Coleman’s colorful cacophony
Ornette Coleman sailed into
the EMU Ballroom Sunday
night on a wave of innovative
jazz sound that surprised and
delighted the full house that
turned out to see one of the
figureheads of modern jazz
Coleman and his band, Prime j
Time, transformed the
expectant, reserved audience
into a room of true believers
after only a few songs This
opened the doors for a musical
experience that won't soon be
forgotten by those fortunate
enough to have attended what
may be the jazz event of the
year for Eugene
Ever since Coleman burst
upon the jazz scene playing his
free form improvisational music
on alto sax and violin to
bewildered New York
audiences in 1959, he has beer
hailed as a true genius and
bombasted as a musical
charlatan His revolutionary
music has never drawn
responses of mediocrity
Sunday night's performance
was no exception His musical
voice gave each piece a fresh
sound that stood on its own
with a clearly emotional quality.
Each piece allowed Coleman’s
musical genius to shine clearly. I
while showcasing the talents of
the backing band.
Prime Time consists of two
drummers, two guitarists and
two electric bassists Never do
any of the musicians play a riff
similar to what his counterpart
is playing For instance, one
bass player will hold down the
bottom with a standard bass
line while the other plays a
melody line in unison with the
saxophone
“I'm always trying to achieve
the sound of a small
orchestra,” Coleman said
backstage after the show. He
developed this idea in a
landmark recording in the
mid-60s called "Free Jazz"
where he pioneered the use of
doubling the instruments and
called the resulting band a
"double quartet " Prime Time
is certainly the state of the art
for Coleman s visionary "small
orchestra.”
Two of the most memorable
songs of the evening were
served up with a definite latin
flavor "Latin Genetics" started
with an innocent
south-of-the-border theme
which quickly expanded to
make room for all of the
instruments to improvise freely
in a general direction
understood by everyone in the
band
This is central to Coleman's
music, taking a “written” theme
and allowing the musicians to
color it with their musical
expressions This results in a
controlled mayhem that many
mistake for a total disregard for
musical form, but the theme
and melody are always in the
back of the musicians' minds,
and the band will collectively
resolve into the main theme
when least expected
“Dancing In Your Head"
sounded like music pouring
onto the tequila streets of
Mexico on a Saturday night
Here Coleman gave a constant
reminder of the melody with
unexpected snips of the theme
thrown in throughout the song
The band whips out a blues
tempo change that pops in out
of nowhere, and Bern Nix, the
more traditional of the
guitarists, takes some great
blues riffs Ornette dances
back in. fiercly playing his
Mexican melody as if he never
wants you to forget it When he
abruptly stops, the audience
sat stunned for seconds before
remembering to applaud
Coleman s dynamic,
pulsating electric sound could
be mistaken for the more
Ornette Coleman
j popular "fusion jazz,” but is
definitely a pure evolution of his
controversial music of the 60s
with the harmonic and rhythmic
freedoms he discovered intact
He's just added modern
instrumentation to his
ever-changing entourage
The result is what Coleman
calls "a combination of planet
culture that any person or race
can participate in with their
own individual style Ethnic
music is going to be the next
universal expression "
Judging from the reception
of Sunday night's audience, his
prediction may be right on
target
by john navazio
Sammy Hagar
Hagar, Quarterflash ready to rock Eugene
On the night of March 16. Sammy Hagar and
Quarterflash will bring what will probably be the hot
test-heaviest rock show to hit Eugene this year to the
Lane County Fairgrounds The rafters will be trembling
and the crowd will be shaking from the time Quarter
flash takes the stage, through the moment when Hagar
leaps into the fray and slams his way through the power
chords of his final encore
Quarterflash came into being less than a year ago,
the synthesis of two prominent Portland bands:
Seafood Mama and Pilot That combination led to a
sound that is best described as power pop The single
“Harden My Heart” was released in late September and
climbed as high as number three on the Billboard
record charts To date. “Harden My Heart” went more
than 22 weeks on the charts and sold over 600.000 It's
not optimistic to assume the record will exceed a million
sales
Quarterflash s second single, “Find Another Fool,”
took off much faster than "Harden My Heart ” Both
singles are receiving extensive radio airplay
The teaming of Ouarterflash with consummate
heavy metal guitarist Hagar is more than a little apropos
Ouarterflash s solid rock musical style complements
Hagar's more frenetic and powerful guitar
Hagar. according to the trade magazines, is poised
on the brink of superstardom That's about a ton and a
half of balderdash Hagar has been over that brink
since he split with Ronnie Montrose The two, Hagar
and Montrose, were too potent as individuals to stay
together long But the two LPs Hagar and Montrose
recorded. "Montrose ' and "Paper Money," remain as
classics in the heavy metal mold
Hagar's style since leaving Montrose has become
more defined and definitely his own With LP's like
Nine on a Ten Scale" and "Sammy Hagar" (the
notorious "Red Album") Hagar has established his
niche in rock music
Tickets for the show are available at Everybodys
Records, and cost $9 in advance
by cort fernald
FANTASTIC Dance, Party, Picnic Location!
For Reservation Call 896-3889 or 342-7272
*S200 flat fee-No addi
tional charges
•Can accomodate up to
300 people comfortably
^^j^J^^JCulturaMForuii^^^^^
Invites applications for
the following positions:
Popular Concerts
Jazz/Blues Concerts
Folk Music Concerts
Film and Literature
Visual Arts
Performing Arts
Contemporary Issues
Program Committee
If you have the
least amount of
interest, stop by
the office and
learn more about
the rewarding
experience of
working on the
Cultural Forum
These are volunteer student positions
offering intense practical experience
coordinating major events.
Applications and job descriptions are now
available in Suite 2, EMU. Deadline for
applying is Thursday, April 1.