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Cover Story E4ST COASTINGS East Coastings wishes CBS International recording artist Sipho Mabuse a safe return to South Africa after his courageous and poignant participation on the New Music Seminar’s apartheid panel. AMERICAN BEAUTY — Marti Jones’ (A&M) September 27 performance at Irving Plaza immediately and unquestionably established her as one of the great female interpretative singers of the 80’s. Jones’ vocals were cool and understated as her band rolled a white-hot thunder over the crowd in a tour de force of texture. Marti, looking a bit like actress Teri Garr, sang with the grown-up vulnerability of Christine McVie, the breath control of Chrissie Hynde, and an aching and longing all her own. Some might prefer the Joplinesque abandon of Maria McKee or the avant- yelpings of Lene Lovich, but Jones could teach them both something about the magic of vocal brevity and understatement. And give her an acoustic guitar, as on “Follow You All Over the World,” and she ‘‘leans forward,” in Bob Dylan's phrase. Her band was first-rate too. Guitarist Don Dixon was an onstage sight and sound wonder, a playful, big-hearted pres- ence with gale-force lungs and a BMI senior vice president, performing lascivious guitar. Dixon produced rights (I) and Stanley Catron, BMI vice Jones’ "Unsophisticated Time” LP and president, Performing Rights, New York, wrote over half of the songs on it, and presented Sting with a special award in if he weren’t so damned modest and recognition of "Every Breath You Take" generous he probably would have had reaching Million-Air status. The presen- a smash solo album of his own by now. tation took place at Radio City Music Hall But it wasn’t just Dixon and Jones who before one of the seven sold out shows made this a night to remember. Sting gave in New York. Drummer Ted Lyons and bassist Chris Stamey turned “Rhythm of Shallow Breathing” into a veritable salsa extravaganza, and Mary Mack’s keyboard stylings were atmospheric and evocative. By the time they closed with Jones’ single “(If I Could) Walk Away,” there were few skeptics * Morris Day in the audience. “Walk Away” is the stuff great pop songs are made of, a song about the human heart in conflict with itself, a song with an emotionally direct and eloquent chorus: “If I could walk away from him/I would run away with you.” By all rights that tune should take Marti from CHR to AOR to MSG in no time. Creating The Color Of One wishes Jones and Dixon and the rest of the band unlimited studio budgets, sensitive promotion campaigns and no tax problems. Like the Blue Ridge Mountains, Solo Success Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Bar Harbor coast, Marti Jones is American beauty at its best. Congratulations to A&M’s David Anderle for signing her, and In a recent interview with Cash Box, Day By Peter Berk to A&M A&R director Nancy Jeffries for developing this huge talent. discussed his new career as a solo STINGMANIA! — The girls love him! They jump on stage! Kiss him! Hand him LOS ANGELES — He’s been described performer. “Up until now,” he comment- flowers! Interrupt him in the middle of songs! Make him miss whole verses! No as a wildly innovative musician, just an ed, “I wasn’t responsible for the music as one notices! Everyone shrieks! It’s Sting! Without the Police! Packing Radio City imitator of former partner Prince, a much, and never had the opportunity to Music Hall for seven nights! With a six-piece jazz band! Playing guitar! Playing charmer, a clown, an egotist, a sexist and produce or see a song through to com- new songs! Asking the crowd to quiet down so they can hear the nuance! Plenty a highly promising young actor. These pletion. On the new album, it was all up of nuance! A shriek for every nuance! He dances with Branford Marsalis! He shows days, however, Morris Day is more than to me. I didn’t have a crutch to lean on.” a little shoulder! Shrieks! Like the Fab Four! His band is hot! The pianist won’t willing to be called just about anything, Anxious to have that long-elusive control, stop! The drummer solos! Virtuosity, vision and popular appeal for $17.50 a head! because he knows at last he alone is Day wrote, produced, arranged, sang and He gospels-up “Every Breath You Take!” It’s authentic! Everyone’s convinced! The responsible for how people perceive him. provided percussion tracks for all six of critics, the fans, the skeptics, the ushers! They demand encores! They rush the All he’s ever really wanted is to be in the cuts on “Color Of Success.” “At first, stage for “Roxanne!” They shriek during “Message in a Bottle!” Sting’s all alone control