Michael Ullman
Ralph Peterson is interested in furthering a complex, post-bop legacy. His music can be hard to count: it’s also rip-roaring fun.
Fans of classical piano should find this collection of performances by something of an institution around Boston a rare delight.
Bassist Michael Feinberg has done many things right in his richly varied tribute to the great percussionist Elvin Jones.
Wadada Leo Smith’s album contains avant-garde music with a human face, intimate and appealing and beautifully played by a band of virtuosos.
Irving Berlin fans will be pleased to see such items as the complete Jerome Kern letter, (written in 1925!) in which Kern writes: “Irving Berlin has no place in American music. HE IS AMERICAN MUSIC.”
Arts Commentary: The Orchestra Gap — Europe vs. the US