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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2000)
PULSE EDITOR: MONICA HANDE Okinawan music encounters Western styles ■ A steel guitar and a 700 year-old sanshin make for an interesting performance at the WOW Hail By Josh Ryneal Oregon Daily Emerald Bob Brozman, a self-described “world blues’’ musician and collab orator with world-music artists around the globe, is bringing his blend of steel guitar and Hawaiian influences to the WOW Hall tonight as part of his collaboration project with renowned Okinawan guitarist Takashi Hirayasu. Their new release, “Jin Jin/Fire fly,” showcases the pair’s virtuoso talents and combines Brozman’s steel and Hawaiian guitar with Hi rayasu’s sanshin, a 700-year-old Japanese stringed instrument. The album's vocals are based on Oki nawan nursery rhymes, but Broz man and Hirayasu liven things up with guitar arrangements that in clude everything from ballads to rollicking ska-influenced rhythms. The pair met for the first time just hours before recording the album and went directly to a small Oki nawan island to record in a one room house. That minimalist ap proach shines on “Jin Jin/Firefly,” and listeners can hear how well the pair meshes. Brozman, who has put out 25 al bums during the course of his ca reer, said he tries to meet the artists “not 50 percent of the way, but three-fourths of the way” when he plays with them. “Takashi is no different,” he said. “When we first started playing, I watched his facial muscles, his pupils, his hands, the way he holds his instrument, all to get a feel for the style of music I’m collaborating over.” Brozman describes his latest ef fort as “Okinawan music meets Western styles,” but added that all music is blues of one kind or anoth er. “I use my instrument as a tool of expression of that,” he said. Brozman plays a number of dif ferent types of guitar on the album, including steel guitars from his own collection, which is consid ered one of the country’s largest. He uses the instrument to play percus sion as well as to complement Hi rayasu’s sanshin, and even man ages to coax a harmonica sound in one song on the album. The sanshin is not an instrument that may be immediately familiar to American listeners, but Hirayasu plays it like a regular guitar for a sound that is something entirely different. Brozman said the sanshin is “like a banjo without frets.” “We're inventing a whole new style of music,” he said. Brozman has collaborated with world music stars from more than a dozen different countries, in cluding West Africa, India and Guinea. “I like to focus on cultures that have been colonized,” he said. “I’m trying to form a worldwide family of musicians.” Hirayasu, who has collaborated with artists such as guitar legend Ry Cooder, said that working with Brozman was effortless. “It was so easy,” he said. “He has open ears; I have open ears; it was so easy.” / f>£op[e. yrpsf Don't miss out. Work for your college paper. For more information on how to freelance for the Oregon Daily Emerald call 346-5511 Phil Barnhart Supports University Students: No on 9 Phil Barnhart for State Representative Together we can make a difference! www.philbamhart.com 010197 225 W. Broadway, Eugene • 284-2700 Courtesy Photo Takashi Hirayasu and Bob Brozman (left to right) will treat their audience to an East-meets-West fusion of styles at the WOW Hall. The pair has another project due out in the summer of 2000, which will continue the musical experi mentation of “Jin Jin/Firefly.” “My work with Takashi covers the whole range of human emo tion,” Brozman said. “We just play music, not a style or genre.” Bob Fenessy, publicist for the WOW Hall, said Brozman has played there a few times and is known for his humor and the in ventiveness of his live shows. “He definitely has an audience here. It’s a neat thing; he never does the same show twice,” he said. “He can play with anybody and it sounds great.” Tickets are available at the WOW Hall box office and the EMU ticket office. Prices are $12 in advance and $14 at the door. Doors open at 8 p.m., and the show begins at 8:30 p.m. These choirs sing without words ■Tonight’s concert will bring unsung instruments into the spotlight at Beall Hall By Monica Hande Oregon Daily Emerald Tenor and bass will fill Beall Con cert Hall tonight at the University Tuba Choir’s annual Octubafest. The Tuba Choir will team up with the Oregon Tuba Ensemble, a Lane County-based Oregon Tuba Associ ation ensemble, to present a concert featuring tubas and euphoniums. The tubas provide bass, said Jeff Turav, Oregon Tuba Ensemble di rector, and the euphoniums, or bari tones, are in the tenor range. It is an equivalent to a men’s choir, he said. The Tuba Choir has invited the /ooooonrm Oregon Tuba Ensemble to contribute to Octubafest, partly as thanks to the Oregon Tuba Association’s financial contributions to low-brass educa tion at the University and the schol arships it offers to tuba and euphoni um players. The two ensembles will perform some pieces individually and others together under the direc tion of Richard Frazier. Tonight’s repertoire will highlight a few solos and duets. The Oregon Tuba Ensemble is prepared to per form a John Phillips Sousa march, “Washington Post,” and a few other pieces arranged by members of the ensemble. Turay said the Oregon Tuba En semble, which is composed of about 10 musicians, occasionally per forms at the University. The Tuba Choir is made up of University mu sicians as well as a few community members, including a couple ol high school students. Each year, the ensemble prepares for two annual events: Octubafest and The Return of the Mighty Tubas of Spring. In the spring concert, “we get to show off all the stuff we learned throughout the year,” said Tim Bott, a sophomore music composition major. Bott said the ensemble puts tubas and baritones, the “forgotten-about instruments,” in the spotlight for a change.The concert will begin at 8 p.m. Turay expects tonight’s per formance to last from 90 minutes to two hours. Tickets cost $3 for stu dents and $5 for the general public and will be available at the door. Calendar Tuesday, October 24 International Film Festival: Sweden's “My Life as a Dog” is part of a “Com ing of Age” series of films shown in their original languages with English subtitles. 7 p.m.-9 p.m., 122 Pacific Hali. Free. Model United Nations: Weekly meet ing offers students an opportunity to learn about various cultures, current international issues and how the United Nations works. 5 p.m., Centu ry Room D, EMU. Free. Weaving New Beginnings Reception: All members of the UO community are invited to this fifth annual event welcoming faculty, staff and students of color. Doors open at 5:45 p.m.; the 6:45 p.m. program includes special recognition for all attending faculty, officers of administration and staff having seven or more years of serv ice. Ballroom, EMU. Free. Presentation: Andy Kerr shows slides, describes his desert “explorations” and explains what can be done to save the desert for future generations. 7:30 p.m., 100 Willamette Hall. Free. Medieval Film Series: “The Lion in Winter,” quasi-sequel to “Becket," portrays Christmas with the dysfunc tional Plantagenet family. Katharine Hepburn won Best Actress for her portrayal of Eleanor of Aquitaine. 7 p.m., 180 PLC. Free.
