RHYTHM & JAZZ July 1994 Vol. 1, No. 1



Copyright (c) 1994 Dan Margules. All rights reserved.




LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to the premiere issue of RHYTHM & JAZZ, an electronic
newsletter for fans of... well, what exactly do we call it? This is the
most controversial question facing the particular style of music to which
this publication is dedicated.

The most successful label applied commercially has been "contemporary
jazz." Now ask any jazz purist and they'll quickly cry foul. "It's NOT
Jazz!" True enough. But many of the genre's musicians are themselves
devotees of jazz who have simply fashioned their craft into a form that is
more accessible to contemporary audiences.

So the music has some jazz elements but is structured more like pop.
Pop-jazz? Too unflattering. Let's see... it differs from pop by its
absence of vocals. Pop instrumental? Too limiting, since we'll also cover
many terrific artists who fall under the grossly misused marketing category
of "New Age," not to mention the exciting urban and world elements being
fused into the mix lately. Contemporary instrumental? Too long. And
besides, the genre does include some vocalists. Radio has tagged the
format NAC (New Adult Contemporary). Nah, too meaningless. And before you
ask, it's not the same as "fusion," either.

A member of the San Diego-based band Fattburger once joked in an
interview that these days anything without words is called jazz, unless it
doesn't have drums -- then it's New Age. They settled on "Rhythm & Jazz"
to describe their niche. Okay, so the phrase doesn't apply literally to
every CD we'll be talking about, but it's got a _je ne sais quoi_, so let's
just stick with it for now.

Our purpose isn't really to label the music, anyway. Our purpose is
to inform the reader of what's new and exciting in the genre.

More than three million people snatched up Kenny G's last album.
Yanni was also able to quickly break through the platinum barrier. Yet
there are literally hundreds of talented, lesser-known artists producing
the same style of music who are as good as Yanni or better than the G-man.
This newsletter is a monthly guide for any of those millions of consumers
who may have recently discovered contemporary instrumental styles and are
dying to know, "Where can I get more of this kind of stuff?" Keep reading!
We're sure you'll enjoy the artists discussed herein.

Dan Margules


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ULTRA! - THE SMOOTHEST AND THE COOLEST by Wayne Radcliffe

MARK JOHNSON (JVC), 50:07
The wildest, funkiest R&J CD of the year is this debut from the
saxophonist of George Jinda's mellow World News band. Originally from
Rockford, Illinois, Johnson credits his 1990 move to New York as a
primary source of the gritty spirit of his music. "Living in New York
has given my music a totally different energy," explains Johnson. "I
want to plug into what's coming out of the New York musical scene today -
- the hip-hop, the rap, the way the beats are being put together. New
York is right now, it's got that edge, that grit, that tightness. Being
exposed daily to that vibe on every musical level has made all the
difference in the world to my writing."

Special EFX percussionist Jinda, who co-produced the album with Paul
Wickliffe, makes the groove sizzle, especially on such flavorful
compositions as "Street Samba" or the urban "Funky James". A cool, 20-
second "Overture" intro's the disc into the first song, "Exit 33", with a
powerful, window-shaking burst of urban contempojazz for the 90's.


NANDO LAURIA - POINTS OF VIEW (Narada Equinox), 49:15
Fans of the Brazilian-styled recordings of the Pat Metheny Group will
love this fresh debut of one of its former vocalists, who brings his
unique brand of vocalese from his native Recife, a coastal city in
northeastern Brazil. "The rhythms of northeastern Brazil still remain
undiscovered by most of the world," Nando says. "Certain nuances of
these rhythms would be difficult to create unless you grew up in that
culture. I feel very lucky to have been born in Recife, and I will
always return there, to breathe the culture, to feel its rhythms."

Lauria, who can also be heard on several Narada samplers, composes and
arranges his beautiful tunes and plays acoustic guitars in addition to
providing his unique, soaring, wordless vocals. On the album's only
cover tune, the Beatles' "If I Fell", Lauria makes it his own with his
intricate rhythmic foundations. This is the feel-good R&J disc of the
year.


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FEATURE STORY


KILAUEA: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL HO! by Dan Margules

In 1991, the band Kilauea exploded onto the contemporary instrumental scene
as fiercely as the Hawaiian volcano after which it was named, leaving sweet
and delectably breezy musical lava in its wake. Four years and four albums
later, they've come to virtually dominate NAC airwaves and jazz festivals.
Audiences can't seem to get enough of their infectious musical gems and
wild stage antics. We caught up with leader, composer, producer, arranger,
keyboardist DANIEL HO at the Thornton Winery in Temecula, California just
after Kilauea's super-hot set leading off an incredible double bill with
saxman Everette Harp at the height of last week's heat wave.

