WHAT FLOWS ?!?

WHAT FLOWS ?!?

Whilst on my travels distributing the first edition of Creem Magazine (that newspaper we all know and love!),I happened to arrive at a desolate little night spot that goes by the name of Crows Nest West. The management welcomed me in and was very nice all around. His name y/as Ron and he must be a great guy to havp around for public relations! After the usual business ifyansactions I sat with my Coke and cohqrts to enjoy the first set of one band called the Flow.

The Flow consists of only three members...Gary Bosch on lead guitar,1 Stanley Mackres on drums, and Mr. Fred Vocino On bass guitar. These boys Kave been together for* eons playing at Tocal dances and stuff but just can’t seem to make that big break into “Pop Stars”. One thing that held them back was the lack of a half-way decent lead singer. / After tryingfive hundred different guys they decided that one of them would have to do it. Gary was elected and has gotten into it quite welt. His voice isn’t what you’d calf pure silk but it does the job and besides most of the time he lets his guitar sjng for him...and it does beautifully. I don’t know what else to say in order to . convey, how .well they play. Stanley lives' for drums! If a good song is being played six. hundred miles away Stan can pick up the vibes and get intp it along1 with them. Fred is there keeping everything right in order... they couldn’t get along without him and I doubt if they would ever try. Now we come to Mr. Boy Genius. I hope he doesn’t" get ahold of this...from

what I hear his head goes through these helium expansion, attacks every time' someone mentions his_ fabulous talent...which I am about to do. I don’t know how long he’s been into guitar but no matter, it was ldng enough to give Detroit one of the best guitarists in a long time. His guitar is Gary and Gary is his guitar. If he’s listening to a record and quite often when he’s not, he sings leads. You know...he makes guitar noises with his mouth. Don’t think his instrument is neglected-mot by a long shot! When he’s with that, jt’s1 his vocal chords, larynx, and anything else that has to do with the voice. So now you know that they are great musicians what else can I say except to fell you what you might expect if you happen across this motley crew in your weekend night adventures. They are mostly blues with a little Beck. Quite a combination, that. Thpy haven’t gotten around to composing many songs but the one(s) they do are good. I think the part f dig the rnost is whenthey really get into a number and all of a sudden it’s riot that number anymore...we thert get a taste of jamming that’s really unbelievable!

Saturday night when this occured they were the back-up group for the Frigid Pink Or if you remember back awavs, the old D et r oi t Vibrations! T w a s' disappointed in them (Frigid Pink) to no end. The few songs* I stayed for were too loud for,a small place like the Crow’s Nest and too electronic. You couldn’t tell if there yvas* any talent ...it was drowned out by an overly exhuberant wah-wah pedal. In suiqmary I must say for a back-up group, the Flow hit it off well with my musical taste buds whilst the Frigid Pink did nothing'but stretch my ear drums. Maybe if the billing had been reversed?

Gayle Clark

MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS MINGUS (Impulse AS-59)

, Richard Walls

Cuts:

11 B.S., 1 X Love* Celia, Mood Indigo, Better Get Hit In Yo’ Soul, Theme for Lester Young, Hora Decubitus (Recorded Jari. 20, S^pt. 20,1963)

Personnel:

-Tracks 1,4,6,7:

Eddie Preston, Richard Williams, trumpets; Britt Woodman, trombone; Dan Butterfiels, tuba; Jerome Richardson; soprano, bar-

itone sax; Dick Hafer, tenor sax, clarinet, flute; Booker Ervin, tenor sax, Eric Dolphy, alto sax, flute; Jaki Byard, piano;Mingus, bass, piano; Walter Perkins, drums.

Tracks 2,3,5:

Williams, Rolf Ericson, trumpets; Quentin Jackson, trombone;Butterfield, Richardson, Hafer, Byard Mingus, same; Charles Mariano, alto sax; Jay Berliner, guitar; Dannie Richmond, drums.

11 X B. S.—Mingus Mellow Fantasitc'right up front... rich orchestral textures ... Booker Ervin under the Mingus spell.. shifting orchestral textures .. more form than content? rarely are the two so inseparable .. jazz ending.

1 X Love—This can be found in v Mingus au Vin (Columbia CL 1370) as part of “Qpen Letter to Duke ”... lush ... also meaning drunk, where sorrow becomes beautiful (sometimes) ... how many different ways can he state his melody ... refine the pain until the mere thought of it becomes something delicate ... the flute'and the muted trumpet play on the nerves while the x "bai;itone sax and tuba give knowledge' to the stomach (guts) ... balance.

y Celia—starts out as more of the same, but there are tefhpo changes which seem irreverent to the mood ... or perverse, satisfying . .. not only to melt the pain tp some sweet concoction but to groove with it ; .. if you’re notjn a relectiye mood

this could be boring or just Vaguely satisfying, like background music , 5.,. so much here to hear, so easy to hear none of it. 4.

Mood Indigo—this would seem to be inviting more lush suffering ... but the statement of the theme is so muted, almost secondary'to Mingus’ bass ... there is humor here ... and there is confidence in a bass ... confidence, sarcasm, and sincerity ... uses his bass like a human voice .. . intonation, nuance of tone .... a brief story told by a very witty, bitter man.

Better Get Hit In Yo’ Soul—also on Mingus Au Vin as “Better Git It In Your Soul” ,;. faster here and looser ... essay in repitition and p frenzy . .. There’s another melpdy tagged on to the original funky line .. j surrealistic 1940 jukebox ... I grabbed by old lady and 1 started dancing ... gawd.

Theme For Lester Young—this top was in the legendary Mingus Au Vin' as( “Goodby Pork Pie Hat” ... file best way to talk about this song i£ to hum if... very slow, but not at all tried ... at times is suspended ... and we slowly slide down a wide soft blue note.

Hora Decubitus—'... Latin for “at bedtime” says Mingus ... we’ll I never get to deep this way ... a very simple riff, swung around, then "expanded ... Booker Ervin takes the whole thing at face value (fine) ... then the late Eric Dolphy comes in, to use the conventional background to-emphasize his discoveries ,.. then disappears .. 4 poor Eric ;.. good album. ,