Portlarid/O bserver Thursday December 28. 1972
Taj Mahal makes film debut
P ag eJ
America
appears
AM ERICA, one of popular
music’ s hottest groups, w ill
T a j M ahal, who makes his
appear in Portland for tie firs t
film debut In 20th Century-
tim e, Friday; January 19, at
Fox’ s "Sounder," p rem ie r
the
Paramount
Northwest
ing Dec. 20 at the Broadway
Theatre
at
8:00
p
jn
.
T heatre, may be singing tl«
The
three members of
blues, but 1« has no com
A M ER IC A , G erry Beckley,
plaints. He meant it when 1«
Dan Peek, and liewey Bunne,",
cut that L P record, "Happy
began th eir musical ca re er in
Just to Be Like I A m .”
1967 in London, England,
" I'm not trying to get rich ,”
where the fam ilies of all three
1« says. “ Of course. I ’ m glad
were living courtesy of the
they’ re paying me, but If they
U
.S. A ir Force.
w eren’t I'd 1« doing It anyway.
A fte r playing local dates
M usic's tf« only challenge
fo r a short time; the group
to m e ."
sp lit and each m ember went
In fact, he takes other mu
his own way. In 1971, the
sicians to task fo r charging
three re-grouped, forming the
so much fo r tlw ir services at
now internationally acclaimed
music festivals, claiming it
popular music group, AM ER
t«lps bringonviolence."They
IC A .
price themselves so high that
T h e ir clean, precise vocal
Bob ’Woody* Woodard of Inner City Development Company
the tickets have to cost form
harmonies and melodic inter
demonstrates the M arse illais pool shot at Geneva's Reg
$9 to $14, and a lot of young
play of th eir acoustic guitars
ulation Tables.
people haven't got that kind of
were firs t recorded on the
money. I know I never did.
W arn er Bros, album, "A
They hear tl« music from
d’ ncT.r* “ re f * n
'he p rim itive splendor on
Horse With No N a m e ". The
outside ttw fence, and it ex
A ir Afrique s new Tour of lie African Kings". Ten New York
title song of which went to
cites them. F ir s t thing you
the top of musical charts both
U
« " great
ir e a 7 k kingdoms
l 17
h capitals
f r l of A f fric
r a. 35‘ d , >' 'J*«"tu re io know, you've got trouble."
11«
and
in
the United States and
T f « tall and angular black
abroad. T h e ir second album,
singer (who took his profes
" H o m e c o m i n g " , includes
sional name from tl« beauti
“ Ventura Highway", current
ful
mausoleum which tl«
ly soaring to the top on cur
Mogul E m p eror Shan Jahan
rent music lis ts.
Duflt In memory of his dead
Tickets for the one perfor
love) got where he Is today
mance
of AMERICA at the
-and with tl« young people
Paramount Northwest are on
that's pretty high up in his
sale now at all Paramount
profession - by dedicating his
TAJ M AH AL IN 'SOUNDER'
Northwest outlets.
life to a quest fo r his lost
Experienced travelers are
lie f by the strikingly modern
roots, through music.
already onto the simple fact
capital of Abidjan
the Ivory
Bom in New York and
that there is more to Africa
Yes, Taj was spiritually that
Coast Keiaihlic, the next stop
final piece in the puzzle. " T l «
brought up in New England,
than game parks and natural
little boy.
on the tour. Following the
le had the feeling as a boy
country blues filled in a big gap
wonders. Those Interested In
So Taj went to the location
and helped me to understand
that 1« was out of tune with
palm -fringed Atlantic coast,
the history and lifestyles of
in Louisiana to act in the film .
the tour pauses at Lome,
my own feelings, things 1 felt
him self - until the firs t time
this fascinating continent can
Although the story is set in
The Northwest Black Arts
o r knew o r understood, yet
Togo’ s capital, and Cotonou,
1« heard tl« blues. Then it
now take advantage of a new
tl« Depression days of the
C enter has been incorporated
Dahomey. In the Cameroons,
didn’t seem to have any back
was as if something in his
in-depth tour program from
193o's, tl« period, except fo r
by the State of Oregon. A non
among the most unchanged
log of information on.
