowned jazz critic Leonard Feather has said of
Henry Butler"More than any other artist to whom
this overworked term has been applied, Henry
Butler is a Renaissance man". These two albums
certainly attest to that fact.
This concert opens the brand new Tom Lee
Concert Hall located within the Sound Specturm
at 929 Granville Street. This is a major new
facility in Vancouver, a unique multi-purpose

Formed in the spring of 1987, the George
Robert - Tom Harrell Quintet have since
toured Europe and recorded their debut album entitled Sun Dance on Contemporary
Records.
George Robert (sax, clarinet), Tom Harrell
(trumpet, flugelhom) and drummer Bill Goodwin have all worked with Phil Woods while
Italian pianist Dado Moroni has played with
many notable jazz artists including Dizzy
Gillespie, Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Johnny
Griffin and Chet Baker. Bassist Reggie Johnson
has appeared on nearly sixty albums and performed with Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Sarah
Vaughan and Joe Henderson to name but a few.
Their diverse experiences combine to create
a hard swinging sound exuding confidence and
passion. The intimacy of the Alma Street Cafe
should make this engagement a special one indeed.

The Glass Slipper ...
... a charming new venue in Vancouver for creative music.
Operating as a co-operative rehearsal and
performance facility, the Glass Slipper is
co-ordinated by Sal Ferraras and Bob
Caldwell and is becoming the focal point
of activities for local musician organizations such as N.O.W., Pro Musica and
others. Situated at East I Ith and Main, in
the same building as the Cinderella
Ballroom, home to Karen Jamieson Dance
Company, the Glass Slipper is well
equipped with a grand piano and state-ofthe-art sound. This is a promising new
venue for creative music and we wish it
well. Check it out!

Live at the Glass Slipper
185 E. llth Ave. (at Main)
October 21 - 25 • 9 PM
All Shows $12
Marilyn Crispell Photo by Chris Cameron

NEW WAVE OF
WOMEN IN JAZZ
For five days in October, Coastal Jazz and
Blues Society and the New Orchestra
Workshop will present four of the most
important improvising women in contemporary music.

MARILYN CRISPELL
"Hearing Marilyn Crispell play solo piano is like
monitoring an active volcano." NEW YORK
TIMES
"If you haven't caught on by now, Crispell is one
of the greatest modem pianists alive ... " OPTION
MAGAZINE
" ... one of the great performer/composers at work
today." EAR MAGAZINE
"Crispell commands a virtuoso technique that
produces great clarity, even at moments of great
complexity." DOWNBEAT
"Cecil Taylor apart, she's the strongest pianist I
know of." ANTHONY BRAXTON
These superlatives notwithstanding, Marilyn
Crispell has certainly entered the pantheon of
great pianists active in the late 20th century.
Listeners who attended her collaborative
performance with the New Orchestra Workshop
(N.O.W.)duringlastyear~s 'Time Flies' series or
her solo, trio or duet performances at this year's
du Maurier Ltd. International Jazz Festival will
be acquainted with the breathtaking intensity of
her art.
After studies at the New England
Conservatory of Music and the Creative Music
Studio (Woodstock), Marilyn has performed
with Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Oliver
Lake, Reggie Workman, Billy Bang, Joseph
Jarman, Paul Motian, Andrew Cyrille and many
others. She's collaborated with Anthony Davis
on his opera X (based on the life of Malcolm X)
and with percussionist Olatunji.
Marilyn's profile is on the upswing. In past
years she has appeared with Braxton at the
Moer's Festival, toured the U.K. and appeared at

many of Europe's most prestigious New Musjc
Festivals. This year has seen Marilyn performing
throughout Canada with appearances in Toronto
and Montreal. This November will see her
visiting Edmonton for the first time. Many fine
recordings are available on the LEO, VICTO,
FMP and Black Saint record labels. Her duo
performance with Braxton at the Western Front
will be released in the CD format on the 'Music
and Arts' label in the fall of 1989.
Crispell is developing a growing audience
throughout the world and Vancouver is no
exception. On this visit, Marilyn will perform
solo (Saturday October 21) and in a trio format
(Tuesday/Wednesday October 24, 25). Her trio
appearances continue her ongoing collaboration
with the New Orchestra Workshop, interacting
with percussionist Roger Baird and bassist Paul
Blaney. Over two nights this trio is guaranteed to
provide musical fireworks.
The grapevine reports that a well known
pianist recently complained to Cecil Taylor about
the commercial pressures of the music business.
"I wish I could play my own music, " she
grumbled. Taylor looked up, eyebrows arched,
and replied, 'Well, how many lives do you think
you have to do it in?" He told her to go and listen
to Marilyn Crispell.

SCHWEIZER/
LEANDRE/NICHOLS
"Jim Jams" is an international trio of women
performing improvised music in a very unusual
format.
Swiss pianist Irene Schweizer has been one of
the most important proponents of "free
improvised music" since the I 960's. Along with
Evan Parker, Peter Brotzman, Han Bennink,
Derek Bailey, Willem Breuker and Alex
Schlippenbach she pioneered the European Free
Jazz scene. As her playing evolved from the
unbridled energy of the late 60's to a music with
more tonally centred episodes, she has developed
a linear style which gives prime consideration to
clarity. She was one of the principal forces
behind F.I.G. ("Feminist Improvising Group")

