, THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT • FEB. 24-MARCH 3, 1995
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h: 'icl~ii !~'diff~;~Ji -~isi~~ of how it :' · Clutter also dimmed the impact of ·
,might sound,,•.r.L -, _
some of Lussier's charts in the second
';' The eveninfb;gan :with the 13- halfof the program,'although in this
member 1',Tr-:'V group (minus··Quebe- case I think the miscues were the
i _{c9is gue~:.; _· s~ier atidTanguay) . result of inadequate rehearsal time.
-- :playing two of'Plimley's charts, With 10, rather thi!,n five; days of
, - "Dwelling in ,tl:i~Jlouse of the Spir- · p~paration, Lussier's loosesuite,/om~ _
its" and ~The:Joy of Chemistry... . missioned by NOW.for the .-event, ·
i . These worb were, ap:im6, astonish- .. would have been magnificent . _. __ ' ing, irritating, •.@arious, and fla:,ved.
,As it was, it was still rather grand.
And I'm afraid .the ..most PO\Verful Lussier grabbed our attention tight off
_ ,.ie~o~ion they pr6.;oJced me· was a / .the.,bat w~th a Mancini,.o~·spe,ed riff. _ .
~,(Jonging-°"·specifica_lly, longing ; that set inhuman standards ofpacf•
:;,'.".:fofi:lie oc'tet-iliaf..Pli"iiileyled'ui' tli.e ·• and precision, relenting only long (.
;-:; ' ihid~to >late 198of· Thai group· '. enough for Bruce Freedinan to play a -•·
achieve_d an almost transcendental :_ spiralling, lyrfcal.solo·ori. soprano sax- ·

in

':sense

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· - . ~~:iitJt;;;tt?J-~1t~~lj~~t· ~~bt~r~t:::!ao~~2 / !t"'. iinnecessarilyn~ and cluttered. :··: . in' Jay Hawkins's Put .a Spell on •

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Ji~re~bwi 1mprov1sat1ons, and ~-s~tely _theme ·.
oP (worthy of Edward ElgarH thought; _·

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,The NOW Orchestra ,p 1!1 :-;l isf

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_ At the.Glass slip~ onJ!l,da _

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ticd,~'t"ffi:e-:4: chsembowelled,1tself'()tl'$()tn.e,rhomy .

."';:iffiaofl~~·ot}'s&rikprickl~~oui~t~J~ei.~d) · ·· ,lo\'.d~ja · · · Ron Samwonh 'con:ttibirted1he most ·

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New OrchestraWorbhop·Soc1ety~·~-'dtg1talworl . _,_. :- :: ~"". -►""'"'---~ , ,..,.. ·techriique); -saxophorust Saul Berson -spring .m~i;festival, it~ hard for me -_·< le$& :pleasing :wei-e his attempts at);)md d:Uist :Peggy -Le'e:_looli'-~e:m:osf ·

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:· ala:tost certaml y'.,:li,e_fQur"n1glit:;; v1Su;illy ,:qmpe!l!I)i'~.they are mus•~- _intimate act than .mockcry..Anyone ·
t'., event's loud point:'.tlfe'massed :l i~::.,_ ca:llfim:pr~~s'ty¢/ bJt :ip'itttemti't1rig'.\ can mock a musical .form: that's just ·
blare cif the NO~ Orchestra's horns; ·:; - to transfer his. <>'!11 eccentric style:} standing outside and thrQwing stones. i _
j; especially when augrnente4 by Jlc~~ :; . onto the orchestta.;..:_through contra•~- Lussier manages to get inside whatevl· Lussier's electric gufok and Pierre
puntal laughtet ot the fragmented'' ef it is he wants to twist, be it blues,
'.fanguay's druqis, rivalled any hard- •·· reading of philosophical-texts-he i, mariachi music, or some sort of filmrock show for ,sheer~nk intensity. •: runs the Tisk of coming off as bot4 '.< soundtrack grandiosity, and from that - Anyone whojiiight'stiUthink big~ - forced and pretentious. Better, L vantage point he usually finds a way
band jazz is a music of the past.should - think, for:him to.serve a:; the-sole· to show us its entrails. _
audition this unidor a reality checL _ shatiianic;fi~rflsul:iycrting;"a rmore2 - -, Reading those entrails, we predict
_- · lri fact. both
two-part -• rigorously,cirgahtzcd 'musical whole'/ that, free from the excess adrenaline
conc~rt attempted -t~:projei:'t an ' than to have a'whole $tageful of fawC:,' - of the concert situation, the records
image •ofwhat the big band might be _ Tricbters damouring~me more ~: ing NOW intends to make of Luslike in the future, although featured convincingly than others--:-:for a i sier's pieces will be even more im•''
composers Lussier ·and Paul Plimley share of the spotlight ;
- --pressive than their onstage debut.II •

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