Newsday du lieu suivant : New York, New York • 169

i i' prCA-v- -V- m'! 1 ilf lsnirtUftdVMY'ii art Wartsbl6wwidwwMii ifctr-Mv Voices of Verisimilitude By Richard Torres Shines New Light On Dawn of The Magic By Scott Isler 5 f- SRh OET JOHN KEATS wrote that ing is real till it is It is frSP the sum of more than a century of performances that grants the voices of 81-year-old Lena Horne and Shirley Horn the unerring ring of I As shown by Musical an aural spin-off of A series Lena Horne first made her mark in the '40s as a sassy songstress a style cultivated through the years Seesawing from early triumphs such as her signature to '90s comeback renderings of One of Those proves the energetic cnanteuse has lost little zip on her vocal fastball A similar enthusiasm permeatues Horne's latest release Backed by a dynamic jazz combo Horne explores her bluesy side on Buch tunes as Alright With Me" and Long Has This Been Going Aided by sidemen such as organist Bobby Forrester vibist Milt Jackson and guitar ace George Benson Home easily ranges from the gentle to the high-octane Am I Here Pianist-singer Shirley Horn is the polar opposite of Home's declarative Btyle Each tune seems to emerge from her subconscious Remember is no different Much like her WHATEVER ONE thinks of the complex legend known as Elvis Presley no denying the appeal of his earliest recordings The punning title of refers both to the beginning of career and to his early label Memphis-based Sun Records Presley first visited to make private recordings Later under the supervision of Sun owner Sam Phillips he developed the approach that landed him a contract with RCA Nearly 45 years later Sun tracks especially the 10 songs released as singles in 1954-55 are pop-culture milestones charming and startling So hard to begrudge RCA this latest repackaging of Sun catalog which RCA acquired when it signed the singer The singles were first slapped on stopgap albums while Presley was in the Army but RCA has shown increasing reverence since supplants the recently deleted Sessions Most of the tracks also appeared on the 1992 survey King of Rock The bait on this 93-minute double CD is 18 minutes of previously unreleased music Three of those minutes are an unremarkable alternative take of Of more historical interest is Wouldn't Be the Same Without from the last private recording Presley made before signing with Sun as unprepossessing as the other ballad he recorded that day and makes faith in the teenage Presley even more impressive That leaves six live performances from 1955 radio broadcasts Co-producer Ernst Mikael Jorgensen has described these well-gouged acetates as and not kidding transfers help We hear stereo surface noise on monaural recordings and one song suffers from speed variations that should have been corrected But more important focuses attention on why Presley matters His first four private recordings gathered here in one place give no hint of what was to come The Sun material not originally issued as singles shows role in defining the Presley phenomenon On the live recordings not even execrable sound can dim newfound confidence We now know it was no holiday being Elvis Fortunately these recordings remain They taunt us with youth and hindsight lends them a cruel irony But most of all magic and magic be explained Here if anywhere is the genius of Elvis Presley Scott Isler is a freelance writer AP Photo 1997 I Lena Home revisits her career on "A Musical Anthology" on Myself" she explores the blues dards as Funny and above the mundane And although Horn surrounds herself with Davis alumni such as bassist Ron Carter and drummer A1 Foster she refuses to impersonate his style The result is a deeply felt musical letter Richard Torres is a freelance writer underrated 1993 salute to Ray Charles called Out of this tribute to Davis goes past the sual faux-memories to capture the essence of the artistry Like Davis Horn is an intentional minimalist Both know the power of silence and use it accordingly It's that knowledge that lifts such stan- ONIDOSfUATINO SlOT SOUNDS MDEM3IEGEUTINS0UNDSE Ricky Martin Breaks Through I i a pretty entertaining disc on Sony Discos titled Poco From ballads such as Solo Pienso En to uptempo fare such as La Poco is a good listen Check it out and lay odds on which member will turn out to be the next Ricky Martin Sonidos Picks Tipica at 204 Varick St Manhattan 212-243-4940 Monday at 9 and 11 pm Admission: $18 Wow! Back in the day the for you younger ones) this band was a dream The music was hot and -smooth the grooves an aural wonder The band performed together since 1978 so do yourself a favor and go Elvis Crespo at the Copacabana 617 57th St Manhattan 212-582- 2672 Tuesday at 7 pm Admission: 3 $10 Jf This exciting merengue master will perform his slamming single Prepare your hips to move and sway Ralph Irizzary and Timbalaye at the Blue Note 131 Third St Man- hattan 212-475-8592 Sunday March 21 and March 28 at 12 pm and 3:30 pm Admission: $1850 These special sets are a marvelous opportunity to see a fine 3 band that truly knows how to cook (Onstage that is) Richard Torres is a freelance writer Of course such slrategy would mean nothing if Martin have the vocal chops to put across the carefully crafted songs He does On an insinuating mix of twanging guitars blaring horns and flamenco fury it is passionate subdued vocals that rivet the listener Amid the driving rhythms of Arriba For Abqjo Martin still manages to convey a spirit of yearning while on the rock-ballad title track he musters a gospel-ish intensity Time after time song after song Martin serves the lyric In addition Martin has a lovely supple singing voice (which as longtime fans of Menudo can attest he has had since he joined the group in the Orwellian year of 1984) His range is impressive from the soulful falsetto on to the pure pop vulnerability displayed on the quasi-dassical El And marvel at the rueful shrug in his vocal on Por Pensar En a touching tune about an ill man who knows he soon will die From the hip-swaying elegance of to the sweetness of Sin enthralls With a Grammy Award a new album due 'shortly and accolades resounding -in his ears Martin now stands in a ratified By Richard Torres THREE MINUTES and 51 seconds how long it took from first note to last for 26-year-old Ricky Martin to become a North American superstar His extraordinaiy rendition of Copa De La from his album on the recent 41st Annual Grammy Awards not only awoke the somnolent star-studded crowd but brought it roaring to its feet In what was the best single-song performance since Michael Jackson introduced the moonwalk while singing on the Motown 25th anniversary show more than 15 years ago Martin a Puerto Rican ignited a storm of media attention While in the spotlight he copped a Grammy for Latin Pop Performance for as well It is a deserved accolade for on Sony Discos is an uncommonly accomplished pop album Richly produced by KC Porter and Robi Rosa (and featuring such fine songwriters as Desmond Child) the genius of is casting the handsome Martin1 in he roic of sensitive romantic (tuny Dueoa Photo Ricky Martin has the chops to serve up a variety of lyrics with passion and sensitivity position in the United States of America: a Latin performer able to break through to the pop mainstream But just remember America we Latinos supported him first Bravo Ricky! Getting back to Menudo still around making music Now dubbed MDO and a quartet to boot it has.