Arts Fuse critics select the best in film, dance, visual art, theater, music, and author events for the coming weeks.
Jazz Concert Review: The Swingles — The Music is A Lot Better Than the Name
The current incarnation of the Swingle Singers, just called Swingles, exemplifies why the group has survived 57 years.
Recommended Books, 2019
An eclectic round-up of our favorite books of the year from our critics.
Film Review: “63 Up” and the Wonders of Existence
“We know what we are, but know not what we may be.” –- Hamlet
Dance Highlights 2019
The dance revolution of the 1960s and 70s seems to be making a comeback as dancers think about making their performances less artificial, more “natural.”
Best Opera and Vocal (Recordings, Books, and a Performance), 2019
This year has brought a bumper crop of wonderful recordings of unusual operas — and one unusual recording of a repertory staple: Gounod’s Faust.
Best Jazz Recordings (and Live Concerts), 2019
Pianist Kris Davis’s Diatom Ribbons and the multi-disc set Nat King Cole’s Hittin’ the Ramp: The Early Years (1936-43) are among the albums that made more than one list.
Film Review: “Dark Waters” — Poison and Passion
Dark Waters may not be Todd Haynes’ most beautiful film, but it may yet prove to be among his most important.
Film Review: “A Hidden Life” — A Sacramental Journey
Even with my caveats, A Hidden Life raises filmmaking to heights that will thrill Terrence Malick fans.
Book Review: “The Conservative Sensibility” — A Plea for a Return to Normalcy
The very people that George Will is trying to appeal to are evidently quite happy to be drunk on the power that their brutishness has created.