A household name in Black America, Lee Williams had little need for the kind of crossover project that can earn a gospel act attention from the secular music media.
Music
Rock Album Review: “Gold-Diggers Sound” — Lulling to the Max
Leon Bridges is the master of soft sensual tones, particularly when he intermingles the romantic and the steamy.
Music Remembrance: Don Everly (1937-2021)
The Everly Brothers’ close harmony work was so sinuous it sometimes seemed close to witchcraft.
Rock Concert: Wilco and Sleater-Kinney — Honoring the Spirit of Charlie Watts
Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein gave Charlie Watts a shout-out, while Wilco’s Glenn Kotche displayed the words “Charlie is my Darling” (the title of a 1966 Stones tour documentary) on the head of his bass drum.
Music Remembrance: Charlie Watts (1941-2021)
Watts’ relentlessly unembellished drive on dozens of classic songs, from “Satisfaction” and “Shattered” to “Connection,” is what makes them so danceable.
Classical Album Review: François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles — “Stravinsky: Ballets Russes”
Texturally, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles’ serve up diaphanous performances.
Rock Preview: The Zulus’ Reunion — A Band That Can’t Be Ignored
“Once we have the chemistry in the room, it’ll come back,” says the Zulus’ guitarist Rich Gilbert.
Classical Album Review: Lincoln Trio’s Splendid “Trios from the City of Big Shoulders”
One of the year’s stand-out releases: full of wonderful music, all of it well worth getting to know, and played to the hilt.
Film Review: “Fire Music: A History of the Free Jazz Revolution” — Informative but Incomplete
What’s on the screen rings true, but Fire Music falls short of being fair to history.
Jazz Album Review: “Relief: A Benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America’s Musicians’ Emergency Fund”
There’s a pleasing variety in this collection, which serves up valuable music that might not have otherwise been heard.