The Brattleboro Reformer from Brattleboro, Vermont • 8

ENTERTAINMENT 8 Brattleboro Reformer Thursday, July 30, 1 9987 Hot Latin beats boost the summer heat Jl PUTNEY Braving 95-degree afternoons and fork-sliceable humidity, the average area music fan probably doesnt want any suggestions on beating up the summer. But if your play list tastes a bit bland these days, you might consider adding some spice to your menu. And with music trends being what they are, and album release dates converging on the spring and summer months, now may be the perfect time for a little Latin flavor. Whether you want Puerto Rican Dance, pure salsa, Latin Rock, or Cuban Pop, you can find it in your area record stores this summer, and start practicing early for the big dance parties in the fall. Polish up the shoes, folks.

IVamonos! IeJ in TW 1 From its opening track, Hechicera, Suenos Liquidos melds together several styles you likely wouldnt have expected, creating a whole you. couldnt have expected. Stacking sound upon sound, Hechicera starts with gusting wind, adding hip-hop drums, synthesized bass, a wailing, i.q Indian-sounding vocal, guitar, and then a funk-tinged electric bass to oo complete the ensemble over which the lead sings. Mana blends vastly different styles to create a style all its own. The ramifications of the blend are interesting.

Mana looks and like a grunge band. Their singing, however, is smooth, sweet, almost oo saccharine during the albums lower points and they employ a variety of less-than-common rock instruments and modes flute, smooth i3 harmonica, etc. And yet, when effectively employed, as in Como tu Dueles en Los Labios, the sweet stuff is positively on fire. When they combine their beautiful harmonies with hard guitar, as in Chaman, they once again push themselves into new territory that must be heard! to be appreciated. Think Pearl Jam without the Pessimism.

Nirvana without Negativity. A novel twist Buy this album before the weekend ends, and look for their new LP, Rock en Espanol, released, July 13 of this year. Last stop: Gloria Estefan, with 1998 offering, Gloria. A lot of pictures of her hair on this CD jacket, which I should have taken as a real bad sign. To clarify: I love Gloria Estefan.

From songs such as Conga, Get on Your Feet, and I Live For Loving You, to her Spanish Language projects such as Abriendo Puertas, and Mi Tierra, Estefans work consistently inspires, uplifts, and most impor-'61 tantly provides grooves for your moves. She makes great dance music, and great music in general which is unfortunately why Gloria is so disappointing. Tunes such as Heavens What I Feel, and the Hand- iJB Jivesque I Just Wanna Be Happy play like tired post-disco nostal- J'j gia, while Oye, with its Salsa es Caliente hook, and narrative of interested-girl-encouraging-hesitant-guy-to-make-a-move by asking he to dance sounds like a bad illustration from the How to Write A Gloria Estefan Song While Still Sounding Like a Doofus handbook (incidentally it sounds much, much better on the Pablo Flores Spanish language remix Im guessing a lot is lost in the translation). A few tracks, Real Woman, and Dont Let This Moment End, develop occasional' momentum and I actually like the very dance-worthy Lucky Girl. Ultimately, however, Im left with the same diagnosis I had after hearing the remixes on Michael Jacksons Blood on The Dance Floor -rfI Bad Run-in with Drum-Machine.

Go buy this album if youre content to sort through a bunch of hairstyles and 11 substandard tracks to get to two good ones and two hot remixes. So there it is, folks a few diversions from those hot Garth Brooks nights. If you want more, you might try Tito Enrique Iglesias, Marc Anthony, Luis Miguel, Selena (for a little Tejano), or even a little Menudo if youre feeling adventurous (yes, they do still exist in their umpteenth incarnation, and Im told their 97 album is actually worth a listen be brave). In any case, keep movin, keep groovin, and practice those dance steps It wont be summer forever. Mischa Field reviews recorded and live music for the Reformer.

Yellow Barn Festival finale scheduled for this Saturday Admitting that youre a fan of Puerto Rican superstar Ricky Martin can be risky for those of us who arent 10-year-old girls. Yes, he earned fame as an original pre-teen member of uber-bubblegum quintet, Menudo. Yes, other people write all his songs. And yes, his CD jackets feature his hair above all else. He is, alas, a pretty face.

But his 1998 CD, Vuelve (Come Back to Me), serves up the best array of must-dance tracks and anguished love-songs Ive heard this year. This is salsa that rocks with ballads that roll, and darn it, I like the guy. The boldest standout of this album would have to be La Copa deVida (The Cup of Life), a fist-pumping anthem that was the official song of World Cup France 98. Driving percussion, blazing horns, roaring guitars, and referees whistles combine with Martins thick tone and penetrating delivery, conjuring up a true arena party. This song makes even the accordion sound cool.

