Steve Elman
Ramsey’s book on Bud Powell is both a provocative read and a disappointing one. Anyone thinking this will be an illuminating portrait of a jazz master is likely to suffer a serious case of buyer’s remorse.
Read MoreThe members of the Collective seem to have an understanding that their job is to make music that reflects a group identity as well as their individual personalities.
Read MoreThe Druid, one of Ireland’s most celebrated stage companies, undertook the project to celebrate Tom Murphy’s work and to make the case for him as one of the world’s leading living playwrights.
Read MoreMark Harvey and the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra: It’s hard to remember what the Boston jazz community was like before Harvey came along. In fact, the term “jazz community” would have seemed far-fetched at best if anyone had used it.
Read MoreHonesty is Best Policy Disclosure: I was in the hall to hear Mostly Other People Do the Killing. I’d heard the band on CD, and I knew that the only way I could appreciate them fully was to attend a performance.
Read MoreIf you’re a Gil Evans devotee, or even a casual appreciator, have I got good news for you: Ryan Truesdell’s Centennial, more than 70 minutes of Evans that we never thought we’d hear, 10 tunes realized so beautifully and brilliantly that they should win a Grammy for Truesdell and a second, posthumous Grammy for Evans.
Read MoreIt’s a worthy effort –- and, as a listener, how many times will you have the chance for real adventure inside a concert hall?
Read MoreLike other great artists –- Martha Argerich and Steve Lacy come to mind right away — pianist Kirill Gerstein approaches every note with a sense of how important that note is in relation to every one that has come before and every one that is to come after.
Read MoreWhen the jazz composer is the soloist, which is usually the case, he or she ironically revives one of the most venerable traditions in classical music.
Read MoreChick Corea’s “The Continents: Concerto for Jazz Quintet and Chamber Orchestra” is filled with tuneful melody, shows off some superb playing by the soloists, breaks new ground in a number of ways, and achieves nearly all of its ambitions.
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Visual Arts Commentary: John Singer Sargent — A Particular Sort of Loner