Music
The master alto saxophonist Richie Cole died on May 2 at age 72. The cause of death has not been announced, so it’s unknown for now if it was related to COVID-19.
Play The Way You Feel is the best volume around on the uneasy relationship between film and jazz.
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.
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.
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.
An admiration for certain defeat permeates much of The Mountain Goats’ album Songs for Pierre Chuvin.
The cumulative message of these heavy metal bands might be: “I see your pandemic, and I raise you one.”
What strikes this listener most is the writing’s disjointedly distinctive — sometimes unfathomable — sounds and textures, as well as the music’s unpredictable flow.
In Rock Bottom Rhapsody, Pokey LaFarge shows us where all America’s prophetic manias must lead: collapse.
Classical Music Commentary: The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2020-21 Season Announcement
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.
Read More about Classical Music Commentary: The Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 2020-21 Season Announcement