Author: rakemag

If it’s possible to credit the last three years’ resurgence of the movie musical to one person, it has to be the late Bob Fosse. His highly physical, breathlessly sexualized choreography has influenced nearly all the genre’s post-millennial successes—most obviously last year’s Oscar-winning Chicago. Fosse also directed two of the last great musicals before the genre completely collapsed in the 1980s, and both are out this month on DVD: Cabaret, the 1972 celebration of Weimar decadence, and 1979’s All That Jazz, his brilliant if overlong self-epitaph. The odd one out in this bunch is Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 Moulin Rouge, a huge popular success that proved musicals could still be palatable to today’s audiences. We found it unwatchable, sorry to say—terminally shallow and giddy as laughing gas. But we’re convinced of Luhrmann’s talent (check out his debut, Strictly Ballroom), and if he can dial it down a notch, next time he could be the director who finally outfoxes Fosse.

Do we really need to try to convince you on this one? If you’re building a DVD library and don’t plan on including Casablanca, there’s just plain something wrong with you. This double-disc edition includes 10 minutes of newly discovered deleted scenes, plus a couple of choice bits of nearly forgotten Casablanciana—a radiodrama adaptation, the premiere episode of the short-lived 1955 TV spinoff, and Bugs Bunny’s rascally remake, “Carrotblanca.” And, shifting subjects a bit, the bad rumors are apparently true that Ben Affleck and J.Lo are actively pursuing a remake. This just makes us feel sorry for them. Really, how dumb could they be to set themselves up against the original? If that film leaves the ground and they’re on it, they’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of their lives.

In her time a bigger gospel star than even Mahalia Jackson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe was possessed of a terrific voice and, most significant, a bluesified guitar style that helped her become the first major crossover from African-American church music to secular songs. A clear influence on the Chicago electric blues of the 1950s, she’s also sometimes cited as one of the earliest to incorporate a rock ‘n’ roll riff into her ax work—15 full years before Chuck Berry. Not too shabby. The tribute Shout, Sister, Shout! lets loose some of the current era’s most prominent female singers on the Rosetta songbook, resulting in a near-flawless blend of faithfulness and reinterpretation. High points include a superb version of “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” by Joan Osborne and Odetta’s slightly loopy take on the spiritual “Two Little Fishes and Five Loaves of Bread.” During Rosetta’s life, her gospel-blues blend infuriated her core audience and nearly wrecked her career—60 years later, her granddaughters have no problem singing out simultaneously to both heaven and earth.

Dean and Gene Ween, aka Mickey Melchiondo and Aaron Freeman, operate in a zone bounded by stoner novelty songs, Frank Zappa, and Captain Beefheart—never taking themselves a bit seriously, but with genuine chops and the ability to project total sincerity whether they’re playing Prince-style funk, 70s soft rock, country, or some strange concoction best fit for the Dr. Demento radio show. 2000’s White Pepper was a step toward a mainstream rock sound—listenable but not really anything exceptional. If that was an attempt to broaden their audience it didn’t work; in fact, Elektra dropped them from the record label. Their ninth disc, Quebec, is edgier and more psychedelic, which is the way it should be. Like the title’s namesake province, the Ween boys speak a language different from everything that surrounds them.

It certainly seems as though the local jazz scene’s center of gravity is shifting west, what with the Dakota’s reported plan to relocate to Minneapolis in the fall, and this brand-new club on Ninth and Marquette. (St. Paul, never fear, will still have the AQ and its own new blood, Brilliant Corners.) The Blue Star Room makes its bid for major-player status by snaring Connick, who’s still cranking out high-quality music despite his Hollywood success. His new disc, Other Hours, consists of material he wrote originally for a flopped Broadway show, Thou Shalt Not. Be aware that both CD and live show are instrumental-only—which shouldn’t be too much of a deterrent given his skill on piano. Fans of his acting, you can wait for the new TV season, when he returns on Will & Grace. Rossi’s, 90 S. Ninth St., (612) 312-2828, http://www.bluestarjazz.com

Steely Dan fell out of favor in the 80s and 90s, especially at the peak of alt-rock’s conquest. Jazzy pop-rockers Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were seen for what they apparently were: Studio mercenaries who worked their magic in velour control rooms. Besides, they were effectively retired. Remember, there actually was a time when rock stars gracefully left the stage after a long run of success, desperately hoping not to be made fun of or resurrected for purposes of lucrative self-parody. But their core fans knew all along that this was one of the great, subversive pop duos of the 70s. Now, perhaps, is the biggest surprise of all: The Dan is back for all the right reasons—writing interesting new material, recording important new albums, and finally exploding the myth that they were bloodless studio hacks by simply taking the stage. 199 W. Kellogg Blvd., (651) 726-8240, http://www.xcelenergycenter.com

Tedeschi’s breakthrough came with her sophomore disc, Just Won’t Burn, which despite the title caught fire with blues fans, prompting numerous Bonnie Raitt comparisons and a Grammy nod in 2000. The followup, last year’s Wait for Me, picked up another nomination and, more important, showed significant improvement in her arrangements, adding a healthy touch of soul, pop, and old-school R&B. Tedeschi never strays far from her roadhouse roots—for better or worse, her growly, no-nonsense vocal delivery has its limits and works best on belting the blues. But she’s kept getting better year after year, and we’re guessing she hasn’t yet hit her peak. O’Shaughnessy, 2004 Randolph Ave., St. Paul, (651) 690-6700, http://www.stkate.edu/oshaughnessy

The exciting thing about a night of works in progress is that you never know what you’re going to get, and it’s possible that the performers might not quite know either. The downside to that—well, it’s obvious, but the risk is worthwhile. 3 Legged Race’s fifth annual Blizzard invites five groups of artists from around the country to spend two weeks in development at the theater before strutting their stuff onstage. This year features new pieces combining dance and movement with video, clowning, aerialism, and even, we’re told, “bunny suits.” Sounds intriguing. And so does the aerial duet between James Sewell Ballet regular Sally Rousse and Homer Avila, a New York dancer who’s continued to produce new work despite losing a leg to cancer two years ago. Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., (612) 340-1725, http://www.southerntheater.org, http://www.3leggedrace.org