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September 28, 1995 AUGUSTA FOCUS
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hile there is life,
l ‘ there is hope,” says
dancehall reggae
star Super Cat, “but
the struggle will al
wayscontinue, becauselifeisastrug
gle. We have to struggle day to day
to make ends meet. And in whatso
ever you are doing, you have to put
forth great effort to see success.”
#Super Cat had already seen suc
cess in Jamaica and beyond with a
string of dancehall hits when he
released his first Columbia album,
Don Dada,in 1992. Withitsdynam
ic mix of hard-core dee-jay reggae
and hip-hop/roots reggae, that al
bum set the dancehall scene on its
ear and ruled the reggae charts for
more than a year, introducing Su
per Cat to new fans around the
world. Don Dada was a tough act to
follow, and Super Cat devoted over
a year in the studios of Kingston,
Jamaica, New York City, and Los
Angeles, California, to the produc
tion of The Struggle Continues, an
albumthat packsashardapunchas
its predecessor while breaking new
stylisticground. “Whenyou'retalkin’
‘bout Super Cat,” he says, “you’re
talkin’ ‘bout an artist who likes to
createdifferent patternsandsounds,
not followin’ other people.”
The Struggle Continues ranges
fromthetendersentimentsof*“Turn”
tothefierceanti-gunlyricsof“Warn
ing” from the vintage dub-reggae
sound of “A’ Class Rub-A-Dub” to
theclassicNew Orleans R&Bof“My
Girl Josephine,” a 1960 Fats Domi
no hit reproduced with amazing fi
delityby singer Jack Radics with Sly
Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare’s
Taxi Production Crew. Tackling
topics from race to romance to reli
gion to the Los Angeles gang scene,
the album delivers potent messages
to a variety of crunching beats. “It’s
got reggae, it’s got R&B reggae; it’s
got rock ‘n’ roll reggae; it’s got hip
hop reggae, and I would say pop
reggae, too,” says Super Cat. “While
I was out there tourin’, I attracted
different audiences, so I realized I
have to start thinkin’ on a broader
scale, entertainin’ all the fans that I
Augusta Symphony opens 24th season
M Season opens with
selections from
Beethoven,
Rachmaninoff and
works from acclaimed
composer Russell
Peck.
An eclectic program mix that
includes Beethoven’s “Consecra
tion of the House” overture,
Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic
Dances” and two highly ac
claimed works by composer
Russell Peck will open the Au
gusta Symphony’s 42nd season
at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Septem
ber 30 at the Augusta College
Performing Arts Theatre.
This opener marks Maestro
SUPER
CAT
The Struggle Cortinues
have collected over the years.”
The Struggle Continues beginson
apulsating powernotewith“Dance,”
where Super Cat chants over
rhythms laid down at the HC.& F.
Recording studios in Freeport, New
York, by Norris Webb and Paul
Sutton, the keyboardist and drum
mer of Cat’s regular live back-up
group, The City Heat Band. “I see
the whole world is dancin’,” he says,
“So 'm gonna start my album
dancin’.” The party continues with
“Girls Town produced by Erick Ser
mon at The Music Palace in
Hempstead, New York. “GirlsTown’
is about a youth from the ghetto
findin’ himself in a sophisticated
place and tryin’ to pick up a girl,”
explains Cat.
Produced by Super Cat at
Kingston’s Mixing Lab studios, the
lovesong“Turn” displays Super Cat’s
gentlerside. Butthencomes“Warn
ing,” a ferocious anti-gun song, re
corded at L.A.’s Amercayan Studio,
that throws down a metaphorical
threat to rival dee-jays over a ham
mering hip-hop beat supplied by DJ
Muggs of the rap group Cypress
Hill. The mood swings abruptly,
this time to penitence, on “Forgive
Me Jah.” “No man is perfect on the
face of the earth,” says Cat, “so I
could never complete this album
without givin’ praises to the most
Donald Portnoy’s fifth season as
music director and conductor of
the Augusta Symphony. He re
turned to the Augusta podium
having recently completed an
other highly successful session
of the Conductor’s Institute of
South Carolina. Dr. Portnoy is
founder and director of the Insti
tute which attracted young mae
stros from all over the United
States, Europe and Asia.
Guest artists for the season
opener are Mr. Peck and mem
bers of the Philidor Percussion
Group: Christopher Dean, John
Hanks and Arnold Sykes. The
recipient of numerous presti
gious awards, Mr. Peck’s works
include commissions for the Bir
mingham International Festival,
Greensboro Symphony, and Doc
Severinson. He will narrate his
composition, “The Thrill of the
high God, Jah Rastafari.”
“My Girl Josephine,” the album’s
most s Irprising track, also appears
onthesoundtrack of Robert Altman’s
film Ready to Wear (Pret-A-Porter).
“Growin’ up in Jamaica, Fats Dom
ino was a popular star,” says Super
Cat. “Sowhen I said toJack Radics,
‘What you think ‘bout this song?
