Few things are as heady as the first stirrings of desire. Most of us, of course, don’t know what’s happening at the time. It’s only later, when something, maybe a scent or a song, triggers that gnawing again that we recognize these feelings for what they are—innocence in search of experience.

As a fourth-grader growing up in Chicago, all I knew was that I was always on edge around Betty, my best friend’s mom. The way she paced around the house in her slip, smoking cigarette after cigarette to put off serving the regulars at the Elk’s Club. The pent-up odor of perfume, cigarette smoke, and kitchen grease that poured out of her Rambler when she picked us up from school. The 8-tracks she played in her car—grown-up, hot-and-bothered records by Conway Twitty, Bobbie Gentry, Tammy Wynette, and the Elvis of “Suspicious Minds.”

The 8-track that undid me was Dusty in Memphis, an unlikely mix of Southern soul and orchestral pop by Dusty Springfield, a British singer whose name, much as my incipient desire, I wouldn’t pinpoint until I was well into the throes of puberty. By then, I’d been hearing the voice of the mascara-plastered blonde with the big beehive for years.

“Wishin’ and Hopin’.” “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself.” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me.” “The Look of Love.” Dusty’s husky, magnolia-sweet alto dripped with much the same desire on the radio as it did on the song that Betty played over and over in her Rambler. The song that made my mouth dry and my hands clammy. The one about the preacher’s son—the only boy, purred Dusty, who could ever please her.

By now, most people know that Springfield, born Mary O’Brien in London 60 years ago this April, died of breast cancer in England last week. Death, however, won’t silence her breathy, bruised alto, a voice that will long cast its spell over those who hear it, just as it has inspired the likes of Alex Chilton, Nick Drake, Lucinda Williams, and the Pet Shop Boys. Few singers have sung with as much longing. (Only Billie Holiday leaps to mind.) And fewer still have sung with as much long-suffering devotion as Springfield, even as love often failed her—at least in song.

Anyway, I thought that was the extent of her romantic idealism until I bought my own copy of Dusty in Memphis in 1985 and first heard “Breakfast in Bed.” Here, playing the other woman, and seemingly true to self-sacrificing form, she coos, “Breakfast in bed and a kiss or three/You don’t have to say you love me.” And yet when, in the afterglow of lovemaking, she adds, “What’s your hurry, please don’t eat and run,” the hunger in her voice betrays no hint of suffering at all. Rather, here is Dusty getting some head, feeling like a natural woman, and hoping to go ’round again.

Perhaps the craving in her voice explains why, to an undone pre-adolescent, Springfield’s tortured romanticism sounded so good. In a way that I couldn’t have imagined in fourth grade, Dusty knew why, after quenching desire’s fire, anyone in her right mind would let it rage again, no matter how much she might have to suffer in the meantime.

—Bill Friskics-Warren

Veteran jazz pianist, conductor, and songwriter Weldon Irvine—who served as Nina Simone’s musical director, wrote the lyrics for “Young, Gifted and Black,” and issued a series of funky solo LPs in the early ’70s—is among the headliners at next month’s Ultimate Breaks & Beats benefit for Vanderbilt’s mighty 91 Rock. Taking its cue (and its name) from the landmark 1980s vinyl series that introduced hip-hop deejays to 23 volumes’ worth of dope beats, the benefit will bring together jazz artists, live MCs, and cutting-tip deejays and turntablists.

Among the talent lined up for the evening are Peanut Butter Wolf, one of the Bay Area’s best-known deejays and owner of the indie hip-hop label Stones Throw Records; Mr. Dibbs from Cincinnati’s red-hot 1200 Hobos turntablist crew; and Lootpack, the L.A. act whose 12-inch single “The Anthem” got strong notices last year. 91’s own deejay Egon and Count Bass-D will be on hand, as will deejay D-Funk from 91’s Friday-night funk show.

91’s benefit shows usually offer a strong sample of current musical trends; this year, it’s scratchadelia, the use of turntables as musical instruments that can both solo and jam together. Last year’s event suffered from the immediate aftermath of last April’s tornadoes and an out-of-town location in Lebanon, but on Saturday, Apr. 3, the benefit returns to 328 Performance Hall—and no tornadoes have been invited. Best of all, it’s a mere $10 at the door, and it’s an 18-and-over event. For more information, call 343-7816.

—Jim Ridley

Welcome Return

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants, the first pop album by Bill Lloyd since his acclaimed 1994 LP Set to Pop, arrives in stores Mar. 23, but you’ll have to wait exactly one month more for his record-release show, currently slated for Apr. 23 at 12th & Porter. If the live show is anything like the disc, it’ll be worth the wait. The album shows Lloyd in classically tuneful Nashville-by-way-of-Liverpool form, supported by a remarkable lineup of guest performers—Amy Rigby, Marshall Crenshaw, Brad Jones, Kim Richey, Al Kooper, Al Anderson, Greg Trooper, Swan Dive (whose Bill DeMain collaborated on four songs), Cheap Trick’s Tom Petersson, The Smithereens’ Dennis Diken, and Poco’s Rusty Young.

