Music

Jazz Album Review: Jean-Pierre Zanella’s “Rio Minas” — For the Love of Brazil

May 3, 2020
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The songs by Milton Nascimento and Chico Buarque re-imagined on Rio Minas are not necessarily their best known, but all of the performances on this album eloquently testify to saxophonist Jean-Pierre Zanella’s love of Brazil and its people.

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Album Reviews: Billy Conway and Laurie Sargent — The Healing Power of Music and Community

May 1, 2020
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Laurie Sargent and Billy Conway found their sanctuary under the big sky of rural Montana, and their art echoes the genuine nature of their lives, shared across the miles with their Boston base.

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Classical Music Commentary: The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2020-21 Season Announcement

April 30, 2020
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If ever there was a season the BSO needed to put its right foot forward — balancing the core repertory with some strong steps outside of it — this is the one.

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Jazz Interview: Drummer George Schuller on Working with Lee Konitz

April 28, 2020
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It amazed me that Lee Konitz in his nineties could still find his way through a maze of changes, chorus after chorus, and at the same time be capable of weaving a beautiful, unscripted melody while producing a sound so wide, one could crawl into it.

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Rock Album Review: The Mountain Goats — In Praise of Loss

April 28, 2020
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An admiration for certain defeat permeates much of The Mountain Goats’ album Songs for Pierre Chuvin.

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Rock Reviews: Heavy Metal Round-Up — Competing Apocalypses

April 27, 2020
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The cumulative message of these heavy metal bands might be: “I see your pandemic, and I raise you one.”

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Jazz CD Review: “Both Are True” — A Big Band Chock Full of the Unexpected

April 24, 2020
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What strikes this listener most is the writing’s disjointedly distinctive — sometimes unfathomable — sounds and textures, as well as the music’s unpredictable flow.

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Music Review: Pokey LaFarge’s “Rock Bottom Rhapsody” — To Hell and Back with That Wholesome Midwestern Troubadour

April 22, 2020
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In Rock Bottom Rhapsody, Pokey LaFarge shows us where all America’s prophetic manias must lead: collapse.

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Arts Commentary: The Late Annie Ross — An Appreciation

April 21, 2020
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Renowned singer and actress Annie Ross is urgently in need of financial assistance to pay for home care during this pandemic.

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Jazz Album Review: Leslie Beukelman’s “Golden Daffodil” — Creative Ambition

April 21, 2020
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Singer Leslie Beukelman has a lot going for her, including her time, the quality of her voice, her control of improvisation, and her capacity to reach deeply into a ballad.

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