Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 65

THE HARTf "ORD COURANT: Sunday, December 31, 1978 7D Piano Recital Jazz 'Horizons' Pure McPherson Allstate Orchestra. As a member of a quartet and a regional orchestra, she has also played at Central Connecticut College. The program will also include selections by Ravel, Debussy and Tcherepnin. 12 pmBgSfe A piano concert featuring Rebecca Kramer will be performed in the recital hall of the Paul Mellon Arts Center on Jan. 7 at 3 p.m.

Accompanying Ms. Kramer for Beethoven's Trio No. 4 in B-flat Major will be her sisters, Debra on cello and Miriam on violin. Ms. Kramer has played viola as a member of the Ireland Named WASHINGTON (AP) James D.

Ireland Jr. has been named director of the 'new opera-musical theater program of the National Endowment for the Arts. Ireland had been acting director since the program was created early in 1978. NOW TO MON. CHONG'S UPIN SMOKE IUM1MMU) IS CO-HIT 'THE ONE AND ONLY" I "J1 I Bush nell Memorial Hall presents FO UR PERFORMANCES sum tmCARRom's 0 BASK Charles McPherson self -editor who wastes not and wants not.

He can play as rococo as Powell, but can also spin spindly but steely tempered lines worthy of The-lonious Monk, another one of his early keyboard influences. His rhythmic support is good. Duvivier has vivified many a studio session, including the celebrated sets with Powell back in the 1950s on Blue Note Records. Early Barry Harris selections from his 1960s sessions on Riverside Records are available once again as part of Milestone Records two-fer reissue series. The double-pocket set is called "Stay Right With It," a tune from a 1962 trio track cut with bassist Bob Cranshaw and drummer Clifford Jarvis who was then a mere stripling of 20.

There are fine samples here of Harris's trio work (one set includes Elvin Jones on tubs), his unaccompanied solo playing (Art Tatum's influence is apparent) and a quintet session whose personnel includes Charles McPherson and trumpeter Lonnie Hillyer. McPherson and Hill-yer were among the coterie of young, gifted Detroit musicians who were greatly influenced by Harris both as teacher and performer before he made his move to the Big Apple in 1961. Among the 17 pieces are particularly well-wrought versions of "Cha-sin' the Bird," 'Round Midnight" and "Body and Soul." Xanadu, which is now distributed by Cream Records, has also issued two other new releases, an excellent one featuring bassist Sam Jones and a far less satisfactory one dominated (or druminated) by drummer Frank Butler. Jones has the wisdom to surround himself with superior players, and then wisely gives them plenty of space to work in on his LP, "Change Things." Aiding the redoubtable double bassist are: Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Slide Hampton, trombone; Bob Berg, tenor sax; Barry Harris, piano; and Louis Hayes, drums. Although the ensemble playing sometimes gets a bit unhinged or loose, this is a tight, swinging session with its share of fulfilling moments.

Blue Mitchell seems relieved to be out of his commercial bag, playing in the fresh air again rather than fabricating more plastic funkjunk. Berg, a young veteran of 27, is an invaluable asset throughout. More of Berg's fluent floe will be forthcoming on a soon-to-be-released Xanadu album, "New Birth." Butler, an excellent drummer in the suave manner of Jo Jones, also has good players tenor saxophonist Jack Montrose, (not to be confused with saxophonist J.R. Monte-rose), pianist Dolo Coker and bassist Monty Budwig. But unlike Jones, he hogs most of the limelight.

His LP is called "The Stepper." Someone should have tailored Butler's solo forays that too often stretch out far too long. Almost all of the opening 20-minute track, for example, is really not much more than a distended drum solo. It's light and deft, but, unless you're a drum addict, it might well leave you feeling a bit light-headed or daft. The album's brightest solo work, aside from Butler's drumming, belongs to Coker for his concise keyboard statements. mm By OWEN McNALLY Alto saxophonist Charles McPherson is one of those unfortunate musicians who's so proficient that he's too often taken for granted.

