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Home , Arbour Zena, Everybody Come On Out, Les McCann, Romantic Warrior

32 Billboard SPECIAL SURVEY For Week Ending 9/4/76 (Published the 2nd 8 4th Issue Of Every Month) Billboard jazz McCann Swings Into Production Sell i ng 3est LPs® Pianist- Singer Does Own , Preps Musical Show By ELIOT TIEGEL d ,V a %$ TITLE ' a LOS ANGELES -Les McCann should know what the control board a3 g Artist, Label & Number (Distributing Label) has produced his own first album can do, what he can get out of it and and will produce his first stage pres- what he can't. "I've had the great 1 1 23 BREEZIN George Benson, Warner Bros. BS 2919 entation of a musical, "Brother fortune of working with Bob Lifton Francis," co- authored with a lyricist in New York and I learned a lot 2 2 13 BOB JAMES THREE going under the monicker of Rev. B. from him," he says of past experi- CTI 6063 The Atlantic LP, "River High, ences with the noted New York engi- 3 5 14 FEVER River Low," has just been released. neer. Ronnie Laws, Blue Note BN- LA628 -G (United Artists) The musical, an updated story about McCann says before he agrees to 4 3 17 THOSE SOUTHERN KNIGHTS St. Francis of Assisi, will be record anyone he wants to get to Crusaders, ABC /Blue Thumb BTSD 6024 presented Nov. 27 at the Santa Mo- know the person because, he admits nica Civic Auditorium featuring 5 6 17 YOU ARE MY STARSHIP candidly, "there have been times in Norman Connors, Buddah BDS 5655 McCann the lead role and with a when I'd go in the studio and be so cast of about 30 onstage. scared." 6 10 5 EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE These performers plus the back- Roy Ayers How is it possible for him Ubiquity, Polydor PD -1 -6070 stage crew are all non -professionals, to be frightened in a recording studio 7 9 17 FLY WITH THE WIND McCann says, and are all part of his when he is able to enrapture an au- McCoy Tyner, Milestone M 9067 (Fantasy) "extended family," a group of stu- dience of 10,000 with dents and professionals who enjoy his in- person 8 4 17 HARD WORK presentation? John Handy, ABC /Impulse ASD 9314 having a musical experience. ts.. "The studio was meant for The 11/2-hour play will be fol- si- 9 7 13 GOOD KING BAD lence," he answers. "It's lowed by a regular concert featuring Les McCann: controlling his destiny another George Benson, CTI 6062 world. In the studio each is the McCann Quartet. more. guy blocked out, and you're dealing with 10 19 3 WINDJAMMER Producing the musical, for which , Columbia PC 34166 another mode for which you only he wrote the music and Rev. B the developed his own studio idiosyn- may prepare yourself once or twice a 11 8 14 lyrics to 50 tunes (two of which crasies like not having anyone count ap- year." , Fantasy F 9508 peared on McCann's earlier LP, off the takes, preferring to have the Performing before an audience is "Hustle To Survive ") is a contin- tape running all the time and not see 12 11 21 LOOK OUT FOR #1 a repetitive situation for McCann uation of McCann's drive to assert people moving around the studio. Brothers Johnson, A &M SP 4567 who earlier this year did a himself in new roles. As a producer he is concerned that string of 13 24 3 SANBORN 54 one -nighters on Midwestern col- Last year he began to sing more time isn't wasted and the musicians David Sanborn, Warner Bros. BS 2957 lege campuses and 24 concerts in 26 and his voice is featured on all 11 get the job done ( "concentration on days in Europe. 14 SECRETS cuts on the new LP. He a &red the the job means the music will be bet- "Onstage there's an immediate re- , Columbia PC 34280 new LP because it was something he ter"). He also 15 12 13 ARBOUR ZENA felt he needed to do. All of his 10 believes the producer (Continued on page 55) , ECM 1070 (Polydor) previous Atlantic LPs were done un- der the aegis of a producer in the 16 20 48 KOLN CONCERT 4 -YEAR GROWTH Keith Jarrett, ECM 1064/65 (Polydor) control room, and while McCann says he wants to produce followup 17 25 3 GLOW LPs by himself, he's "not closed to Hobby Becomes Lucrative Al Jarreau, Reprise MS 2248 Bros.) (Warner working with someone again." 18 14 23 ROMANTIC WARRIOR McCann says he wanted to produce , Columbia PC 34076 his own LP because he's "looking to For Berkeley Distributor 19 17 46 FEELS SO GOOD build his own adequacy." By CONRAD SILVERT Grover Washington Jr., Kudu 24 S1 (Motown) He also adds his voice to those BERKELEY, Calif, that will swell who have previously said that it's -Rick Bal- that total to more than 20 22 5 THE MAIN ATTRACTION lard Imports, a distributor special- 50. Grant Green, Kudu 28 (CTI) "hard for someone to produce a jazz izing in contemporary European Ballard notes that musician" because of the very na- many new la- 21 15 17 SALONGO and ture of the improvisational demands U.S. jazz labels, has in four bels springing up are artist -owned, Ramsey Lewis, Columbia PC 34173 years turned a collecting hobby into like Paul Bley's Improvising Artists, of the players. "I can see a producer 22 23 8 BLACK WIDOW a rapidly expanding business. Bal- a trend he feels deserves being effective with a rock group in encour- Lalo Shifrin, CTI 5000 lard says he