Jack says, “Yo, right now this is the
thing.” While Radics sings the orig
inallyricsin pure New Orleansstyle,
Super Catimproviseshisownmock
ingcommentary. “He’ssingin’about
a girl he knew way back when,” Cat
explains, “and we get torealize that
both of us is seein’ this girl.” “A’
Class Rub-A-Dub,” recorded by
Philip Smart and produced by Su
per Cat in New York, features two
reggaelegends: singer Sugar Minott
and Dee-jay U-Roy. “Daddy U-Roy
istheicon of dancehall reggae,” says
Super Cat, “sol said, ‘why shouldn’t
I bring the man to the rostrum, to
show the new generation that thisis
where it’s comin’ from?” Over the
echoing, dub-style rhythm track,
Minott croons to the melody of the
Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to
Beg” while U-Roy and Super Cat
scatterbarbed taunts, recreatingthe
explosive atmosphere of a sound
system clash.
“Too Greedy” is Super Cat’s bitter
reflection on the crack epidemic. “I
Orchestra,” and also host “Music
Talks,” ASO’s free pre-concert
program that takes place at 6:45
p.m. in the Fine Arts Building
next to the theatre.
The dazzling array of percus
sion items on which Christopher
Dean, John Hanks and Arnold
Sykes will perform Peck’s “The
Glory and the Grandeur” well
exceeds the 20 instruments en
compassed by the usual sym
phonicrepertoire. “The challenge
of being a percussionist,” says
Sykes, “is learning to become
accomplished on 200 instru
ments.” According to critics,
Philidor meets this challenge
with performances which have
been hailed as “powerful, pas
sionate and precise” and “always
impressive.” The concertis spon
sored by Westinghouse Savan
nah River Company and WBBQ.
art music literature theatre
see it roamin’ all over the four cor
ners of the earth as an agent of
destruction,” he says. The song was
recorded at the H.C. & F. Studios
over a new version of Studio One’s
classic “Real Rock” rhythm, the in
strumental backbone of dozens of
reggae hits. “South Central,” Super
Cat’smordant takeonthe L.A. gang
scene is the original unadulterated
reggae version. “I'm just sendin’ a
message that it is we who are de
stroying our own dream,” says Cat.
On “Ready Back,” Super Cat
freestyles the lyrics over an original
rhythmtrack bythe City Heat Band.
“In Jamaica,” he says, “the culture
come back, and the people who lost
dem faith find it again. Most of the
people who used to dee-jay about
guns just a couple of months ago,
they are now turnin’ forward to the
positiveness.”
“Every Nigger is a Star” is an
affirmation of pan-African pride. “It
was stereotypin’in the early days to
call ablack man a nigger,” says Cat,
“but now it has become accepted by
the youth. So we just turn it around
and make it positive, to show them
that no weapon that rise against us
shall harm us.” The album con
cludes with “Settlement,” an an
guished cry of the heart. “There’s a
lot of people who will give you en
couragement while you make your
way uptheladder,” Catsays, “butas
you take your eye off them, they are
trying to flip you on your back. So
“Settlement” is just a man lettin’ off
his wrath.”
From the flash of the dancehall to
the grit of the mean ghetto streets,
The Struggle Continues cuts to the
throbbing heart of the groove. Su
per Cat’s deep, powerful voicelasers
through pulsatinglayers of rhythm,
flipping quick-witted rhymes with
the nimble ease of an acrobat. For
those who can’t follow this lilting
patois, he’s provided a transcription
of lyrics, an unprecedented innova
tion in dancehall reggae. “I have to
take it a step higher,” he says, “be
cause a lot of people really want to
get into the music but have prob
lems gettin’ the words.”
The series continues Novem
ber 18 with world-renowned pia
nist John Browning and Janu
ary 20 with the brilliant young
cellist Wendy Warner.
Master Works tickets are S3O -
$66 for the three-concert series
and single tickets are $lO - $24.
They are available at the Sym
phony office in Sacred Heart, by
calling 826-4705, or at the door
prior to the concert. The box
office opens at 6:00 p.m.
Dress Rehearsals
MasterWorksdressrehearsalson
September 30, 1995 and November
18, 1995 are closed to the general
public. Allother MasterWorksdress
rehearsals in the 1995 - 1996 season
are open to the public. Admissionis
$5 for adults and $1 for students of
all ages.
For more information, call
(706) 826-4705 or 826-4715.
Art Factory gets cranked up
The Art Factory is a new and
unique community art school lo
cated in the old Murray Biscuit
bakery across from the fair
grounds. Our fall program will
begin on October 2 with three
afternoon visual arts classes and
acontinuation of our mural paint
ing program.
Beginning Painting and Be
ginning Drawing will be offered
on Monday afternoons for eight
weeks starting Monday, October
2. These classes are designed for
children ages 8-13 and will be an
hour and a half in length.
Multi-media Exploration will
introduce children aged 6-10toa
variety of different tools and ma
Author Patricia Sprinkle to
appear at Magnolia Bookshop
Nationally known author
Patricia Sprinkle will be reading
from her work and discussing
the art of mystery writing on
Thursday, October sth, at 7:30
p.m.
