European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse He did it first and does it Best by Michael Moran associated Pressl is Paul sat on a Stool at a basement jazz club in new York s lower East Side the fingers of his left hand cascading Down the neck of his guitar in soft precise Steps. At 73, the greatness of his guitar still draws laughs sighs and applause from audiences at fat tuesday s. For the past four years he and his three piece group have been playing clubs performing the same Mellow standards Paul has done for decades. Some of them via con Dios How High the Moon were songs made famous during his Long partnership with his sex wife the late Singer Mary Ford from whom he was divorced in 1962. Younger musical stars such As led Zeppelin s Jimmy Page dire Strait s Mark Knopfler and dutch guitarist Eddie Van Halen come to tribute and sit in with a musician who did it first and who Many believe still does it Best. In my lifetime the guitar has t changed enough to put in your hat Paul said picking an imaginary guitar. Whether you re Segovia or Van Halen you can t do anything unless you can do it Paul a musician composer designer and inventor is the acknowledged father of electronic music. In 1937, he became the first major artist to play electric guitar when the 65 members of Fred Waring s pennsylvanians big band voted unanimously to let Paul play his amplified contraption. Suddenly it was recognized that Power was a very important part of music he said in an interview. To have the dynamics to have the Way of expressing yourself beyond the Normal limits of an a amplified instrument was incredible. Today a Guy would t think of singing a song on a stage without a microphone and a sound system. But today there Are a lot of parents who blame Les Paul for All the Racket going on in their basement he said with a smile a reference to the thousands of teen agers whose love affair with the guitar is expressed in decibels. For seven years in the 1950s, Paul and Ford broadcast a to show from their Home in Mahwah n.j., which the listerine co. Sponsor of the show bought for the couple to get them to move to new Jersey from California. It was with Ford that Paul developed two track recording known today As dubbing a process that revolutionized recording in the 1940s and is the Backbone of studio work today. The guitar that bears his name the Les Paul is a legend in its own right made by the Gibson co. Of Nashville. The list of Rock and fusion jazz musicians who choose to play it reads like a who s who of modern popular music blues master . King Pete Townshend of the who Steve Howe of yes jazz great al Dimeola led Zeppelin s Page and Paul Mccartney who with Paul s help designed his own custom version of the guitar. In turn two generations of aspiring guitarists have saved their Money for Les Pauls. The most popular Model today Sells for Between $800 and $900. It is the Les Paul s bigger fatter sound that attracted musicians Back in the late 1950s, when the first of the classically inspired guitars was produced. The Les Paul s innovation was the use of two double coiled pick ups that reduced the twang of other guitars and gave the musician a broader Range of sounds As they changed the tone or volume on each pick up. Paul Jernigan Gibson s marketing director said sales figures for the guitar Are kept confidential but the 12 Les Paul models continue to grow in popularity and the company now has six months Worth of Back orders. The instrument s main Competition for nearly two decades has been the fender strato Caster a lighter guitar with a dramatic folded body. The strato Caster or Strat As it is commonly known has its own claim on guitar aristocracy Jimi Hendrix played a Strat and burned several on stage Eric Clapton and Robin Trower both prefer the fenders. Ironically Paul said most kids these Days know what a Les Paul is but not who he is. He also has mixed feelings not Les Paul the father of electronic music was the first major artist to play electric guitar. He also developed two track recording known today As dubbing. About today s Rock n Roll and the Way his guitar is now being used. He hates distortion and electronic gimmicks. They re just ways of hiding what the guitarist can t do with these he said wiggling his fingers. The first Rock stuff i mean in the Early 60s, it was bad bad singers bad players bad everything. But they went from three chords on guitar and by 1988 we now have some fantastic musicians in All Fields. There Are some kids who can go into a music store and pick up a guitar today and play anything it s but one thing Paul has not done is Stop learning. Gibson has agreed to Market a super guitar he is now designing which he said would sell for nearly $35,000. He also is expecting a visit from Mccartney at fat tuesday s for a performance though a Date has not been set. You can do anything in music As Long As you can think it up he said. That s a very exciting tuning into endangered instruments by Leslie Lloyd associated press now anyone who plays the euphonium when was the last time you picked up your Bassoon and blew a bouncy tune the euphonium a brass wind instrument with a Mellow tone and the Bassoon a woodwind instrument with a Long curved Stem Are among some less popular instruments some musicologists fear May become As endangered As the whooping Crane. In an Effort to reverse this trend the settlement music school in Pennsylvania is encouraging its students to play lesser known instruments. Robert Capanna the executive director of the school said the number of students playing such endangered instruments As the euphonium Bassoon cello double Bass Harp oboe trombone tuba Viola French Horn and Organ is declining. He is concerned about the trend and said he wonders what the professional implications could be if it is not changed. Capanna noted there is intense Competition for positions in orchestras. However if More interest in some instruments is not developed that Competition could Wane. Ronald Demkee associate conductor of the Allentown pa., symphony and the orchestra director at Freedom High school in Bethlehem pa., said the Quality of the performers is still High but there could be concern if fewer people study some instruments. The people that Are auditioning seem to be More prepared than Ever he said. However the number of Bassoon players at the High school for example has dropped from five to one Over the last several years. Schools across the country Are reporting the same trend As the settlement school Capanna said. He attributed the swing in interest to cuts in school music programs. Kids at an Early age Are not getting that exposure of different instruments he explained. Settlement offers a class called meet the instruments of the orchestra and provides scholarships for students to play such endangered instruments As the euphonium a Tenor tuba. Kids who Are interested in music have a narrow Frame of interest Capanna said adding that piano and violin Are by far the most popular instruments being studied. We want to make kids aware that there Are other piano students Are now encouraged to also take up the Organ and violinists Are also steered toward learning How to play the Viola. Settlement sponsored a program in which it distributed 120,000 comic books and tapes to schoolchildren called Quadras and friends musical journey. The books and tapes attempted to make children aware of How music touches their lives and How they can become involved in music if they have the desire. The school of 6,000 students aged 3 to adult is the largest Community arts school in the nation. It was founded 80 years ago. The executive director said the enrolment has changed Over the last decade. Ten years ago Capanna said 25 percent of the students played wind and brass instruments the typical band instruments such As clarinet flute trumpet and the endangered instruments. Now he said 13 percent of the enrolment Are studying those instruments. He estimated that another 50 percent of the students Are playing the piano and the remainder Are studying voice or playing string instruments mainly the violin. In the Long run it will level out Demkee said noting that some students will change Over to the More needed instruments. Monday August 1, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 17
