Ray Anderson, called "the best trombone player on the planet," by Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble director Don Glasgo, will perform with his quartet this Saturday at 8 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium.
Anderson's technique has been described as prodigious and his sound an exploration in multiphonics. For the first half of the concert, Anderson will join the Coast ensemble playing his own compositions.
The second half will feature his own quartet, featuring Anderson (vocals, trombone), Steve Salerno (guitar), Kenny Davis (bass) and Pheeroan akLaff (drums).
Glasgo, a trombonist with the Cosmic Krewe, has adapted a unique approach for directing the Coast.
He believes in the importance of humor, spontaneit and, most importantly, providing a positive musical atmosphere for the band members. Essentially, he distills the basic element of jazz spontaneity, and incorporates it into the rehearsals and performances.
"I don't believe that you can suddenly ask a student musician to turn on a switch and be suddenly open and alive and spontaneous when he or she plays a solo at Letter B without allowing, encouraging, a certain amount of openness, spontaneity and vitality in the atmosphere of the rehearsal," he said.
He tries to maintain a sense of humor in the band-members and it shows through in concerts like "The Tribute to Sun Ra."
The band also maintains a reservoir of talent, featuring outsanding student musicians like vocalist Tanielle McBain '96, saxophonists Kirk Miller '94and Rick Moss, trumpeters Laura Iwan '93 and Kazu Munakata '96, pianist Luis Scheker '95 and drummer Sean Paley '94.
The type of music the Coast plays varies from concert to concert. For the most part, the African-American jazz tradition is reflected in their style as well as choice of compositions.
The Fall term, for example, was dedicated entirely to the music of Sun Ra. Glasgo has also written about 40 original compositions and/or arrangements for the Coast since he became the ensemble's director in 1975.
For the concert with Ray Anderson, the Coast will play a diverse array of tunes, ranging from the Latin composer Tito Puente's "Ran Kan Kan" to legendary bassist Charles Mingus' "Haitian Fight Song", and Sy Oliver's "For Dancer's Only."
Anderson's compositions, which reflect his wide musical taste, will also be a part of next Saturday's program.
Anderson's musical influences include famous jazzmen like Duke Ellington and John Coltrane as well as rock/soul stars like Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone.
Tickets for the Winter Carnival concert are available at the Hopkins Center box office. They cost $10.50 for reserved seats and $5.50 for Dartmouth students.