and remains active in advancing recognition for
women on both the European and North
American improvised music scenes, organizing
both the Taktlos and Canaille Women's Music
Festivals in Europe.
French bassist Joelle Leandre trained
formally at the Paris Conservatory, worked first
as a classical bassist for the Orchestre de Paris
and then devoted herself to contemporary music
performing the works of Cage, Xenakis and
Stockhausen. An eclectic musician, Leandre has
appeared in most of the major European festivals
which present improvised music in the company
of musicians such as Peter Kowald, Anthony
Braxton, Barre Phillips, Fred Frith, Lindsay
Cooper, Steve Lacy and John Zorn. "Madame
Contrebasse" belongs to the new generation of
musicians who are not restrained by questions of
style.
Perhaps the most original vocalist to have
emerged from the British jazz scene, Maggie
Nichols is one of those rare artists who is able to
bring her entire life experience to bear upon a
single performance. Despite her associations
with free improvised music, she takes obvious
and unaffected pleasure in a whole range of
music, from cabaret songs to rock. She has
worked extensively in theatre and often uses
textural improvisation and humour to make her
musical and political points.
Maggie Nichols has performed and recorded
with Julie Tippetts, Paul Bley, Phil Minton,
Robert Wyatt, Peter Nu, SME, Robert Fripp,
Trevor Watts and Loi Coxhill. This will be "Jim
Jams" first visit to Vancouver. Don't miss this
rare opportunity to witness the artistry of three of
the finest improvising musicians performing
today.
Saturdai • October 21

Marilyn Crispell, Solo Piano
Sunda1,/Monday • October 22, 23

JIM JAMS' with
Joelle Leandre, Irene Schweizer
Maggie Nichols
TuesQ3_y/Wednesda¥ • October 24, 25

Marilyn Crispell Trio

f

page 4 • Looking Ahead• September/October 1989

TIME
FLIES
Again

November 7-14
TIME FuEs returns this

November!

Established in 1988 as a coproduction·of the Coastal Jazz and
Blues Society and the New
Orchestra Workshop, this series
brings together Canadian and
international musicians in a
vibrant, collaborative atmosphere.
The program is, at press time, in the
process of being finalized. Confirmations
to date include Oliver Lake's Quartet
November 8th and the Richard
Underhill!fom Walsh duo from Toronto
on Nov. 9. Underhill and Walsh will also
participate in the Vinny Golia Orchestra
project. Vinny Golia (multiinstrumentalist composer from L.A.) will bring pianist/conductor Wayne Peet and bassist
Ken Filiano to TIME FUES. The orchestra numbers 18 players including
many of the New Orchestra Workshop
members. The series will conclude with a
very special evening with the Max Roach
Double Quartet (featuring the Uptown
String Quartet) on Nov. 14th with two
shows at the Vancouver East Cultural
Centre.
TIME FUES will take place at the
Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Vancouver Community College,King Edward Campus and the Glass Slipper.
This celebration of contemporary jazz and
improvised music will again offer free
student workhsops at VCC. The final
concert schedule will include several of
Vancouver's finest groups and more exciting international artists. Stay tuned for
full program details in the NovemberDecember issue of WOKING AHEAD.

JAZZ ON RADIO

grunt gallery
209 East 6th Avenue
8 PM, $3 cover at the door
• Sept. 27
Video Bar-B-Q
• Oct. 4
Bill Clark Group
• Oct. 11
Garbo's Hat
Ethno Electrico
• Oct. 18
Roy Styffe Trio
• Oct. 25
Ft Worth Travelogue
• Nov. 1
September 27 and October 11 concerts
supported by the Canada Council Program for
Music in Alternative Spaces.

GLASS SLIPPER
185 E. llth Ave.
9 PM• $5 Cover
Sept. 22 • Turnaround
Sept. 23 • Paul Plimley
Sept. 29 ·• Lunar Adventures
Sept. 30 • Chief Feature
Oct. 6 • Unity
Oct. 7 • N.O.W. Orchestra

CFRO 102.7 FM & Cable
Mon
Blues/Dark
10PM
Thurs Jazz Forum
10PM
Fri
A-Trane
2:30PM
1PM
Sun
Jazblu
NextDoor/Blues 5:30PM
Joint/Jumping
11 PM
CBC690AM
Sat
Hot Air Show
11 PM
Sat Night Blues Midnight
Sun
11PM
Jazz Beat
CBC 105.7FM
Sat
Jazzland
12Noon
Jazz Beat
8PM
Mon to
Thurs Easy Street
10PM
CITR 102FM
Mon
The Jazz Show 9PM
CJIV 93.9 FM Cable
Sun
Blues Power
4PM
CKKS97FM
Mon
to Fri Night Flwht
11 PM
Sat
Fusion 4
6AM
Sun
Sunrise Jazz
6AM
David Sanborn 7PM
Fusion 40
9PM
CHQM 103.5 FM
Mon to
Fri
Gaslight
11 PM
KPLU 93.5 Cable
Full Time Tacoma, Washington
Jazz and Blues Station on Cable.

~-------------------------,
IJAZZ FRIENDI!

To become a Jazz Friend, send your donation by personal cheque or I
money order payable to Coastal Jazz and Blues Society, 435 West
Hastings Street, 2nd Floor, Vancouver, B.C. V6B 1L4.
Donation Enclosed:
• $50 Contributor
• $100 Sponsor
• $1000 Lifetime

Nam& - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Addres---- - - -- - - - - - -

PhonG - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

For supporting the music, Jazz Friends receive a tax receipt, special
discounts on tickets and passes for concerts and festival events plus
entry into a draw for a $500 CD/LP/Tape buying binge at Black Swan
Records! Contributors receive one draw entry, Sponsors, two entries,
Lifetime Friends, ten entries. Draw date is November 1, 1989.

L-------------------------~

JAZZ HOTLINE• 682-0706