DownBeat July 1990 [antikvár]

HIPLIPS First came King Oliver. Then Louis Armstrong. New Orleans and the trumpet go together like bass and drums. The bayou legend Buddy Bolden is said to have blown a hole through a park fence with his horn. Maybe it's the voodoo, but this fertile ground has given us another pair of legendary lips. Marlon Jordan. For You Only. His dazzling debut. With special appearance by Branford Marsalis On Columbia. on the beat MUSIC DANCE by John E()hl(ind with !)anna Ephland itlecn years ajiij, in llic c(jurse of licT training, my wife iJaniia look a masler class in dance witii world-renowned choreographer/ dancer Murray Louis. When she heard that the Murray Louis Dance Company's current tour—in collaboration wilh the Dave lirubeck Quartet—included a stop in the Chicago area, she in.sisled we go. wilh is a novel approach to not only musical improvisation bul dance choreography/ improv as well. Il was really something to see Dave stradling his piano bench, watching the dancers move to the kind of music that, in part, drew me lo the drums as a mere lad. It worked both ways: Dave and the boys (with Bill Smith on clarinet, bassist Jack Sbc, and the inventive Randy Jones on drums) were moved by the dancers as much as the dancers moved by the music. There was, for example, one dancer who continually responded to Dave's playing, bringing a smile to his face even as he gave The Dove Brubeck Quartet with the Murray Louis Dancers: unsquore dancing. Given that musicians have always collaborated with artists from olher tieids, it was no surprise thai in the wake of a tiTjly memorable evening of jazz and modern dance, we were reminded of the close relationship between music and dance (tap. jazz, ballet, modern dance, etc.). Many choreographers—past and present —have been inspired to set steps lo music. Alvin Ailey immediately comes to mind, wilh tributes lo the music of. among others, Chai'les Mingus. Mary Lou Williams, Duke lillingtoii, and, most recently, Jay McShann {Opus McSliaun, see Dli Apr. '89). Olher notables include pop star David Byrne in collaboration wilh Twyla Tharp, "minimalist" composer Steve Keich and Laura Dean, Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane's choreogiaphy for drumnier Max Roach, and now, some of Biiibcck's most familiar tunes set in motion by Louis & Co. Thanks in part lo the popularization of odd lime signatures by Brubeck's tamed 'W)s quartet with alto saxist Paul Desmond, bassist ICugene Wnghl. and uspecially. drum whiz Joe Morello. modem music has become more and more f.uniliar with the riiythtiiically unfamiliar (anyone remember Lalo Sihitrin's tlii-nu' lo TV's Mission inilmsiblc^). Carry this idi-a over to (latu (• with a tunc likf UrulK ok's "i lns(|ii,ii r I )aiuv" and what you i nil up his pianistic equivalent to her movements, both of them romping about like kids on a playground. The act of creation couldn't have been more graphic if we'd done it ourselves. Louis' choreography is well-suited to Brubeck's rhythmic style of jazz. Far removed from the smooth hoofin' of, say, a Fred Astaire (check out his "drum dance" sequence from Easter Parade) or Gene Kelly, Louis' choreography emphasizes isolated body movements in each limb to explore and expand the range of the body's possibilities. Kinetic and exhuberant. there's a quirkiness to the articulation of individual body parts in an otherwise calm body, with abrupt, unanticipated impulses, odd, asymmetrical configurations and punctuations. Witty and sometimes conuc. the spirit of perfonnance lends itself well lo "in-jokes." not to mention the unexpected twists and turns charactenstic of such classic Brubeck numbers as "Three To Ciel Ready" (two bars of 3/4 alternating wilh Iwo of 4AI) and the s\singing. yet off-balance "Take Five" (in 5/4). I'Vum Broadway to Bnibeck. Murray Louis to Louis Annstrong. music commues lo etUertain and inspire, prompting legeiulai y choreogra|)hers lo give il legs, arms, and lu-at i Coming to A thoairo neai vou. DM 6 UÜWN Bt-AI JUL y IH'II)