Marriage of jazz and pop

Press, 26 April 1984, Page 19

Marriage of jazz and pop

By

ALLAN FRANCIS

VOYAGE OF BEAGLE, Galapagos Duck follows the voyage of the Charles Darwin discovery ship, “Beagle,” in 1831. FESTIVAL L 38081.

While Galapagos Duck may mean little to many, not much to most and nothing whatever to those over 40, this important group has been around for a long time — including at least one visit to New Zealand. What lifts this particular group above most of its contemporaries is the unique style of instrumentation and the imaginative arrangements. The instrumentation is rare simply because it is orthodox — depending on your point of view. In what may be considered a pop group, the presence of trumpets, saxophones, flugelhorns and trombones is out of place but for the dyed-in-the-wool traditionalist it is a welcome return to normality.

Whatever musical limitations modern pop groups have placed on themselves with electronic equipment alone, is graphically countered by this intensely musical sextet which manages to produce such a wealth of variety of colour and sound, many pop stars will throw away their amplified guitars and join the opposition.

Add to the dexterity of the magic of Galapagos Duck's musicianship a few other side effects from harmonica. marimba, didgeridoo, vibraphone and flutes, and the possibilities are unlimited. Chicago may have got close to it. even John MacLaughlan trifled with the idiom, but the Duck has grasped the full extent of the music and created what must be the true marriage of jazz and pop.

All these previous mild flirtations have yielded only luke-warm results, whereas Galapagos Duck has succeeded in bringing a listenable quality to the music, one which will appeal as readily to the older generation of jazz buffs as well the younger fans seeking a change from the shackles of rhythm and little else. In short, this is the mature fruition of earlier attempts by a quintet of enterprising musicians in 1973. The sparking force of the movement comes from Tom Hare and Greg Foster, the only remaining members of the original line-up, and follows closely on what was mooted some 11 years ago. It has taken the ambitious venture of the Beagle Voyage to bring out the full potential of the group, a challenge not taken lightly. It also underlines what an important instrument the modest harmonica has become — a potent voice

within the framework of the band.

Actually the brainchild of Spike Milligan, the “Beagle” makes a promising start with "The Voyage Begins," thence to Uruguay with “St Elmo's Fire." to Argentina — "The Skeletons of Punta Alta," to Brazil — "In a Brazilian Forest," to Chile — "Cordillia,” and finally in this section, to Galapagos Islands. “Latin Doll" owes something to its close namesake, “Satin Doll," from Ellingtonia and this marks the brief visits to New Zealand, Australia, the Keeling Islands and back to England. In each case, there is a remarkable change of tune, a constantly shifting character to the music, which never palls until we are back to England and the reprise. For the uninitiated, this is as far as words can go; those who are already fans need no further prompting, but strangers to the Duck are strongly recommended to try the review disc as the most shining example of the group’s work to date.

WINDS OF WAR. Original TV score of the music composed by Bob Cobert. FESTIVAL L 38050.

Those who were fascinated by the TV series of the massive venture, “Winds of War,” may not be so entranced with the music score, without the visual

crutch to pro; up the lack of character in the audio side of things. The opening theme is charming though it may pall on its own. repeated ad nauseam, while the other segments, which meant a lot when attached to various parts of the action, mayhave a slowly receding interest that is proportionate to the memory of the event.

Some film music has been crystallised into suite form in the past; some of Prokofiev or Virgil Thomson, and even John Williams has tried valiantly to retain some of his more outspoken music in this way, but onlytime will tell whether Bob Cobert's efforts are in that class.