Newspaper Page Text
V
November, 1981 / Maroon Tiger / Page 7
LITERARY
Magic Dreams: A Well Kept Secret
by George Espy
A well kept secret amidst
the AU Center community is
the Atlanta based fusion band
“Magic Dreams.” The group
came together in May of 1980
and presently includes four
members: William Greenel.a
Morehouse student from
Chicago, keyboards; John
Hauser, from Winston-Salem,
guitar: Sam Simms, a
sophomore at Morehouse,
from Chattanooga,
electronic bass; and Sambo
Bey, from Atlanta,
percussion. Originally
“Magic Dreams” included a
fifth member, Russell
Woolfolk, a junior at
Morehouse last year, on
drums. However, Russell left
Atlanta at the beginning of
this semester, and the group
has currently auditioned
drummers.
Since their start, just two
springs ago, “Magic Dreams”
has often performed in the
AU Center area. They
appeared last fall at the Miss
Junior Pageant in Sale Hall;
they appeared at both the
Clark College Radio Birthday
Party and the 1981 Annual
Westend Jazz Festival last
spring. They did a couple of
informal day sessions on
Spelman’s campus last year,
and most recently, provided
the live music for the “Night
of Jazz” fashion show, held in
Spelman’s Manley Center on
October 23rd and 24th.
“Magic Dreams” has also
played around Atlanta, at Slix
Lounge, Carlos McGee’s,
Scarlet O’Hara’s, at the Kool
Jazz festival and Atlanta Free
Jazz festival, and as the
opener for one of Jeff
Lorber’s concerts at the
Agora.
Perhaps the most notable
quality of “Magic Dreams” is
their relatively “polished”
sound. Again, the group has
only been together since May
of 1980 and all of the four
musicians are between ages
19 and 24. except Sambo Bey,
age 34. Yet, they play with as
much talent and cohesion as
many of today’s more
popular and established
fusion bands.
Willie Greene, on
keyboards, is often the lead
component of the “Magic
Dreams” sound. He has
played piano since he was
four or five years old. He took
formal lessons for seven years
and has played with several
gospel and jazz bands. Willie,
who writes and posses a
definitive style on keyboards,
says he “learned to play jazz
by listening to the radio.” He
cites Herbie Hancock and
Ramsey Lewis as his primary
musical influences.
John Hauser, on guitar,
adds diversity to the fusion
music style of “Magic
Dreams.” Having played
guitar since age 16, he
exhibits a flexibility for funk,
jazz, or rock-n-roll music. He
acquired musical theory in
high school playing
saxophone and clarinet, but
has no formal guitar training.
“I stopped taking lessons
because my teacher wanted
me to play right-handed, so I
taught myself,” he reveals.
John has since played with
“The Grand Illusion” and
"Black Haza,” two top-forty,
funk bands; Maya, a rock
band; and “Jazz Transit,” a
jazz group based between
Winston-Salem and
Washington, D.C. He credits
his musical influences to
Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix,
John McLaughlin and Alan
Holdsworth.
Sam Simms, on electric
bass, lays out the “thump” at
the bottom of the “Magic
Dreams" sound. He was
introduced to music and
learned to read the treble clef
in the third grade as a
member of the Chattanooga
Boys Club. He taught himself
to read the bass clef and
began playing with jazz and
funk bands around age 13.
Sam .names Stanley Clarke,
Jaco Pastorius and Louis
Johnson as influences and
aspires to make music his
profession.
Sambo Bey, on percussion,
is Rasta farian and has played
for only six years.
Nevertheless, he is the most
widely established musician
of “Magic Dreams.” He has
often played with the
“Neighborhood Arts
Ensemble” here in Atlanta
and for the “Young Divine,”
an Atlanta vocal group; and is
well known in local art and
music circles.
Although little known,
among their potentially most
supportive audience, the
students of the AU Center,
“Magic Dreams” has made a
lot of music in their short
existence. When I asked what
they wanted to do in the
future, John said, "We wanna
walk in the music store, see
our albums and hear people
say, ‘Yeah I want that.’
Willie added, “We would like
to start our own record and
promotion company and
keep.it all black.” \
Morehouse Poet and Author
On the Rise
by Michael Huffman
Tyrone Harris is “Getting It
Together.” The young black
poet from Detroit, Michigan,
has just written his first book,
entitled I’m Getting It
Together. The book consists
of poems that Tyrone has
written during his years at
Morehouse College.
Tyrone wrote his book
because of the positive
response he got from friends
and peers who read his
poetry.
The title of the book also
explains the meaning of the
book. Tyrone says that he,
himself, is getting it together.
He believes, however, that he
will never totally get it
together, and that there will
always be room for
improvement. The word he
emphasizes is together.
Tyrone believes that we as
people have to "Get It
Together.”
Tyrone began writing
poetry when he was 13 years
old. His first poem was
written for a contest. When
he got to Morehouse, Tyrone
continued to write poetry. He
wrote poems for different
events on campus and soon
became well known.
Tyrone is now in the
process of trying to promote
his book. He plans to write
another book and hopes that
it will one day become a best
seller. Tyrone foresees an
album of poems within the
next two years and has many
ideas that he plans to utilize
soon. Tyrone Harris is
definitely “Getting It
..Together/’ ~ A .<■<
Process of Feel
poetry-
inner moments,
unspoken to you,
fall from his mind,
you read rhythms,
digest them with your feeling,
the spaces between your thoughts
bubble and buldge
with soft bursts of images,
tangy squirts of citrus
tingle your nose and leave you the tangerine taste
of his world.
a nearby ocean hisses, whispers
through your ears.
patterns of brightness wave and flutter,
expand into your eyes.
the gentle face of your brother,
moist from the ocean,
ascends before you,
sparkling in the brightness.
George Espy III
To Be
It’s not to do, but to be
It’s not to look, but to see
It’s not to get, but to give
It’s not to exist, but to live
It’s not to doubt, but to know
It’s not to move, but to flow
It’s not to think, but to feel
It's not to play, but to be real.
Gregg H. Brown
I Feel the Need
Touch my hand
because I feel the need,
Say you care
because I feel the need,
Hold me tight
because I feel the need,
It’s quite all right
because I feel the need.
BJJ
9-22-81
Words to the Wise:
A Morehouse Man Can!!
BJJ
Free
Free?
Free time to relax your mind.
Free space to seek your space and to win the race. *--
Free you; bound by my words, by only me, just me, so
possessive.
Free? you and me it’s you I need can't you see.
Free?
Free time to search your mind.
Free space to seek your place.
Free me; bound by you and your un-spoken words.
Free? free to find one who’s true.
Free?
Free time to chase a dream.
Free space but bound by a mistaken thought.
Free Us; so this story ends.
Free? so why now do you want to be my friend?
Thee Cuban Rick Foster
Morehouse College October 1980