Featured

Jazz Album Review: “Monk: Palo Alto” — An Unlikely but Welcome Discovery

September 25, 2020
Posted in , , ,

This 1969 concert by the Thelonious Monk Quartet was produced by a high school student and recorded by his school’s janitor. It presents this particular group at its optimistic best.

Arts Commentary: “The Death of the Artist” — Culture Workers Unite!

September 24, 2020
Posted in ,

The shared baseline of these conversations is that there are no good old days to go back to. If the cultural sector in the United States returns to the ways things were organized in February, 2020, with all the inequity and unsustainability that implies, we will have failed.

Jazz Album Reviews: Mesmerized By Vinyl — Newvelle, Louis Armstrong, and Stan Getz

September 24, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Playing vinyl involves holding something in your hand, putting a needle down and, at least on my high end system, listening to sound quality that can mesmerize.

Jazz Remembrance: The Lasting, Complex Legacy of John Coltrane

September 23, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Of all the musicians who were harbingers of change, none has had the long-term influence on young musicians that John Coltrane has had.

Opera Album Review: A Version of One of Rossini’s Finest — Recorded on CD for the First Time

September 23, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Rossini’s Zelmira is a powerhouse opera that features two coloratura tenors and equally demanding roles for soprano and mezzo.

Television Review: “Pen15” — Season Two Amps up the Angst of Adolescence

September 22, 2020
Posted in , ,

Considering how dark 2020 is, it is a good time for a lighthearted remembrance of things past, before the pandemic.

Jazz Album Review: Christian McBride’s “For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver” — A Mighty Cheery Big Band

September 22, 2020
Posted in , , ,

Inspired by their leader, bassist Christian McBride, the musicians in this big band always sound like they are having the times of their lives.

Jazz Album Review: Butcher Brown’s “#KingButch” — Beautifully Blurring Retro and Progressive

September 21, 2020
Posted in , , ,

“Best band in the world”? Butcher Brown spends the next 40 minutes or so living up to its boast, as song after song heads off into a different direction without a stumble or misfire.

Arts Remembrance: Critic Stanley Crouch — Jazz as a Metaphor for Democracy

September 21, 2020
Posted in , , , ,

“I’m trying to get people to be at ease with the incredible amount of variety in the United States.”

Concert Preview: On a Mission — Chris Smither Returns to Club Passim

September 20, 2020
Posted in , , ,

With the Covid-19 pandemic decimating entertainment venues around the country, artists like Smither are doing everything they can to help these vital music emporiums survive.

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives