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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1981)
LPs Rejoice Pharoah Sanders L1981, Theresa Records Pharoah Sanders, that illus trious giant of the tenor saxo phone who wowed a Eugene audience last Friday, has come out with a fine double record set, Rejoice He also makes a small but significant contribution on an other new recording, Beyond a Dream. Sanders has emerged as the heir of his teacher and mentor, John Coltrane. In fact, the ghostly, almost tangible pre sence of Coltrane in Sanders’ playing is uncanny. But Sanders is a remarkable player in his own right. His dynamic range, his power, and his clarity of tone surpasses that of Coltrane, and his har monic range equals it. Sanders can be completely unrestrained without losing any control over his in strument. He can put out a deep, rich tenor sound, leap into piercing wails, then shift back again, without any intermediate preparation. He displays a masterly and un common ability to manipulate harmonic overtones. Sanders has all this, and more But he doesn’t have Coltrane’s soaring, explora tive imagination. This is the impression given by Rejoice, at least. Clearly, John Coltrane’s ba ton has been handed down to Sanders. But Sanders is walk ing with it, not running. Nevertheless, Rejoice is fresh, thoughtful, and beau tifully assembled. It is an im portant album in that it re-establishes connections with the past, and does a lot to bridge the chasm that John Coltrane’s death left in jazz. Sanders is most true to the spirit of Coltrane in the title cut, a one chord vamp that takes up all of side A. He makes it his point to instill a sense of religious reverence in the listener, and a sense of communion with the mu sicians. This could have been done without the over-dubbed voice. The invocation-invita tion is inside the record jacket for everyone to read, and should perhaps have been left implicit in the music. On side B Sanders exposes us to some terrific African highlife music, and some ex cellent young musicians who definitely know how to play it. Herb Wong, in the liner notes, describes highlife as “a West African forerunner of calypso, salsa and other Latin forms.” It is percussion dominated, ex uberant music done with a lot of guts and authenticity. On sides C and D, Sanders reaches back to Coltrane and bop roots. "Origins” is an ex ultant original composition, with a nice vocal arrangement by William Fischer. ‘‘When Lights are Low” is a clean, fresh rendition of a Benny Carter tune. The vocal adaptation of Coltrane's "Moment's No tice,” with lyrics and singing by George Johnson, is an out standing cut, with a burning break and solo by Sanders. John Hicks, who sizzled on piano last Friday, also has a great solo, and so does Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. ‘ Central Park West,” an other Coltrane tune, and “Ntjilo Ntjilo/Bird Song,” are both fine arrangements, with one qualification: they should have left out the harp. When harps are added to jazz arran gements they almost always spell corn, and these tunes are no exception The album does not achieve the intensity and drive that Sanders, Hicks, Walter Booker and Idris Muhammad achieved in concert. It is a smooth, more contained, sometimes even mellow studio product. But it still a fine, five star recording. The personnel is great. Every cut is different, and every one flawless and fresh. — Matt Taylor Theater Buried Child University Theatre Buried Child, by Sam Shepard, is a play that illus trates the vulnerability of the human condition. Set in Illin ois, it concerns a family driven slightly off-balance by the actions of Dodge (Tyler Bass) and Halie (Brigit Olson). The seeds of madness are sewn because of a baby born, killed, and buried somewhere in the backyard. As the play opens, we find Dodge and Halie quite old, and visited by their son Tilden (M.W. Mitchell) who has re turned from New Mexico Til den is clearly a man with a problem. His speech is slow, his mind runs on only a few isolated tracks, and he spends most of his time digging around outside in the back. Tilden's eyes seem to see for the most part, a vague and shadowy past, tinged with a secretive awareness that sur faces from time to time. He remembers a baby that he used to hold and sing to. He knows that Dodge killed and buried it long ago and that he is not supposed to speak of it. But it eats away at him and his silence is broken in the second act. Enter Vince (Michael Cal and harasses Shelly in a rather demented fashion. In the final act, Halie, slightly tipsy, returns to the house with Father Dewis (Stephen Mi chael Purvis), whom she has invited to tea. Ideas and actions move very quickly toward a climax. Shelly tries to raise a sane voice amidst all this insanity, Vince staggers home drunk, ranting and raving, and Dodge tells the grisly story of the “buried child." The atmos phere rings with words that haven’t been said, and thoughts that haven’t been voiced, in years. The final moments of this last act are, at first, energy charged. Halie goes upstairs, Father Dewis leaves, Shelly leaves, Vince throws Bradley out and passes out on the couch, and Dodge seems to die unnoticed. After the crisis has passed, and an emotionally weary mood reigns, Tilden walks in carrying the dead baby, newly dug up. He sings to it and ac tually looks at peace He car ries it slowly up the stairs to show Halie who is heard rejoicing over the sun. Curtain. You are left with a feeling of numb horror yet to come, un acted, but vaguely imagined. The madness has worked its way into full bloom over the years, seeded by an act of violence and reaping a tor tured harvest. The family could not escape their wounded condition, and could not hide from it. They could only live with it, allowing it to gnaw away at the roots of their minds and hearts, victims of their own inability to forget. Time could not wipe away the damage done it could only worsen it. The acting was superb. The set was designed to evoke a mood not only of the midwest, but also of neglect and time lessness. The past reigned and could not be wiped away, not even by the abrupt pre sent. The lighting and sound were effective. You got the feeling that it was raining even though nothing was wet. The sunny morning, complete with leaf shadows, blue sky and clouds, gave one a sense of stability. As things got more and more tragic, I found myseif looking again and again at the reflec tion of light and leaf as the one solid base of reality. I felt as if I were watching a bad dream come to life A human night mare. Are we not but slaves to our own thoughts and actions? Buried Child gives us an in sight into these things but all the same, it ruined my night. — C. Hanson lahan) and Shelly (Deanna Duplechain). Vince is Tilden's own son who has brought his girlfriend for a visit. He has not been home for six years. But, caught up in their own mind games, both Dodge and Tilden do not seem to recognize Vince Their minds travel shadowy trails, they appear to linger in the past, locked in a trance, where there is no room for change. Unable to handle this strange and cold welcome, Vince leaves to get whiskey for Dodge and ends up driving all night, caught up in the same spell, though, he does not yet know the deadly secret. He feels only his father’s and his grandfather’s blood coursing through him, leading him into their future, fitting him into their shoes. Shelly, finding herself in an unpleasant and crazy situa tion, deals with things as best she can during Vince's ab sence She eventually, if not indirectly, gets Tilden to reveal the secret that plagues him. She learns of a baby, killed Bradley (Martin Steiner), Til den’s brother, then enters the scene He scrares Tilden away 1 P ill 14 I 4\_ Hair Designing For Women & Men 561 East 13th EMU Ground Floor 485-4422 687-1347 Open 8 AM to 6 PM Open 8:30 AM to 6 PM I SAVE $3.00! Terms of Coupon $3 00 off on a Full Service style Includes shampoo, conditioning, cut & air wave style Call now for an appointment, or walk-ins are welcome Regular Price $14.00 Coupon expires April, 30, 1981 Valid only with this coupon. Robinson Theatre 8PM April 24,25,29,30 May 1,2 TICKETS-$4.50, $2.75 UO students & seniors $3.50 other students 886-4191 UNIVERSITY THEATRE presents Burnt) Child by SAM SHEPARD 1F^„,-=W=-— aaaaaad^Bthoaoc -1 j aoaaaaaaaod Jirtmoooa coooo filly6 Mandarin aaoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa iiSTflUJUijrT The one & only real Northern and Canton Chinese cuisine in Eugene. LUNCH 8. DINNER Orders to go Private banquet room Monday-Friday 11-10 Sat & Sun. 11:30-10 1280 Hilyard • Eugene 343-6234 3E at. i° | ne 1 3E l A_II on 4 004 3E