With an emphasis on human universality and pursuing your dreams, Martins appeal rings true even if you arent a soccer fan. He shoots; He scores. The fun, however, doesnt stop there. Somebody with a powerful ear for chord changes and variety worked on this album. Por Arriba, Por Abajo, Lola, Lola, and La Bomba (The Bomb) keep the dance party pumping, while ballads such as Casi un Bolero (Almost a Bolero) and Hagamos el Amor (Lets Make Love) calm the festivities for riveting vocal tapestries silken melodies with tightly spun counterpoint.

The slow rock harmonies of title track, Vuelve, round off a fantastic pop dance rock effort. Go buy this album before you read the next paragraph. Perhaps, on the other hand, youre looking for a little less pop and a little more growl in your summer soundtrack. If so, Mexican rockers Mana may be the group for you. Rising stars in the rapidly growing Rock en Espanol movement, Mana had won Billboard's Pop Album of the Year (Latin) award three times as of this spring, and their October 1997 release, Suenos Liquidos, was nominated for Top Rock Album honors.

The album is the first Rock enEspanol record to appear on Billboard's top 200 (overall) chart. From now until the end of October (they started in May), Mana will be completing a huge tour that includes Mexico, The United States, and Europe. So if you didnt know, now you know; these guys are hot. PUTNEY The final week of the 1996 Yellow Bam Music School and Festival summer season will Include evening ensemble concerts on July 30 and 31, 2 p.m. matinees on July 30 and Aug.

1, and the Season Finale on Saturday, Aug. 1 at I p.m. A 6 p.m. pre-concert supper (by reservation) will precede the July 31 ensemble concert. Reservations are advised for all events except the matinees.

On the evening of July 30, a harmonium, on loan from the Brattleboro Historical Society, will be on stage along with a small string ensemble, for a performance of Dvoraks Bagatelles. Also on that program will be Schumanns Piano Trio in Minor and Schuberts Trout Quintet, featuring performances by British violinist Adrian Levine, violist Pamela Ryan, cellist Paul Brantley, Wayman Chin, piano, and guest bassist Don Baldini. Fridays program will begin with Beethovens Kakadu" Variations, performed by young violinist Alexandra Shephard, cellist Kevin McFarland and pianist Nobuko Amemiya, followed by Bartoks String Quartet No. 2 with Jennifer Marlas and Soh Hyun Park, violins, Baird Dodge, viola and cellist Joanne Lin; and the Piano Quartet in A Major by Bra- hms, with the Naumberg Awardwinning Peabody Trio performing with Dodge. The Peabody Trio includes Violaine Melancon, violin, Thomas Kraines, cello and Seth Knopp, piano.

Knopp is Associate Artistic Director at the Yellow Barn. The Season Finale on Aug. 1, will include the String Quartet in Minor, K. 421 by Mozart, the Brahms Major Sextet and Elgars Introduction and Allegro for String Orchestra, conducted by Paul Brantley. Performers will be violinists Eileen Woo, Melancon, Shepherd and Caroline Bechard; violists Paula Cho, Hugo Bolls-chweiler and Michael Stepniak; and cellists Kraines, Sigurgeir Agnarsson and Jung Mee Byun.

A reception will follow this closing concert, which will be the last Yellow Barn event until early October, when a presentation of music from the turn of the century will be offered. This 29th annual festival season has been made possible in part thanks to grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Vermont Arts Council, and with media support from Vermont, New Hampshire and WFCR Public Radio stations. Reservations and information: (802)387-6637 or (800)639-3819. 6 Street feet9 member, Dodd to read at Everyones Books PAINTING BY KEITH HOFFMAN BRATTLEBORO Elena Harap Dodd of Putney, contributor to the new multi-cultural anthology, Laughing in the Kitchen: Short Stories, Poems, Essays, and Memoirs, will read from her work on Thursday, Aug. 6, between 7 and 9 p.m.

at Everyones Books at 25 Elliot St. Dodd is a member of the Streetfeet Women, a Boston-based company of writer-performers of diverse ethnic backgrounds who have performed in Brattleboro at the Windham Gallery and S.I.T. Poet and teacher Kathleen Spivack commented, Five women artists explore the roots of their creativity in a beautiful anthology. We are invited into their kitchen to share conversations, poems, and stories. History, culture, race, and ethnicity blend with family and personal narratives.

