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GOING OUT

By D Magazine |

HOT TICKET

The L.A. Times calls them “musical pioneers.” To us, the Kronos Quartet is master of the moderne, shaking up the classical music world with each performance. Known for Its eclectic repertoire (like Bo Did-dley, Philip Glass, Jimi Hendrix), this string ensemble captures audiences wherever it plays. If you missed it last fall the Meyerson, you can catch this group Saturday, February 10 at McFarlin Auditorium. Call 528-5576.



THE PRIEST OF JAZZ

HEAVENLY MUSIC Where Father Frank Coco comes from, a man would just as soon play a clarinet as look at you. As chaplain of Pete Fountain’s Half-Fast Walking Club, Father Coco is a pure-blooded Dixie Jesuit, one of nine children of Sicilian immigrants who landed in New Orleans after World War I. Transferred to Dallas about a year and a half ago, Coco has been seen playing at Dick’s Last Resort in the West End, Farina’s off Northwest Hwy., Rodolfo’s in Fort Worth, and at the occasional Catholic parish or school benefit. On his album with the Ronnie Kole Trio, A Closer Walk With Three, he also plays tenor sax. But it’s on clarinet that he has the Bourbon Street sound that imitators try for and seldom attain. Now 70, Coco is definitely an original, equally at home on the stage or at chapel.

-Michael Pellecchia

Dr. Delphinium’s Green Thumb

SHOP AND SNIFF Jamie Huizenga and her husband Luit, ten-year veterans of the wholesale and importing floral business in Dallas, have recently debuted Dr. Delphinium, a retail floral emporium in the same spot on Lovers Lane where we’d learned to appreciate the late, lamented Flower Country, U.S.A. And just in the nick of time. Buying a few stems for the dinner table had attained a 9.5 rating on the degree-of-difficulty scale in Dallas.

Dr. Delphinium is the nom de bloom given Jamie by a former co-worker who spent several years attempting to clone her hands-on gardening knowledge. Now the good doctor’s expertise is available to everyone. The shop offers full-scale design and consultation services, a bountiful array of thoughtfully potted greenery, a European gardenscape of cut blossoms, and yes, they do weddings. The other good news is that prices have been kept to the low end of the retail scale since the Huizengas are able to import direct from those who grow. A bunch of Dutch tulips are only $10; valentine roses range from $40 to $100 depending on country of origin. But more than the price point, what’s offered here is personal service, the retail phrase that’s fast become the Nineties national anthem. Come spring, the Huizengas will offer a few exquisite bulbs for those with the verdant appendage. For the rest of us, Dr. Delphinium will become the place to shop and sniff on the way home. Visit them Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. at 5806 Lovers Lane. 522-9911. -Rebecca O’Dell

Escape to Kauai

GETAWAY The spectacular Na Pali Coast, on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, gives new meaning to the phrase wet and wild. Uninhabited save for the most courageous of helicopter passengers and hikers, the 14-mile stretch of coast on the island’s northwest shore contains the scenery of legend, the Hawaii that most people dream about but seldom find.

Called the Garden Isle because its rainfall encourages the growth of everything from fruit trees to gorgeous bougainvillea, plumeria, and orchids, Kauai is a tropical paradise. To enjoy it, rent a car and drive: first around the eastern shore, then in the opposite direction. Either way, the road stops at the Na Pali Coast.

Lodgings range from mammoth resorts to cozier lodges. In the deluxe category is the Westin Kauai, 1-800-228-3000, a not-to-be missed extravaganza with luxuries galore. Or try the Sheraton-Mirage Princeville, 1-800-826-4400, overlooking Hanalei Bay. Lovers of expensive funk will want to visit Coco Palms Resort, 1-800-542-2626, where Elvis filmed Illar Hawaii.

Both American, 267-1151, and Delta, 630-3200, offer direct Dallas-to-Honolulu service. From there, it’s a short hop to Kauai’s Lihue Airport. -Derro Evans

GLASNOST CONTINU E DFirst, the Russiancircus, nowChinese acrobats.When thespectacular BaoDao Acrobats ofTaiwan performat BrookhavehCollege on Feb. 2,we’re talking truecamaraderie,comrade. Call 620-4115.

SAMBA MANIA

Drop anchor in Galveston this month for the “Carnaval do Brasil,” a festive, 11-day celebration that might just make you think you’re in Rio. Fob. 17-27. 1-800-351-4236.

An Intense Exhibit

ART Back in the Sixties, the Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza bought a small watercolor by the German expressionist Emil Nolde. An odd purchase at the time. The German expressionists had not yet caught on among knowledgeable collectors. Their work was considered “difficult”-neither realistic nor completely abstract, often distorted and garish, charged with political meaning.

But time has proved the young Baron prescient. Today the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection includes an extensive collection of German expressionist paintings, a generous sampling of which is on display at Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum Jan. 27-March 25.

