Music
Dance Fever is one of the few pandemic-themed artworks that doesn’t feel contrived — it is specific about the value of music to the individual and by extension to the community.
The album serves up exceptional stuff, even if the program’s a touch macabre and pianist Orion Weiss’s well-written liner notes make uncomfortable connections between the world of pre-World War 1 Europe and our own pandemic-riddled age.
Trampling on the expectations of his fans, of course, is a big part of what makes Joe Jackson the singular talent he is — and most of his admirers wouldn’t have it any other way.
The cast for this Boston Lyric Opera production was first-rate, and composer Terence Blanchard has worked in a wide variety of jazz styles and shifts gears to keep the score swinging throughout.
What might be the most impressive feature of this disc: everything on it was written for The Claremont Trio since 2008. The album stands as a shining testament to their adeptness as an ensemble as well as their curiosity as musicians.
Cave In’s new album is more than a return to form — it is a surging breakthrough.
I am not sure where the track titles come from, but I am guessing the problems the band had getting together under Covid must have something to do with them.
Ivory is at its best when Omar Apollo fully commits to taking adventures into different sonic spaces.
Nazareno is bright, often joyous, and easy on the ears. That ought to count for something.
Music Commentary: The Gershwin Prize and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — Selling Out Quality for Profit
Both the Gershwin Prize and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exist to glorify popular song. Both, in fairly short order, relaxed their initial high artistic standards.
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