This book is flavored with laughter, tears, courage, and survival; to read its pages is to be both nourished and delighted. Dodd, known for her one-woman performance, Meet Eleanor Roosevelt, has been involved in local theater as an actress and Moles Eye presents evening of jazz music and beat poetry BRATTLEBORO Jazz and beat poetry will be offered at the Moles Eye Cafe on Monday, Aug. 3, at 8:30 p.m. The Jazz From The Center Quintet will be presenting jazz interpretations of 50s era masters, including Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Theolonious Monk, with poetry offerings of Kerouac, Ginsburg and Snyder, whose seminal works sparked a whole generation of cultural creatives and revolutionaries of the 60s. The performance features a line-up of area musicians, including Eugene Uman; pianist and director of the Vermont Jazz Center in Brattleboro and who has worked with Jerry Bergonzi, Donald Byrd, and Larry Rivers; Genevieve Rose, bass, a rising star in the valley jazz scene; Greg Caputo, Springfield, drummer whos performed with Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw; Bob Stabach, a vetern tenor sax player in the region; and Steve Sontag, whos trumpet has played in back-up bands for entertainers such as Nancy Wilson and Helen OConnell.

Paul Costello, a regional performance poet from Wendel, will hold down the poetry chair. There is no cover for the performance. Hoffman show benefits Grace TOWNSHEND The Art Show at Hospital Fair Day on Saturday, Aug. 1, on the Common in Townshend presents locally created works. The works of watercolorist Keith Hoffman of Jamaica will be featured.

Hoffman is well known in the area, having resided here for 11 years, and has been featured in many of the local galleries. Approximately 20 of his watercolors will be on exhibit at the art show. Hoffman is also president of the West River Artist Association. The association travels and exhibits their members creations in local towns. The Fair Day Art Show Committee has invited artists working in pastels, watercolors, oils, acryclics, photography, jewelry, pottery, glass blowing, basket making, wood carving, and weaving to show their work.

This year the committee expects 30 artists to show and sell their work. Located in the church on the Townshend Common, the show helps support Grace Cottage Hospital. director since moving to Vermont in 1983. She previously edited two journals of the Streetfeet Womeik documenting their travels to to N. sponsored Womens Conferences, one in China and one in Kenya.

Refreshments will be served 't the reading. Information: 254-8160( o) Festival Old Home Days coming soon J' BELLOWS FALLS The second annual Arts Festival, in conjunction with Rockingham Old Home Days, will be held on Aug. 1, in Bicentennial Park in Bellows Falls from 10 a m. to 3 p.m. All artists are invite to participate.

For more information: a postcard with name, address, phone number, a good tune for a phone call, and the media involved, to: Arts Festival, P.O. Box 843, Bellows Falls, VT 05101. The August 1 show is specifically for painting, sculpture and photography. Craftspeople are requested to send a card for future exhibitions. Information: Robert McBride (802)463-3252.

Zola Burse Productions and hj People Productions present jq in rflj Jfi al Steel Pulse Banton AUGUST 1 AT 7:30 P.M. Carmina Burana Robert DeCormier conducts theVSO Chorus and members of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in a special arrangement of Carl Orffs choral blockbuster Tickets: 1 5, $2 1 and $29. This concert is made possible by an anonymous donor I rrn with additional help from VAlvV lO Aug. 22 ft 23 Beethoven Festival with Philippe Entremont International conductorpiamst Philippe Entiemont treats us to a weekend of Beethoven as he joins the orchestra on Saturday and then performs a recital of beloved sonatas on Sunday. Both concerts at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday concert tickets: 1 5, $2 1 and $29. Sunday recital tickets: $9. 1 8. These performances are made possible by a generous gift from Miss Derry Harvey. Aug.

29 Bachs Complete Brandenburgs The fabulous chamber orchestra, Music de Montreal, and members of theVSO are joined by special guests to perform all of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos in one evening! Note: Special starting time 7 p.m.Tickets:$l5.$2l and $29. IKKMlKft. New Hampshire ANTIQUES 6HOW )) August 6, 7, 8,1998 Thursday Friday; 10 am 8 pm Saturday: 10 am 4 pm THE CENTER OF NEW HAMPSHIRE HOLIDAY INN 700 Elm Street Manchester, New Hampshire Air Conditioned On-Site Shipper Free-Parking Visa, MC 63 Outstanding Dealers Show Information Hotel Reservations (603)286 7506 (603)625-1000 (603) 269-7411 (Request NH Antiques Show Ratos) Admission: S7.00 Sponsored By The New Hnmpshire Antiques Dealers Association FINK ALES 0 0 Buju Beres Hammond Lucky Dube Let's Go Bowling Auquit. fl3 at 0pm Memorial Auditorium Vermont Tickets are 524.50 in advance On sale July 10th Call 802.863.5966 www tevaspiritofunitytour com HnR pARK Route 7 Manchester, VT www.vso.org Tickets for indoor pavilion and lawn seats on sale now at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester or call toll-free: I-800-VSO-9293 Dates, programs and artists are subect to change. Please call us if you have any special assistance needs.

We can give you information about accessibility and special parking when you order tickets. UNITY.