Besides being taken for granted, he's sometimes summarily dismissed as just another member of Charlie Parker's tribe of stylistic descendants. Critics love to relegate musicians to neat stereotype categories. McPherson has too often been simplisti-cally pigeon-holed as yet another Bird player a convenient ornithological category that has long been overpopulated with many a saxophonist, horn player, pianist or guitarist. Obviously, McPherson's roots are in bop with its advanced, demanding harmonic structures, its fiery flair for con brio attack and its seething passion for polyrhythms. His guru was Bird.

But his frame of reference is open to a wide spectrum of musical influences from Mingus to Bar-tok. And even when he's at his most Bird-like, he's still doing his own thing, inventing in his own way with his own voice. McPherson is no mere copyist. McPherson is no more a copyist than, say, Woody Allen is when he writes one of his humor pieces for the New Yorker Magazine. In the printed format, Allen is every bit as indebted to S.J.

Pereleman or Robert Benchley as McPherson is to Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Nonetheless, Allen's magazine pieces are his own thing and express his own comic, sometimes cosmic view of the world. That McPherson has a rich, original voice all his own is clearly demonstrated by "New Horizons," a Xanadu Records release. Whoever did, the casting for the roles of McPherson's supporting players did a marvelous job. The saxophonist is backed by a strong but flexible rhythm section made up of Mickey Tucker, piano; Cecile Mc-Bee, bass; and Freddie Waits, drums.

McPherson is in good form and his writing talents are upfront as four of the six tunes including the title tune "New Horizons" are original works. On one tune "Night Eyes" he plays with the sort of liquid coolness of Lee Konitz. And on a number called "Dee Blues" he brings a lot of heat to a more abstract and open form for improvisation. There is a balanced mix of ballads with brisk tempos and a dash of Latin on a gliding tour of "Samba D'Orfeo." McBee and Waits two absolutely first-rate musicians function primarily but not entirely as accompanists. This they do with intelligence and empathy.

Tucker gets some space to stretch out in and is an absolute delight. Everyone gets a chance to wail on "Dee which, despite its title, gets an A rating. If McPherson has long been a devoted student of Parker, then another Xanadu recording artist, pianist Barry Harris, has been all but totally immersed in the glorious keyboard heritage left by Bud Powell, a modern innovator who left his mark on a whole generation of musicians. A 5m dKCefiekat Conceived from the Book of St Matthew by Mustc and lyrics by Additional Music and Lyrics Oy VINNETTE CARROLL ALEX BRADFORD MICKI GRANT Ctioreograptiy iLLEY BEATTY En tire Production Directed by VINN ETTECARROLL TOM MALLOW in association with JAMES JANEK presents Harris, in fact, is THE legitimate successor to Powell. Harris is to Powell what Sonny Stitt is to Parker.

Both Harris and Stitt are executors of the opulent musical estates left by the genius of Parker and Powell. But Harris is also very much his own man who created artisically in his own way within the world that Powell had explored. Both Powell and Harris travel similar paths in their pilgrimage towards the same sort of beatific vision. A new sample of Harris's consum-' mate craftsmanship is available on a Xanadu release entitled "Barry Harris Plays Barry Harris." This is a bop piano trio music at its classiest as Harris is joined by bassist George Duvivier and drummer Leroy Williams. Harris plays seven original pieces, some of which are based on chord changes to among other tunes.

"I've Got Rhythem" or "Embraceable You." A high-flying, brilliant tour de force called "Luminescence" uses the changes to "How High the Moon" for its launching pad. It swings so hard you expect Sonny Stitt to step in and blow a half-dozen choruses or so. (Actually, Stitt would be right at home in the sort of healthy, creative and cozy ambiance that Don Schlit-ten has carefully nurtured for a legion of bop-oriented musicians at Xanadu Records). There's more of the same fire on a tune called "Apache" which is based on the changes to "Cherokee." And there's an elegant tribute to pianist Tommy Flanagan, a fellow Detroi-ter, on "Father Flanagan," an extended improvisation filled with trenchant, expressive phrasing. Harris is a master instantaneous educed by the URBAN ARTS CORPS 'JAN.

19, 20,21 ices: Orch. $10; 1st Bal. $10, 2nd Bal. $5. Times: il Orders: Include check or money order and self-0, Station Hartford, Ct.

