St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 40

4JE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 2, 1996 REVIEWS RECORDINGS MPBEflT "JAY HUNGERFORD PRESENTS THE KEYS TO THE CITY" Jay Hungerford iil) The Rentals revive synthesizer sound as 'afterthought' The debut recording by local jazz bassist, composer and teacher Jay Hungerford is a multifacet-ed showcase of top St. Louis talent. 'Using the intimate pianobass format, Hungerford features 14 area pianists in duets covering the classic American repertoire of Gershwin, Porter, Berlin and Joplin.

Interspersed are three original compositions, including two of Hunger-ford's: "Ode to Pettiford" with Carolbeth True providing precisely crafted solos, and "Why Ask Why," featuring Kim Portnoy's delicate but beguiling touch. By the very nature of their professionalism, ech of these pianists is capable of various styles. But here they focus on interpretations as filtered through their individual voices. For instance, when Reggie Thomas plays "Emily," his masterful improvisational technique shines. The visceral, percussive style of Ptah Williams adds new energy to the standard "Gone With the Wind." Traditionalists Jean Kittrell, Herb Drury and Jimmy Williams keep things squarely in the melodic mainstream, whether it's bop-flavored interpretation or Joplin rag.

Russ David's composition, "Opus One," is a stirring piece full of rapid flourishes and varied tempos. Other performances include a spry reharmoni-zatibn of "Amazing Grace" by Gary Fiorino, beautiful ballad work by Dave Venn on "The Heather on the Hill," Pat Joyce's classically inspired rendition of "Pick Yourself Up" and Jan Ammerman's sensitive reading of "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good." throughout the recording, of course, are Hun-gfirford's precise and subtle bass lines. On the reflective "Polka Dots and Moonbeams," however, his rich playing is prominently featured. For a grand survey of St. Louis jazz talent, this is the recording to own.

Michael J. Renner liYiiiitWalrwt il in 1i 1 'iillMttl Anon. Matt Sharp and Cherielynn Westrich of the Rentals. By Alan Sculley WITH their hit single "Friends of Matt Sharp and his band, the Rentals, have almost single-handedly brought the Moog synthesizer back to the forefront of pop, resurrecting an instrument that seemed to go by the wayside after the Cars and Gary Numan fell off the charts back in the 1980s. That classic synthesizer not only makes its presence felt on the single, but it also plays a key role in the remaining nine songs on the group's debut CD, "Return of the Rentals." At a time when alternative rock has had its share of sound-alike bands, the Moog has given the Rentals an instant identity and recognition.

But Sharp isn't taking too much credit for what now The rest of the band, fearing arrest, fled to the Czech countryside, where they led an "uncomplicated existence." However, tapes of their shows became big items on the black market, making the Rentals cult stars in their home country. After the cold war thawed, Cervera was released from prison, and last year the band re-formed for a concert in Prague. Maverick Records owner Madonna happened to be in the audience and signed the band. The group's CD artwork and the video for "Friends of outfits the band in glasses and stodgy clothes, visually reinforcing the tale. "That whole thing came out of a need to not lean on Weezer," Sharp said.

"I really want the record to stand on its own, and besides legally we could not use Weezer's name at all. I figured it would be better if we just pretended we were from another country for a while. "But everybody knew right away. It was just kind of pointless." "SISTER DRUM" Dadawa (Sire) The Rentals: opening for Blur Where: Galaxy, 1227 Washington When: 8:30 p.m. Wednesday How much: Information: 534-1 1 1 1 231 -2404 bouncy tunes such as "Friends of and "Waiting," the Moog actually provides the signature hook for the songs.