Sprinkle grew up in North
Carolina and Florida, majored
in English at Vassar College,
spent a winter writing in the
Scottish Highlands, then moved
to Atlanta “to begin adulthood.”
Sprinkle’s earlier mysteries, set
in Atlanta, introduce readers to
the charming variety in Atlanta
neighborhoods. These titles in
clude Death of a Dunwoody Ma
tron, A Mystery Bred in
Buckhead,and Somebody’s Dead
in Snellville.
- For the newest book in her
Southern mystery series, Sprin
kle goes home to Jacksonville,
Florida, and the lovely St. Johns
Augusta College sponsors
hook discussion series
The first book discussion in
Augusta College’s fall quarter se
ries will be held Wednesday, Octo
ber 4, at noon in the College Activ
ity Center Towers. Arearesidents
are invited to bring their lunch
and attend the free discussion on
the book, Three Negro Classics:
Booker T. Washington W.E.B.
Dußois, James Weldon Johnson,
which will be led by Dr. Lillie
Johnson, chair of the Department
of Languages, Literature, and
Communications.
Sponsored by AC’s Reese Li
brary and the Atlanta History
Center, the noon fall quarter se
ries focuses on “Transformation &
Legacy: The Civil War in Ameri
can Life,” and is funded by a grant
- W Z
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1. What instrument does
Pharoah Sanders play?
2. Miles Davis, W.C. Handy, Rob
ert Johnson, Count Basie, Jelly
Roll Morton and Charlie Parker
are considered to be what in the
jazz world?
3. What do Scot Joplin, Louis
Armstrong, Duke Ellington,
Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald
and Dizzy Gillespie have in com
mon?
4. Who is the host of the jazz
video Trumpet Kings?
5. Tenor Titans, a jazz video fea
turing some of the legends of
saxophone is hosted by whom?
6. Who is the host of the jazz
video Piano Legends?
7.Namethe great trumpeter with
the initials F.N.
8. The 1995 Monterey Jazz Fes-
terials, including paper, paint
and clay. This class will be held
on Wednesday afternoon, begin
ning October 4, and continue for
eight weeks.
Mural Painting will introduce
children ages 8-13 to the basics
of color theory, mechanics and
history of mural painting, and
then provide an opportunity to
practice their knowledge direct
ly on the outside wall of the Art
Factory. This class will be held
onSaturday October 7,14 and 21
from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For further information or to
register for classes call the Art
Factory at 722-8895.
River. Deadly Secrets on iie St.
Johns take place only a few blocks
from where her parents nowlive.
Sheila Travis, Sprinkle’s ama
teur sleuth, travels to Jackson
ville with Crispin Montgomery
to meet his legendary Aunt
Martha and her family. Some of
the skeletons in the family closet
rise up to commit murder, and
Sheila almost gets a watery
grave.
Patricia Sprinkle’s reading at
Magnolia is the third in a series
ofliterary events being sponsored
by the bookshop this fall. Read
ings and signings by Harry
Crews, Dori Sanders, Mary Hood
and others will be announced
later.
For more information or to re
serve a signed copy of one of
Patricia Sprinkle’s books, please
call 738-5184.
from the National Endowment for:
the Humanities.
Other books that will be dis
cussed in the fall quarter series on
Wednesdays will be:
*QOct. 18 Frederick
Douglass: The Narrative and
Selected Writings, Michael
Meyer, ed.
*Nov. 1 Beloved, Toni
Morrison.
*Nov. 15 Race Matters,
Cornel West.
The Towers islocated on the top
floor of the College Activity Cen
ter on the corner of Walton Way
and Katherine Street. For fur
ther information, contact Mary
Ann Cashin, Reese Library, at
737-1745.
tival will feature Bobby
McFerrin, Chick Corea, Maceo
Parker and many others. What
is the date of this year’s festival?
9. Mel Martin, flutist and saxo
phonist has recorded his first solo
effort. What is the title of this
project?
10. What is the name of the jour
nal that has announced a series
of contests to expose new jazz
talents?
11. What do Betty Carter, Dianne
Reeves, and Ernie Andrews have
in common?
12. Who was Paul Desmond?
13. Ernie Royal’s brother plays
saxophone for the Count Basie
Orchestra. Name him.
14. Who was the first person to
record jazz performed on the
harpsichord?
15. Who is the leader of the jazz
ensemble Supersax?
16. The 11th annual Jazz Times
Convention will be held Nov. 15-
18 in New York. Who will be the
Guest of Honor, Keynote Address
Speaker and who will give the
welcoming address?
17. What is the title of the bi
monthly magazine of the Inter
national Jazz Federation?
18. A world-renowned jazz bass
istoften called “The Judge.” What
is his name?
19. What does IAJE stand for?
20. Ellis Marsalis, jazz pianist, is
equally proficient on what other
instruments?
H answers on page 5
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