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A review of PURLIE
By RICK POWELL
Purlie, by the Clark College Players was perhaps one of
the best events of this entire school year in the A.U.
Center,. Purlie, along with the rest of the events for Clark’s
Fine Arts Festival, March 4-131, illustrated Clark Col
lege’s constant influsion of creativity and inventiveness in
the college community, moreso than Spelman, Morris
Brown, and Morehouse put together
Clark’s production of Purlie was successful on many
levels. The transition from a large Broadway stage to
Clark’s small auditorium is a trying effort for most thea
trical productions, but it worked well for Purlie. The inti
macy that is lot on Broadway was found in Davage Audi
torium, with the excellent utilizatin of facilities by As
sistant Director and House manager, Lois P. Talley; Tech
nician, Russell Hamilton; Lighting, JoMarie; and Stage
Manager, Phyllis Oliver.
Being a musical demands sounds that will move
ya. Groove ya. Rock Ya. Soothe ya. The virtuousity
(or “soulness”) that Musical Director Thomas D. Hager
and Musical Conductor Joe Jennings possess is too much.
Church soloist Henrietta Antonin gets a special place of
honor for touching so many spirits on the song “Walk Him
Up The Stairs.”
Luis Maza’s scenic designs continue to reflect a talent
that has showed itself in the last two Clark College produc
tions, The Slaves and The Sty of the Blind Pig. The patch
work/burlap curtain he designed is as interesting and im
portant an art piece as it is a curtain.
Directress Joan W. Lewis is what the Atlanta premiere
of Purlie needed. Someone who has been
about working on Positive Black Images in theatre. Un
like her counterparts in the A. U. Center, Sister Joan
Lewis is the only directress who has consistently creat
ed quality productions for Atlanta, especially Black Atlanta.
In summation, Purlie was the Max. If you missed it, you
missed a lot. If you caught it, the wealth you gained from
it is like the length of man’s life - immeasurable.
Completion of a cycle.
STREAKING
WCLK:
The First Comming
by Neyeswah
When the great com
munications man of the
west nods his head, and
all the earth starved. A.U.
all the earth is still with
quiet anticipation WCLK
will fill the music culture
starved A. U. Center with
sounds that will encompass
all those brand X radio
stations.
We realize that all of the
students are awaiting the
sounds and we are grate
ful for your patience; in as
many days as it takes you
all to read this paper we
will have already filled the
air with music that we
know you’ve never heard.
Since our programming
will be almost 70% jazz
we plan to play all types
of jazz. We hope to educate
the students that have not
heard Donald Byrd at his
best (no not “Black Byrd’)
or some funk from Herbie
Hancock that will rival
“Headhunters.” We will
playOm by John Coltrane,
and we will not hesitate
to throw on the most avant-
gard of Ornette Coleman,
or Eric Dolphy.
The other 30% or so will
be ALL other types of Third
World Music likeGato, The
Wailers, and others.
We hope not to be smug,
or arrogant, or even sel
fish. We will play music
that you the listener wants
to hear. If you see Col
trane in Japan as a top
forty, choice don’t become
alarmed, or if you find your
roommate humming a se
lection from Marion Brown
“Geechee Recollections,”
Calm down he/she won’t be
crazy.
So you see this radio sta
tion will be first real at
tempt to reach the entire
Black audience, by playing
the TOTAL sounds that
you’ve heard other stations
brag about for sooooo long
and yet have left you/me
hungering and thristing
for “MORE MORE WE
WANT MORE. ...”
By ATIBA (T.J.)
Many Psychologists and
experts on Social relation
ships and man are expres
sing bewilderment over the
latest craze of the affluent
white liberal college po
pulation. We however as
non-white people realize
the significance of streak
ing as a completion of a
psychological circle of
European culture. Analy
zing this phenonenon from
the stand point of Dr. Wel-
sing’s Cress color con
frontation theory, we take
into accord that nine-tenths
of the world is non-white
and one-tenth is white. We
cna imagine the inferiority
and shame these white mu
tants felt of their naked
ness in the midst of
the beauty of the non-
white masses. As compen
sation they developed their
own logic system which -
compensated for their sense
of inferiority by “proving’
the inferiority of non-white
people. Now they have com-
pletd a full circle. After
THE MAROON TIGER - APRIL 4, 1974 - PAGE 7
saa
COMG9
BX NEVESWAH
Gary Bartz: I’ve Known Rivers and Other Bodies, Pres
tige (P6600I) Gary Bartz and Ntu Troops:
Bartz: Alto, Tenor saxs, vocals, Hubert Evives, electric
and acoustic pianos. Stafford James; electric and acoustic
bass. Howard King; drums.
