Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 21, 1992 TAG: 9202200153
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
MONDAY NIGHT FARE: A 3-BAND BANQUET
Get ready to party. A three-band musical feast, staged by the traveling New York City club The Knitting Factory, is coming Monday night to Virginia Tech's Squires Student Center.The Knitting Factory, a small club in downtown New York, has become known across the world as a home of new music, jazz, alternative rock, funk and avant-garde sounds that defy categorization. The club has sponsored multiple tours and festivals in Europe and on the West Coast.
These days, it's taking its show on the road with Samm Bennett and Chunk, The Jazz Passengers and The Thomas Chapin Trio.
Electronic percussionist and vocalist Bennett creates tunes with echoes of African drumming, blues, Appalachian folk, hip-hop and a whole lot more that just doesn't have a name. Put all this in a blender and you have a musical brand all its own.
"Chunk sets up intricate, off-center patterns, clanking, jingling, sputtering, often using electronic equivalents of non-Western instruments like log drums or gongs," New York Times critic Jon Pareles wrote.
Besides Bennett, the band has "the dog" on guitar, harmonica and vocals; Sebastian Steinberg on bass and vocals, and Tim Spelios on drums. (The dog is not a canine but a rocker who calls himself one.)
The Jazz Passengers are mainly a performing band, playing exciting, introspective music that is heartfelt but not lofty. Between tunes, band member Roy Nathanson has a penchant for narrative interludes, including jokes, political discussion and talks about his lunch menu.
Alto sax and flute player Thomas Chapin allows his music to flow with ease, giving an edge to his sax tone by attacking his music with limited instruments and succeeding with all kinds of variety. His resume includes stints with blues legend Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Lionel Hampton, the Chico Hamilton Quartet and Machine Gun.
Chapin's trio comprises bassist Mario Pavone and drummer Steve Johns. They give the illusion of being a large band, though they have the ability to return to the intimacy of a traditional acoustic trio.
The show starts at 8 p.m. Monday in Commonwealth Ballroom. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for the public. Call 231-9888.