of his own musical destiny, and I was definitely frightened,” he admitted. onstage! Just how they want him! Sting sings “Happy Birthday” to the keyboardist! having recently gone solo after serving as “All these musicians (including Greg It too is a hit! He can do no wrong! His band is flawless! His voice is masterful! lead singer for The Time, he finally is. With Phillinganes and Howie Rice) were look- Superlatives fly! Quality art gets appreciated! Girls shriek! the release of his first solo album, “Color ing at me, and for a while I didn’t quite GLASS + RITZ = MAGIC — Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble performed Of Success” (Warner Bros. Records), know what to tell them or how to begin.” at the Ritz September 26 on the heels of the release by CBS of a recording of which contains the charting crossover Day needn’t have been concerned, for his opera “Satyaghara.” Glass’s eight-piece ensemble performed five pieces that single, “The Oak Tree,” it’s obvious Day he’s produced an album which does created alternately hypnotic and jarring moods. His minimalist aesthetic was best made the right move at the right time. exactly what it was intended to do; namely represented by the second piece in Like most musicians, Morris Day paid to establish Morris Day, not as a band’s which three keyboard players set up his dues. Born in Illinois but raised in lead singer or a star’s protege, but as a the patented Glass whirlpool sound Minneapolis, knew from age 12 that considerable talent in his own right. While he over which Glass played discordant music would shape the course of his life. Prince chose to conquer new, avant-garde notes that evoked an urban landscape Hooking up with the like-minded Prince musical territories, and ex-Time guitarist of car horns and sirens. Glass encored and Andre Cymone in school, Day set out Jesse Johnson has become a major with a piece from his landmark opera to break into the local music scene. creator of keyboard-oriented, funk-dom- “Einstein on the Beach." Also perform- Trapped in a labyrinth of small dives and inated music, Day offers a more straight- ing at this showcase was salsa king poor-paying club dates, he soon however ahead, personalized R&B sound. His Ruben Blades whose performance left for greener pastures. As it turned out, lyrics are admittedly autobiographical, redefined or, more accurately, crystal- there was no place like home, for when particularly those to "Color Of Success” ized the new progressive salsa sensi- Day returned to Minneapolis in 1979, and’The Character,” and his melodies bility. For most music lovers, salsa is everything finally fell into place. have a substantial quality not always that stuff you hear in Central Park on Forming a band called The Time, Day associated with dance songs. Sunday afternoons. But Blades takes soon found himself an increasingly "Since the record,” Day remarked, "I it one step further. He articulates over popular local figure. So impressive was have noticed fewer and fewer compari- NEW YORK STATE OF MIND — Pictured his four man rhythm section, telling the band that Prince, by then Minneapolis’ sons between me, Prince and Jesse above are Billy Joel (I) with WNEW-FM’s stories of the street in a compellingly favorite musical son, helped secure a Johnson. Of course, their names come up, Scott Muni (r) when the recording star demonstrative fashion. His rhythm recording deal with Warner Bros. Records and that’s not even something I’m trying paid a recent on-air visit to the station. section was nonpareil; one percus- for it. With Prince playing a vital creative to get away from. I just want people to sionist worked with a triple layer of instruments to fine effect. Ruben currently role, The Time went on to release three recognize me as an individual.” stars in the Miramax feature film Crossover Dreams. hit albums, and several chart-topping Morris Day’s image as a zoot-suited, COASTING AWAY — Scant hours before the onslaught of Hurricane Gloria, MCA singles. The last of these LP’s was “Ice free-spirited, funny performer is one he Records threw a party on the Circle Line that cruised around Manhattan for ninety 1 Cream Castles,” which displayed the hopes to forge indefinitely. However, after minutes. Silver Blue/CBS recording artist Robey, dressed provocatively, was at band’s crossover appeal and greatly his upcoming tour (no details of which the party and told East Coastings that a follow-up single to her dance club smash furthered Day’s prestige in the music have as yet been finalized), Day does hope “One Night in Bangkok” was being readied for release ...

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