And even tunes such as "The Love I'm Searching For" that feature heavy guitars get a significant amount of flavor from the added keyboard textures. For Sharp, the Rentals project began taking shape a couple of years ago, before anyone had heard of him. That changed when his other band, Weezer, saw its 1994 debut CD become one of the year's big alternative-music hits behind the popular singles "Undone The Sweater Song" and "Buddy The entire Weezer connection is something that Sharp has been trying to downplay. Part of the situation involves legal necessities because the Rentals are signed to Maverick Records and not Weezer's label, Geffen-owned DGC Records. "They basically did me a very big favor, and they were extremely nice about it.

I asked Geffen if I could put it out elsewhere," Sharp said. "I wanted the record to be released elsewhere, and I didn't want them involved in it because I wanted it to be thought of on its own and not thought of as a side project or thought of as 'we'll please him by letting him put out this little "I wanted people to be focused on it and backing it and believing in it and for it to be important. And Maverick's a much smaller company, so I just figured they would be ready for that. DGC has done a great job with the whole Weezer thing, and I think that we're really fortunate that we're with people who really were that together. But for my thing definitely needs its own voice." To that end, Sharp doesn't mention Weezer by name in any of Maverick's background materials on the Rentals, who on record also include Weezer drummer Pat Wilson, Violinist Patra Haden from That Dog, guitarist Rod Cervera, singer Cherielynn Westrich and co-producer Tom Grimley on keyboards.

In fact, Sharp actually concocted an entire fake biography for the band, which placed the band's origins in Czechoslovakia. According to the ersatz biography, the Rentals had formed in the late 1970s when they were teen-agers, playing gigs at Communist youth rallies in Prague. But in 1979, guitarist Cervera was arrested for espionage after unknowingly trying to carry government secrets and KGB microfilm out of the country on a trip to the United States to see his uncle. hat whole bogus story about the Rentals' origin came out of a need to not lean on Weezer I figured it would be better if we just pretended we were from another country for a while. But everybody knew right away.

It was just kind of pointless. 99 MATT SHARP From the Great Wall of Sound comes Dadawa, a Chinese pop star who took a turn toward the mystical in the early '90s. On her North American, debut disc, she collaborates with composer-arranger He Xuntian to shape a lively, dense, alnlost Spector-esque audio montage. Its diverse facets include Cantonese and Mandarin folk music and droning Tibetan Buddhist chants, along with massive percussion effects, Chinese woodwinds, synthesizers and her own marvelous, free-ranging voice one that calls to mind Icelandic pop singer Bjork. international music press has been pointing! up Dadawa's musical resemblance to Celtic swpi sculptress Enya.

But Dadawa's settings of afioient native sounds interwoven with contemporary ones also recall the music of American igcording artists such as R. Carlos Nakai, Coyote Oldman and Robert Sunsinger, who offer pop-aiJoented treatments of American Indian themes. Throughout, "Sister Drum" conveys mystery and despite the sheer musical mass of the mix enticing sense of intimacy. Paul A. Harri8 'JKARMA" Not surprisingly, with Sharp's active participation in the Rentals and the success of "Friends of plenty of people are wondering about the future of Weezer.

"I think people have such a misconception about what's going on, because I think most people aren't able to understand having two bands at one time," Sharp said. "They think that it's just impossible to do. They figure that it's so much like a marriage that you can only have one band at a time, which is ridiculous. "But things are going well. I'm enjoying it." In fact, Sharp said, Weezer is on break after completing several songs for a second record.

The hiatus is giving Sharp the opportunity to tour with the Rentals. "We've recorded half of the Weezer record, and we're just trying to figure out how to complete it, and if Rivers Rivers Cuomo, the band's chief songwriter and I are going to write together," Sharp said. "A bunch of questions are up in the air with us. We're just trying to get it completed." looks like a masterstroke of musical planning. In fact, the Rentals at first weren't intended to be a keyboard band at all.

"After we had recorded the record and it was really a straight-ahead thing, I listened to it for a while and didn't really like a lot of the singing," Sharp said. "Time went by, and then we went back into the studio to re-record some things, and there was a Moog there. I decided I wanted to use it for a couple of things, and then we just really started enjoying that. We decided to change everything and layer it with four or five Moogs in every song. "It was very much an afterthought," he said.

