Blue Turtles: 1985/86

Sting switches successfully from rock to jazz...

With every breath he takes and every move he makes, Sting simply can do no wrong.

The charismatic lead singer of the in-limbo Police has yet to make a wrong turn in an already spectacular career that seems to move in a new direction every time he announces a new project.

His current endeavour is perhaps his most daring, though. After conquering the world of rock'n'roll with a group that liked to take chances with its music, and after earning raves in a variety of movie acting roles, Sting (real name Gordon Matthew Sumner) decided to put together a jazz band and record a brand of music that was decidedly less pop-oriented than even the adventurous Police were used to playing.

It was a move that could have resulted in Sting's first commercial setback since he first led the Police to rock 'n' roll glory in 1979. But when you're hot, you're hot. And the blonde rocker has managed to chalk up another mark in the win column with his crack group of jazz hotshots that include drummer Omar Hakim, bassist Darryl Jones, keyboardist Kenny Kirkland and saxophonist Branford Marsalis.

Their sophisticated brand of music-coupled with the soulful background vocals of Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis - proved to be a winning formula at Reunion Arena Wednesday night as Sting and company dazzled a less-than-capacity crowd of about 15,000 with some impressive musical acrobatics.

The 140-minute performance featured music from Sting's current album with the jazzmen, 'The Dream of the Blue Turtles', along with some old favourites from the Police like the No. 1 hit, 'Every Breath You Take'. "It's not jazz, and it's not rock'n'roll. It's just a nice hybrid we've produced," Sting said before the show in describing his new music.

In reality, the first two hits from the new LP 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' and 'Fortress Around Your Heart' - aren't that far from the basic Police sound. And there was no question that, among Sting's new tunes, those two were the Reunion crowd's favourites.

But the audience paid close attention to the intricacy of other new ones like 'Love Is the Seventh Wave', 'Children's Crusade' and 'Consider Me Gone'. And the crowd really showed its appreciation for the musicians' work with numerous ovations during an exciting 15-minute jam on 'I Burn for You' (from the 'Brimstone & Treacle' soundtrack). 

"What has been really interesting about the audiences on this tour is how broad a cross section of people we've been getting," Sting said. "We do get the young girls who want to come on stage, but we're also getting the aged music fans who come for the music. And we're getting every- thing in between. It's interesting to look out and see the audience looking at each other as much as the band. It's a strange clash. 

"Occasionally, it's hard to do a song like 'Moon Over Bourbon Street', which is quiet. Kids aren't really conditioned to listen at concerts. They're conditioned to joining in with the band. So when they're asked to be quiet and respond in a quiet way to a song, they're kind of embarrassed. They don't know what to do. But, really, most of the noise at our concerts has been made by people telling the loud ones, 'Shut up and sit down.'"

That clash was somewhat evident at Reunion, where the older crowd wanted to sit and enjoy the music in comfort while some of the younger audience wanted to stand up and shout encouragement to Sting. But, for the most part, it appeared that most came to hear the music.

And Sting gave them plenty of that with a total of 21 numbers. And he didn't disappoint those who primarily came to hear some Police classics, offering such hits as 'Message in a Bottle', 'Roxanne', 'Driven to Tears' and 'Demolition Man'. 

"What I'm really trying to say with this new music is that there's more to rock'n'roll than just rock'n'roll," Sting said. "I think rock'n'roll, at its best, is a great mongrel. It steals from other things. And if it doesn't if it just remains static - then it dies.

"All of the jazz players in this band were brought up at a time when they were into rock'n'roll. They're jazz players, but they know about rock'n'roll and they were quite enthusiastic about the idea of experimenting. So we formed the band and made the record. And we've been having a ball ever since."

(c) The Fort Worth Star-Telegram by Roger Kaye

Sting brings all that jazz to Reunion...

Sting's escalating involvement in all things jazz represents not a bored rock star's flight of fancy, but an earnest attempt to break through the traditional confines of rock'n'roll. The Police - with its reggae and jazz undertones - seemed to have the same thing in mind.

Sting brought the idea to fruition on his LP 'The Dream of the Blue Turtles'. He assembled a most impressive line-up of non-rock musicians to assist, and they pulled it off - the album as well as Wednesday's concert at Reunion Arena - with intelligence, restraint and impeccable taste.

Obviously, this was not a rock concert, but an amazingly even-paced two and a half hour set that made certain concessions to rock without compromising the overall jazz flavour of the proceedings.

The band that made it all possible includes, on saxophone and assorted percussion, Branford Marsalis; former Weather Report drummer Omar Hakim; Kenny Kirkland on keyboards; Miles Davis bassist Darryl Jones, and backup singers Janice Pendarvis and Dollette McDonald.

Not surprisingly, the bulk of Wednesday's show came from 'The Dream of the Blue Turtles', beginning with 'Shadows in the Rain'. 'After Consider Me Gone', Sting introduced the bleak 'Children's Crusade' as ''a cheerful song,' but the sound at that point was none too good and the ridiculously heavy bass distracting.

'Love Is the Seventh Wave' materialised as a long jam, and singers Pendarvis and McDonald injected appropriate measures of soul into another downbeat composition, 'We Work the Black Seam'.

'Bring on the Night' - with its more insistent rock rhythms - picked up the pace at exactly the right moment and recalled happy memories of Steely Dan, the eclectic twosome that forged the same jazzy territory in the '70s.

Marsalis then took care of the obligatory band introductions with an entertaining rap bit.

Sting proved to be in fine voice for 'Moon Over Bourbon Street', a haunting New Orleans tale fashioned in classic style and inspired, Sting says, by the Anne Rice novel 'Interview With a Vampire'. But he was flat as hell on the very next song, 'Fortress Around Your Heart'.

The concert stalled a bit around 'I Burn For You' and a too-long drum solo from Hakim, but 'If You Love Somebody Set Them Free' revived the crowd's somewhat flagging interest.

Sting rolled out a subdued rendition of 'Roxanne' to begin the first encore. And, in the prelude to a blues foray, it was at least interesting to hear an arena full of suburban white kids repeating the chant, ''Hey, hey, the blues is all right.'

During the second encore, Sting sandwiched another not particularly effective blues number between 'Every Breath You Take' and a rough-and-tumble version of 'Demolition Man'. For those who stuck it out all the way to the third encore, Sting finally stripped down to his black T-shirt and sent his familiar ''S.O.S. to the world' with 'Message in a Bottle'.

There were few of the thrills and chills - the strutting and the grandstanding - obligatory in most rock concerts, and it's to Sting's credit that he had the courage to walk away, even if temporarily, from the sure thing he had with the Police.

(c) The Dallas Morning News by Russell Smith