blood responded. "A fte r that,
A ir Afrlque aimed at discov
a few vintage automobiles,
p ro fit organization, the North
of A fric a's nations, visits are
I forgot about school and
"A great way to discover
ering more alxait its c iv iliza
might have leen much e a rlie r.
west Black Arts C enter has
made to Douala, Yaounde,
yourself is to start from the
everything else fo r a while,
tions.
as its purpose the promotion
F o r the central set was an
oud iila, Mokolo, Rhumslkiand
anti tl« guitarwas where Itwas
tradition that you came fro m .”
Called "T h e T ou r of A fri
at fo r me.
of
the
Black experience
M aroua.
a u th e n tic
sharecropper’ s
can Kings” , the 35-day ad
And
his
experience in
through the cultural arts and
"B ut the kind of blues I
shack estimated by lum ber
Chad, tl« desen kingdom
venture moves from Dakar
"Sounder' tu n « d out to be
firs t got knocked out on was
the promotion of awareness
with
strong
Moslem
in
men to be ¡etween 80 and 100
and it« lard of the tall, grace
part of that process of self-
and of pride in th e ir cultural
big band blues, and it had al
years old, and there were
fluences, Is tl« program's
ful Senegalese across the con
discovery. When he read the
heritage m the black youth
black men and women work
most gotten to he bop music
jumping-off
point
for
tf«C
on
tinent to the Bantus' hilly
script w ritten by black play
of Oregon.
by the time I heard It."
ing in the fields, eating corn
go. Here dwell Watusis, Pyg
kingdom In liwanda. Along the
wright Lonne E lder HI from
Offices of the board of
bread ar l collard greens.
m ies,
Haluba
and Bantu
So he began studying the
way, the tour visits among
the award-winning novel by
governors are D r . Almos
development of tl« blues. He
[«oples. A highlight is a two-
Taj put on a p air of aged
tire peoples of M a ll, lire Ivory
W illiam
H. Armstrong, he
Thompson, Directing Black
sat at the feet of tl« Cow Cow
overalls and a battered hat,
day cruise on the Congo R iver
Coast, ’I ogo, Dahomey, Chad,
said to d irec to r M artin Ritt:
Studies ot Portland State Un
and took up his guitar, which
to Kisangani (fo rm e rly Stan
Davenports, Leadbellies, Bo
the Cameroons and the Congo.
"T h a t little black boy is m e ."
iversity, President; James
he sometimes made sound like
Diddleys,
W ill«
Browns.
leyville). T ie programends In
Designed fo r those already
The black boy, played by
Rogers, Professor of C iv il
a banjo, and sang to them the
C h arlie Pattons, Kid Baileys;
Rwanda, where crops grow on
fa m ilia r with A frica, the es
thirteen - year - old Kevin
ization and Black Studies at
old country blues of the black
1« haunted obscure record
almost vertical hillsides.
corted
program
includes
Hooks, is the central figure
Portland
State University,
man in Am erica.
shops and scouted lyrics in the
The "to u ro f African Kings"
visits to prim itive. Inacces
in tl« tale. The eld er son of
V ice President;ChadDebman,
Includes the aid of an expert
L ib ra ry of Congress; le be
" I really lived that pic-
sible areas as well as stops
a black sharecropper in the
tu re ", he says.
President of the Northwest
tour manager, a la carte din
came a practitioner of tie
In tire sophisticated capitals
I )eep South, Kevin is inspired
Black A rts Society, and John
Film ed in DeLuxe Color.
ing wherever possible, the fin
blues
himself
and
ultimately
of West Africa with their de
by a compassionate young
Toran , Legal Advisor.
