Performance

w/MIXED BAG
 at the Michigan Union Ballroom January 21

It seems like whenever Jazz aficionado start to talk about Les McCann, voices lower and smiles break open in remembrance of past experiences with Les's music. The latest Eclipse Jazz presentation at the University of Michigan's Union Ballroom could do little else than further these habits as the McCann group teamed with Mixed Bag to provide an evening of well-paced and enjoyable jazz.

Opener Mixed Bag worked through a fine set highlighted by a piece using versatile percussion work and fine Solos to define a Brazilian tempo and theme. The group appears every weekend at the Loma Linda in Ann Arbor and just as often provides the steady excellence which is building their reputation in the area.
McCann's work for the evening was simultaneously controlled yet full of opportunities for improvisation. The group Miroslav Kudykowski, guitar; Jimmy Rowser, bass; Harold David, drums moves smoothly within its jazz-rock-sometimes-funk style, providing a milieu in which the individual artist can pursue his creative impulse. Unlike many who play the electronic keyboards, McCann always seemed to discipline his play away from the flashy and over-loud, moving from an electrifïed "North Carolina" to a laid-back "Everytime I See A Butterfly" (from his latest Atlantic release, Hustle to Survive.)
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of a Les McCann show is his ready and sincere rapport with his audience, providing a real exposure to the warmth and humanity ol' many of his songs. He really does try to make it real.
The mellow mood was really helped along, too, by the fine job done by Eclipse Jazz, a non-profit student co-op that was started on the U of M campus this year. The lighting and sound, by Portable Audio, were well-done and the Michigan Union Ballroom comfortable. Eclipse also sponsored a November McCoy Tyner show and is planning further shows in an effort to provide the best in progressive music at low prices. With a tentativo Keith Jarrett date in February and a firm Cecil Taylor show April 15th, Eclipse is rapidly establishing itself as a group which can professionally match artist, hall, audience and mood, much to the delight of iis clientele.

- Mark Mallus