Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 8, 1993)
P age B3 T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember 0 8 ,1 9 9 3 - V/ óc T-S. tix ; ìa is m » ni Japanese Festival To Be Held Sunday September 12 Kenny G currently on tour w ith Peabo Bryson w ill be perform ing in Portland, OR at the Portland C oli seum on September 17, 1993 O nly a handful o f musicians have been able to cross over from the jazz to pop charts-and even fewer have done so w ith instrumentals-but that’s what has made Kenny G the #1 in strumentalist o f a ll time. When his latest release Breathless debuted at #9 on billboard’s album chart, Kenny broke Stan Getz’s 30 year record for an instrumental artist rem aining in the Top 10. For this, his seventh album, the Seattle-native has com bined his love fo r Jazz/R&B/Pop and Funk into an album that has evolv ed from a recording career that be gan eleven years ago and has since accumulated sales o f over 10 m il lion. Breathless, Kenny’ s firs t album in four years, was largely recorded and mixed in his new home studio, Studio G. According to Kenny, the key to his success is the inspiration he gets w hile playing at home. “ I look outside and i f it is raining, the song w ill be something that has to do w ith rain. When I come here, it is a safe haven for me, i t ’ s like an oasis.” Breathless, 14-song album, includ ing the debut single “ Forever In Love,” showcases Kenny’s talents on a va ri ety o f saxophones in addition to han d lin g keyboard and drum program ming. “ This album is in my opinion my best work to date and a reflection o f the growth and changes that I have made and experienced as a musician and as a human being during the last fo u r y e a rs .” O th e r tra d e m a rk instrumentals on the album include “ Joy O f L ife,” “ Alone,” “ M orning,” and “ The Wedding Song” w hich this album, Kenny adds Peabo Bryson (“ By The Time This N ig h t Is Over” ) and Aaron Neville (“ Even I f M y Heart W ould Break” ) to his distinguished lis t o f vocalists he has worked w ith over the years (A retha F ra n klin , W itney Houston, Smokey Robinson, N a ta lie Cole, D io n n e W a rw ick, Kenny G, Jazz Musician George Benson, M ichael B olton, Celine D ion and Johnny G ill). Both vocal tracks were produced by noted hitm akers W alter A fan asie ff and D avid Foster. Upon graduating from the U n i versity o f Washington w ith a degree in accounting, Kenny Gorelick was hired by Jeff Lorber to jo in his popu la r Portland-based band, the Jeff Lorber Fusion. He spent four years w ith them, and in the process d istin guished h im self to the point where Arista Records, (Lorber’ s label), o f fered h im his own solo deal which lead to the release o f Kenny G. Kenny subsequently moved to New Y o rk and began work on his second album, G Force. Produced by K a sh if and Wayne Brathwalte (B illy Ocean), the album led to the making o f K enny’ s th ird album, G ravity, The Metropolitan Arts Commission Seeks Artists For North Precinct which mixed vocals (such as the in i tial Kenny G and K ashif duet single “ Love O n T he R ise ” ) and instrumentals (“ Japan” ), as Kenny demonstrated his virtuosity on so prano and alto sax, flute, and synthe sizer, as well as on the lyricon, a wind-activated synthesizer. W ith the success o f Kenny’ s fourth album, the m ulti-platin um Duotones, Kenny’ s career exploded “ It wasn’ t u ntil Duotones, that I felt my true voice came out,” quips Kenny. Produced on the West Coast where Kenny ’ s musical career began, Kenny teamed w ith producers Preston Glass and Narada Michael Walden. The blockbuster album set the world on fire and produced the pop h it “ Song bird” - a song composed and recorded in 1986 for a g irl he had recently met (and who is now his wife, Lyndie.) “ U n til ‘ Songbird’ hit, I don’t think anyone knew that an instrumental like that could w ork,” says Kenny. “ I had w ritten a song that was sim ilar to that on Gravity, called ‘Japan.’ That was the way I could w rite and play i f left to do it myself, w itho ut any influences.” Kenny’ s fifth album was the m ulti-platinum , self-produced. Silhouette, which produced the mega smash single, “ Silhouette.” Kenny wrapped-up the 80’ s style w ith the release o f his sixth and only live album to date, Kenny G. Live, which Kenny says “ captured the live experi ence that I felt was more o f a true representation o f my sound.” Along w ith 6 Grammy nominations. Kenny has also been named Instrumentalist is ro llin g Stone's Readers’ Poll and Playboy’ s Readers’ Poll. Away from touring and the re cording studio, the saxophonist, pro ducer, songwriter and licensed pilot (his favorite hobby), divides time be tween homes in Seattle and Los A n geles. As Kenny has already established him self as one o f the most distinctive musicians, the success o f Breathless is destined to stake out new musical territory and w in new fans. Natsu Matsuri, a