Steve Elman

Commentary Drill Down: Claus Ogerman’s “Symbiosis”

February 1, 2012
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Fuse Jazz Critic Steve Elman is currently surveying works that illuminate the tradition of the jazz-influenced piano concerto. His series began with an examination of Chick Corea’s current recording, The Continents. In part two, he takes a look at eight works by jazz composers that precede the release of Corea’s work. This post is a…

Jazz Preview / Commentary: Jason Moran’s Monk Project

January 19, 2012
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So Jason Moran has decided to re-create something that is already a pinnacle of a master’s work –- something that could hardly be improved on. You could be expected to ask Why? and How?

Music Review/Commentary: Awake Between Two Dreams — Steve Lacy’s “Vespers,” Live and Recorded

December 13, 2011
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What the few of us in Jordan Hall heard that night was a richly conceived and beautifully performed song cycle, mostly serious, but with some great wit in exactly the right places. It made for a fascinating and enlightening contrast to the CD version of “Vespers,” which Steve Lacy recorded in 1993.

Music Review/Commentary: Gunther Schuller’s Gift of Giving – Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival III

December 5, 2011
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Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival is inspiring a series of commentaries from Fuse Jazz Critic Steve Elman. Here is his third installment, which focuses on Gunther Schuller, who has inspired at least four generations of artists and revitalized a venerable institution of higher musical learning.

Music Review/Commentary: The Fringe in Context — Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival II

December 4, 2011
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Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival is inspiring a series of critical and speculative commentaries from Fuse Jazz Critic Steve Elman. Here is the second, which focuses on The Fringe and some of the qualities that make the trio special in the world of jazz.

Music Review / Commentary: A Dispatch from the Border

December 4, 2011
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Boston Conservatory’s New Music Festival is inspiring a series of critical and speculative commentaries from Fuse Jazz Critic Steve Elman. Here is the first.

Jazz Concert Review: Two Paths Converge Again — Sheila Jordan and Steve Kuhn

November 21, 2011
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The Steve Kuhn – Sheila Jordan partnership has been one of the luckiest things ever to happen to either of them, or for us as listeners.

Music Feature: Playing For the Planet

November 14, 2011
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In effect, “Playing for the Planet” is an open-ended floating world music festival featuring performers from New England.

Judicial Review # 6: “Divine Sparks” (Boston Jewish Music Festival Concert at Berklee): How Hot a Flame?

April 6, 2011
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What is a Judicial Review? It is a fresh approach to creating a conversational, critical space about the arts and culture. This is our sixth session, this time a discussion about the concert “Divine Sparks,” a provocative attempt to explore how Jewish cantorial music and other kinds of religious song can spark musical improvisation and…

Book Review: Time, Beautiful and Cruel — The Story of Composer George Russell

March 23, 2011
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In the best of all possible worlds, Duncan Heining’s biography will be the cornerstone of the edifice that time will erect to the memory of George Russell and his gift to music. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. In some ways, because of the vagaries of the book business, it’s up…

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