It is remarkable that two prime discoveries in John Coltrane’s recording history should appear in the same year; one of them an improved elevation from the world of underground tapes, the other a total surprise.
Music
Fuse Concert Review: An Opera Lost in Space
Handel and Haydn Society’s irreverent take on “Dido and Aeneas” is another example of an operatic trend in which production values push musical values to the sidelines
Rock Review: The Music Never Stopped
With the arrival of a new biography and DVD, guitarist Jimi Hendrix may have finally gotten his due, the pieces of his puzzle finally assembled, with just enough mystery left over for the ages. “Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix” by Charles R. Cross. (Hyperion); “Jimi Hendrix Live at Woodstock [The Deluxe […]
Jazz Album Review: Playing the Music Eclectic
For fans of jazz, world music, Americana — in short, for fans of all the genres guitarist Bill Frisell has explored over the past decade — “East/West” is a must. By James Marcus Will the real Bill Frisell please stand up? It’s a question his admirers have been asking with increasing frequency over the past […]
Hot Night in Tanglewood
Don Quixote, Stalin, and a deadbeat 18th century nobleman trigger musical magic at a series of concerts in the Berkshires.
Arts Commentary: Classical Musical Chairs
The controversy over the appointment of a woman to become the conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra boils down to issues of power and gender. By Mark Kroll It’s been a tough year for conductors. In February, David Miller was in southern France conducting “Don Giovanni” with his Bulgarian orchestra when French police burst in […]
Music Review: The Folk Rock Boys
Frank Black of the Pixies and bad boy Ryan Adams have put out new albums that, at their mellow best, skillfully substitute pedal steel for screams. By Danielle Dreilinger The 2005 Newport Folk Festival made an unusual decision when it came time to pick their Saturday headliner: seminal indie-rock band the Pixies, famous for the […]
The Aunties of Uncle Earl
Despite the fame of Alison Krauss, women bluegrass performers have been rare. The arrival of the all-female quintet Uncle Earl suggests things are going to change.
Perfectly Picaresque
The Decemberists’ album offers a lineup of tunes that would soothe Shakespeare on a balmy evening.
Classical Music Commentary: Past Imperfect
Old recordings of classical music may have less to teach us than many critics think. By Mark Kroll It has been more than 100 years since the first wax cylinder scratched out a reproduction of someone screaming into a megaphone, but classical music recordings still “can’t get no respect.” A common lament has been that, […]