All that jazz

WPI experiments on Highland Street; plus Super Creb and Forced Fed pull the plug

by John O'Neill

Worcester has never had many venues for local groups to try out their chops, and this is especially true for jazz artists. Currently, there isn't a single club that books jazz on a regular basis. But with a little luck (read: a few warm bodies), the Highland Street Jazz Collaboration will change this unfortunate fact.

For the past three weeks, WPI jazz students and Highland Street business owners have experimented with two weekly offerings. On Tuesdays, the WPI Jazz Ensemble blow traditional numbers at Sahara Café (143 Highland), while the Bean Counter (113 Highland) offers the lighter, more-intimate sounds of the WPI Jazz Guitar Trio on Thursday nights.

"I'm excited about it," says Richard Falco, WPI's director of Jazz Studies. "It's really the [students'] idea. We play between 20 to 30 concerts a year [not including Highland Street], but they wanted to expand out on their own. It's a more relaxed environment so they can really stretch."

The Jazz Ensemble are a six-piece group who focus primarily on older standards. Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and various Blue Note artists from the 1960s receive a regular workout; and while the music is diverse, it's also appreciable to the average listener. You need not be a jazz buff to enjoy.

"We focus on more-recognizable songs, but it varies," Falco explains. "We can use this to evangelize and expand people's taste."

Although only in the beginning stages, this experiment has already shown signs of success. Both Sahara owner, Farid Aoude, and Fred Cashman, of the Bean Counter, say crowds have been large.

"It's going very well," says Cashman. "We're pretty close to full, which is about 25 people."

"We've only been doing this a few weeks but intend to continue it for the rest of the academic year," explains Falco. "The music's good, and the intimacy level is great. Both places look like Greenwich Village, which is what we're trying to re-create. You can just hang out and listen."

All performances of the Jazz Ensemble and the Guitar Trio are free and open to the public.

Tammany Club B.O.B.

The Tammany Club will hold its second annual "Battle of the Bands" starting March 4 and continuing every Wednesday night through April. And though "battles" are as common (and meaningful) as shower fungus, this is one that many consider the area's best.

"We've gotten great feedback from most of the bands who took part last year," says Tammany's head honcho, John Maywalt, of the nine-week event. "We only do three bands a night, so each is given an hour and fifteen minutes; so they really have a chance to play a full set. We also use three judges -- audience appeal doesn't count."

There is no cover charge, plenty of audience giveaways, and more than $1000 worth of prizes for the winning band. So it appears everyone will make out at this event.

Although the Tammany Club generally sticks with the classic-rock/jam-type groups, any group interested in strutting their stuff can call Maywalt at 869-6916.

Local buzz

Two of Wormtown's more popular luminaries have called it quits. Super Creb Star Dynomax decided to throw in the towel. Creb Star had built a solid and loyal fan base during their brief tenure and were considered one of Worcester's potential breakout acts. Also, lilies and Latin for Forced Fed Shovelhead, who've also sucked the pipe. They leave us with a six-song CD, a legacy of loud shows, and unconfirmed interest from industry heavies, Interscope Records.

On a happier note, there are rumblings of a possible Actions reunion for a one-off gig sometime in the near future. The Actions were one of the more well-known bands who flew under the Wormtown flag during the early and mid '80s, second in popularity only to the legendary Odds. The Actions (and the Odds, come to think of it) featured guitarist Steve Aquino, now of the Lyres. Aquino reports that the Lyres are on the verge of signing a four-record deal with a large New York-based indie label.

The Free Radicals have material for a full-length release in the can and are putting the finishing touches on what should be an early-summer release. Although Bob and Cathy Peters have been rockin' the city for more than 20 years, this will be their first release of new material since their inclusion on the Wormtown '78 album. Jerry Martin and Jeff Crane (Ballbusters, Surreal McCoys) do the honor of twisting the knobs on this project.