Blue Turtles: 1985/86

Sting Shows His Jazzy Side...

It was just a matter of time. With little left to prove commercially, it was inevitable that the members of the phenomenally successful rock group, The Police, would find new outlets for their considerable talents. It's not surprising that Sting, the band's lead vocalist, bassist and chief songwriter, would choose to explore unchartered waters. The ensemble with which he recorded earlier this year consists of some of the best musicians of the American jazz community.

Sting and company are currently on tour in support of that album, 'The Dream of the Blue Turtle'. It was Sting's intention to produce a piece of work that would not be easily classified in terms of musical labels. He's succeeded. When the group performed at The Muny in Forest Park Sunday, they touched on many musical genres, including pop, rock, jazz, blues and reggae. Instead of focusing on the form, the concert explored the substance of the music. And it was not found wanting by the Muny crowd.

The program included most of the songs from his solo album, an equal number of Police tunes, and some interesting glimpses at the jazziest side of Sting. He opened with two numbers from the 'Zenyatta Mondatta' album. 'Shadows In The Rain' was reworked on the solo project and was delivered with a slightly jazzier feel on Sunday. The political and social statement, 'Driven To Tears', was performed in he same explosive fashion as the original.

While Sting could have handled many of the Police numbers on his own and did in a couple of cases - he seemed equally comfortable jamming with his hand-picked jazz ensemble. Watching him play with Branford Marsalis (horns), Darryl Jones (bass), Kenny Kirkland (keyboards) and Omar Hakim (drums), one could imagine what it must have been like when Police drummer Stewart Copeland first heard Sting in a club in Northern England, playing jazz bass with a group called Last Exit.

With the addition of Dolette McDonald and Janice Pendarvis on backing vocals, the group performed songs like 'Consider Me Gone' with a cohesiveness usually attained only after years of playing together. That's not to say that they take themselves too seriously. Anyone who witnessed their unbridled joy in dancing around the stage will attest to that.

Although Sting made an admirable attempt at playing lead guitar, his strongest attribute is still his vocal cords. Many critics consider his tenor voice the best in rock music, and Sunday's performance only solidified that opinion. He is capable of conveying a broad range of emotions equally well, from the sweet, quiet desperation of 'Moon Over Bourbon Street' to the raucous 'Demolition Man'.

It's hard to say what the crowd enjoyed most about the performance, except that when it was time for encores Sting came back three times for a total of six encores - there was a clear consensus that the first request should be 'Roxanne'. Sting sang the song with little instrumental accompaniment, just as he'd done at the Amnesty International benefit con- cert in 1981. But this time, he had Marsalis to add the perfect counter- point on saxophone.

Who says you can't improve on perfection?

(c) St Louis Post-Dispatch by Louise King