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Show i'i I Blue Notes I Wasif CogasUossmen: Still i Cooking, Still Innovating I I A . , ....1 , If - c; , , periorm8 at Ule Q"artW Note downtown. Trio ETn ummer Nick' Lamkin, bassist Mel Nowell and pianist Don Scaletta. The group plays tonight through June 8 i Mention the- "West Coast c;,,, 4, groups like the Jeife ? a LTsJ" Buffalo Springfield come to ff T Z ' Md tte 1 different kind of West Coas? Sn.'.n J Y &TS ag0' a Led by such stalwarts as Sheiiv Kessel, and John Lewish? wttVs TlTl ; jazz center has been upheld by the Monterfy Jazz , Festival. The pioneers of the old West Coast , have all pretty well settled down - Manne has SheZ's Manne Hole Ray Brown is doing studio work "nd Lewis is coordinating this year's festival at Monterey But there are other musicians who have come to the foreground to maintain the quality West Coast jazz scene - musicians including Albert Ayler Dennv Zeiffin and Don Scaletta. These are the 'SgS West Coast jazzmen - forgotten by all, that is, but those who have heard them. There's an air of innovation in the work they do but because of limited exposure, very few people get to hear what Don Scaletta can do with a 12-ounce glass tumbler (Salt Lake City will be able to, starting tonight to-night and going through June 8 at the Quarter Note) J Originally from Utah, Scaletta is a frequent attraction ! in town and one of the Quarter Note's biggest draws, according to one of the Note's owners, Dave Harrison! I Much of the Scaletta draw comes from his hit of : a few year's ago, "York's Sauna," in which Ted Blondell cooked out with a string bass solo then unprecedented. un-precedented. Initially, one is struck by the hard driving style of the Scaletta trio and the nearly fantastic fan-tastic unity going between pianist Scaletta and his backup men, drummer Nicky Lamkin and bassist Mel Nowell, who joined the trio two years ago, replacing re-placing Blondell. But it's when Scaletta takes out the 12-ounce tumbler tumb-ler that one should anticipate sounds unlike those heard anywhere else. "The tumbler is balanced on the strings, which are then struck, causing some unusual vibrations," Scaletta explained. "We're going for the Eastern type sounds when wo do that working toward the sitar, I guess, without having to change instruments. It's fairly close, but not right on." The sound from the tumbler is something else indeed, possibly even a , new instrumental technique. Scaletta's biggest followings go as far east as Salt Lake City and as far north as Seattle, though most of his dates are in the Sacramento-San Francisco area. The group has cut three records tow for Capitol ("We played 'Capitol style' jazz; it was by a fluke that 'York's Sauna' made it on the first album," ' by Nick Snow den?UalfCf l Wrk is dne at S's Tri- urant SJf v g Underneath the Ondine cut a? a iinl f7e,rVe albUm by the Scaletta fr. t fthe S afternn Session' is a tribute to the Indent's management. nt I? 1Ub dat6' th6re is always one segment of the audience who isn't really there to listen to the music and when the date's being recorded, some kind of attention is a necessity," Scaletta explained "When we were doing 'Sunday Afternoon at the Trident' there were some patrons out front who wouldn't keep quiet. The Trident's manager came up, asked them to be quiet so we could record, and got the stock answer that "we paid, so we oughta be able to talk ' So he gave them their money back and told them to leave. There ought to be more of that in clubs these days." A second in-concert album recorded at the Trident is set for release sometime later this year. Quite a few musicians on the West Coast seem doomed to obsecurity, among them Albert Ayler and Denny Zeitlin, according to Scaletta, "though Ayler appears to be finally getting the recognition he deserves." de-serves." "For my money, Denny Zeitlin is the best pianist around," Scaletta added, "and also, probably, the most underrated outside the West Coast area. Some of the things he's doing are amazing . . . and there are so many people who are not hearing him!" Such is the case for many West Coast musicians, including Scaletta, Nowell, and Lamkin, though a few, ' through festival dates, are gaining some national attention. Zeitlin tore, Monterey up four years ago; as did big band leader Don Ellis in 1966. But for the most part, we can expect, to see the West Coast continue con-tinue to be a quiet influence on the jazz scene long after its rock movement has faded. Chasers: North Texas State University Lab Band director Leon Breedon returns to the University campus cam-pus in August as camp director of the National Stage Band Camp . . . Trombonist Bruce Fowler joins the Woody Herman band for a summer tour in June. Fowler, a former University student, and trumpeter Sal Marques, who will also be touring with Herman, are members of the North Texas State Lab Band . . . Brigham Young University is starting to lay groundwork ground-work for a jazz education program . . . Look for Gerald Wilson on this campus sometime next fall . . . No air dates have been set for the two special programs pro-grams on Near and Far Eastern music with Lloyd Miller ... |