Archives of the University of Notre Dame APRIL 15 & 16, 1983 STEPAN CENTER UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME Archives of the University of Notre Dame Four leading drummers, four different styles. Four more reasons for playing Yamaha System Drums. (:ozy Powell ctfiTfwyn . bob 0' <S~etl . ~ aOvtl{,"tisinG' s<!lt o'~~ .~~ .\" .... asSic;tillts ~~ltis bai~6~ ""'~~"~: " I.... .' .. "1 <;'ll&f;h c;"l¢sin-e 4 ' • ~ ... a'[email protected]·012~ ... ~~it" sm!t~ 'a-~'.4 ':.",.\ - ~. \ . ~Gh. sclfol ~ti lJdl.: . jo~ 5td~'t :~~ r _.... • _ .. ..,:-. dsSi-;(mt. " . ellWs uJill*"l ~Ouctton. 1Ul~ ab~m.s Because I've always been With some drums, there I'd been playing the same Yamaha makes profes­ very concerned with the isn't too much you can do set of drums for ten years sional equipment with the Jt3~;<jbnt ~Yill ~e~ quality of sound in a drum, to alter the sound. Some when I met up with the professional player in mi nd. I use the Recording Custom will give you a real deep Yamaha people during a They're just amazing­ 0' er<96 Series drums, with these thud, and others are real tour of Japan with Rainbow. sounding drums, and the l'R-oGlClm. s@tt y beautiful all-birch shells bright. With Yamaha, I can fact that their shells are per­ I told them that if they }jt{j~b. ~y and a black piano finish. get both sounds, they're just could come up with a kit fectly in-round has a lot to 1!J They give me a very con­ very versatile. Mostly I like that was stronger, louder do with it. The head-to-hoop a~Cjlshllt5. f~n}C zjm.lrt~;}n. trolled resonance with a lot a deep round sound with and more playable than alignment is consistent; the . of tone. They let me relax tight definition, since my what I had, I'd play it. So nylon bushing inside the with the music, so I can concept is that a drum is a they came up with this lugs are quiet and stable so colt~n c;l05i~ adjust my touch to any vol­ melodic instrument like incredible heavy rock kit Yamahas tune real easy and ume requirements. Yamaha anything else. I can hear with eight ply birch shells, stay in tune, too. I have a ~~e5 drums are very sensitive, drum pitches, and Yamaha heavy-duty machined hoops 5'/2" snare and it's good as j.l? and there's always a reserve lets me achieve that without and a pair of 26" bass anything out there. It speaks JS 0\ of sound. a lot of constant re-tuning. drums that are like bloody fast, with a really brilliant . th°»2. GT?$le5!j I've always tended to go As far as their hardware, cannons. And since I'm a sound and a lot of power. ~Vi'tl for simple equipment like the snare drum stand and very heavy player who When you hit it hard, the llayttTlee the Tour Series snare boom stands are very well needs a lot of volume, drum just pops. And the drum with eight lugs, be­ thought-out. They feel like Yamahas are perfect for me. throw-off mechanism is Gt<P'PYiC5. · . SJlto~ -P.112@f; cause it's easier for me to they were designed b.y a And the sound just takes quick and agile, with good get the sound. Same thing drummer, and they're not off-the projection is fan­ snare adjustment-it's a lldti~ goes for my hardware, which limited at all. The 9 Series tastic so I can get a lot of basic design that works. fRX­ is why I like the 7 Series snare drum stand's ball tilt­ volume without straining. And Yamaha hardware is hardware. I don't require er is fantastic; you can get There isn't an electric really ingenious, every bit really heavy leg bracing so the perfect angle for your guitarist in the world who as good as the drums. I like sOO~ 1?t1l~€f1t ~ iss~ the lightweight stands are playing posture. And the can intimidate me, and I've the 7 Series hardware be­ 11P1{lt just fine; very quiet, too. boom stand tilter can double played with the loudest. cause it's light and strong, (!:~m~es ~~lC G;Jb~ as two stands because it Yamaha drums just cut especially the bass drum mastt}{ 1 doesn't have a long handle. through better, like a good pedal, which has a fast, nat­ So the boom slides right in­ stiletto. They have the fat­ ura) feel. What can I say? t~fbe~Jph~ . b7<JAg oJ)€E~ side the rest of the stand if test, warmest, most power­ Everything in the Yamaha you don't need it. All in all. ful sound of any kit I've drums system is so well PT{jl1~lt· .. fQll}C-1<iy~1tSi6~ Yamaha is the perfect set played and they can really designed, you want for noth­ of drums for tone quality, take it. For my style, ing. Once you hook up with f-~1.t.l~ as)I;~O~...