Arts@Entertainment
,ied crowd
leased by
ewagejazz
f Solstice
) Concert
review
Old Man Winter rattled his bones
d gnashed his teeth Sunday night in
mor of the Winter Solstice Concert
the Lied Center — and a few
ncolmles look a break from assent
ing Christmas gifts for the kids.
Audiences braved increasingly
tsty winds to attend the show which
atured recording artists from the
>pularnewagc Windham Hill label.
The musicians are currently on
ur in support of Windham Hill’s
w release, “A Winter’s Solstice —
olumc IV.”
The concert was sponsored by the
niversity Program Council, but
ought in a mixed community audi
ice for the Celtic-based new age of
ight Noise and the new age and jazz
ylings of Liz Story and Alex De
rassi.
The show was a great success w ith
e mid-sized Lincoln crowd, which
died for encores with tw'o consecu
ec standing ovations.
De (irassi, an acoustical guitarist
i ihe tradition of Leo Kotke, brought
1 intensely personal playing style to
e stage, sometimes treating his gui
r like a percussion instrument.
One of the first Windham Hill re
ading artists, he is a staple of new
;e and light jazz guitar.
Night Noise is a Celtic-based new
jc quartet from Dublin, Ireland.
They performed w'ith energy and
jmor the odd blend of Celtic folk
id light new age jazz, that has made
tern popular artist for the label.
The songs in Gallic were impres
ve and moving and showed up their
lie English tune by comparison.
Liz Story on keyboards was joined
n this tour by Joel DiBartoloon bass.
DiBartolo played for seventeen
ears with the Tonight Show Band
nuer uoc bcvercnsen.
Story’s variation on traditional
'hristmas carols was her strongest
iece — though several of her pieces
fere very engaging. Her between
[>ngs banter, however, was odd and a
ttlc confusing.
New age music, like fractal geom
trics, is more a bitmap of musical
irrains than the straightforward cx
ressions of more traditional forms.
It has come to be viewed at times
' a kind of near art, something to
sten to in dentist’s waiting rooms
id between board meetings.
And as the theme music of the new
ie movement it represents for some
See CONCERT on 10
mmmmmsmm
Songs of heritage and hope
Contemporary Indian music blends technology with tradition
Editor's Note: This is the first
story in a wecklong series explor
ing the contributions of Ameri
can and Canadian Indians to the
world music scene.
WL AMERICANAND^^
U CANADIAN INDIAN Q
^Miisic^jy
By Jill O’Brien
Staff Reporter
The songs of contemporary
American and Canadian Indian
musicians testify that there is more
to the music than chants and drum
beats.
It is a music that melds today’s
electric technology with tradition
al instruments.
11 tells of a history of oppression
and resistance.
It delivers a message of hope.
Canadian Crcc singer/
songwriter Buffy Saintc-Marie de
scribes the music of the Indian
scene as “powwow rock, powwow
jazz and powwow rap.”
Sainte-Maric, rock’s first aural
storyteller to cross powwow sing
ing with mainstream music,coined
the term “powwow rock” in the late
1960s.
She stirred up the music world
with her love ballads and protest
songs, which incorporated pow
wow singing with synthesizers and
electric guitars.
“I saw amazing people burning
out with painful issues, who need
ed to have a good time, so I brought
them upbeat shows, color, fancy
clothes, a good band, and songs
that helped to focus on Indian is
sues ...” she said.
Her son Dakota Starblanket
Wolfehild, a high school senior,
often accompanies heron tour and
backs heron keyboards when he’s
not composing powwow raps.
Besides rock and rap. another
category not to be overlooked is
powwow blues.
Since 1964, A. Paul Ortega, a
Mescalero Apache and nationally
known blues guitarist and singer,
has played songs based on tradi
tional chants.
Another recording artist, John
Trudcll, a Sioux native from Ne
braska, served as the national chair
man for AIM, the American Indian
Movement, during the 1970s. He
turned to poetry after an arsonist’s
- it
I saw amazing people burning out with painful
issues, who needed to have a good time, so I
brought them upbeat shows, color, fancy
clothes, a good band, and songs that helped
to focus on Indian issues ...