Japanese Sum mer Festival, w ill be held Sunday September 12 from noon to 6pm at Pioneer Courthouse Square in dow n- town Portland. Professional Japanese dancers, singers and musicians w ill perform traditional classical dance, folk songs and koto music. They w ill also dem onstrate kimono wearing, tea cer emony and ikebana. Japanese flower arranging. There w ill also be karoake singing contests. The festival is presented by the Portland-Sapporo Sister City Asso ciation and the major sponsor is Benihana. Supporting sponsors are C lairm ont Inc , Pioneer Place Shop ping Center, and the Japan-America Society o f Oregon. The event is free and open to the public. The Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association is a non-profit volunteer organization which promotes friend ship and understanding between the citizens o f Portland and Sapporo, Ja pan. Sapporo is Portland’s oldest sis ter city o f 34 years. Sapporo is located on Hokkaido, Japan’ s northern is land. The Association organizes ex changes to Sapporo, hosts delega tions from Sapporo, matches busi ness and school affiliations, and ar ranges homestavs. The Association receives no funding from the city and operates on revenue raised through membership and special events. PDX Hits All-Time High For Passengers Those persons traveling through Portland International A irport (PDX) in July who thought the airport was unusually busy were rig h t—July was the busiest month in P D X ’ s 53-year history. More than 888,000 people trav eled through PD X in July, surpassing the a irp o rt’ s previous one-month record o f8 5 9 ,189 set in August 1992. July’s passenger total was nearly 11 percent greater than July 1992’s 801, 905. For January-July 1993, PDX has handled 4.6 m illio n passengers, a 15.4 percent jum p over 1992 ’ s seven- month mark o f a 4 m illion W h ile passengers passing through PD X continued to soar, the a irpo rt’s cargo growth slowed to 2 percent in July w ith 14, 331 tons compared w ith 14,047 tons in July 1992. Cargo for the year is s till 10 percent above 1992’ s seven-month total, 98,603 tons vs. 89, 690. General a v ia tio n operations (takeoffs and landings) were down throughout the Port o f Portland’s four-airport system, except fo r at PD X where they increased by 13.5 percent. Troutdale A irp o rt’s opera tions dropped from 11,707 in July 1992 to 11,072 in July 1993 as a result o f the annual Troutdale A erofair moving from July to June this year. H illsboro A irp o rt’s operations fell from 18,552 in July 1992 to 17,814 in July 1993. ' - • Fw /jC X t; /'C M f / t . l A dvertise in the O bserver Celebrate Diversity 1993-94 Main Stage Season Opens September 10 RÁMNC BLOCKS At BENCHES A GAME TABLES CANVAS AWNINGS PEDESTRIAN PARK PLAN CANVAS PANELS ON UPPER LEVEL FENCING fount A in / wading pool L1 I '! 1 Diagram for Artists Revue The M etropolitan Arts Commis sion seeks artists fo r a Percent for Public A rt project at the new North Precinct. The M etropolitan Arts Commis sion is pleased to invite artists and artist teams to apply for a public art project for the N orth Precinct’s new fa cility in Northeast Portland. The budget for this project is $30,000 The Portland Police Bureau is relocating the N orth Precinct to the comer o f NE K illin g sw o rth and M ar tin Luther K in g Jr. Boulevard. The south end o f the former W alnut Park Fred Meyer store has been redesign ed to house the precinct. The Port land Development Commission is undertaking a selection process to fin d retail tenants to occupy the north side o f the b u ild in g along Killingsw orth. The general goals for the project are the artwork: 1) Be o f highest aesthetic quality and workmanship. 2) Be sensitive to and/or reflective o f the citizens begin served by the N orth Precinct and bring a sense o f community to the location it occupies. 3) Contain some elements which are developed by w orking w ith com m unity children. 4) Foster positive interaction between the police and the community. The N orth Precinct project pro vides many opportunities for an artist or artist team. The committee has suggested public art for the site m ight include w orking on aspects o f the project w ith children. Final plans for the pedestrian park are s till being refined and could allow an artist to contribute to the overall design. An artist m ight explore such components as benches; awnings; the building facade; the wading pool; a canopy, which could extend over the plaza area to create dry space and a covered w alk; permanent tables; or the con crete paving, which w ill extend the length o f the plaza, as intriguing op tions for public art. There w ill be two tours o f the site, one on Thursday, September 9 at LOO p.m. and a second on Monday, September 13 at 1pm. Project archi tect Aron Facgre w ill lead the tour. The deadline for submissions is Sep tember 30, 1993. Artists w ishing to obtain a copy o f the prospectus