THE BEAT

Maceo Parker, Ani DiFranco

by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Aug. 14, 1997)

Maceo Parker: Filling the funky prescription

Don't use the term "comeback" around Maceo Parker to describe the newfound popularity of his style of "groove" music. "I've been making this kind of music all my life, so I don't think of it as having been any place and coming back," says Parker, who for over 25 years played saxophone as a member of James Brown's band, and who performs tonight (Thursday, Aug. 14) with his own band at the Studio in Pittsfield.

Still, Parker is aware that younger fans are flocking to his shows, alongside like-minded, funk-jazz fusionists such as Medeski Martin and Wood, in numbers too great to ignore.

"I'm sure there's quite a few people who listen to us now who really don't know anything about the time I put in with James Brown," said Parker, in a phone interview from his home in North Carolina. "All I know is I'm thankful and tickled to be working as much as we work, and to be appreciated by so many young people as we are."

Parker joined Brown's band in 1967, and stayed with the Godfather of Soul until 1988. During that time, he helped define Brown's sound, as well as the role of the saxophone in funky soul music. Parker said his style was influenced by Ray Charles, as well as other saxophonists including Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, King Curtis and Stanley Turrentine.

One thing that hasn't changed over time, said Parker, is the music. "Basically, I'm doing the same thing I always did. If you want to dance or move from side to side or have a party-kind of atmosphere, then funky music kind of fits the groove," he said, "and that's what we've been doing from day one.

"If you're ready to party, this is sort of like a remedy that the doctor would prescribe. We'll fill that sort of prescription."

Also at the Studio this weekend: six New York stand-up comics on Friday night, and Little Feat on Saturday.

Afterthoughts: Ani and dim bulbs

Considering the tough job she had in her warm-up spot for Bob Dylan at Tanglewood last week, Ani DiFranco proved herself an amazing "force of nature," as a friend put aptly put it. In her very first show opening for Dylan -- indeed, one of her first shows EVER performing for an audience that did not primarily come to see her -- DiFranco worked hard to get over to the crowd. She came right out and launched into a new rap song, followed immediately by her signature tune, "Not a Pretty Girl."

DiFranco was visibly moved by the enthusiastic crowd of young fans that greeted her up front -- she said something about expecting to see a "graveyard" in the front rows instead. And after the ushers made her fans leave the area, DiFranco proved herself to be an incredibly responsible entertainer, invoking the spirit of folk-activist and anarchist Utah Phillips and commending everyone for "working it out" on their own and without trouble.

While it took some doing for DiFranco to win over the uninitiated -- for those unfamiliar with her material, the spoken word pieces and her lyrics in general got somewhat lost in the cavernous Shed and on the rain-soaked lawn -- by the time she closed her set with the rousing folk-funk anthem "Shameless," she claimed victory, and Dylan himself sent her back out onstage for an encore....

We were very pleased by the lighting for the David Byrne show at the Berkshire Performing Arts Theatre. Previous shows featured Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, Duncan Sheik and Jim Brickman performing in various degrees of darkness and shadows. This isn't proprietary to BPAT -- we've noticed a trend toward "mood-lighting" at concerts at other venues, including the Palace Theatre in Albany. It must be a design thing. It must be stopped. Shrouding musicians in darkness is an insult to an audience which has paid to come hear AND see them.

Set lists

For those completists out there, here are the complete set-lists for Bob Dylan's and David Byrne's shows in Lenox last week.



TH: Originally recorded by Talking Heads. F: from Byrne's new album, "Feelings." DB: from Byrne's previous solo album, "David Byrne." E: Encore.

Backstage bits

Tickets for Indigo Girls at UMass Amherst's Mullins Center on Sept. 12 go on sale tomorrow morning (Friday, Aug. 15) at 10 am at the Mullins Center box office and all Ticketmaster outlets....

Did someone say "fall?" In just a few weeks college will be back in session, and that state college in North Adams -- whatever they're calling it this week -- will once again be hosting the free CC's Cafe coffeehouse series at the campus center on Saturday nights at 9. Northampton singer-songwriter Cliff Eberhardt, who has a great new CD, "12 Songs of Good and Evil" (Red House) coming out soon, kicks off the series on Sept. 6, followed by Karen Savoca on Sept. 13, Boston's Merrie Amsterburg on Sept. 20 and the Sloan Wainwright Band on Sept. 27. Other performers will include Erica Wheeler (Oct. 4), Greg Greenway (Oct. 11), Roger Day (Oct. 18), Ray Mason Band (Oct. 25) and Wiggins Sisters (Nov. 1)....

[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Aug. 14, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]

Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.

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