DIVERSIONS
WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT SECTION • THE DAILY TAR HEEL • THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 16.1995 •
mm
Five Days of Live Jazz Shows
And Festivities Hit the Hill In
Honor of the Great Satchmo
BY LEE RICHARDS
STAFF WRITER
Once, when faced with the question "What is
jazz?” jazz great Louis Armstrong responded
whimsically, “If you have to ask the question,
you’ll never know the answer... ” The people of
Chapel Hill will be given the opportunity to see
if they know the answer to that question at the 18th annual
UNC Jazz Festival.
This festival, which in the past has featured such artists as
Wynton Marsalis, will begin Feb. 24. It will feature five days
ofUve shows and lectures intended for the entertainment and
education of the most knowledgeable of jazz critics as well as
any passer-by open to anew experience.
The festival will kick off with the performance of pianist
Hal Galper, who is currently on tour with his trio. Students
and faculty may have seen his fliers around campus, but
contrary to popular belief, he is not running for SBP.
Earlier this week, I caught up with Galper in someplace
that sounded like Indianapolis, but neither Galper nor I was
able to establish exactly in which time zone he was.
After playing phone tag across the East Coast, I finally got
the chance to hear his comments on his trio, their musk and
life in music. •- *wa ■j.Uii.uuj h'.-sj ... .
“Berklee gave me all the tools I needed to do what I do,”
he said, speaking of his education at the prestigious Boston
school of music, which took place in the stylistic and social
upheavals of the early ’sos. During this time he discovered
“the music.”
After spending a time playing and learning as a house
pianist in Boston clubs, he moved into a brief period when
he was a “free player.”
Any readers unfamiliar with free jazz can check out noon
trafficonFranklinStreetasaprettygoodexample. “Butthat
was just a phase,” Galper said, sounding displeased with
having had the label associated with him.
The next “phase” in Galper's career found him in Paris in
1960. “I was disgusted with Paris ... that entire experience
really put me off on music,” he said. He left Paris discour
aged and didn’t play for two years.
Once back in Boston, Galper hooked up with Chet Baker
and spent a time with him until the urge to move on to more
modem music hit.
“I went to New York for the first time after that.... I left,
discouraged, got my health back in order, and then I went
back.” The second trip proved to be a flop as well.
“Man, New York’s a real pretentious place. A lot of the
great players are there, man, but I really think most of that
whole scene is a myth,” he said. Regardless ofhis opinion of
New York, he went back again.
“It takes most people twice to make it in New York, but
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The Hal Galper Trio
it took me three times.” That final trip seemed to be the
payoff. By 1967, Galper had played with greats like Stan
Getz and recorded two solo records.
One dramatic and fateful day in the mid-’7os, Hal threw
his Fender Rhodes keyboard off a pier (where it joined a
couple of’72 Fords, and several Teamsters).
“Iwastryingtoproveapoint,”hesaid. Galper and I both
agreed that the action pretty much spoke for itself.
The next five years were spent as a sideman for Lee
Konitz and John Scofield, among others, followed by an
incredible 10-year stint with Phil Woods.
“I was really fortunate to have that experience, but after
10 years I realized that I was ready to do my own things, ”he
said.
“You know, for a time, I was a teacher at the New School,
but my trio started taking too much time and it just wasn’t
fair to the students, so I resigned,” he said.
The trio at the time was made up of Steve Ellington
(drums) and Todd Coolman (bass). “Steve is just one of my
favorite players. We just have this really unique way of
playing together. I’ve played with him for over 30years,” he
explained.
Galper met Ellington at Berklee, and they later played
together on die Chet Baker gig. Bass player Coolman left a
few years ago: “He had a family and decided to stop touring.
... He was really our favorite, and we looked for a while, but
now we have Jeff (Johnson). He’s been with us for about two
years now ... the trio is really starting to develop its own
identity,” he said.
When asked to describe his own music, Galper was
reluctant to describe it in spe
cific terms, but emphatically
stated that the music was “ac
cessible and very communi
cative” and that the crowd
should come away thor
oughly entertained.
Aside from the feature per
formance Feb. 24, there will
be a free show Saturday fea
turing Galper and UNC en
sembles.
Schedule
Louis Armstrong,
considered to be the
greatest single influ
ence in jazz, will be
honored at the festival.
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The Hal Galper Trio has been honored with a Grammy
for best instrumental jazz group for its 1983 “Live At The
Vanguard.” The musicians also were bestowed with the
1985 Golden Feather Award. You can check out Galper,
Ellington and Johnson on their soon-to-be-released Rebof
CD on Enja Records.
The primary feature of the Jazz Festival, in addition to the
Hal Galper Trio, will be the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
They will pay homage to the great Satchmo, Louis
Armstrong, at 8 p.m. Feb. 28.
Many around campus may only know him as “that guy
on the ‘Good Morning Vietnam’ soundtrack.” He is, aside
from that, considered one of the greatest entertainers that
ever lived.
“The Majesty of Louis Armstrong” will feature the leg
endary music of Armstrong’s Hot Fives, Hot Sevens and All
Star groups. With these groups, he influenced the likes of
Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, among
others.
The Armstrong legacy will be in the hands of music
FRIDAY 2/24
Concert: The Hal Galper Trio featuring
Steve Ellington and Jeff Johnson
8 p.m.
Hill Hall Auditorium
Admission $5 General Public. $3 with
student identification
Tickets available at Carolina Union Box
Office 962-1449
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Movies Page 6
Adam Sandler brings his
'Saturday Night Live' talent to
the big screen in the comedy
hit 'Billy Madison.'
SATURDAY 2/25
Concert: UNC Jazz Band and Vocal
Jazz Ensemble with the Hal Galper
Trio
8 p.m.
Memorial Hall
Admission Free
SUNDAY 2/26
Performances: Collegiate Jazz Festival
featuring performances from UNC-
Chapel Hill, N.C. Central University. East
Carolina University and Appalachian
State University.
2p.m. to 6 p.m.
Great Hall of the Student Union
Admission Free
Music Page H
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Visiting Siants
TMBG and company
bring their unique
sound to the Rhz and
a strange interview to
the pages of Dive.
director John Faddis (an acclaimed trumpeter in his own
right), Marcus Roberts, Dr. Michael White, Nicholas Payton,
and others of the Lincoln Center.
Under the auspices of Jazz at Lincoln Center, this one
time program will feature Louis Armstrong’s music and the
many performances he made that serve as the basis of jazz.
Created in 1988 for Lincoln Center’s renowned Classical
Jazz series, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra is the official
“house band” for Jazz at Lincoln Center activities.
Comprised of several generations of the world’s foremost
jazz musicians, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra is dedi
cated to developing a performance repertoire of historic
compositions and newly-commissioned works for the big
band format.
All who are able to attend are likely to leave with a deep
respect for an aspect of American history often overlooked
here in our little world of pseudo-nostalgic coffee shops and
garage bands.
Call 919-962-1449 weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for
more ticket information.
MONDAY 2/27
Movie: Ftound Midnight
8 p.m.
Carolina Union Film Auditorium
Admission Free
TUESDAY 2/28
Concert: Lincoln Center Jazz
Orchestra
8 p.m.
Memorial Hall
Admission (various prices with
student discounts available)
Tickets at Carolina Union Box
Office 962-1449