It is really a shame how Down Beat, The Rolling Stone,
Playboy, and other “critics” of Black jazz music lead
the beginner and even the more experienced listener
through a maze of what to buy and what not to buy simply
because they say so. These critics would have us believe
that they know who is the baddest at whatever they do, when
in reality they know what to look for in Black music; and
if they knew what they were looking for, it would take
them years to find it. For a prime example of _tis, check
out the last few issues of these magazines and you will
see that in reviews of Black music.that is “n thi’ or diff
erent, these critics will rate the album high, but admit
shoddy reporting many good artists wallow in obscurity
for sometime their entire carrers.
Our case in point this week is Gary Bartz (so what it
I promised Joe Henderson’s new album? I couldn’t
find it). Bartz is from Baltimore, he is thirty-thee
years of age, has played with everybody from Miles of
(of course) to Pharoah. On his own he has employed
such greats as Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Stan Clarke,
Freddie Waits, Reg Workman, Herbie, Jack DeJohneete
et. al. Now just for starts, we can rate him way above
Charlie Mariano, Phil Woods, Paul,Desmond, and a gang
of other so-called innovative alto saxaphonists, simply
because his choice of musicians varies so, thus illustrating
that ary is a prober, a searcher, one who does not stay
in the same bag for umptine years.
As an alto player, Gary could be called the Ron Carter
of his horn in that he chooses each solo with care and
coaxes both the horn and listener along until he is sure
you realize what he is getting at, and then he kicks the ultimate
sound out to astound the unaware listener. Trane’ lives in
Gary’s soprano. As of yet, he seems to be one of the
last remaining soprano men that is not “playing around
with the concepts of that particular instrument. In so much
as Trane’s influence is evident, Gary still maintains his
own unique crispness and edge all his own.
ALSO Gary is one among a very select few of jazz
artists who write, arrange, produce and even help enginer
most, if not all, of their work.
Groupwise Gary is a leader. He is demanding without
being oppressive, and is understanding without letting
his group run away with him. His past and his present
groups have been like one family including all the facets
that make up a college o sound and then stick to the
basic culture that he/they have inherited.
Now it would be nice if we said a word or two about
this album, wouldn’t it? This new new album is
double LIVE!!!!!!! recording of Bartz and his Ntu Troop
at the Montreux jazzz festival of last summer. The album
is a unique blend of raw energy (Dr. Follows Dance,
Don’t Fight the Feelin’, Sifa Zote) and sophisticattion
(‘i’ve Known Rivers, Peace and Love), that leaves you to
wonder why thehell hasn’t this brother received the recogn-
tion his white “counterparts” (if there is such a thing)
have received. Peronally speaking, “Peace and Love”
is the album’s strongest cut. It has all the cultural mes
sage of “I’ve Known Rivers” (taken from Langston Hughes”
poem of the same name) and the energy of “Dr. Follows
Dance” with’what I’ve termed “subtle jam/funk.” His solo
on this cut is the best on record for an alto sax in the past
two years or so. . . .it’s just that inspiring, and powerful!
We can go back to the beginning and say that the reason
Gary is so unheard of is that Mis-guided white critics have
virtually ignored Gary, and Black critics have allowed
these whiteys to get away with it. But now you have heard
this Black critic has to say. . . .I’m not the total truth by
any extent, but as we sit here and trip out on “Peace and
Love,” nodding our heads in agreement, and smiling. . . .
^Neyeswah (Kwanza D)
years of oppression, sla
very, and exploitation they
now feel sure enough of
themselves to their cloth
ing after years of “civili
zing” the naked savages of
Africa. It has taken them
five centuries of conflict
to approach the simple
harmonious, beauty of the
pirmitive non-white man
who was at peace with him
self and his world. This
may indicate the birth of
civilization in the unci
vilized European world. It
is now our responsibility
to teach them to cloth them
selves in peace and love.