Steve Elman
The Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation program is one of the best things we have in New England music, and if you’ve lived for any length of time in the Boston area without attending one of its concerts, you’ve missed an important experience.
Dave Holland’s Prism tells stories, several of which are very effective. Scofield’s, like his earlier Überjam releases, extends the jam-band esthetic into jazz without completely giving in to it. And neither of them would be as they are without the great looming shadow of Miles Davis.
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.
The 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.
The 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.
Mark 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.
Honesty 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.
If 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.
It’s a worthy effort –- and, as a listener, how many times will you have the chance for real adventure inside a concert hall?
Like 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.
Arts Commentary: The Orchestra Gap — Europe vs. the US