Jazz Corner
Billy Hart Produces l.p. Enchance
By KEN HARRIS
Though the Jazz community
ha srecently suffered infiltra
tion - electronic wizardry,
commercial shaman, heedless
of heritage and integrity,
pillaging the shirnes from
which some of them came - it
is little less for the invasion.
Whether of not Billy Hart
(Jabali), son of the avant
garde, dappler in commercial
ity (Eddie Henderson, Herbie
Hancock), ever left home turf
is questionable, but his recent
l.p. signifies either his return
or growth, for it is a solid
musical effort, if typical of the
aging avantgarde movement.
The title, Enchance, hopefully
insinuates a new enchantment
with the creative Jazz milieu
and, an enhancement of it.
The avantgarde practioneers
- Coleman, Braxton, the late
Albert Ayler, Richard Abrams,
David Murry, Marion Brown -
are distinguished by similar
political and aesthetic concerns,
academic qualifications, an
intense interest in the
Black Man and his heritage
and an experimental, explora
tory spirit which often
perpetrates a dissonant,
Opportunity for Professional
Photo Criticism and Showing
On Sunday, March 26, at
3:30 in the afternoon, William
Heroy, an accomplished
Greensboro photographer, will
be coming to the Gallery of
Founders Hall to show his
work. The show will be far
more than the normal exhibit
though, because Mr. Heroy is
also going to critique his own
and anyone else's workl This
is an unusual opportunity to
share ideas and opinions
about the results of our
photographic efforts, one
which we hope will become
more common as time goes on.
Anyone is welcome to bring
any of their own work,
whether in slide or print format.
A projector and screen will
be available for 35mm slides;
other formats should be
arranged for in advance.
A particular opportunity for
expresisonistic art. Billy
Hart is of a similar musical
and philosophic background
and has worked with several
of those mentioned. His
musical endeavors are generally
indicative of experience and
understanding, yet my one
general complaint concerning
this particular l.p. is related
to a Mary Lou Williams state
ment that nothing huge,
nothing of timeless, immeasur
able importance and stimulus
has happened since Coltrane,
Parker or Diz. This seemingly
audacious assertion, in lieu of
contributions by Monk, Dolphy,
Miles and others, does not
indicate failure but digestion,
a time not of lull and re
dundancy but study, following
major innovations. I am not,
consequently, accusing
Hart and company of simple
reiteration within the Jazz
dialogue but of producing
exciting music within a defined
structure. This is neither an
unusual or a regrettable occur
ence, simply so.
Billy Hart is defining and
expanding Blakey's hard
driving, polyrhythmic styled
percussion work, as combined
with Roach's melodic trap
style, to drive and accentuate
a music based on melodic
exploration and rhythmic
interesting creative work
occurred during the recent ice
storms. Many photographers
were out on the camus during
those days and it would be
interesting to see and compare
the results of all that work.
The upcoming show, sponsor
ed by the Campus Association
of Photographers, is intended
to be the first of many such
opportunities to "go public"
in a small way and to see your
work relative to that of an
established professional. See
Randy Catoe (Frazier Apt. 12)
or Don Gibbon (King 12A) if
you would like to participate,
learn more, or make sugges
tions. Above all, do not feel
that you have-to bring large
numbers of works to come; if
you have just one slide you are
pleased with, come along I This
is a time to share, a time
to participate and grow, tech
nically and conceptually.
TheGuUfordiary
complexity, typcial of the
avantgarde approach. With
Enchance, however, the
haven't-l-heard-this-some
where phrase washes over me
as I listen - a joy to listen to,
learn from, but at best
definitive of a style.
The aged controversy
surrounding the question of
originality has never been
relevant to Jazz as simply
stated. The heart of the Jazz
experience is born of consis
tent traditional reference
Today, 200 global corporations
already own 2/3 of all the manufacturing
assets of the United States of America.
The Chamber of Commerce predicts that
within 25 years, those same 200 cor
porations will own 54% of everything
worth owning on the planet Earth.
How many of us can name the heads
of just three of America's giant compa
nies?
Scary, isn't it?
Peoples Bicentennial Commission
For more information on how big business policies af
fect you, mail to:
Peoples Bicentennial Commission, Dept. AC, 1346
Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington, D C. 20036.
- the blue note, swing,
improvisation . . . the most
modern of Jazzmen having in
common Jelly Roll Morton
and Robert Johnson. In the
Jazz world, a truly internation
al world, where startling new
discoveries are the norm, yet
are of a nature never foreign
to the traditional, a new
question for an ancient attitude
must continually be asserted
and explicated. As of now a
dominant voice instigating
radical change has not
made itself known, echoing
Page Six
ageless, as an Ellington or
Armstrong entonement, but it
will arrive, as in the past and
Enchance is not to blame but
to listen to and it is a fine
creation, an explication, born
of the Jazz spirit.
This will be a regular
column by Ken Harris
I reviewing various
Jazz works.