BY VANESSA SALVIA
NATURA
NUTRITION
FREE SEMINAR!!
“Feeding the Healthiest Pet
Food in the World”
JAY BLAKESBERG
Thursday, April 22 • 7pm
Garaj Mahal plays the
McDonald Theatre
Thursday, April 22.
Eclectic Jazz
252 W. 7th • Eugene
(on 7th between Lincoln & Charnelton)
Garaj Mahal, Manischewitz span jazzy genres.
A
2000 jam session brought together
four ace musicians with a résumé
spanning stints with Sting, Steve
Kimock, John McLaughlin, Bela Fleck and
Chick Corea. That fate-tempting meeting
was the root of the formation of Garaj
Mahal , a four piece consisting of bassist Kai
Eckhardt, guitarist Fareed Haque, drummer
Alan Hertz and keyboardist Eric Levy.
Haque was born in 1963 to a Pakistani
father and a Chilean mother. Extensive trav-
els to Western Europe, the Middle East and
Chile exposed Haque to a wide variety of
music at a young age.
Eckhardt, born in 1961 in Mainz,
Germany to a German mother and Liberian
father, was raised in Germany and West
Africa.
Hertz’s background is solidly in the San
Francisco Bay Area, where he is among the
region’s most sought after drummers. His
collaborations with Steve Kimock (Zero,
Other Ones, Phil & Friends), Bobby Vega
(Zero, Jefferson Starship, Quicksilver), and
Frank Zappa alumnus Ray White in 1998
became known as KVHW.
The group produces
timeless jazz but doesn’t
stop there; the dish is
livened up by a combination
of funk, fusion, blues and
world beats that causes
Garaj Mahal to stand out
in a crowded scene.
Eric Levy hails from the Windy City and
was steeped in Chicago’s gospel and blues
traditions as well as jazz and classical.
Interestingly, as Levy proceeded with his
musical education at Northern Illinois
University, Fareed Haque became his pro-
fessor. Now, master and disciple jam togeth-
er. What each member of the foursome
brings to the mix is his own spice, seasoned
by diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Together, they blend most deliciously
into a pleasing assortment of grooves. The
group produces timeless jazz but doesn’t
stop there; the dish is livened up by a com-
bination of funk, fusion, blues and world
beats that causes Garaj Mahal to stand out in
a crowded scene. Garaj Mahal’s first studio
album, Mondo Garaj, has recently been
released to wide acclaim, and a second
album is in the works. Garaj Mahal plays the
McDonald Theatre on Thursday, April 22nd.
Local jazz quintet Manischewitz is set
to celebrate what would have been the 80th
birthday of Henry Mancini, a versatile and
multi-talented composer who brought
soothing and invigorating themes to popular
film and television programs.
Mancini was responsible for the irre-
pressible coolness of The Pink Panther and
Peter Gunn. (Mancini scored all of the Pink
Panther movies.) He took John Wayne to
wildest Africa with the soundtrack for the
1962 movie Hatari. The film Breakfast at
Tiffany’s just wouldn’t be the same without
the Mancini-composed and conducted
score. “Hubcaps and Taillights,” “Mr.
Yunioshi,” and “Moon River” (with Johnny
Mercer) never cease to thrill.
Born Enrique Mancini in Cleveland on
April 16, 1924, he first burst onto the scene as
a pianist-arranger for the Glenn Miller
Orchestra, then under the direction of Tex
Beneke. Hollywood welcomed Mancini with
open arms, during which time he penned the
unforgettable tunes we revere him for today.
Mancini’s compositions were performed
by the best jazzers of the time, allowing jazz
buffs to go nuts and the casual music fan to
revel in his inventive artistry.
This cross-musical love affair is being
kept alive by Manischewitz: coronet and
accordion by Michael Roderick, also of
Eugene’s Mood Area 52, Los Mex Pistols,
Scrambled Ape, Wheel of Meat and
RocketBoy Arts Records; alto sax by West
Coast Rhythm Kings’ and Mood Area 52’s
Kee Zublin; drums by James West (Justin
King, Norma Fraser, the Habaneros); guitar
by Gung Ho Recording Studios’ owner
Billy Barnett (who also plays guitar with
other local celebrities, like Dan Jones and
Ed Cole); and double bass by Eugene jazz
musician Hamilton Mays.
The Mancini celebration happens Friday
at the Downtown Lounge. Mood Area
52 ’s tango-inspired original compositions
will open the festivities, with film clips and
Manishewitz following. For all you music
lovers and philatelists, a commemorative
postage stamp honoring Mancini, who died
June 14, 1994, is scheduled for release on
April 13th.
ew
For more info: 302-6279
thehealthypet.net
14 TH A NNUAL
Multicultural
Storytelling Festival
featuring nationally known storytellers . . .
MICHAEL PARENT (Tales from a French-Canadian)
GLADYS COGGSWELL (Tales from an African American)
MEGUMI (Tales from Japanese Folklore)
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rfu e!!!
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W
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a
A Exp ges 10
ly for a
mi ommended
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Tickets: $8.00 per person OR
$20.00 for a family of four
(cash or check only).
Available at The Actors Cabaret
& at the door.
**Also: CDs, tapes, shirts and books for sale**
Robert Rubinstein • Producer/Director
SaTuRdAy Evening, ApRiL
ThE
V ERy L iTtLe
24 th @ 7 :3 0 pm
T hEaTrE
2350 Hilyard St. • 344-7751/344-8176
Sponsored by: Lane Arts Council, Springfield Education Association / Oregon Education Association,
City of Eugene, Oregon Community Credit Union, Very Little Theatre, Selco Credit Union& National Storytelling Network
APRIL 15, 2004 25