will gross more agement. terms of finding songs and helping than $100,000 in 1976. "The resurgence of jazz labels 23 13 44 TOUCH them get their tunes together," he For the past year - the last few years," John Klemmer, ABC ABCD 922 says. Ballard, a one over Ballard says, man operation, has been working "is incredible -in Japan, in the U.S. 24 33 5 STEPPIN' OUT WITH A DREAM The jazz musician, McCann in- out of a small loft office rented for and in Europe. And I think that Ahmad Jamal, 20th Century T 515 fers, has to make his own creative $100 monthly from Berigan Rec- jazz's staying power, along with the path since the music is in his soul 25 30 10 THE NEED TO BE ords, a Berkeley jazz -oriented store sheer quality of the music, is respon- Esther Satterfield, A &M SP 3411 and it doesn't pop out merely be- that also is one sible for the shift tastes in the 18- cause someone yells, "Take One." of Ballard's clients. of 26 29 23 AURORA Ballard, now 28, 30 age group." The pianist /singer says that other began in 1972 by Jean -Luc Ponty, Atlantic SD 18163 corresponding with the then -tiny Ballard is excited about his new musicians have asked him to pro- 27 German ECM which acquisition rights BAREFOOT BALLET duce their works and while he's in- label, he im- of to distribute the John Klemmer, ABC ABCD 950 ported along with MPS catalog, something he terested, that won't be happening selected records has from the French Futura catalog. worked on for more than a year. He 28 38 3 BRIGHT SIZE LIFE right away. That first year he grossed , ECM -1 -1073 (Polydor) "The great producers," McCann only (Continued on page 55) $3,000. 29 - 1 SCHOOL DAYS believes, "know quite a bit about By approaching independent Bay , Nemperor NE 439 (Atlantic) music, are ex- musicians and can re- Area stores having late to musicians." large progressive 30 35 5 DREAMS SO REAL music inventories, such as Leopold's As a musician turned producer, Jazz Beat Quintet, ECM -1 -1072 (Polydor) and Rather Ripped in Berkeley, Bal- who also wants to remain a musi- LOS ANGELES -Art Mardigai, former Woody 31 21 5 SUMMERTIME lard gradually expanded into distri- cian, McCann says he has to have an MFSB, Philadelphia International PZ 34238 (Epic) buting other labels, especially the Herman and drummer, is back work- engineer he can work with. He has ing in Detroit after a hospital stay. He is heard 32 32 3 WAITING rapidly growing number of small on recent Prestige reissue LPs by Wardell Grey , Blue Note BN- LA615 -G (United Artists) domestic jazz companies. and Dexter Gordon. Also in Detroit, Frank Later Ballard expanded into serv- Isola, 33 /121=1* HERITAGE former drummer with Gerry Mulligan, is working icing several of the large chains (Od- Eddie Henderson, Blue Note BN- LA636 -G (United Artists) at the Cobbs Corner with a trio.... The Don Ra- yssey, Tower) and today does 10% of 34 der Sextet has been added to the bill for the 36 3 SKY STREET his business outside of the Bay Area, , Fantasy F 9514 second annual Santa Barbara Jazz Festival, Oct. mostly in Los Angeles. 1-3. Other recent additions to the lineup include 35 18 14 EARL KLUGH His second year in business, 1973, Hampton Hawes, Taj Mahal and Frank Rosolino. Blue Note BN- LA596 -G (United Artists) saw gross sales jump to $17,000 but Jazz at Eagle. Rock high school in L.A. cele- 36 26 28 THE LEPRECHAUN the most dramatic leap was in '74 brates its third anniversary Oct. 10 with a Sun- , Polydor PD 6062 when sales grew to $62,000. Ballard day gig showcasing Mundell Lowe, Frank Roso- lino, Art Pepper, , 37 16 21 BLACK MARKET says that $30,000 of that figure re- and Weather Report, Columbia PC 34099 flected the success of a single LP, Gil others. An upcoming concert Sunday (12) fea- tures , Bill Reichenbach, Bob 38 ON LOVE Scott- Heron's "Winter In America" Cooper, Pete Jolly, Chuck Berghofer, Nick Mar- David T. Walker, Ode SP 77035 (A &M) on Strata -East. tinis and John Rinaldo.... The Bill Berry Band Today, Ballard's imports include 39 1=10 MYSTERIES from L.A. will do several shots at the Monterey - Keith Jarrett, ABC /Impulse ASD 9315 COUNT'S DAY -Count Basie is in- all non -Polydor ECM's, Steeple Jazz Festival Sept. 17- 19.... Tenor man Jimmy Chase (Denmark), MPS (Germany) 40 terviewed by Barney Lane, program Heath's "Afro American Suite Of Evolution" will LOVE DANCE and within a few weeks both Sonet Woody Shaw, Muse MR 5074 director at WRVR, New York, to tie be Coast premiered with the Berry band on Sun- in with the station's recent 72d (England) and Musica (France). day afternoon. Jazz /rock group Matrix is on the He will closing Sunday evening bill. They are all from C Copyright 1976, Billboard Publications, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, birthday tribute to the venerable also add a package of stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any Corm or by any means, electronic, mechanical, musician. Basie music was heard seven small domestic labels, includ- Lawrence College, Appleton, Wisc. Others on the photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. throughout the day. ing Sheba and North Texas State, (Continued on page 55)

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