jrm (05/15/82)
New records of interest:
Chico Freeman : "Destiny's Dance" - The most recent LP out of the
McBee/JazzMessengers/WyntonMarsalis axis of players, this album
may end up standing in the shadow of the rave reviews for
Marsalis' debut album. It doesn't deserve to. Freeman is simply
a great player and the compositions are varied and upbeat.
This could be the best new jazz album of the year.
Jerry Harrison : "The Red and The Black" - Guitarist for Talking Heads,
Harrison fuses the airy space of Byrne/Enossifications with a
street-punk rhythmic feel to yield songs that are mostly danceable,
always listenable, and uh, fun.
Material - "Memory Serves" - Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, and a bunch of
other fractured punk-jazzists go into the studio intent on changing
the sound of popular dance music. They come out with songs like
"Conform to the Rhythm" with its menacing drone voice commanding you
to dance. They play it on the AM-radio and suddenly the USA is
thrown in hysteric fits of chain reaction dancing, which can only be
cured by listening to the newest Stones mega-mummmble.
The end of Western Civilization.
John McLaughlin : "My Goals Beyond" - This one's not really new, being
previously released about fifteen years ago (is it really that long ago?)
on some obscure label (I think it was Douglas, or something like that).
But it's such a fine example of McLaughlin on acoustic guitar that it
deserves all the attention I can inflict on you, especially in light
of M's recent return to acoustics with the Belo Horizonte musicians.
(They're actually French not Brazilian, but the music is Brazilian-
inspired).
Asia : "Asia" - New, but not of interest.
Jim Mildrew
Cornell U