Jazz
Composer/pianist Carla Bley and bassist Steve Swallow visit NEC as artists-in-residence, Brazilian guitarist Filó Machado and violinist/oudist Simon Shaheen wrap up their residencies at Berklee, outstanding musicians raise funds for Boston’s homeless and to fight climate change, Club d’Elf releases a long-awaited new double CD, and you get your pick of a string of guitarists.
Read MoreWhat 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…
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Early April showers us with 40 years of the Harvard Jazz Bands and a bouquet of Brazilian artists, including Dende and Hãhãhães, Sergio Brandão and Manga Rosa, and the astonishing young guitarist, Chico Pinheiro.
Read MoreIn 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…
Read MoreUpdated — A celebratory month: Pianist Nando Michelin honors one of his native Uruguay’s greatest poets, a legendary Ethiopian vocalist rejoins the Either/Orchestra, a stellar Jazz Piano Summit comes to Connecticut, and much, much more.
Read MoreI cite the repertoire only to give you a sense of the breadth of the material Jason Moran and Fred Hersch built on. The glory of the evening was the complete integration of the two pianists’ musical thought.
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[Update: Tomas Fujiwara’s Ryles gig is on Friday, March 11, not Sunday, March 13.] Mardi Gras and Carnaval promise warmer days ahead, two keyboard giants team up, Colombian jazz fusion comes to town, and the Boston Jewish Music Festival gathers a fascinating variety of performers.
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The second half of February offers warm-ups for Mardi Gras, an evening of musical tributes by the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, and more guitarists than you can shake a pick at.
Read MoreUPDATE: Either/Orchestra’s 25th anniversary concert comes to New York—an unforgettable confluence of talent revisiting more than two decades of memorable compositions and arrangements.
Read MoreThere’s something special going on among the four musicians in BANN that is very promising—something that makes me want to see the band live. I hope one of our local bookers picks up on them soon, so I don’t have to go to New York City to do so. As You Like by BANN [Seamus…
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Arts Commentary: Rich in Creativity — But Nothing Else