From one perspective, German expressionism is simply the painting practiced in Germany and Austria just before and after the first World War. It included a multitude of styles, from the lyrical nature painting of Franz Marc to the harsh social commentary of George Grosz to I he near-abstractions of Wassily Kandinsky.

But the artists shared certain common tendencies: the distortion and exaggeration of natural forms, use of brilliant colors, disinterest in the way things actually “look,” and a desire to express the moral or emotional, rather than the literal, truth about things.

The works represent a commitment to making painting count, dealing with the most important subjects at the most intense level. -Ken Barrow

From Russia to Love in the Nineties



ADULT ED For years we’ve been fascinated with the odd and interesting array of continuing education courses available to anyone with an inquiring mind and a few free evenings. Upon investigation we discovered that the majority of these courses command respect. “Please don’t say that we teach basket weaving,” pleads one program director. Well, North Lake does dabble in “Padded Photo Albums,” and Cedar Valley in “Fishing for Fun at Joe Pool Lake.” But those are exceptions. Art, writing, grammar, photography, literature, foreign language, computer, and business courses abound, as do many tied to current events. Some of the more promising on paper:

“Cannibals, Kings, and Warriors” (anthropology) and “The New U.S.S.R.,” both at SMD; “Architectural Tour of Dallas” and “The Life and History of Deep Ell urn,” both at Richland; “The Very Small Business Connection” and “Doing Business in Mexico ,” both at Brookhaven; and “Job Hunting Over Forty” and “Emotional Survival for Women in the Nineties,” both at North Lake.

Although some classes began in January, others don’t get under way until February or even March, and prices range from as little as $10 to $200 or more. For more information: SMI , 692-4276; Brookhaven, 620-4715; Cedar Valley, 372-8210; Eastfield, 324-7113; El Centro, 746-2147; University of Dallas, 721-5225; North Lake, 659-5200; Richland, 238-6144; IT Arlington, Metro (817) 2732581; UT Dallas, 690-2204; Fun Ed, 960-2666. -Derro Evans

Gospel Truths

THEATER It was during the Twenties when Harlem’s haut monde, gathered for une of its famous salon evenings, was first moved by the eloquent readings of Harlem Renaissance poet James Weldon Johnson. His most popular work, God’s Trombones, seven negro sermons in free verse, sprang from childhood memories of “old time” preachers who rocked their pulpits with fiery recitations foreboding, in Johnson’s words, “a sure enough heaven and a red-hot hell.”

These incantatory poems, reminiscent of the oratory of black preachers whose voices boomed as resonantly as a celestial trombone, find new dimension in a Fort Worth Jubilee Theatre production of the 60-year-old work. Thanks to director Rudy Eastman and composer/arranger Douglas Balentine, God’s Trombones is transformed from simple prose to a full-scale dramatic production, embellished with original music, choreography, and pantomime. “We wanted to give dramatic interpretation as well as a visual picture to the spoken word,” says Eastman.

Johnson’s masterwork, rich in imagery and dramatic impact, has weathered time and changing cultures to survive as one of the landmarks of black American literature. With their infectious gospel score and imposing choreography, Eastman and Balentine have enhanced the power and pathos of this American classic. January 12 to February 17 at Fort Worth’s Jubilee Theatre, 3114 E. Rosedale. (817) 535-0168. -Rosalyn Story



Historical Records



OFF THE BEATEN PATH I don’t know many people whose memories aren’t fueled by music. A few strains of Don McLean’s “American Pie” or Carole King’s “It’s Too Late” and I’m immediately jettisoned back in time to the early pre-disco years of the Seventies when turquoise jewelry and macramé were top of mind taste-wise and Cher had only one tattoo. Music does that to us. It sneaks up without warning and slam-dunks us into our pasts. Music is important to us because it gives us a sort of generational identity, attaching significance to certain events or realities we might otherwise forget. Over the years we accumulate music that means something to us, building memories as we go. Some of our favorite memory purveyors are listed here.

Collector’s Records, 10616 Garland Rd. 327-3313. Here you’ll Find a great selection of old collector’s records, from C&W to blues. The jazz and Broadway show tunes are quite popular with those who know.

Bill’s Records, 8136 Spring Valley. 234-1496. A good mix overall, but you’ll also find an incredible selection of imported and domestic dance music, plus an interesting array of alternative music offerings from smaller labels.

ForeverYoung Records, 1221 W. Airport Freeway. 252-4686. For five years these guvs have led the pack with their incredible selection of rock ’n’ roil classics.

Half Price Books, Records and Tapes (multiple locations). Half Price has a healthy assortment of labels-you might call them the Hypermart of recycled music.

RPM, 961 W. Centerville. 681-8441. RPM specializes in rare collectibles from around the world, with impressive import selections. -Anne Warren

REALITY

CHECK



Allen Street Gallery’s exhibit “Altered and Alternative Photographic Images” confirms what has long been suspected. Nothing is really what it seems. Feb. 16 March 25. 821-8260.

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