Music

Opera Album Review: Croatia’s Best-Known Opera, “Ero the Joker” — Folk Fun and Games

February 4, 2021
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Croatia’s best-known Opera is like The Bartered Bride or a lighter-spirited Porgy and Bess: tuneful, engaging, and stageworthy.

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Book Review: Nashville Songwriter Aimee Mayo is “Talking to the Sky”

February 3, 2021
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Nashville songwriter Aimee Mayo’s memoir offers an eye-opening perspective on the problematic treatment of women in the country music industry.

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Folk/Pop Album Review: “The Burnt Pines” — Seamless Cross-Cultural Chemistry

February 3, 2021
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This surprisingly seamless record belies its logistical shuffles and players’ cultural differences with a relaxed sonic identity.

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Rock Album Review: Viagra Boys’ “Welfare Jazz” — Macho Bluster, Satirized

February 2, 2021
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On Welfare Jazz, Viagra Boys succeed through their skillful manipulation of pure bombast, spurred on by haywire grooves as well as plenty of oversized personality.

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Music Review/Interview: Foxes & Fossils — 50 Million YouTube Views Can’t Be Wrong

February 1, 2021
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Even though they are a cover band, Foxes and Fossils’ performances are fresh and delightful. While faithful to the originals, they are not slavish imitations.

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Opera Album Review: Donizetti’s Teacher Takes Center Stage — Mayr’s “I Cherusci”

January 31, 2021
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This splendid world-premiere recording proves that, as an opera composer, Johann Simon Mayr had “the whole package.”

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Classical Album Review: Jasper & Jupiter Quartets play Mendelssohn, Visconti, and Golijov

January 31, 2021
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This joint album from the Jupiter String Quartet and Jasper String Quartet is striking for its backstory but really memorable for its smart program and fine execution.

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Book Review: “What, and Give Up Showbiz?” — The Busy Life of Boston Impresario Fred Taylor

January 28, 2021
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Boston’s Fred Taylor was by turns (and often simultaneously) a recording engineer, promo man, artist manager, talent scout, press agent, newspaper columnist, concert promoter, club manager, nightclub owner, restaurant, and movie house owner.

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Jazz Album Review: Dave Stryker’s “Baker’s Circle” — Welcoming the Past

January 27, 2021
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This is a well-rounded session of disciplined, well-crafted composing and soloing, with established and up-and-coming players mixing it up with style and commitment.

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Jazz Album Review: “Garden of Expression” — Virtuosic Meditations

January 25, 2021
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It’s easy to single out each of these musicians, but listeners will hear the three as nearly one, which is surely what this trinity intended.

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