"There was nothing on the first recordings except one guitar, bass, drums and vocals. Everything was one take." Now that the CD is out, it's hard to imagine the songs on "Return of the Rentals" without the keyboards. On Pharoah Sanders (Impulse!) REVIEW JAZZ It's Tejano Country! Emilio is testing genre boundaries JTEarly in 1969, performing with a nine-piece efisemble that featured innovative vocalist and percussionist Leon Thomas from East St. Louis, Pharoah Sanders established what is arguably thehighwater mark in free jazz with his recording "Karma." who as a high school student worked ir01iver Nelson's band in St. Louis, befriended JjjhJ Coltrane and shared the sax legend's fascination with the Pygmy chanting of the Yturi fprSst.

Based on that, Thomas moved away from syllabic scat singing, devising an eartfiy, glottal style of yodeling, which he employed in bands led by Carlos Santana, Louis Arujstrong and Freddie Hubbard but never fljpre persuasively than in Pharoah Sanders' groiip. The "Karma" centerpiece, an utterly emotive 3-23ninute jazz tone poem titled "The Creator ffi? a Master Plan," begins with a warm, percus-slgB-rich dance motif, following which Thomas cjahts and sings the theme. jhe ensemble then proceeds to burst into a wailing, sustained crescendo that ventures to the extreme frontiers of musical form but retains sjiape thanks to Sanders' dexterous rhythm sec-tjjfi pianist Lonnie Liston Smith, bassists Richard Davis and Reggie Workman, percussion-iiSa-Nathaniel Bettis and Thomas, and drummer Bill Hart. The wind players, in addition to Sand-ejjf include James Spaulding on flute and Julius Wajkins on French horn. fascinating, challenging and ultimately exhilarating chapter of the so-called "Aum" trilogy dCfree jazz (the other two chapters are John Cjltrane's extended works "Aum" and "A Love "The Creator Has a Master Plan" stands as one of the great recorded jams in American music.

JWith this recent Impulse! reissue of "Karma" d)i "The Creator Has a Master Plan" can be hgard for the first time uninterrupted by the necessity of flipping an LP. Paul A. Harris signed a four-year deal with Capitol's Latin division. The idea is to follow in the success of his previous Tejano albums, "Unsung Highways," "Emilio Live," "Southern Exposure" and the recent "Sound Life." But Emilio says the lines between Tejano and country are easily blurred, so it's perfectly natural for his record company to try to broaden his appeal. "I'm on the Alan Jackson tour starting this month.

I'm going to play a lot of states I've never played before." By Charles Passy 1996, Cox News Service IF THERE'S a post-Selena chapter to the book of Tejano, it's being written by Emilio Navaira. The 32-year-old San Antonio native, who goes by his first name alone, has emerged as the Tex-Mex genre's hottest star, famous for combining pop and country influences with the music's Latin beat. While the late Selena was determined to cross the line with pop audiences and become a kind of Tejano Madonna, Emilio is focusing Marcus Roberts Plays Standards And Originals By Michael J. Renner AS THE FORMER linchpin of Wynton Mar-salis' mid-1980s group, pianist Marcus Roberts quickly became a household name in the jazz world. During his opening Wednesday night at Jazz at the Bistro, Roberts boldly displayed his pearly manner along with a very young and exuberant trioquartet.

With Roberts were two 18-year-olds, Jason Marsalis on drums and David Grossman on bass, and surprise guest Marcus Printup on trumpet. For the first set, Roberts settled on his latest endeavor: A weighty 75-minute musical exploration of the variegated experiences of a long-standing relationship. Consisting of 11 interlocking compositions, the piece was full of technical detail, which the trio negotiated without hesitation. With pensive confidence, Roberts would weave in and out of different tempos, shifting the mood dramatically. Roberts certainly has a penchant for florid blues-ragtime variations.

