Steve Provizer
Happily, the string orchestra A Far Cry has the skill to back up its good intentions with good music.
In this book, readers are given a full taste of the lives of three complicated musical artists.
Other readers may be more sympathetic to this informative book’s broader conclusions about the rise of LP’s and the “erasure of black bodies and black aesthetics.
The music works. The session is among old friends. The rhythm section cooks and every solo holds one’s attention.
Shouting and honking saxes made visceral appeals to the emotions and the body. For jazz critics, this kind of theatricality degraded what should have been ‘Art.’
I may not agree with some of the documentary’s spin, but the film gives the viewer a clear and entertaining picture of Eddie Durham’s long and important musical career.
Author Mark Cantor has been the go-to guy for jazz film for decades: this authoritative book solidifies his position.
Singer/actor Yves Montand’s life and career is particularly fascinating because they illuminate a telling difference between the mid-20th century political-cultural milieus of France and America.
One might conjecture that Lena Horne’s career was something like a mink-lined minefield: the promise of wealth and fame went hand-in-hand with the possibility of annihilation.
Arts Commentary: Record Companies Suing AI — Who Owns Input?
The real action, rest assured, will take place in the counting house, not the courthouse.
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