Nothing Like The Sun: 1987/88

Solo Sting earns shrieks for politics, jazz rhythms...

The Police were always better on stage than on record. The same goes for the now-solo Sting, whose current four injects much-needed electricity into the songs from his rather dour new album '...Nothing Like the Sun'.

At the Nassau Coliseum Sunday, it was obvious from the first notes of The Lazarus Heart that the concert would leave the studio versions of the songs far behind. As the nine-member band backed him with jazz improvisations and third-world rhythms, Sting quoted Shakespeare, recited in Spanish, lectured on unorthodox time signatures and still managed to elicit shrieks from the teenage girls in the audience.

Presumably their screams were for more than his bottle-blond good looks. But Sting's repertoire is hardly typical pop fare. How many of the 15,000 in the audience knew whom he meant by "Mr. Pinochet," or why the bereaved Chilean women of 'They Dance Alone' perform their silent protest? Even when he sang something as straightforward as "One world is enough for all of us," you had to wonder whether the fans would carry home similar feelings of universal brotherhood.

Still, they certainly responded to the music, which was bright and high-spirited. The rhythms were powerful, the harmonies perfect, thanks to such noted young jazz players as keyboardist Kenny Kirkland, percussionist Mino Cinelu and saxophonist Branford Marsalis.

Kirkland took the Police's 'When the World Is Running Down' and revved it up into a Latin conga number with his piano solo. Keyboard player Delmar Brown scatted along in shrill unison with his own synthesizer part on 'Consider Me Gone'. Bassist Tracy Wormworth took charge of the band on a long dub-reggae segment of 'One World'.

As for Sting himself, it takes a live show like this to bring out the best in his voice. Soaring above the band, free from the strictures of the studio, he improvised freely, particularly on revamped Police numbers like 'Bring on the Night' and 'Don't Stand So Close to Me'.

He also knows a thing or two about showmanship. He earned cheers with simple but effective stage gestures - slow dancing with backup singer Dolette McDonald during 'Sister Moon', somersaulting across the stage at the close of 'One World', removing his jacket to reveal his shirtless chest (big screams for that one).

An ecstatic version of Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing' climaxed the show, with Gil Evans' jazz-ballad arrangement setting off Jeff Campbell's fevered guitar solo. Sting interpolated Beatles lyrics over the final chords ('From Me to You' and 'All You Need Is Love') as the band accelerated to a rave-up finish.

"What do you want to hear?" he asked at encore time, already knowing the answer. After feigning reluctance to perform the audience's choice, 'Roxanne', he relented and did a beautiful, spare. version on nylon-string guitar, with fine alto sax accompaniment from Steve Coleman.

Three or four more band numbers finally wound down into a similar solo treatment of 'Message in a Bottle'.

(c) The Daily Record by Jim Bohen

Sting: Policing The Top Of The Rock Charts...

After being the main focus of one of the biggest rock groups from England in the last ten years, what do you do for an encore?

For singer, Sting, formerly of "the Police", the answer is a combination of movie starring roles and solo music projects. His second solo record, 'Nothing Like The Sun' flirted with the top ten in the charts briefly and has produced two hit singles.

To support his new release, Sting came to our area for two sold-out appearances; one at the Nassau Coliseum and one at Madison Square Garden.

To focus attention away from his pop stardom with his former musical members, Sting has assembled a montage of top jazz musicians and for a two and a half hour show they blended a mixture of jazz and rock rhythms. New drummer, Jean-Paul Ceccarello, along with Branford Marsalis on saxophone, Kenny Kirkland on keyboards, Tracy Wormworth on bass guitar and Jeff Campbell on guitar were the mainstay of the rhythm section with Marsalis and Kirkland being the evening's standouts.

The repertoire of the evening included Police hits 'Roxanne' (which Sting performer live as a soloist) as well as 'Message In A Bottle', several cover songs including Jimi Hendrix's 'Little Wing', political messages 'They Dance Alone' and his better known solo material including 'We'll Be Together', 'Be Still My Beating Heart' and 'The Lazarus Heart' - all those songs are from his latest release - which he performed in its entirety. All were performed with a positive lyric input and a solid rhythmic foundation supplied by his outstanding support group.

This former teacher, and now music star, Sting, handled the audience with the professionalism of a top heavy metal celebrity and his energy output jelled well with both the crowd and also his band with his display of emotional on-stage antics. Even keyboardist Kenny Kirkland performed with the exuberance of a teenager playfully running with his instrument doing solos and background work.

Sting is one of the few intellectuals in the rock and roll business and his audience got what they came for - a good show.

(c) The Canarsie Courier by Mitchell Rosten