As absorbing as the work was, however, portions seemed disjointed and lacking a clear thematic line. But this is definitely a rich work that highlights Roberts' probing style and technical mastery. The second set consisted of jazz standards and original interpretations. Roberts has internalized the masters, capturing the swing of Ellington and the crabbiness of Monk. His execution reflects a pedagogic approach that encompasses jazz piano history.

And he migrated easily between them all: stride, ragtime, gospel and boogie-woogie. His reconstruction of "Someone to Watch Over Me" was a marvel of both romantic classicism and blues tonality. Printup is one the most talented trumpeters to emerge in recent years. He performed with flawless clarity, especially during the second set in which he was featured. His sharp-edged tone provided extra heat as he rotated and varied a melodic line or added punctuation when Roberts dished out thick percussive slices.

Roberts continues thrpugh Saturday. Emilio has long been accustomed to mixing and matching musical styles. His father was a Bob Wills and Willie Nelson fan who handed Emilio his first guitar when he was 6. As a teen-ager, he became aware of other genres. "I enjoyed music so much I could listen to classical miisic and then turn around and listen to the Eagles and Van Halen," Emilio recalls.

"I was just that type of guy, and I'm still like that. You've got different songs for different feelings and moods." After studying three years at Southwest Texas University to become a music teacher, Emilio decided to pursue a performance career instead. He says he didn't consciously label himself a Tejano artist. Rather, "being a Hispanic from San Antonio, it was the easiest way" to break into the business. is nX on the jeans-and-boots crowd.

Witness his latest album, "Life Is Good," a Garth Brooks-style affair of straight-ahead country, with songs that range from two-step charmers If I to soulful ballads Not the End of the The recording has made waves on both Billboard's Latin and country charts. Emilio says life is indeed good. "The album wasn't really a hard change," he said. "It's just something I always wanted to do." Not that one will find much in the way of Tejano's trademark cumbias, rancheras or polkas in "Life Is Good." The closest concession Emilio makes to his Latin fans is that he includes two bonus tracks of English songs translated into Spanish. "It's Not the End of the World" becomes "No "JEWEL IN THE CROWN" Butch Adams Emilio Fjitport Convention (Green Linnet) Martin Carthy, one of the few British folk lions of fis generation never to play in Fairport Convention, once described that group as "a blowing band." That flattering characterization still applies.

Anchored by two Daves Mattacks and Pegg, on drums and bass respectively Fair-port continues to transform new and traditional British Isles dances and airs into a signature hybrid of rock. The instrumental work here stands up to the best they've recorded since starting out, more than a quarter of a century ago. Highlights include multi-instrumentalist Maar-tin Allcock's "The Youngest Daughter," which features Mattacks on glockenspiel; "Travelling by Steam," a Huw Williams train song onto which fiddler Ric Sanders tacks a spirited dance; and the Leonard Cohen song "Closing Time," to which singer-guitarist Simon Nicol's baritone voice is unusually well-suited. Paul A. Harris Muere El Mundo Sin Ti," while "Have I Told You Lately" turns into "Hace Cuanto He Dicho Que Te Amor." "It's more like a learning process," Emilio says of the idea.

"If you're listening to the English, then you kind of go back and listen to the Spanish." At the same time, Emilio hasn't forsaken his original audience. The artist who has been named Tejano Male Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year and has picked up a couple of Grammy nominations for Best Mexican-American Performance has just His rise has been meteoric. In addition to his best-selling recordings, he has been a mainstay of the Texas festival circuit, playing the Texas State Fair at the Cotton Bowl, El Baile at the Alamodome in San Antonio and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the Astrodome. In the latter venue, he once shared billing with Selena. He remembers the slain singer fondly, but insists he has no desire to tread in her career footsteps.

"As for now, I'm more concerned for her family, who are going through a hard time. All we can do is pray for her.".