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r ■ THFY SAID IT rniVTAfT TTQ v iiij-ji OriiJJii 'UiVi 11 U i 1 ^ WAYLON JENNINGS: “I’ve always felt Story ideas? Questions? Comments? that blues, rock ‘n’ roll and country E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com * are just about a beat apart.” 100 years after its ‘discovery ’ at a Mississippi train station, blues music is still going strong. Columbia’s 9th-annual Blues Festival celebrates the storied genre PHOTO COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Before B.B. King wowed crowds as a standout blues musician, he recorded advertising jingles and worked as a radio station DJ. King is one of the many artists whose contribution to American music is being celebrated in 2003. • BY MEG MOORE TllBliAMECOCK The music genre has attracted the attention of “Gangs of New York” producer Martin Scorsese — blues music was the topic of his documentary that aired this week on PBS. The style’s most celebrated per formers have become recognizable names in American pop culture, from B.B. King to Muddy Waters. Why has there been so much hul labaloo lately concerning the blues? In a supreme expression of mu sic appreciation, the U.S. Congress dedicated 2003 as “The Year of the Blues.” Rock might have made its • comeback, and bluegrass might be all the rage, but blues music has officially taken precedence this year. A Senate resolution described the genre as “the most influential form of American roots music,” noting blues music’s impact on the formation of popular styles such as rock and country. Yet to many Americans, the blues remains an obscure style of song rarely mentioned in conver sation and actually listened to even less. It is simply categorized as the genre perpetuated by B.B. King and buried in the back of mu sical memory. Blues was first “discovered” by W.C. Handy, who heard the emo tive style of music in a Mississippi train station. Ever since, it has im pacted and evidenced its influence in the work of countless artists over the past century. Handy was nicknamed “Father of the Blues” for his work in com posing the first blues-music manuscript, which allowed the in • novative style to be played and adapted by artists around the country. Since Handy’s chance discov ery 100 years ago, American mu sic has been defined by and has built upon the blues formula, from rock ‘n’ roll to R&B. Celebrating this milestone year in music, area artists and blues lis teners will gather for the ninth-an nual Columbia Blues Festival this weekend at M.L.K. Park in Five Points. Organized by Word of Mouth Productions, a local nonprofit cor poration dedicated to diversifying the livemusic scene, the event brings an impressive lineup of acts, many locally grown, to the outdoor stage. Scheduled acts include Drink Small, a South Carolina native and 1999 inductee into the South Carolina Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Nicknamed “the blues doctor,” Small will make his fifth appearance at the festival, having headlined in the event’s in augural year. Small’s musical talent has tak en him from his rural hometown of Bishopville, S.C., to the stage at such storied events as the World’s Fair. Cool John Ferguson, another South Carolina-born bluesman, has been performing profession ally since age 5, accompanying his gospel-singing sisters on guitar early in his career and recently playing on a pop recording'with his niece Esperanza. Ferguson’s lifelong immersion in music has allowed him to play with a variety of artists and per form an assortment of musical styles. Juxtaposing the old with the new, the Columbia Blues Festival will include performances from seasoned artists such as Small and Ferguson as well as sets from up and-coming musicians. One such newcomer is Richard Johnson, a Houston born performer who has helped invigorate in newer artists an in terest in the fusion of country, rock and blues. Johnson released his debut solo album in 2002. On several of the album’s tracks, as well as during his live show, he plays the drums with his feet while simultaneously working another instrument with his hands. Also taking the stage this week end is Big Bill Morganfield, the son of music royalty. His father, McKinley Morganfield, was the famed Muddy Waters. His festival appearance' comes on the heels of his latest album, aptly titled “Blues in the Blood,” which was released Sept. 22. The Rev. Marv Ward will open Saturday’s festivities at noon with his R&B-infused tunes. Small, Ferguson, Johnston and Morganfield will follow. The festi val will close with a set from Lonnie Brooks, who has headlined the Chicago Blues Festival and played with Eric Clapton. With such an impressive list of performers, the Columbia Blues Festival will expose area residents to the heart, soul and sound of blues music. After all, 2003 is indeed “The Year of the Blues.