Word: debutanted
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With its relentless banality and gritty despair, director Lee Tamahori's debut film marches on with a mission irrespective of effete artistic considerations. There is no elegant dialogue or complex scene sequencing. Emotions come from the gut, unconscious of reason or purpose. The characters only know that life is rotten to the core, and that only good people can make it seem any better. It's just that simple; it's movie making by people who understand what destitute Maori relate to, and for precisely this reason, "Warriors" has been a smashing success...
...class prejudice than to call for change. But Tamahori, who is himself descended in part from the Maori, took the gamble and won. Maori have not only been willing to see this blunt and brutal portrait of themselves, it has been Maori, over whelmingly, who have made Tamahori's debut film the best selling film in New Zealand history, surpassing even "The Piano" and "Jurassic Park" at the box office...
...bassist Christian McBride has developed a strong but unobtrusive rhythmic style that has made him a ubiquitous musical presence. Although he's only 22, he has played on some 70 recordings and has toured with the top soloists, most recently saxophone wunderkind Joshua Redman. Now McBride's solo debut, Gettin' to It, should establish him as more than just a hotshot accompanist...
...songs which Rancid played from their self-titled debut album were on the whole less successful and less memorable. One of the best tunes of the evening, however, was "I Wanna Riot" which is currently only available on an Epitaph compilation CD, and as the b-side to "Roots Radical." A slow ska tune, "I Wanna Riot" came as a welcome relief to the slamming intensity of the rest of the show. The amazing thing was that the audience seemed to need it more than the band, which exhibited no signs of fatigue, even after racing through song after song...
...acoustics are a marvel. The room is a long triangle with the stage at the apex, and there isn't a dead spot anywhere. "It's like playing inside a great horn," says piano veteran Tommy Flanagan. To Jacky Terrasson, a fast-rising young pianist who made his Vanguard debut three years ago, what's important is "the vibes-all your heroes have been there before, and you get this incredible energy." Not even a jazz immortal like Sonny Rollins is immune to the aura. "You feel the history-it's spiritual," he says. And for Bobby Hutcherson, the brilliant...