Word: cooder
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...should be no surprise that Ry Cooder has come out with one of the year's best records. His easygoing but absolute guitar virtuosity, his witty, always respectful musical curiosity, has established him as a maverick who has set up shop somewhere along the border of pop and folk. No mainstreams for Cooder. He is forever taking off on side trips, turning down dusty country paths to retrieve some old bit of blues or roadhouse folk, sailing off to Hawaii and plucking some sweet melody straight out of the shade...
...Even Cooder's fans may be caught off guard by the direction of Jazz, an unexpected anthology of tunes from Jelly Roll Morton, Bix Beiderbecke, even the great Bahamian guitarist Joseph Spence. As the surprise wears off, though, and the rhythms become less remote, they will hear some of the loveliest, liveliest music in the air. Cooder, with band, gospel quartet and full orchestra, last week performed virtually the entire album at Carnegie Hall...
...Because Cooder goes to strange sources, there is a tendency to think of his records as so many vinyl museums run by a slightly eccentric curator. The crucial point, however, is that Cooder's albums are filled not only with respect for the American musical past but also with an immediate and highly infectious joy. The songs on Jazz may be old, but Cooder really blows the dust off them...
Upcoming 'certs: Jimmy Cliff will have the Charles River to cross when he hits the Orpheum on the 19th of November. The Doobie Brothers and the Alpha Band'll be at the Music Hall November 5--where will you be? Taj and Ry (Mssrs. Mahal and Cooder) will double-boogey into town for a date at the Orpheum on November 14, and Robin Trower will hit the Music Hall on the 18th; that's the night before Jimmy Cliff will be at the Orpheum, in case you forgot. Now Aerosmith, with special guest Rich Derringer, will be featured...
...with Led Zeppelin, complains that "everybody in the business knows a new era has got to come, but they're too busy cashing in on the old one to help it along." Some are helping, either by working their own personal territory (like Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Tom Waits and James Talley) or, like Simon, Dylan, Bruce Springsteen (TIME cover, Oct. 27) or The Band, trying to make their private property public. There are superb performers (like Linda Ronstadt), and wizardry writers (like Jackson Browne) who are learning the tricks of showmanship. But finding spirited new directions for music...