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW Costello sleepily heads ‘North ’ “NORTH” Elvis Costello ★★ out of ☆☆☆☆& BY BEN ANGSTADT THE GAMECOCK Elvis Costello is certainly a man who has made an exciting name for himself. For decades, he’s been creating rock music that has made him a staple for the fans of his distinctive, origi nal sound. But first-time listeners to M , Costello’s latest album, “North,” W could easily come away never knowing he’s ever sung anything close to rock music. In a surpris ing move, the entire work is a collection of somber, mellow jazz tracks. Of course, Costello has made similar music in the past. His compilations with Burt Bacarrach and his 2001 release “For the Stars,” with Sophie Vonotter, have all embraced a jazzy approach. But considering that his most recent solo release’“When I Was Cruel,” went in a strictly different album now seems like a non sequitur. Costello has described his lat est album in an interesting way. According to the album’s theory, when things go bad in life, they go south. As he puts it, the title, “North,” is meant to represent the opposite of that phrase. Surely he has much to be hap py about', including—and most relevantly—his engagement to jazz musician Diana Krall. Unfortunately, this has left his listeners with a sappy, 11 track love letter to Krall; mak ing all of the songs sound simi lar at best. After a few minutes of “North,” song changes be come almost indistinguishable, save a few bright spots of inno vation scattered throughout the album. More importantly, the straight-up,jazzy sound ulti mately doesn’t work for Costello. Despite his years in the music industry, Costello does not necessarily possess the type of singing voice that should be the sole, featured ele ment on an album — but his vo cals are exactly what “North” emphasizes. In a way, it seems like he just lifted Krall’s smooth jazz style and transplanted it onto an im petuously released record. The album does not begin with a bang, but instead it opens with a symphonic whimper. By the time the orchestrated violins that open the first track, “You Left Me in the Dark,” have fin ished playing, “North’: is already making the listener’s eyelids feel the opening song does little more to cure this bout of Costello-in duced narcolepsy. Ironically, when the third track — “When Did I Stop Dreaming?” — rears its head, the vast majority of “North” listen ers are probably immersed in a dream even as the song plays. “Fallen” and “When It Sings” fol low and do little to change or even excite the painfully dreary tone. Thankfully, the album is stirred awake with “Still,” whose melody actually resembles some thing that Costello would have written in the past. It is jazzy as well, but the glimmer of Costello’s previously distinctive style keeps it from emitting the same tired sound as its musical company. Sadly, at a pitiful two minutes and 24 seconds, this brief flirta tion of consciousness is fleeting to say the least. It ultimately does little to shake the listener from the rest of the album’s malaise. Four more tracks come and go, and “North” ends, leaving lit tle satisfaction and a lot of ques tions — questions that mainly concern exactly which direction Costello’s next album will take. It seemis that “North” is noth ing more than a listener-subsi dized love note that accom plishes nothing more than one good song. Well, not unless it en ters the market as a cheap al ternative to prescription sleep aids. Comments on this story?E-mail ‘Urban Realism’ visits Columbia art museum BY HILARY SCHRAMM THE HAMMOCK The Columbia Museum of Art on Saturday will open its new ex hibition, “Edward Hopper and Urban Realism.” Traveling from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the show dis plays influential works from an important transitional period in American art. The exhibition focuses on many of the major works of Edward Hopper’s early career. As one of the most important American artists of the 20th century, Hopper used soft brushstrokes and solid, bold fields of color to portray scenes of modern city life. Importantly, Hopper focused on individuals, often leaving the viewer with the feeling of isolation that he used to describe life in his society. Hopper was joined in the early 20th century by American realists known collectively as the Ashcan School. These artists abandoned the natural Western landscapes that had formerly captivated au diences and instead took inspira tion from the gritty urban scenes found in their everyday lives. Known for their socially conscious themes and aesthetic renderings of the constant change within the city, they combined the soft edges and hard themes of impression ism with the realist tradition of American art. Works by Ashcan artists such as Robert Henri, John Sloan, PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK “Queensborough Bridge” by Edward Hopper is one of the works that will be featured at the Columbia Museum of Art. and George Bellows round out this exhibit as complements to Hopper’s works, exemplifying the many approaches used to describe and glorify the American city. The exhibition represents some of the strongest works of Ashcan artists, and is also unique because of the rarity of Hopper’s early paintings. It also portrays an important turning point in American art. While these artists kept the classi cal realist style of previous gener ations, they created a new genre that mirrored and even celebrated American ideals and modernity. Throughout the course of the show, the museum will offer many related programs and events. These include a “Gallery vfalk” to morrow at 2 p.m. with Evelyn C. Hankins, assistant curator of pre war art and special projects at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The exhibition also features lec tures by USC professors Brad Collins and Dan Streible. Collins, an art-history professor, will speak October 24 at 7 p.m. about the Ashcan School. Streible, a pro fessor of film studies, will speak on “The Ashcan School at the Movies” in January. Admission to the museum, which is located downtown at Main and Hampton streets, is $2 for students Wednesday through Friday and on Sunday. Admission is free on Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. _il_ Comments on this story?E-mail samecockmixeditorCaj,hotmail.com