R&J: You wear a lot of different hats in the band as producer,
arranger, etc. It must be difficult to balance all that.

HO: It's natural for me. I'm not a control freak, but I like to work
alone. I like to do things a certain way. I usually know how I
want it. Other players in the band give me tips on their
instrument. They help the music get better, but I usually have
the core of it pretty much put together before I take it into the
studio. My forte is probably in the studio, putting things
together, producing, rather than, say, playing keyboards live. I
enjoy live performance, but basically I'm a composer, so I arrange
and I orchestrate things.

R&J: What's your procedure when you write? Walk us through the life
cycle of a song from conception to execution.

HO: I write a theme. It's usually a couple bars long, sometimes four
bars. It's a lot like writing a paragraph -- sentences and
phrasing. You develop the motif into phrases and into sections
and parts of songs. I go through that process and try to come up
with a piece of music that I like. Then I arrange it and add the
harmonies to the melody. I always start with the melody because I
think that's the most important thing. And I try to get a nice
groove and a bass line that lines up with it. Then I arrange it
on my computers, where I can play all the instruments and actually
hear what it's going to sound like before we record it in the
studio. That's basically how it works.

R&J: You grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii. You've been living in Southern
California now for four and a half years. Kilauea's new CD,
MIDNIGHT ON THE BOULEVARD, is your first whose title doesn't have
a tropical-like theme. Does this suggest you have become
assimilated to urban living on the mainland?

HO: I didn't notice that, but yeah, I guess so! It's a more serious
album. The music on the first three albums was a little more
playful, if that's the description. This is a little more urban,
a little more romantic. It's like being out at midnight, on the
boulevard.

R&J: What do you like most about L.A. and what do you miss most about
Hawaii?

HO: L.A. is active. The possibilities are endless. It's what you
want to make of it. It's very aggressive. You know, the sky's
the limit. In Hawaii it's not like that. A musician can play
gigs at weddings and clubs in Waikiki, and there really isn't that
much to do there. There's a very select few, like Don Ho (no
relation), who can make a great living at it. Hawaii's a
beautiful place to live. It's a great place to raise your kids.
People are really nice, laid back. Everyone's friendly. The
goals -- I shouldn't stereotype, but they're into living and being
happy and not trying so hard to be noticed or super-successful.
It's a more grass-roots, down-to-earth type of mentality. I
really miss that. I miss my family a lot. I'd like to go back
there, but I don't think I could ever live there again.

R&J: There's been a big change in your life recently. You were
married less than a month ago for the first time. What affect
will that have on your music?

HO: Hopefully it'll make it better. It adds a lot of stability to my
life, so I guess the depth and the emotional changes, the ups and
downs, will be different. Don Henley never got married and I
think he once said the reason was that it affects your music
because it takes precedence over everything. It can take your
attention away from music. So far I have not experienced that.

R&J: Do you and Teresa plan to have children?

HO: Yeah, I'd love to! Maybe in a couple of years. We've got to get
to know each other and get our lives settled down. There are
things we want to do, too, career-wise, and we'll do that first.
And then we'll have a family. That's most important to me --
family.

R&J: Your wife, Teresa, was the inspiration behind the track "Teresa's
Confession" on TROPICAL PLEASURES. From what other sources do you
draw inspiration?

HO: It comes from whatever I'm feeling at the time. That's why I feel
it's important to experience all types of emotions, whether it be
highs or lows, or whatever. That often inspires music. Sometimes
it's just because I sit down to write a song and I come up with
something I like and try to develop it. Also deadlines!

R&J: Listening to your music, it seems The Rippingtons (whose leader,
Russ Freeman, contributed many of the tunes on Kilauea's first CD,
ANTIGUA BLUE) and David Benoit (with whom Daniel co-wrote the
track "Frontrunner" on TROPICAL PLEASURES) are obvious influences.
Who else in this genre do you like?

HO: I would say Dave Grusin is my main influence. I really admire his
piano work, his precision, and his tastefulness. I don't listen
to a whole lot of contemporary jazz. I listen to pop music. I
listen to the AC stations that play the top ten hits of the last
ten years. That's the kind of music I enjoy listening to.

R&J: Greg Vail, your saxophonist, does an incredible job bringing your
tunes to life on stage. I understand he's working on his first
solo album. Are you involved with that?

HO: I'm producing it. I have a few songs on it and I've co-written
some songs with Greg. Greg is an excellent saxophonist. To me,
the saxophone is most like a voice. It carries melodies better
than other instruments in a contemporary jazz ensemble because it
breathes. I guess a lot of other people feel that way because
there's a lot of saxophone in contemporary jazz. You can phrase a
lot like a vocalist can. It's something that I cannot do on a
piano. Something that a guitar can't do as well. The guitar is
an attack and a decay, much like a piano. I like to use a lot of
piano, and the instrument most unlike it is the saxophone. I
guess that's why I do a lot of piano and saxophone.

R&J: MIDNIGHT ON THE BOULEVARD has more emphasis on the acoustic piano
than your previous records. Is that so you can split off the
saxophone modes of your work into Greg's project?

HO: Right, I'm trying to feature more piano. I guess it's because I'm
learning the instrument as I play in the band. As I get a little
better, I want to feature it more. Another reason is because
there's so much saxophone on the radio. I'm starting to really
like the sound of the piano. I'm getting used to it. It's a nice
change of pace. Also, and this has nothing to do with musicality,
but technology: Yamaha has come out with this keyboard that sounds
very much like a real piano. A lot of gigs we play at, there
isn't a piano available, so it becomes problem if you have a lot
of piano in your music. So now there's a good enough synthesizer
that can emulate the piano. It makes it easier at a gig like
today's where there is no piano. I can still do all the piano
parts. It opened the door to giving that kind of performance
without having to cart a Steinway everywhere I go.

R&J: It was a terrific show! Thanks for your time, Daniel.

HO: Thank you. Take it easy!

NOTE: Please see the end of this file for information on how you can get
Kilauea's latest CD, MIDNIGHT ON THE BOULEVARD, for free!

KILAUEA DISCOGRAPHY:
[all on BrainChild Records]
ANTIGUA BLUE (1991)
TROPICAL PLEASURES (1992)
SPRING BREAK (1993)
MIDNIGHT ON THE BOULEVARD (1994)


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NEW RELEASES by Bethany Springs

YANNI - LIVE AT THE ACROPOLIS (Private), 68:58
GROOVE: Spiritually uplifting symphonic new age with Royal Philharmonic
Concert Orchestra, recorded live, in-concert, in the
keyboardist/composer's homeland Athens, Greece. Far more electrifying
than his previous, sleep-inducing solo piano outing, IN MY DREAMS.
HIGHLIGHTS: Signature hit "Swept Away", energetic opener "Santorini",
orchestral triumph "Standing In Motion", romantic "One Man's Dream".
Lively bass solos by Ric Fierabracci, exhilarating violin solos by
Karen Briggs.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Attention-getting video of concert (VHS and laserdisc)
which aired on PBS during pledge drive; Yanni's REFLECTIONS OF PASSION
compilation (Private); David Foster's THE SYMPHONY SESSIONS
(Atlantic); John Tesh's TOUR DE FRANCE (Private)

TANGERINE DREAM - TURN OF THE TIDES (Miramar), 51:48
GROOVE: Progressive electronic space music. Innovative sound patches
woven into hard-edged atmospheric soundscapes in which the listener
can lose oneself. Mercifully veering away from the total rock
direction of their previous effort, ROCKOON, and back to the new age
styles they helped pioneer.
HIGHLIGHTS: Symphonic-like intro from Mussorgsky's classical "Pictures
At An Exhibition", orgiastic title cut, melodic "Firetongues",
percussive ride through "Jungle Journey"; new member Linda Spa's
breezy soprano sax on "Midwinter Night"; founder Edgar Froese's
imaginative other-world fable describing the songs, excerpted in the
liner notes.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Dream's UNDERWATER SUNLIGHT (Relativity), MELROSE
(Private); Mannheim Steamroller's FRESH AIRE V (American Gramaphone)

MIKE GEALER - IN THE PARK (Positive), 60:10
GROOVE: Upbeat sax-driven melodies with tight supporting players
including guest keyboardist Gregg Karukas and good guitar work from
Mike O'Neill. This second outing from saxist Gealer is as listener-
friendly as his standout debut, PARADISE HIGHWAY.
HIGHLIGHTS: Rippington-eque opener "Getaway", frisky soprano sax on
"Catwalk", breezy midtempo "Princess", killer "Drivin' Home".
ALSO CHECK OUT: Gealer's PARADISE HIGHWAY (Positive); George Howard's
LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING (GRP); Nelson Rangell