— Sainte-Marie
singer/songwriter
blaze killed his wife, their three
children and his mother-in-law, he
said.
Later, Trudell linked up with
Kiowan blues guitarist Jesse Ed
Davis, who put music to the poet's
words.
But music to these artists means
more than mixing traditional and
contemporary sounds.
“It is time for us to speak our
truth,” Trudell said.
That truth is reflected in
Trudell’s writings, which document
the discrimination, persecution,
abuse, love, joy and grief endured
by the human spirit.
“Today, the safest place for in
digenous people and non-Indian
people to express their truths is
through art and culture,” he said.
- 7 7 -
“In the way that I approach it now,
I can speak my truth.”
ScventhGcneration.a South Da
kota Rosebud Reservation quintet,
mixes Lakota philosophy with
mainstream heavy metal.
The band takes its name from
the prophecy of Sioux leader Black
Elk, who predicted the Lakota Na
tion would be in decline for seven
generations. According to the
prophecy, Black Elk said in the
seventh generation there would be
but my songs are for everyone. I
call it a new style of music —
ethnic metal.”
Though his music may not con
vey Indian issues, he actively sup
See OVERVIEW on 10
December Collage’ dancers shine despite costumes
I
The “December Dance Collage” dancers
'ho performed Saturday displayed an eclectic
omposition of five dance ensembles from
’aditional to new age. Their performance at the
ohnny Carson Theatre was part four of five
erformances that ran Thursday through Sun
ay.
The first selection, “Lethe: The River of
orgetfulness,” choreographed by Lisa Thurrell,
'as based on the tale of Hermes and spirits of
ie underworld.
James Hickey, as Hermes, executed a pow
erful performance of strong emotional move
ment. The other dancers probably had a great
deal of talent as well, but it was hard to tell
because their costumes were too distracting.
More suited to a circus, the costuming was
visibly restrictive. It did not allow the dancers
to exhibit fluidity and freedom of movement.
There was a similar problem with the second
selection, “Luminescence,” choreographed by
Lisa Fusillo, although it was not as obvious.
The dancers were fluid in their movements and
worked well as a group. It was a traditional
dance, with symphonic music and rhythm.
“Black Angels” was by far the mostcxciting
and diverse arrangement. It displayed new age
and modem dance influences through the use of
sharp and severely broken body movements.
Fallen, an angel portrayed by dancer Angela
Robidoux, was amazing upon her entrance to
the stage. She moved with incredible strength
and her power of intimidation over the other
angels was visible.
The collection of dancers called Blackness
were very chaotic and morbid in their move
ments. With the industrial hollow music, this
gave the entire selection a foreboding atmo
sphere.
In “Black Angels” the costuming was sym
bolically superior. Fallen’s emerald full-length
dress gave a serpent-like grace to her portrayal.
The angels were veiled in gossamer white
dresses. Blackness dancers had costumes of
tattered and earth-toned leotards, almost in the
design of a collage.
The use of special lighting techniques and a
thick fog bank added to the mystique of the
selection. The music was frightening and it
relayed a feeling of severe isolation.
“Demonstration” the next selection, fea
tured two very talented dancers, Amy Ernst and
Lisa Thurrell. The dancers displayed a wide
range of difficult ballet maneuvers for an ex
ceedingly long period of time. It was amazing
to see them maintain such a high level of
stamina for an entire performance.
The last selection, “Ceremony of Carols”
was a festive holiday compilation of 10 dance
selections. The entire company of dancers was
incorporated into many of the selections. While
the individual experience of the dancers was
obviously varied, their talents blended during
the selection.
Overall, the dancers were excellent in their
response to the demands of the costumes and
the movements incorporated in their roles. It
wasn’t just dancing. In many cases, it also was
acting.
— Paula Lavigne