Ron English Plus 9 Um-dearborn

RON ENGLISH PLUS 9

UM - Dearborn

When we arrived for this year's first

Just Jazz offering at U of M

-Dearborn last Friday night, a

big racoon wandering around out

in the parking lot let us know

that we were indeed on the

fringes of civilization, out near

the Fairlane Mall.

Imagine our relief at finding

the 10-piece Ron English Jazz

Band playing intensely to a rapt,

reassuringly human audience that

packed the pyramid-shaped stu-

dent center at the ultra-modern

campus.

Also known as Ron English

Plus 9, this experienced, experi-

mental musical aggregation tonite

included Gary Schunk on Fender

Rhodes piano and Moog, Jerome

Spearman on drums, the

agile

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Ken Kellett on bass, heavy Herb-

ie Williams and Ray C. Biggs on

trumpets, Pat Lanier on trom-

bone, the articulate Kenny Longo

on flute and tenor sax, and saxo-

phonists Mike Blanchard and Ronald Fane.

English, of course, is one of

the top two or three guitarists on

the Motor City's expansive jazz

scene. He is well-known as a

member of the Lyman Woodard

Organization, and his 10-piece

band is always a wonderful ex-

perience.

Any grouping of this many of

the cream-of-the-crop players in

Detroit would have to be heavy,

and they always give

valuable

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readings of a wide variety of ma-

terial, from the Wayne Shorter /

Weather Report song "Lucitanos "

to English's own "Coming Na-

tion's Fanfare" and a vvhole lot

in between - with plenty of space 

in it all for the members to

stretch out. Definitely "eduta-

tional."

People who bring contempor-

ary creative music to the consum-

er campuses n the suburbs ought

to be applauded, so let's get up

and give the folks at Just Jazz

a standing ovation for starting

another great season. Next up,

the beautiful Mixed Bag, Oct. 19.

--Frank Bach