John Lurie’s music is no act
Readers might be surprised to learn, then, that first and foremost Lurie is a musician. For 20 years he has led his cutting-edge, downtown group, The Lounge Lizards, through the thickets of avant-garde obscurity, where they have won plaudits but little mainstream recognition for their unique blend of noir-jazz, Afro-pop, funk, electronic, klezmer, movie and cartoon music, classical minimalism and whatever else their polytonal improvisations uncover. An ever-evolving group in terms of music and personnel, the Lounge Lizards -- who perform this Saturday at Pearl Street in Northampton at 8:30 -- have a new album, “Queen of All Ears” (Strange and Beautiful), which with its polyglot mixture of moods and styles is unlikely to gain them access to the pop charts, may well at least propel them to the sort of level of cult recognition that Lurie already enjoys as the incarnation of downtown cinematic hipster-cool. At times the Lizards’ unique style has been called “fake-,” “avant-” or “neo-” jazz, and while the group certainly draws on jazz and functions like an improvisational ensemble, even the broad term “jazz” is too limiting to encompass the sounds heard on “Queen of All Ears.” It is contemporary music, post-modern in its embrace and pastiche of high and low, Eastern and Western, art and pop. Mostly, though, it is unabashedly soulful and celebratory -- celebrating the talents of the nine individual musicians featured on the album, their collective skills as an ensemble, and the overriding visionary sensibility of the group’s leader and composer. In its current configuration, the group mixes percussion with horns, guitar, keyboards and strings, allowing for stylistic juxtapositions of raw elegance, brass fantasy and rhythmic force. Lurie himself is a saxophonist of great power and creativity. There’s nothing at all fake about the Lounge Lizards. Alternately as classically jazzy as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, as funky as Maceo Parker, as glistening as Philip Glass and as far out as John Zorn, they make incredibly suggestive, intelligent and emotional music for sophisticated listeners who are tired or bored with the same old same old. Also new from Lurie is “Fishing with John” (Strange and Beautiful), which features original music by Lurie from his TV show. Guest artists include members of the Lounge Lizards, as well as Tom Waits, Nana Vasconcelos, the Cassatt String Quartet and the John Lurie National Orchestra, which is a trio. In some ways the soundtrack is even more experimental than “Queen of All Ears,” as it includes choral and symphonic pieces. In any case, it is witty, spectacular stuff worth seeking out. For more information, check out the Strange and Beautiful website at http:/www.strangeandbeautiful.com. Critic’s picks Those who caught the incredibly entertaining Celtic ensemble Anam at the Clark Art Institute last March might want to get over to the Iron Horse in Northampton tonight (Sept. 24) when the group returns to the region as part of a triple-bill. Showtime is 7. And for another dose of Celtic -- heavy on the Irish -- check out the Donal Lunny Band featuring accordionist Sharon Shannon and vocalist Maighread Ni Dohmhnaill on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7 and 9:30. Gluttons for Irish music will also want to catch Cathall McConnell and Richard Hughes at Hubbard Hall in Cambridge, N.Y., on Friday, Sept. 25, and then take in the Irish 2000 Festival at the Altamont (N.Y.) Fairgrounds with Black 47, Gaelic Storm, The Makem Brothers, Seven Nations, Craobh Rua and Sean Keane on Saturday, Sept. 26. Other shows worth checking out in the region include Juliana Hatfield at Pearl Street in Northampton, tonight (Sept. 24) at 8:30. Hatfield is touring behind her great new album, “Bed” (Zoe/Rounder), which finds the former member of the Blake Babies and alt-pop auteur in fine form, with a new batch of melodic, guitar-based rockers. Once again Hatfield’s incisive pen spares no one -- fans, friends, the record business -- including herself. Closer to home, jazz fans will want to check out a Berkshire all-star trio date featuring vocalist Vikki True, drummer Peter Putnam and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Charlie Tokarz on Friday, Sept. 25, at the Castle Street Café in Great Barrington at 8:30. The question of the week: will former Boston Globe columnist and currently unemployed joke-stealer Mike Barnicle warm up the crowd for comedian George Carlin at the latter’s show at the Mullins Center at Umass-Amherst on Saturday night? [This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Sept. 24, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]
Note: These links will launch a new browser Strange and Beautiful
Seth Rogovoy rogovoy@berkshire.net music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
Next Article || Previous Article || Back
      |
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Sept . 24, 1998) -- John Lurie is perhaps best known as an actor for his roles in Jim Jarmusch films “Stranger Than Paradise” and “Down By Law,” as well as other cool cult favorites including Wim Wenders’ “Paris, Texas,” Martin Scorsese’s “Last Temptation of Christ” and David Lynch’s “Wild at Heart.” More recently, Lurie has gained fame as the host of his own TV comedy series, “Fishing with John,” a sort of post-modern remake of old-style wildlife shows, on which Lurie is joined by such
unlikely adventurers as Tom Waits, Dennis Hopper and Willem Defoe.
