The Temple University students in this fine big band homage to the late saxophonist/composer Jimmy Heath sound professional — tight and well rehearsed. They are joined by all-stars Joey DeFrancesco and Christian McBride.
Music
Classical Album Review: Escher String Quartet — Barber & Ives String Quartets
Here is an outstanding recording from the Escher String Quartet of music by two stylistically divergent 20th-century American composers, Samuel Barber and Charles Ives.
Rock Concert Review: The Black Crowes — Flying High
You would never suspect from this big ol’ rock ’n’ roll show that The Black Crowes was essentially toast just a few years ago.
Jazz Appreciation: Remembering George Wein (1925-2021)
The sum total of George Wein’s career was a successful wedding of art and commerce.
Rock Album Review: The Plastic Ono Band Celebrates 50 — A Nice Warm Cup of Instant Karma
After having diagnosed the ails of modernity, screamed out his most deeply held traumas, and shrugged off his role in the biggest band ever, John Lennon is content to have a riverside cuddle under a tree in the sun with the woman he loves. Amen.
Jazz Album Review: “Chick Corea Akoustic Band Live” — A High-Spirited Reunion
A judicious mix of jazz classics, standards, and Corea compositions, Live is a blast.
Classical Album Review: An Opera by the “Croatian Verdi” — Sung Right
The performance shows generally high competence and comfort, no surprise given that the work is a longtime staple in Croatia: indeed, it is the single most-performed opera in the entire repertory of the Croatian National Theater.
Music Remembrance: Singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith (1953-2021)
There were no performers who possessed more talent than singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith in the 1980s and early ’90s, when she was at her remarkable best.
Concert Review: King Crimson and The Zappa Band — Carrying On the Legacy
Both King Crimson and The Zappa Band made the best of treating old catalogs as historical repertory.
Classical CD Reviews: Listening During COVID, Part 6 — Fresh Music-Making from Three Splendid Singers and One Amazing Pianist-Who-Also-Sings
Chopin masterpieces, Rossini duets, and songs, spirituals, and arias — all performed in ways that make the music dazzle.