IMAGES - ...MAYBE THE MOON (Fahrenheit), 48:45
GROOVE: Relaxing instrumental melodies from Denver-based quartet
featuring acoustic piano (Lee Bartley), burning saxes and soothing
flutes (Bob Rebholz), and a phat, gentle bass (Rich Sallee), with new
drummer Mike Marlier. Unjustly overlooked group returns with sixth
album after 4-year hiatus, easing off from the more serious jazz
elements they played with last time out (RELATIVE WORK) in favor of
their more ear-pleasing sound.
HIGHLIGHTS: Rapid, flute-laced "Maggie Pond", slow-dance ballad "Without
You", lyrical lyricon-led "Harbour Isle"; unique laser-etched cover
art design.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Images' FINESSE (Redstone, if you can find it); Free
Flight's SLICE OF LIFE (CBS); Jim Chappell's OVER THE TOP (Real);
Kenny G

MARC RUSSO - THE WINDOW (JVC), 60:15
GROOVE: Solo debut from former Yellowjackets and Tower Of Power
saxophonist is high on performance chops with great drumming from
'Jackets bandmate William Kennedy. Diversity of styles, all with hip,
jazzy attitude. Picks up where 'Jackets left off when they switched
gears from pop to more challenging material (circa POLITICS).
HIGHLIGHTS: Rockin-ish R&B "Shake", ballad "Elizabeth"; co-produced by
Russo and David Hentschel with superb 20-bit mastering.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Yellowjackets' SHADES (MCA), FOUR CORNERS (MCA), LIVE
WIRES (GRP)


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COOL CLASSICS by Wayne Radcliffe

BOB JAMES/DAVID SANBORN - DOUBLE VISION (Warner Bros.), 1987, 43:31
It doesn't get any better than this platinum-selling Grammy winner. The
keyboardist best known for his theme from "Taxi" (James) teams up with
one of the most popular saxophonists around (Sanborn) and the results are
pure magic.

The ultra smooth collection opens with two tunes from bassist Marcus
Miller: the haunting "Maputo" (later redone by Miller with The Crusaders)
and the equally memorable "More Than Friends". The enchanting "Moon
Tune" is the first of two collaborations penned by the leaders. Al
Jarreau sings lead on a stunning rendition of "Since I Fell For You".
"It's You" is an updated version of a tune found on one of Sanborn's
earlier albums, this time with the Bob James flair added. The passionate
opus "Never Enough" is the other of the duo's outstanding compositions
together. The disc closes with a lush reading of the standard "You Don't
Know Me".

Each of these seven splendid cuts is a winner and Sanborn's sax has never
sounded more appealing. Tommy LiPuma's production makes this disc
perfect for those warm, romantic nights. This CD is a standard by which
to judge all others in the genre.


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ABOUT R&J

RHYTHM & JAZZ is published monthly by Dan Margules and uploaded to the jazz
library of the MUSICARTS forum on CompuServe. Users are encouraged to
distribute R&J to any other online services and bulletin boards to which
they have access, including the Internet, provided this file is not altered
in any manner. The contents of this file are copyrighted. No fee may
charged for copies of R&J (other than normal download charges for online
services) by any party other than the copyright owner. R&J may not be
included in commercial shareware packages without prior written permission
of the copyright owner.

RHYTHM & JAZZ is SHAREWARE. If you enjoyed reading this issue of R&J,
please support it with a small donation so that we may continue bringing
you exclusive feature articles and reviews of the latest and greatest in
contemporary jazz. For a donation of $15.00, registered users will receive
a FREE CD. This month's free CD is:

"MIDNIGHT ON THE BOULEVARD"
KILAUEA's _BRAND NEW_ compact disc!
Compliments of BRAINCHILD RECORDS!

Daniel Ho emerges as the nation's foremost
contemporary jazz tunesmith on Kilauea's
explosive fourth release!

To register this issue of RHYTHM & JAZZ and receive our free CD:
Please send a check or money order for $15.00
made payable to _DAN MARGULES_.

For orders to be shipped outside the United States,
please add $3.00 for shipping and handling.

MAIL TO:
RHYTHM & JAZZ ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
KILAUEA OFFER
P.O. BOX 28788
San Diego, CA 92198-0788 U.S.A.

Offer good through December 31, 1994 (be sure to specify "KILAUEA OFFER").
Please allow 4-8 weeks for delivery.

Even if you don't wish to register this issue of R&J, we'd love to hear
from you. Please send your comments, questions, suggestions to the e-mail
address below.

STAFF:
Publisher/Editor: Dan Margules
Contributing Writers: Wayne Radcliffe, Bethany Springs

RHYTHM & JAZZ ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
P.O. BOX 28788 SAN DIEGO, CA 92198-0788
CompuServe ID: 74160,3551
(to contact us through the Internet, use 74160.3551@compuserve.com)

RHYTHM & JAZZ, VOL. 1, NO. 1, Copyright (c) 1994 Dan Margules. All rights
reserved.