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Chano, Maugre & Jaber

Chano, Maugre & Jaber image
Parent Issue
Month
February
Year
1997
Copyright
Creative Commons (Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike)
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Agenda Publications
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the relativity of creative individuahty # Ijl wonder how many of y ou were puzzled by an italicized phrase whichappeared B at the end of the first paragraph of last JilW month's "Hot Sauce Sutra" article: Chana pozo! This misprint was a goof which can be traced directly to my handwriting, scrawled as it was in the margin of my editor's printout. Having invoked the spirit of Charlie Parker, I was attempting to cal! in the ghost of Chano Pozo, master percussionist. He was the first person ever to play conga drums with a jazz ensemble. Dizzy Gillespie learned Afro-Cuban rhythms from Chano, and the music is still pulsating on account of their collaboration, which was abruptly terminated in 1948 when Pozo was shot dead over a monetary dispute inside of a bar in Harlem. I have some suggestions for anyone wishing to learn more about this great artist: Read about him in Dizzy' s autobiography, "To BE, or not to BOP," and listen to records they made together. Listen also to Jayne Emotan Oyebola Cortez's tribute: "I See Chano Pozo," on her 1982 Bola Press album: There It Is. In her liner notes, Lady Cortez explains: "The poem speaks of the importance and significance of the drums." Further inquiries should be taken to Dr. Alberto Nacif, whose Cuban Fantasy show airs every Saturday from 1 to 3 pm on WEMU 89. 1 FM. There are elements which artists have in common that make interaction possible between individuals who speak completely different languages. Chano spoke very broken English. When asked how he and Dizzy managedtocomunicatesowell,he replied: "Deehee no peek Pañi, me no peek Angli, bo peek African. " He was talking about the drums specifically. and the music in general. Jazz in particular - the honest miracle we know as Jazz - is a universal communion. There is something, too, which has no name; an artistie forcé to be found in the presence of any individuals who dare to invent their own realities. When two such unusual characters meet up. should they findacommon ground, the result is sure to be a (ly ing alchemy . Perhaps you've met Maurice Greenia, Jr., also known as Maugre. One could cali him the Mad Puppet Poel of Detroit, with his tattered cardboard mini-theatre, hand-held puppets, noise-makers and brilliantly improvised narrations. Behind the Punch 'n' Judy Show there is a deep awareness of the traditions of Dadaist Tomfoolery, even Pre-Dada; back to the notorious Alfred Jarry with his Ubu sensibilities. Antonin Artaud meets Wild Man Fischer. Imagine Maugre in France: Autumn of 1996. Motor City vagabond poet wandering the streets alone and at large. I have in front of me a typewritten, xeroxed stream-of-beingthere account of Maugre's trip to Europe: We go to an art space and I hang out drawing. Have a linie whiskey & nuts. We 're ready to leave when Jaber arrivés. He 's a very good artist, wild, eccentric andaforce unto himself & in some circles a bit of a 'legend': 'JABER LE ROl DE BEAUBOURG. ' There's much excitement upon his arrival. 4 grown men acting the fooi ... 2 worse so ... A wild scène: pantomimes, pig noises, creative mayhem. 1 play music with Jaber. We exchange drawings . . . both ofus drawing fast &free. I play puppet show a bit (several specimens traveled with me) .... (For your own copy of Maugre's Parisian notes, write Maurice Greenia, Jr. at P.O. Box 11381, Detroit, MI 48211.) I wish I had been there on that day when Maugre and Jaber got to play around in the same space. Both speak very broken Frenen, without having any other established dialect in common. Language was surely replaced by something born of the willingness to misbehave. The United Nations needs these guys. Jaber will teach the heads of state to bray like donkeys, while Maugre plays a tiny xylophone. singing in aloud and silly voice the very first thing that pops into his head! Visualize world peace! Act silly! Now, who is this Jaber? Answers: A Tunisian living in Paris. An internationally nized visual artist, whose paintings and drawings instantly convey a rambunctiousness and 701' de vivre which happily proves to be quite contagious. An irrepressible street musician who sings and accompanies himself on the oud, or lute. A rascal of a man and an ageless child who cannot and will not fit into any body ' s categories. Jacques Karamanoukian and I once broadcast a tape recording of Jaber over WCBN 88.3 FM, where such things are allowed on the air. One could hear the Tunisian in the distance, raising his voice in an unintelligible greeting, while the crowd in the street responded with friendly cheers. Gradually, the strumming of the oud became more audible, as he sang and talked and barked! Under the open sky we sing our songs and laugh out loud. Minstrelsy! Later, in Jaber's tiny room, as a prelude to a meal of fresh sardines fried without oil over a camper's stove, Jacques began to nárrate into the hand-held tape recorder: "Yes, well, here we have a young man who appears to actually be some sort of animal!" (Jaber is crawling across the floor on all fours, grunting and snorting like a beast.) "Oh, he looks hungry. Fortunately we have some bread to share with him. Here, eat some of this good American bread, yes, the white bread, yes ..." (Jaber is howling as he snaps up huge wadded mouthfuls of the stuff; we can hear him chewing) "Good boy !" (Jaber rolls on the floor, mewling with contentment). Jaber was born in M'saken, Tunisia, January 5th either 1935 or '38; aCapricorn whose horns are clearly visible to this day. He attended school until the age of eight, whereupon he became a shepherd. Soon he was ing in a bakery. By 1958 he was in Paris, hurling bread into the ovens up and down the Rue des Blancs Manteaux. Befriended the comedian known as Coluche, who ran a Restaurant of the Heart, providing poor people with food. Jaber had a habit of drawing with charcoal on the walls of the bakeries. He sculpted in dough; birds, flowers and fish. These are images which still appear in his work. Big fish eats littlefish. In order to escape the predicament of being a baker, he became a boxer. I was shown a snapshot, possibly forged, of Jaber with Cassius Clay. Paris, 1970: firstexhibitionof Jaber's work, outside in the open air. Since then he has traveled all over the world, singing and painting for all kinds of people. Today his work can be found internationally, in many major art museums. The style is instantly recognizable. One might be reminded of the visions of Mare Chagall by some of these smiling imaginary animáis or impossibly distended staring human faces, boldly brushed in vibrant colors. Jaber's signature is often prominently displayed in juicy strokes. The dates are usually fanciful. It is a game. Ahead of our time. Date the painting far ahead. Or date it to 1960. Old painting. 1630. 1860. 1985.ThevoiceofRobert Desnos: We have eaten too man hysterical fish. Jaber lives day to day, never preoccupied with what is happening on the following day. Beyond linear time. I leave the rest to the voice of Jaber nimself: Avoid dense people. Be wellniannered. Must not be clumsy. You gotta work. A bread - you 've got to share it. You have to have a heart. Ifthere is no heart . . . well ... Look here, 've painted a donkey. The donkey is myfirst car. It 's the carofJesus. And then: The bicycle. A child, he buys himself a hike ... 'm modem ... 'm not very modern . . . Itisdestiny. It's beenarranged ups tai rs. Every 50years there 's something that comes out in a world. It is upstairs which commands. You have an opportunity, this month, to view some of Jaber's most intriguing paintings, drawings and sculptures at Galerie Jacques, 616 Wesley in Ann Arbor (665-9889). Come to the opening Friday, February 7th and hear Faruq Z. Bey's Conspiracy Sound Ensemble. Performance begins at 9:30 pm.

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