and application or who wish to sign up for one o f the site tours should contact K ris tin Law Calhoun at (503) 823-5401. “What’s Love Got To Do With It” The latest sizzling chapter in the fc o f Tina Turner continues this immer w ith the release o f “ Why lust We W ait U n til Tonight?,” the eond single from “ W hat’ s Love Got o Do W ith ,” the soundtrack to the inic-titlcd h it film based on Turner ’ s fe. The album, her debut on V irg in ccords, has already sailed well be- md the gold mark, w hile Turner srself continues to wow audiences ith her current sold-out “ W hat’s ove?” tour The retail punch o f “ What Love Got To Do W ith It" has been boosted by the record’ s smash debut single “ I D o n 't Wanna Fight,” a Top 10 h it on B illboard's Hot 100 chart. Sim ilar success is anticipated for “ Why Must We W ait U n til Tonight?," produced and w ritten by Bryan Adams w ith Robert John “ M u tt” Lange, and fea turing a steamy video by director Pc- tcrC arc(w hodircctcd“ l Don’t Wanna F ig h t”). True to form. Turner's current sold-out tour continues to knock out fans and critics alike USA Today lauded her live show as “ an electrify ing return to form that puts today’s meek-voiced divas to shame.” The Dallas M orning News raved “ her set was as intense as any Pearl Jam Show, and revealed that the many hard rock acts who have played Dallas this sum mer arc mere pretenders." The San Francisco Chronicle stated si mply that T urner’s live show "h it goosebump pay d irt.” Artists Repertory Theatre opens its 1993-94 season, "A ffa irs o f the Heart,” on September 10 w ith C hris topher Durang’s fast-paced comedy o f fam ily life and love, The M am age o f Bette and Boo, at the Y W C A ’ s intim ate W ilson Center, 1111 S.W. 10th Avenue. Performances continue through October 17. The cast includes the various members o f the Brennan fam ily, in cluding E m ily Saher as Bette; Megan Taylor as her mother, Margaret; Jerry Basham as her father, Paul; Marianne Dothery as her sister, Joan; and Suzie Duck as her younger sister, Em ily. The smaller Hudlockc fam ily is represented by James Eikrcm as Boo; Gary Powell as his father, K arl, and Jean M ille r as his mother. Soot. Rick M u llin s portrays Father Donnally and the doctor and John J. O'Hagan plays the young Matt. Popular actress Karen Boetttcher- Tate makes her A rtists Repertory Theatre directorial debut w ith this production. Lawrence Larsen de signed the set; bridal designer Cindi Childs Sitowski created the costumes; David Tallm an designed the lighting and Roger Riecker provided props. Laughing at misery can be dis concerting, but Durang knows its ca thartic power: “ I found suffering to ta lly paralyzing . but then as I started to write [the play] suddenly the ex trem ity o f suffering made me giddy and I found the energy and distance to relish the awfulness o f it a ll.” Durang’s comedy delicately bal ances boisterous exaggeration on a foundation o f bleak misery. D urang’ s works attack social structures w ith zesty satire He rav ages C atholicism in Sister M ary Ignatius Explains It A ll For You, a tta cks p s y c h o lo g y in B eyond Therapy , sends up film genres in The History o f American F ilm and shreds the family in Baby w ith the Bathwater The failure o f the structures in which he has placed his faith-religion, psy chology and fam ily-to live up to his expectations fuels his angry comedy. The history o f The Marriage o f Bette and Boo is closely intertwined with Durang’s personal history. While the play was w ritten originally as a one-act published in 1973, the highly personal nature o f the work prevented D uring from completing the play until a fl:r his father had a stroke and no lorger could appreciate the w o rk ’s contents. Underscoring the autobio graphical nature o f the play, Durang originated the role o f M att at the New York Shakespeare Festival'sprenucre o f the full-length version in 1985. This production is made pos sible, in part by grants from the M et ropolitan Arts Commission and the Oregon Arts Commission. Dad’s Oil Sanie heating oils Best Cash Prices 104 NE Russell Portland, OR 97212 282-5111 Speedy Service Friendly Call for Que te l K B O O -F M 1968 25 YEARS OF COMMUNITY RADIO 1993 CHECK OUT THE MOST ECLECTIC PROGRAMS ON YOUR DIAL: Folk»Blues»Jazz»Bluegrass»Soul»Reggae»Latin»Public Affairs» Women's Programming»Lortrl Music»Classical»World Music’ AltemativeRock» Spiritual»Atrican»Spoken Arls’ Live Event Coverage»Live Music» New Music»lnterviews»And much, much more--Tune In1 For a FREE Program Guide of listings and Inform ation Call: (503) 231 8 0 3 2 r WINNER - Portland Music Association Crystal Award 1992- OUTSTANDING RADIO STATION Some say it's because there's a ] need for blood to save lives Others just like the way it makes i them feel about themselves I What about you? j Please Give Blood Type O blood is in demand C all your local Red Cross. + American Red Cross