Kenny Rankin: Sentimental and bluesy jazz
Kenny Rankin will perform in a
Monday concert in the EMU Ball
room beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets
cost $3 students, $4.50 general.
By Patty Durucher
The first time I heard Kenny
Rankin, I somehow felt he could
slip into a Frankie Avalon bit any
second.
His sentimental lyrics seemed
out of touch and verged on the
mundane. His crooning tenor was
too sweet.
I was listening to the title track
from Rankin’s second album for
Little David Records, “Silver
Morning.” Two tunes later, Rankin
was drumming out a bossa nova
I
guitar beat and slipping his voice
around some very tricky scat
lines.
The song in question, "In the
Name of Love,” is probably
Rankin's jazziest tune, but a Latin
flavor persists in many of his
songs.
Rankin was bom in New York
City. From his earliest days, the
Latin sounds that were brought to
Manhattan from Puerto Rico and
Brazil shaped his musical style. In
“Birembeau," Rankin sings some
easy scat above a rapid conga
beat that is unusual to hear on the
standard folk-rock scene.
‘ Catfish," written by Rankin and
his wife, is a jazzy, upbeat number
with lots of background vocals that
leave you smiling.
"Silver Morning" also includes
some standard tunes, but Rankin
adds a few individual twists. His
beautiful version of Gordon
Lightfoot's “Pussywillows, Cat
tails" floats off with a perfect
bluesy ending, and he adds some
nice vocal improvisation to
“Penny Lane."
Most of the songs on “Silver
Morning” are excellent easy lis
tening. Rankin's “Killed a Cat,”
however, offers a stark commen
tary on urban callousness that
was not meant as background
music:
Take a look outside, someone s
killed a cat/
In the city, that is all there is to
that/
A man can die there, no one
even know his name I
In the city, it's always been the
same. I
I listened to all of "Silver Morn
ing” and went out and bought
more Kenny Rankin albums.
Rankin recorded two albums for
Atlantic Records, “Mind Dusters”
and “Family," before joining with
Little David, but it is only since
"Like a Seed” that he has gained
general recognition.
“Like a Seed" is mostly a laid
back album without much exciting
or original happening. Rankin’s
well-known song, “Peaceful,” is
on this album, along with a power
ful testimony to Rankin's earlier
struggle with drugs, “Cornin'
Down."
Rankin wails out his story on
this track:
What a waste of time
Just to live your life as I did mine
Flashing like a neon sign
Half a body, half a mind
1
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CONCERTS
Friday 8 p.m.
Saturday 2 p.m. 5 8 p.m.
Sunday (morning
gospel show) & 2 p.m.
WORKSHOPS,
CONTESTS,
JAM SESSIONS
If you pick or play,
bring it out!
Saturday & Sunday
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
TICKET PRICES
$3.50 per show
$9.00 Weekend Special
(good for
any or all concerts)
TICKET OUTLETS
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| Eugene:
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Portland:
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Everybody’s Records
SE&SW
Longhair Music
Downtown & Gresham
Roseburg:
The Ole Same Place
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Cornin' down-Comin' down.
Rankin describes his latest re
cord, "Inside,’’ as a "love album."
Calling himself “a romanticist to
the last degree," he has chosen
love songs in a wide range of
styles to express himself.
He does a cool, bluesy rendition
of "Up from the Skies" by Jimi
Hendrix; a simple, pared-down
version of John B. Sebastion's
"She's a Lady" in a relaxed impro
visatory style; and an unaccom
panied rock and roll duet with his
kids called “Roll Around."
“Up from the Skies" is the best
cut on the album. Rankin does
some inventive things with his im
pressively agile voice, and Roy
McCurdy’s drums shuffle this very
cool tune right along.
i ne song is aooui a commune,
and the incredibly simple lyrics are
the kind that seem to imply scores
of symbolic significances and
probably mean nothing. But the
music is excellent.
The melody and mood of
Rankin’s tune, "Inside," are re
miniscent of "Silver Morning" and
“Killed a Cat.” The pattern of
chords and harmonies is charac
teristically Rankin-soft, moody
music with no lyrics to the vocal
part. "Marie," by Randy Newman,
is a quiet, simple love song along
these same lines.
“You" is a basically uninterest
ing song that Rankin has speed
up with a few nice rythmic tricks
and some good brass and piano
bits.
"Lost up in Loving You" has the
same problems. The lyrics are
boring, but Rankin s sensitive and
honest presentation, along with a
few carefully placed blues notes,
make the song powerful.
"She's a Lady" is perfect. John
Sebastian couldn't have done it
better.
Rankin's genius lies in his in
ventiveness. He colors every
song with his particular brand of
jazz to just the right degree. His
incredible musical sensitivity can
find a new twist in any traditional
favorite. In concert, Rankin can
take off in bursts of scat singing
and fall back on a serene melody
with amazing agility.
Rankin’s dry humor on stage
probably owes a lot to George
Carlin, for whom he opened
shows for several years.
On the road, Rankin works with
Roy McCurdy on drums and Peter
Marshall on bass They have been
touring almost non-stop for three
years.
Rankin's persistence is helping
to develop a solid following for his
individual mode of jazz-influenced
folk rock.