Wednesday, April 24, 1991 - North Shore News - 23

Appleyard-Koffman promises good vibes

ANS OF heated-up swing or mellowed-down cool
jazz have an easy entertainment choice to make this

week,

The Moe Koffman Quintet with
guest artist Peter Appleyard will be
at the Centennial Theatre, 8 p.m.
Friday April 26 and Saturday April
27

The Koffman quintet includes
keyboard player Bernie Senesky,
guitarist Ed Bickert, bassist Patrick
Collins and drummer Barry Elmes.

‘While alto saxophonist-flutist
Koffman refined his swing style as
a teen sax prodigy in the Jimmy
Dorsey and Charlie Barnet big
bands, vibraphonist Appleyard hit
the big time during an eight-year
gig with the Benny Goodman Sex-
tet.

Music Now recently connected
with mallet-master Appleyard in
Stoney Plain, Alberta.

Music Now: Who did you look

to for inspiration when you
became a vibraphonist?
Appleyard: “t think my primary
inspiration was Lionel Hampton. It
was through listening to the Benny
Goodman sextet that | was en-
thralled with the timbre of the

Michael Becker
RECORD REVIEW

vibraphone. And | managed to
find one in those early years at an
airforce camp !| was playing at
when I was a kid.

“| was a drummer end this guy
had these vibes — he was playing
guitar with one hand and the vibes
with another, He had a Spanish
guitar and in the sound hole he
had put 2, electric motor with a
huge wheel on it filled with plec-
trums and they were going ‘brrr-
rrr’ on one note and he'd slide a
Zippo lighter up and down one

Popular kids’ event
goes African in 1991

From page 22

“‘because t loved it, and then, it
needed nurturing.”

The purpose of the Vancouver
Children’s Festival, he says, was to
provide kids with quality, non-
exploitive entertainment in an in-
teresting environment.

“L wish | could say that | had
an articulated vision of it then, but
| didn’t. All | can say is that!
believed there was a vacuum, that
kids weren't getting the right stuff,
that they weren’t being challenged
— they still aren't, largely because
their parents don’t want it,’ he
says.

“Anyone can bring in The
Smurfs and fill a tent and exploit
kids and their parents to make a
buck, but that hasri’t been our in-
tent.”

Under Fladell, the festival grew
each year — tents became over-

crowded and cperating costs
soared — forcing organizers to
pare it back to a more manageable
size.

This year a smaller and more
focused festival has chosen Africa
as its theme. There’l! be African
storytellers, an a cappella group
from Zimbabwe and African
heritage family stage shows mixed
in with other children’s enter-
tainers such as the ever-popular
Charlotte Diamond, Fred Penner
and Norman Foote.

An optimistic Fladell says he
never thought for one minute that
there wouldn’t be a children’s fes-
tival next year, but he says its
future will change to include more
touring and more programming
during the year.

And it may have to do it without
Fladell, because he plans to slowly
step down from his involvement,
beginning next year.

Fickets available at ali
TM pam”, outlets or
charge by phone

280- 4444

with specteal guest

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Her new aineh allman enhebes tha tow # a
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ment —
drummer.”
Music Now: Is the progression
from drums to vibes, which
you share with Lionel Hampton
(who preceded Appleyard as a
vibe player with Benny Good-
man), a natural progression for
most vibe players?

Appleyard: ‘

in those

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string and play chords on the

vibraphone with one hand — it
was pretty weird. Anyway,i conn-
ed him into sellin

ays | was a

me his instru-

‘There have been a
few — Victor Feldman was one —
he was a child prodigy. When he
was five years old he played with
the Glen Miller Band as a drum-
mer. There are a few of us, but not
too many. It’s a natural in a way
because if you are a percussionist,
you really should play all those in-
struments like xylophone and
marimba.”
Music Now: Do you prefer
playing in the big band format
or with a smaller unit?
Appleyard: “I must admit 1 love

playing with the big band on stage

— to get that band behind you is
so exciting. But on th? other hand
there's nothing like if you've got a
good rhythm section when you're
doing a quintet kind of thing. You
do get a chance to play more. And
that’s one of the fortunate things
when | was with Benny.

“twas with him when he was
mainly fronting the sextet — the
septet with Zoot Sims (1972 to
1980). That was delightful because
you got a chance really to play
with him. With a small group you
heard a lot more Goodman and |
got really close to him musically.
And socially we had a good refa-
tianship.”

Music Now: Was playing with
Goodman the high point for
you?

Appleyard: ‘‘t would say so. To
work with a person who was so
revered internationally and to
travel the international circuit...
You can imagine how | felt. It was
through listening to him that | real-

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a

ly started to play. He gave the
vibraphone a profile by hiring
Lionel Hampton.

“It was a radical move because
they didn't have black and white
musicians playing together. ”
Music Now: De you have a
signature song?

Appleyard: ‘‘Yes | do. 1 was born
in England and when | put my
group together my father was still
alive. In his time, and during the
big band era, each band had a
theme. Anyway, my father said
why don’t you choose the Lin-
colnshire Poacher.

“It was basically an old English
folk song used at that time by the
Lincolnshire regiment. It was their

march-past. It was very catchy and
so f thought, good idea. | have us-
ed that for many years as a theme.”

aa eee
Tickets to the Moe Koffman and
Peter Appleyard concert are avail-
able at the Centennial Theatre
Centre box office (2300 Lonsdale
Ave.) or by phoning 984-4484.

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