Granddaddy of jazz clubs
has new resident group
By THE MUSIC MAN
The Flat Five, now the
granddaddy of Vancouver's
jazz clubs, has a new
proprietor and a new group
iln residence.
The new proprietor is a
yo u n g
French-Canadian
named Robert Cardinal, and
the new group is the New
Dimension Jazz Trio, which
js appearing
this weekend
at the club.
Both proprietor and trio
came to my attention a
week or so ago at the
University of B.C., where
Cardinal emceed a short
program by the group in the
recreation building of one of
the student residences.
The instrumentation
of
the trio is marimba-xylophone,
played
by Don
French, a 21-year-old Vancouverite; bass, played by
Andreas
Nauman,
and
drums,
played by Greg
Simpson. The latter pair
hail from West Vancouver.

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J!NLI
French, who is the leader
of the group, told me they
had been playing together
for about a year, and this
practice was evident in their
tightly-knit ensemble work,
which included some tricky
rhythmic variations.
Despite their name, The
New Dimension Jazz Trio
played a standard program
at UBC, consisting of two
bop numbers ("Now's The
Time," and "Bag's Groove"),
jazz versions of two folk
songs, a swing era standard
("Blue Skies"),
and an
original
composition
by
French.
French, as an instrumentalist, has a gift for inventing
propulsive rhythmic variations on a theme, and
Nauman gave him solid
backing throughout.
Simpson struck me as a
superior drummer with a
sense of dynamics and a
flair for using all the
resources of his drums.
Cardinal, to whom I spoke
after the concert, told me he
was a jazz club proprietvr
in Montreal before coming
to Vancouver.
He plans to visit California in the near future to
talk to booking agents about
importing some jazz talent,
and to visit a relative who
runs a Los Angeles night
club, and who has promised
to assist.
Cardinal plans to continue
the
club's
membership
policy ($2 per year), which

CAbiVEERT
"He specializes"

705 Birks Bldg.

MU 3-1816

9:30-5:30 (Sat. Noon)

I

he says will allow him to
keep admission prices down.
And his aim is to put tht
Flat Five on an open-a
week policy, providing l
gets support from the ja:
public.
At this point, about all
can do is urge -you to rall
round the flag and he]
Cardinal attain his laudabl
goal.

r:~hrunrv lmmLl.umisbinas

~

Winston

I