Don’t miss the two hidden bonus tracks at the end—especially a guest appearance by Lloyd’s 8-year-old son Ryman, who sings the melody to “Wipeout” while his dad plays the familiar drumbeat on the kid’s back. (My dad used to do the same thing with a belt, only he wasn’t recording.) The record is being released by Koch Records, the cool indie whose roster includes Rigby, Trooper, and last year’s excellent repackaging of Lucinda Williams’ self-titled 1985 LP. For more information on the label, check Koch’s Web site at http://www.kochint.com.

—Jim Ridley

Top billing

Last month, Nashville jazz fans were treated to a pair of superb, if vastly different, concerts—both of which testify to the city’s growing popularity among jazz promoters and performers. Herbie Hancock performed two lengthy sets Feb. 18 before an overflow house at Gibson’s Caffé Milano, working in an acoustic trio format that best showcased his awesome keyboard abilities. Much of the material was devoted to his latest releases, The New Tradition and Gershwin’s World, though the opening set also included a medley covering selections from his classic early-’60s Blue Note releases. While his comrades, particularly drummer Oliver Jackson, were first-rate, Hancock’s adventurous playing dominated the evening.

A week later, vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater’s vibrant personality, extraordinary scatting ability, and remarkable interpretative skills made her Feb. 25 appearance at Vanderbilt’s Langford Auditorium an equally delightful outing. Most of the night’s finest selections were taken from her Grammy-winning release Dear Ella, though she also offered compelling versions of songs by Cole Porter, Miles Davis, and even Thelonious Monk. Her considerable theatrical experience was evident in her nimble footwork, not to mention her quips and comments between songs. It’s a shame Bridgewater spends much of her time these days in France, for she’s among the finest jazz vocalists working today.

Even if Bridgewater didn’t perform to a capacity crowd, the audience was fully responsive and appreciative. It’s great to see local fans supporting these shows—and important too, for such turnout proves there is indeed a jazz audience in Nashville. Let’s hope promoters keep bringing such acts to town, along with some cutting-edge ensembles and performers as well.

—Ron Wynn

Goin' out west

Tom Ovans’ gig last week at The Sutler will be his last in town for a long time: Ovans and partner Lou Ann Bardash are moving to Austin after 18 years in Nashville. “We’ve been here a really long time,” Bardash says, “and Austin’s a better place for us right now.” Not only does the city have a supportive live-music scene, she explains, but Ovans’ following is largely European, and they both feel Austin is better equipped to handle international dealings.

Ovans always kept a low profile here, but the stark urban-folk records he released on his and Bardash’s NSR label were consistently strong. Overseas, he’s regarded as “a cross between Bob Dylan and Joe Ely,” a comparison that his most recent LP Dead South bears out. As always, Nashville’s loss is Austin’s gain. We wish Ovans and Bardash well.

—Jim Ridley

Collective effort

In cities across the country, local blues societies normally serve as the music’s major support organization, and Music City Blues is no exception. The Nashville group has been a tireless advocate since 1992, and it currently publishes a monthly newsletter and maintains a Web site, http://www.musiccityblues.org.

Its most recent project, Music City Blues, Vol. 1, features 14 performances by various acts who’ve appeared at Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar. The CD is a laudable effort, and the producers’ decision to record every act live should have added intensity and excitement to the recording.

Unfortunately, many of the performers were either having bad nights or caught during forgettable sets. There’s very little here, aside from songs by Stacy Mitchhart & Blues You Can Use, Michael Holloway, and Herbert Hunter, that comes close to communicating the energy that’s normally evident at the Printer’s Alley club.

Nashville’s blues scene deserves the kind of painstaking documentation and production that’s been devoted to Music City Blues, Vol. 1. But subsequent volumes need to place equal importance on the caliber of music presented. Derivative, generic material, no matter how exuberant or well-intentioned, will ultimately turn more people away from the blues than it lures.

—Ron Wynn

Elliptical dispatches

Trumpeter Rod McGaha has completed work on his upcoming CD for Compass Records, recorded at Ocean Way Studios for late-spring release. Delfeayo Marsalis, best known for producing records for his brothers Wynton and Branford, handled the production chores. According to Compass president Garry West, the new record, recorded live with McGaha’s quartet, leans more toward mainstream jazz than McGaha’s funkier solo projects. Indeed, the recording sessions included a fair number of standards, among them “In a Sentimental Mood,” “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” and Cannonball Adderly’s “Dis Here,” although the final track listing hasn’t been decided. Should be cool....

1995’s excellent reissue Stratosphere Boogie introduced new listeners to the wizardry of pedal-steel speed demon Speedy West and agile guitarist Jimmy Bryant, who recorded mind-bending country-jazz from 1951 to 1956. Now Razor & Tie is releasing a second volume, Swingin’ on the Strings, that gathers 20 more jaw-dropping demonstrations of instrumental prowess. It should be available this month in stores, as should R&T’s reissue of Roy Clark’s 1963 debut LP The Lightning Fingers of Roy Clark. Watch also for the label’s upcoming three-CD overview of the Bakersfield country-swing scene.