Month: September 2010
Kurt Rosenwinkel’s compositional style is undeniably ingenious and appealing; it is strong on tuneful, singable lines that move logically from chord to chord and occasionally lead listeners to unexpected places. Our Secret World. Wommusic CD; $15.99 via Amazon; $14.99 [ + shipping] through the musician’s website. It’s also for sale as a download through iTunes.…
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The novella revolves around that oxymoron of “silent voices”: Jon Fosse’s aim is to evoke the insinuating power of self-destructive forces that lie beyond our control.
Read MoreReviewed by Steve Elman. The larger the band, the more important its leader. The sheer drudgery of keeping a large jazz ensemble functioning as a musical and business entity leads almost inevitably to a need for a guiding intelligence. Even if one person isn’t personally booking the gigs, making the phone calls, preparing the lead…
Read MoreBy J. R. Carroll What makes a festival a festival? And what makes a musician a Beantown artist? We’ll ponder those questions for a moment before moving on to the very full schedule of jazz performances in the second half of September.
Read MoreBy Bill Marx Steamboat Bill Jr. is my personal favorite among Buster Keaton’s classic silent comedies, and the image (above) of Buster holding an upturned umbrella (this is a publicity still—in the movie he wields the useless brolly during a rampaging storm) is one of the movie’s greatest sight gags, an indelible image of the…
Read MoreIt is with a strange malice/ that I distort the world. – Wallace Stevens, The Weeping Burgher Hard Headed Heart. Performed by Blair Thomas & Company. Sets, puppets, and scrolls by Blair Thomas. Translation of the Garcia Lorca play by Catherine Brown. St. James Infirmary puppets by Jess Mooney-Bullock. Curtains and costumes by Heidi Dakter…
Read MoreTo my knowledge, this is the first time that a composer has undertaken to write a set of preludes and fugues for saxophone quartet. This is typically a keyboard form, with the Bach (“Well-Tempered Clavier”) and Shostakovich cycles representing twin peaks of that repertoire. Michael Pagán’s 12 Preludes & Fugues. Performed by the Colorado Saxophone…
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By J. R. Carroll While the big event for September is the Beantown Jazz Festival, which we’ll cover in detail in our upcoming posts, the first half of the month is packed with performances that stretch the geographical and conceptual boundaries of jazz. On Thursday, September 9, at 7:30 p.m., Musaner bring their unique fusion…
Read MoreBy Steve Elman My conversation with jazz critic Bob Blumenthal circled around two poles. Part one focused on the music of Sonny Rollins. Part two concentrates on the making of the new book, Saxophone Colossus: a Portrait of Sonny Rollins. Text by Bob Blumenthal. Photography by John Abbott. Abrams, 160 pages, $35. Aside from the Saxophone…
Read MoreThis musical may have a small focus and a smaller message than William Finn’s other shows, but the highly likable characters produce big laughs and plenty of empathy. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Music and Lyrics by William Finn. Book by Rachel Sheinkin. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman. Additional Material by Jan Reiss. Directed and…
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Music Commentary: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Fest versus French Quarter Fest