Music

Film/Music Review: The Best Music Documentaries of 2020 — With Some Disppointments

December 29, 2020
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Some of the best music documentaries of 2020 – and some disappointments

Opera CD Review: William Alwyn’s Powerful Take on Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” — A Neglected Masterpiece

December 25, 2020
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The second recording of William Alwyn’s searing opera confirms the work’s vitality and importance. It is one of the best and most accessible operas to have been written in the past few decades.

Book Review: “This Isn’t Happening: Radiohead’s “Kid A”” — An Enduring Soundtrack for our Malaise

December 24, 2020
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Steven Hyden’s ,/em>This Isn’t Happening, a book-length appreciation of Radiohead and Kid A is one of the best books I read all year.

Jazz Album Reviews: Ellis Marsalis and Monty Alexander — Lovers of Vinyl Rejoice

December 23, 2020
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This set proves Monty Alexander a more varied pianist than one might have thought. The Ellis Marsalis album is a final gift from one of America’s treasures.

Arts Feature: Best Classical Recordings of 2020

December 22, 2020
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The pandemic may have largely shut down live musical performances for 2020, but the recording industry remained alive and very active these past twelve months.

Book Review: “This Is Bop” — A Biography of Jon Hendricks, Master of Vocalese

December 22, 2020
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This biography provides a solid look at Jon Hendricks’s life and career; a well-rounded picture that is neither a hagiography nor a hatchet job.

Classical CD Reviews: Listening During COVID, Part 3 –From Boston with Love (Performances of Haydn, Dello Joio, and Virgil Thomson).

December 22, 2020
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Two new recordings and one much-welcome re-release contain first-rate performances of Haydn’s 1798 “Lord Nelson” Mass, Dello Joio’s opera about Joan of Arc, and Virgil Thomson’s astonishing musical portraits of Alice B. Toklas, Picasso, and others.

Rock Feature: Boston’s Salem 66 — Ripe for Rediscovery

December 21, 2020
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Could there be a Salem 66 reissue campaign on the horizon? Hope springs eternal for fans of the predominantly female quartet.

Blues Album Review: Robert Connely Farr’s “Country Supper” — Feed a Hunger for That Lonesome Delta Sound

December 19, 2020
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Country Supper is a beautifully produced album, a cohesive musical and artistic statement that will appeal to serious fans of the blues, country, and indie rock.

Album Review: Slauson Malone’s “Vergangenheitsbewältigung” — Struggling to Cope with the Past

December 18, 2020
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Vergangenheitsbewältigung only runs 24 minutes: it is a compact, thought-provoking, and rewarding sensory experience.

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