j Atlantic Starr Can
Dish Out Ballads And Funk
__ liy Loretta Manage
! . Managing Editor
! ' / /
; Entertainers who
sing ballads and are
known for that trade
mark have no prob
lem selling ballads to
the listening audi
ence. Entertainers
who sing upbeat,
dancing tunes find it
a easy task to deliver
that sound to their
; listeners again and
: again.
3 The problem comes
• in when those balla
_j; deers want to sing
• upbeat tunes and
: those with funk on
: their mind want to
.* mellow down the
;pace and sing a love
• song or two. That's
’. where the resistance
• comes.
: It’s rare when a
: group can pull a
: broad audience with
•the loveliest of love
j songs and the funki
; est of beats. It's rare,
; but Atlantic Starr is
: a rare group.
3 Formed 10 years
•ago, the group
: merged through
• three other bands.
: Their line-up has
: gone from nine to
five, with four origi
:nal members still on
i hand. Their record
r sales have climbed
: into the millions and
»»
ife *
Atlantic Starr
...'The band has changed"
' X
their crossover ap
peal attract pop as
well as rhythm and
blues audiences.
The heart of Atlan
tic Starr is the three
Lewis brothers
David, Johnathan
and Wayne. In addi
tion to performing vo
cals, Wayne and Da
vid play keyboards
and guitar respec
tively. Johnathan
concentrates on the
trombone and key
board. The other sta
bilizing element lies
in percussionist Jo
seph Phillips. Be
tween these four, the
style and sound of At
lantic Starr has been
defined.
The polishing of
their act, the replace
ment of longtime
: African, Oceanic, New World Gallery To Open
KL 1 I1- ' )'■
The opening of the Africa,
Oceanic and New World Gallery
of the North Carolina Museum of
Art provides museum visitors the
opportunity to see a sampling of
the rich and varied art of non
Western traditions.
According to curator Dr. Mary
Ellen Soles, who is coordinating
the installation of the gallery,
“The distinctive feature of these
works is that their primary func
tion was never purely decorative.
These objects served religious,
political and social purposes of
great importance to the cultures
in which they were created."
The African, Oceanic and New
World Gallery is ths last perma
nent collection gallery to be in
stalled in the museum's nsw
building, which opsnsd in April
1983. Ths installation will com
prise approximately 66 African
works, 36 pre-Columbian objects
and 12 works from 8outh Pacific
cultures. Although works in this
collection were occasionally on
viaw in tha museum's old build
ing, ths nsw, 4,600 square foot
gallery will be their first perms
nent installation area.
The African collection includes
fine examples of West African
art such as maaka, headdress##,
and figures Of particular inter
act are a "Pair of Twin Pi gums
i (Ibeji)" Prom the Yorubo of Nige
ria; a "Pair of Antelope Head
pieees (Tji War#)’ from the Ha
inan# of Mali; and a "Sawfish
Headpi see" from the Ibo of Nigs,
ria.
Sculpture and ceramics of pre
Columbian cultures are featured
in the initial New World instal
lation. The collection ia especial
ly strong in ths art of Mexico and
Guatemala; a fdcal point of fee
gallery will be the "Monumental
Figure of a Priestess," a clay
sculpture from Vera Cruz, Mexi
co.
Objects from the South Pacific
regions of New Ireland, New
Guinea and the New Hebrides,
including masks and other cere
monial objects, will be on view in
the Oceanic area. Of special in
terest will be an intricately
carved "Malanggan Totem Pole"
from New Ireland and a "Slit
Gong from the New Hebrides,
depicted as a stylized human
face, which stands nearly ten feet
tall.
The installation of the gallery
has been coordinated by Dr.
Soles, who is curator of ancient
art at the museum, with consulta
tive curator Dr. Allen Wardwell,
director of the Noguchi Museum
in New York City. Available in
the gallery will be a brochure
which discusses selected works
in the collection; it is illustrated
in full color and costs $.60.
The opening of the new gallery
ia made possible by generous con
tributions from the James G.
Hanes Memorial Fund/
Foundation and the John Wesley
and Anna Hodgin Hanes Foun
dation. Many of the objects have
been given to the museum by Mr.
and Mrs. Gordon Hanes of
Winston-Salem, the Hanes Cor
poration and the James G. Hanes
Memorial Fund. Gordon Hanes
is chairman of the museum
Board of Trustees
The North Carolina Museum of
Art is located a| 2110 Blue Ridge
Kvd., Raleigh, NC 27607. Hours
are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday
through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9
p.m. Friday, 12-6 p.m., 8unday,
closed Monday. For information,
can the museum at 919-833-1936.
singer, Sharon
Bryant for Barbara
Weathers met the au
dience's wild approv
al with the release of
As The Band
Turns." Yes, some
secrets were revealed
through the lp.
Many longtime At
lantic Starr fans
probably heard a side
of the group that had
not been heard be
fore. And from the
monetary success of
the album, listeners
liked what they
heard. Yet it was
with "Secret Lovers"
that Atlantic Starr
was able to break
new ground while re
taining their signa
ture sound.
"We always thought
we had a crossover
sound," said David
Lewis. "But some
times if you have a
broad appeal people
don't know where to
put you. We're just
glad that more people
are getting to hear us
now."
Even those listeners
who may have just
tuned into Atlantic
Starr have the
chance to hear what
the group was like in
the earlier days. The
group released
"Secret Lovers"...The
Best Of Atlantic Starr
which represents
four of the group’s
six albums. "It is a
collection that vividly
documents the jour
ney of a band that
made its name on the
strength of its bal
lads, but was also
versatile enough to
incorporate funk and
dance styles in the
mix, resulting in a
crossover sound that
gave Atlantic Starr
its biggest success.
While "Secret Lov
ers" captured those
who love the idea of
romance, "Freak-A
Ristic" helped grab
the younger audi
ence. "While we
were never going to
abandon the ballads,
we said to our fans,
Look, the band has
changed. We're not
just balladeers any
more-we do party
cuts, too.’"
Audiences obviously
got the message.
When Atlantic Starr
returned home to be
gin the U.S. portion
of their past tour,
they began attracting
young and old con
certgoers alike, peo
ple who responded
enthusiastically to
both the familiar hits
and the new album
material.
On thia week's "Essence,’’ Epic recording artist Lather Vandross
talks with ho*/executive producer Suaan L. Taylor about his pref
erence for expressing love through his music. Also featured this
week! master music video choreographer Michael Peters narrates
the conclusion of a two-part "Our Style" series on black men in
daaoe. Features include interviews with Louis Johnson, who was
the fir* black to perform a major role in the New York City Ballet,
and choreographers Alvin Alley, Arthur Mitchell, Donald
McKayle and Talley Beatty. And in the first of a two-part "Up
Front" —d— "» —— *— tv-1-1—»--iwunttj. guild tttt
Gary Byrd discusses the growiig health-care gap Hrtrrsim ^-i-lr
and white Americana. Featured interviews include malpractice
attorney Celestyne Williams and physician Victor Scott of New
York s Kings County Hospital. "Beaenoe" airs on Sunday, Janu
ary 2R, on Channel 9 at« sum. Pictured: Lather Vandross, Susan L*
Taylor.
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