JAZZTZ MAR/APR t 984 KIP HANRAHAN chant for Sonny Rollins-type locutions, holds a tropical seance with the spirit of the late DESIREDEVELOPS AN EDGE - lenorman Ben Wcbster. Arto Lindsay, a American Clave' 1009 minimalist guitarist and avant-rocker who Two (Srill ln Half LighQ; Early Fall; Velas- plays the electric guitar like a pcrcussion in- quez: (Don't Complicate) The Life; The Edge strument, scratches and scrapes away while You Always Lovcd ln Mc: Sara Wade; Far Ti' Plume, a Haitian guitarist. spins a lat- From Freelown; All Us Working Class Boys: ticework of gossamer lincs. Thesc are but a Child Song; Trust Me Yet?; Nancy (The few of the cunning. improvised connectives Silence FocusesOn You-..); Desire Develops that make Desire an epochal album. An Edge: What ls This Dancc, AnYwaY?: Whereas Cuban bata rhythms providc the Meaning A Visa; Nocturnal Heart; Her improvisatory thrust and what Hanrahan 'de Boyfriend AssessesHis Value And Pleads His calls "the center of gravity" on Coup Case; Jack and The Goldcn Palominos Tete, Haitian percussion dominates Desire. The rhythms are every bit as essentialas the PERSONNEL: Jack Bruce, electric bass and horns and guitars; no instrurnent or group of vocals; Ricky Ford and John Stubblefield. instruments is subordinated to another, just tenor sax; Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Steve as no one genre of music - jau, punk'rock, Swallow, electric bass: Arto Lindiay, Elysee ovont-gorde. Caribbean oppresses Pyronneau and Ti' Plume Ricardo Franck, another. The emphasisvaries, of course. but electric guitars; Ignaccio Berroa and Anton the production is devoid of instrumental clut- Fier, trap drums; Kip Hanrahan, Puntilla ter and surface noise: Each instrument is ac- Orlando Rios, Milton Cardona, Frisner corded the spaceit needs. Bruce, a comman- Augustine, Olufemi Claudette Mitchell and ding vocalist, cvincgsa surety on the ballads Jerry Gonzalez, percussion: John Zorn. alto that is every bit as convincing as his abandon sax; others on the upbeat numbers. That's no small ac- ***** complishment when one lcarns that he cut his percussion Even for the most like-minded group of vocal tracks alongsidethe Haitian musicians,the recordingstudio is sometimcs battery. an incompatible, exlra "instrument." At its Hanrahan uses echo to his advantagc in best, the studio spurs interaction; al its \A'orst, certain spots. sometimesrctaining the echo or it retards it. For a musician-producer like Kip aura of the saxophone, for example, and Hanrahan, who has the added responsibility replacing the saxophone itself. Acoustic and of running his own independent record com- electric instrumen$ frecly intcrmingle. in a pany, the studio is an even S,rcaterchallenge. senserthe attentive listenercan almost discern For Desire Develops An Edge, this New the aural equivalents of such filmic devices as Yorker's secondsolo album (his first, l98l's cross-cutr fadc, dissolvc and pan. Shadows Coup de Tete, received glowing rcviews), this and light, silence and sound, spacesand faces film-maker-cum-musician, dircctor-cum- these are the things that fascinate producer has brought togethcr a cast of musi- Hanrahan. cians whose sensibilitics, on the surface, Desire demonsl.ralcsthat Hanrahan's vi- would seem utterly incompatiblc. On one sion is clearly in tune with the times. rune, bassist-vocalist Jack Bruce sings in (Available from Rounder, New Music American Clave, French patois over a company of Haitian per- Distribution Scrvice and 10003.) cussionists who spcak little or no English. 2t I E. l3th St., N.-Y..N.Y. - C.k. Saxist Ricky Ford, a tenor playcr with a pen- ***** Excellent **** VeryGood *** Cood * * Fair * Poor.