~ (it:o~ Wisl«~1fn sound, and ease of set-up. Yamaha is the perfect all­ them, you'll stay with them. around rock kit. g11>r§~ bJ tl1 n.o~ cSJm.~ Yamaha Musical Products· A Division of Yamaha International Corporation' Box 7271. Grand Rapids. NIl 4U510 ~t~~Jtt U11t0l1. OA.l1J4lG1l at<Fs @ln17J.isSacn. o YAMAHA 3 Archives of the University of Notre Dame FESTIVAL SPO SORS WHITHER JAZZ? by Dan Morgenstern Speculation about the future of an art form is always a risky venture. This is especially true with jazz, for the story • YAMAHA of this uniquely American music is, above all, the story of individual creators and their impact and influence. Who, at any given time, could have predicted the advent of a Louis Armstrong, a Duke Ellington, a Lester Young, a Charlie Parker, ajohn Coltrane or an Omette Coleman? Yet certain trends and currents can be identified. In 1959, when the first jazz festival took place at Notre Dame, Coltrane had just recorded GiantSteps, while Coleman and his intrepid little band were holding forth at the Five Spot and arousing controversy in jazz circles. The music was at the threshold ofits stormiest decade, with all mannerofnew things to come. Today, relative peace and calm characterize the state of jazz. Styles that run the gamut from ragtime and traditional through swing, mainstream, neo-bop, post-free and fusion to eclecticism of every kind co-exist without provoking those dire predictions of the impending death of jazz that were made from time to time in the '60s. And since the untimely passing of Coltrane, almost sixteen years ago, no similarity charismatic figure has emerged in jazz. What has emerged in recent years, however, is a new crop ofbrilliant young players with their feet firmly planted in the jazz tradition - as far back as bebop, at least - who seem equipped to carry on in the footsteps of the giants, and per­ haps, at some point in the future, to take the music into new and hitherto unexplored directions. To put it in another Photo by David Sommer The Selmer Company way: today's most gifted young musicians seem to be ready to learn from the past rather than seeking to rebel against it, Post Office Box 310· Elkhart. Indiana 46515·219·522·1675 something that might well be necessary after so many years of innovation and restless experimentation. All this is not to say that the millenium is at hand. To those of us who believe that jazz is the most significant and These attitudes of course reflect themselves among lis­ fascinating music created in the 20th Century, there is still a teners as well, and it is my impression that today's young long way to go before the music will have reached its right­ audience for jazz is a much more open-minded one than the ful place in the scheme of things, and the remaining vestiges highly partisan and sectarian ones of the past, when fol­ of cultural and social prejudice will have been overcome. lowers of particular styles seemed more interested in ar­ guing with each other than in converting the uninitiated. And fortunately, talented musicians seem increasingly less (continued on page 25) inclined to waste their time (and ours) with attempts to make jazz more acceptable in the marketplace by trying to merge it with rock and othersaleable musical commodities. 4 5 Archives of the University of Notre Dame of their regional festivals, but Notre Dame refused, maintaining that "our in­ terests as well as those of our par­ DO IT! DO IT! DO IT! ticipants would best be served by remaining an independent leader in col­ A History Notre Dame legiate jazz." In 1967, the spirit of com­ ofthe petition was deemphasized and the event became more of a true festival, at Col egiateJazz Festival which bands from across the country could display their talent. Particularly outstanding performances were still recognized, however. by 1967 also marked a change in the judging staff. Previously, CJF judges had been primarily critics or instructors; in Bob Weber 1967 a trend began in which more per­ formers were chosen to be judges. The now-famous "judges' jam," in which the evidenced by their willingness to serve McNeely, among others. judges get a chance to display their April 15 and 16 will mark an event Frank Holzfiend, owner of the Blue the span of a few short years, the ul­ as judges for the Festival.