06106. Ticketron Orisinally Pn FRL, SUNDAY Prices: Orch. $13; 1st Bal. $12, 2nd Bal. $7, 5.

Mat. Pr Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. Mat. 2 p.m.; Eve.

8 p.m.; Sun. 7 p.m. Ma addressed-stamped envelope to Bushnell Memorial, Box CHARGIT (1-800-223-0120). yIN AWORD, HALLEI BOBlAPf ABC TV mm mm Ifyck Doobies Stuck on Plateau GBS350DQ fflisrjpiaFin By J. GREG ROBERTSON The Doobie Brothers reached an artistic peak in 1976 with their excellent album, "Takin' It To The Streets." Now, two albums later, the peak seems to have become a plateau.

"Takin' It To The Streets" was a departure from the previous Doobies' style of light, uptempo rock exemplified in such hits as "China Grove," "Jesus Is Just Alright," "Black Water" and "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me)." Guitarist Patrick Simmons was the wheel-horse as writer and singer. The new style, with heavy jazz and influences, could be credited to pianist-vocalist-songwriter Michael McDonald, like guitarist Jeff Baxter before him, a former player with Steely Dan. There was very real growth in the Doobies' music, elevating them clearly into the leading rank of American pop groups. McDonald brought a new sophistication to the music and a new introspection to the lyrics, as well as adding his own distinctive, mellow vocal touch. "Takin' It To The Streets" was arguably the best album of 1976, largely because of such outstanding McDonald compositions as the title song and "It Keeps You Runnin'," as well as more traditional Doobies material like "Rio." The sequel album, "Livin' On The Fault Line," was a commercial success, but significantly the single hit from the album was the cover of the oldie, "Little Darlin'." There was virtually no creative growth exhibited on the album, although the band maintained their reputation for quality musicianship.

OK, write that one off as the product of a period of consolidation. But there really should have been some new imagination in the latest effort at least to mollify jaded record reviewers. The Doobie Brothers ssaaoDOBsscaDB i Hartford, CT. 06106. Send self-addressed, stamped en- MAIL ORDERS ONLY.

Checks payable to Bushnell, Box O. Ste velope. FOR GROUP SALES INFORMATION, CALL 525-93. Box office, Ticketron and Chargit sales for Tharp shows begin )an. 15.

TVVYLA THARP Dance Foundation Performance Desired: Feb. 2 Feb. 3 Number of Tickets: Seating Desired: $8.50 Orch. $7-00 1st Bal. Rear $8.50 1st Bal.

Front $5.00 2nd Bal. Front $10.00 Box S3.00 2nd Bal. Rear $10.00 Loge Box office, Ticketron and Chargit sales for Ailey shows begin Ian. 2. ALVIN AILEY American Dance Theater Performance Desired.

Jan. 22 Ian. 23 an. 24 Number of Tickets: Seating Desired: $4,511 Orch. $8.00 1st Bal.

Rear $4.50 1st Bal. Front $6.00 2nd Bal Fnmt $11.00 Box $3.00 2nd Bal. Rear $11.00 Loge ground vocal by Nicolette Larson, just named best female singer of the year by Rolling Stone magazine. In fact, the liveliest tune on the album is Simmons' instrumental, "Steamer Lane Breakdown," which harks back to his old country and bluegrass days. It is a festive little ditty, revealing Simmons' and Baxter's fine picking ability.

Die hard Doobie fans might be able to ignore all this carping and enjoy the fine overall quality of the album, but perhaps the next album will be cause for even critical rejoicing. MINUTE BY MINUTE by The Doobie Brothers. Warner Bros. Alas, there is not much to perk up one's ears on "Minute By Minute." Mind you, the Doobies still play as tight as ever, but by this time, McDonald's lovelorn vocals are beginning to sound like a repetitive whine in songs like "Here to Love You," "What a Fool Believes," "How Do the Fools Survive?" and "Open Your Eyes." It's refreshing, almost, to hear a mindless Simmons rock piece, "Don't Stop to Watch the Wheels." But even Simmons gets soppy with "Dependin' on You" and "You Never Change." Simmons' "Sweet Feeling" (Final Gs seem to have become, declasse) is an inconsequential bit of fluff, notwithstanding the back Name Name Address City Address City -Phone -State- Zip -State- -Phone- -Zip-.