"Sounder"
co - stars Paul
est accommodations available
achieved
recognition
as
a
gen
luxe hotels and restaurants.
teacher to make something of
W infield, Cicely Tyson, Janet
and many extras.
uine blues musicologist.
T ra v e l within Africa Is by
him self in tl« world for both
MacLachlan, James Best and
The
"Tour
of African
The
country
blues
were
the
a ir and by safari vehicles.
his own sake and his people's.
Carmen Mathews.
Kings" is priced at $1,995,
A fte r
getting acquainted
covering only the land por
with tie people of Dakar and
tion. Round-trip a ir fare from
the legendary slave Island of
¡¡yaiiwii
New York via A ir Afrlque Is
I
Goree, tie tour proceeds to
about $1.100. The tours are
M a ll and fasclnatlngTlm luktu
This
lim ited to 25 persons each.
L ast
at the gateway to the Sahara.
Week
During 1973, ten departures
Week
T h is remote city was once
No.
are planned between January
No.
the capital of a large, dy
1. Loose Booty
13 and October 6 j F o r further
Fun Kadelic
1.
2. I ’ll Be A round
namic and advanced desert
The Spinners
information on the " T o u r of
2.
By Joey Sasso
3. If You Don't Know Me by Now
kingdom.
African Kings", w rite A ir Af
The antiquities of Tlm fuktu
Harold .Melvin and The Blue Notes
rlque, Box D C -8, New York.
8.
4. Good lim e s
are brought Into sharp re
According to a trade paper, test songs.
Kool and The Gang
H e r big songs (ja z z , blues, folk, pop, rock,
N .Y . 10011.
3.
5. Memphis At Sunrise
" L a d y Sings The Blues” is h a v e
Bar-Kays
been
"M ississippi
international), she is basi
5.
Saturdays
6 . If You L et Me
the biggest grossing picture --------------- " B l a c k l a s h
cally a popular p erform er.
Eddie Kendericks
7.
in tl« nation fo r the third
B lu es", "R evolution", "T o
She has harsh words form any
I sie y Brothers
11:00am to 4:15 pm 7 8. . Work To Do
9.
consecutive
week.
Album Be Young, Gifted and Black"
992
Arguments
of her contemporaries, ex
O ’Jays
9.
sales have come to almost and " F o u r W om en".
Superstition
M iss
pressing admiration fo r Bob
Stevie Wonder
$4 m illion In just the several Simone changed her art in Dylan and the Beatles . . .
10. Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Honey Cones
weeks it was released. F o r 1963 when the four young
Serving
such a little doll, Diana Ross black g irls were killed by a
Real Oregonians
packs a powerful wallopl T l«
dynamite
explosion
at a
since 1887.
producers
just
presented church in Birm ingham.
It
Diana with CHADBOURN'S was when the late Reverend
new Bodywear Collection for M a rtin L uth er King, J r . was
the w inter months ahead . . . leading
massive
protests
Sammy Davis, J r . sent against segregation laws in
F rank Sinatra tl« new MAG
that city. " I remember that
NA VOX ODYSSEY which is an night so w e ll," she told me.
all-elec tro n ic game simulator " I was very despondent and
that hooks up to a TV set went off by m yself. 'M is sis
C L IA N IR S A LAUNDCRERS
and provides the basis fo r a sippi
— ’ just came out.
established 1912
dozen
different games of And my mother had told me
skill o r chance . . .
all my life not to curse. But
Carmen RacRae on a re
that was like throwing 10
cent
M erv G riffin 's Cole lu lle ts back at them.
plays the first great Black heroine on
The
most exquisite of actresses
•SAMt 0 / < swan stuvict
« i r service
P o rter-sa lu te proved again song came out of my gut. 1
the screen. She is visually extraor
is a warrior of inner fire. Hereby our
•? HOUR ClfA N IN G
DRY C lfA N IN G
she's a b rillian t vocal musi guess I've been singing pro
dinary.
