Music

Book Review: “Next Big Thing” — The Music Scene and Rock Clubs of 1980s Boston, Revived

November 30, 2013
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In “Next Big Thing,” Terry Kitchen’s prose brings 1980s Boston, its music scene, and its rock clubs—from the long gone Rathskeller to the still standing Paradise—to life.

Album Review: Singer/Songwriter Jake Bugg Approaches “Shangri La”

November 27, 2013
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Jake Bugg is hardly a punk, but he’s definitely acquired a bite that he didn’t have on his debut album.

Concert Review: Wayne Shorter’s 80th Birthday Celebration — A Memorable Bash

November 26, 2013
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One doesn’t come away from a Wayne Shorter Quartet performance merely raving about individual accomplishments: the set on Sunday night never felt like just a compelling sequence of solos.

Music Interview: Childsplay — Featuring the Fiddles of Bob Childs

November 26, 2013
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What makes Childsplay unique and inspiring is its back story. Every one of the fiddles played on stage was made by Bob Childs, a Cambridge-based luthier who has been making exceptional instruments by hand for more than 30 years.

Fuse Concert Review: Pianist Fred Hersch and Guitarist Julian Lage — A Sublime Duo

November 23, 2013
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The set was thrilling, full of the most intelligent byplay, and consistently songful. Chamber music doesn’t get any better than this.

Classical Music CD Reviews: Lang Lang plays Prokofiev and Bartók (Sony Classical), Philadelphia Orchestra plays Stravinsky (Deutsche Grammophon)

November 21, 2013
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So we’ve got a mixed bag. If you get this Lang Lang disc, it should be for the Bartók, but not the Prokofiev: as things stand, the competition there simply blows Lang out of the water.

Classical Music CD Reviews: Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Early Classical Opera

November 20, 2013
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Two discs released by Harmonia Mundi benefit from the dramatic flair of conductor René Jacobs.

Concert Review: Joshua Bell at Symphony Hall

November 19, 2013
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Violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Sam Haywood delivered a highly entertaining and substantive (if too short) Sunday afternoon recital.

Rock Album Review: Beady Eye — “BE” Good?

November 19, 2013
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At its best, “BE” is an adventurous album, which automatically makes it an improvement over Beady Eye’s 2011 debut.

CD Review: Death Grips — Hands On the Modern Moment

November 18, 2013
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Hopefully, Death Grips can keep finding new ways to convey contemporary dissonance, because as it stands now they have produced four of the most important musical works of the 21st Century.

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