Her
cry
as
she
runs
down
the
SATURDAYS UNtll NOON
AVAIlABlf
nominations for Oscar.”
cian . . . she and Ethel M e r
road toward her husband, returning
test songs every since. I've
•COMRlfTt LAUNDRY
Do If Yourutlf
—Judith Crist. New York Magazine
man were positive that if a gotten in an awful lot of
«» V IC I
from
prison,
is
a
phenomenon.
And Snve SS
songwriter doesn’t want his trouble because of this —
Something even the most fabled
1014 N KIUINOSWOSTH
ly ric s to be hear, skip these from blacks and whites.”
4 Slocbi to it of Intentate
actress would not have dared.''
two perfect enunciators . . . Despite controversy, her au
.
— Pauline Kael. The New Yorker
N u a . n u iMoawoMTM
as the rip-cord-tough zther...
In show business, there is dience keeps broadening. Her
a deeply affecting performance.”
n onnal'y nowhere to go from followers include black, white,
— Paul Zimmerrgan. Newsweek
the top but down. But, that young, old, middle class,
doesn’t apply to Lena Horne. poor, students and laborers.
performance is Oscar-deserving."
She Just keeps climbing up- They all jh a re a disenchant
— Liz Smith, Cosmopolitan
up-up performance wise. 1 ment with contemporary life
superb. For its range and its
don’ t think there w ill be ever and a desire to change the
richness and for its carefully
a top to her mountain of w orld, and her a rt is a
portioned power, it is
talent. She picks and chooses
smoldering gathering pointfor
an indelible perform'
IS
masterful
—Kathleen
Carroll.
Daily
News
h er spots and only plays a all of tl« m .
H er concerts,
—Jay Cocks Time Maga
few
nightclubs every few
filled with political direc
years. Lena seems very re
tives, black consciousness,
A beautiful movie. It is a missing chapter from the Grapes Of Wrath' and of equal
laxed off-stage and Is sm ilin’
a rt and folklore, are extra
•»re.
—Judith Crist. NBC TY Today Show
m ore than she did a few
ordinary amalgams of musi
months back.
1 hope there
cal fare and social commen
la — I know there Is — a
ta ry , She explains, " A r t to
d R a d n ltz /M A T T E l P r o d u c tio n » .»ewm
man responsible for bringing
me has one function - - to
1 R o b e r t B . R a d n it z M a r t i n R i t t F ilm
back some joy into Lena’ s
starring
reflect the times and project
life, and that makes all her
the future. If an artis t can
( ICEt.V IVSON PAUL WINFIELD KEVIN HOOKS co-starnngTAJ MAHAL JANET MACLACHL AN
produced by ROBERT B RADNITZ d,reeled by MARTIN RITT screenplay bi LO N N E ^E LD E ^Ih
friends happy fo r her. . .
combine tl« past, present and
In the late 1950s and early
future, he’ s really out there.
6 4 1 1 ‘.I
41». A S I Mo. . no..
BV
'*’nn,n° NOV* bV WILLIAM H ARMSTRONG songs and muse by TAJ MAHAL
1960s, Nina Simone was a
Kurt
W etll, B e e t h o v e n ,
SS»»» « »
1 !>,« A N » H a m o- h
l??nrf A ».
torch
singer
of
pop
ballads
C
h
arlie
P
arke
r,
M
iles
Davis
N
I o
»»> », .
It »h* A S 4 ()i.. ,t«n
■ alF.q»- i-
2 l.d A Wev» M
and B’way show tunes. Her
have all made statements
I ab«, O.WR-qo 9 I R A
• •2nd »•
firs t hit was Gershwin's " I
about th eir Ih tu re ."
Even
• M l V h t . G l U N IH D GROCfRS
Loves You, P o rg y". Today
though M iss Simone crosses
she is the F irs t Lady of pro
several stylistic boundaries
Play Pool
GENEVA’S
'’“ '"*1 ° 97’ °
4228 N. Williams
Tour highlights
African history
Center
begins
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for a step-saving
extension telephone.
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