Music
Film/Album Review: “Omar Sosa’s 88 Well-Tuned Drums” — A Superb Documentary About a Brilliant Artist
Part of what makes pianist Omar Sosa such a fascinating (and successful) musician is how his complex music constantly dances back and forth, between charming the mind and charging up the body.
This month, the veteran guitarist, singer, and songwriter released his first solo album, 99 Shots, and found himself leaning in a direction he had spent decades avoiding.
Now that the pandemic dust has settled, Dalia Davis’s album warrants excavating and shining a long-awaited spotlight on.
Part of the pleasure of reviewing Skylark’s performances is to spread the word: this vocal ensemble is nothing short of amazing.
Over the course of Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s two-hour show the tension between magnificent creativity and near collapse were palpable.
Sir Simon Rattle revisits the music of Benjamin Britten and Elim Chan once again draws on her remarkable ear for detail.
“Soul & Salvation” is a short album, and you’ll be sorry when it’s over. It’s hardly an essential album in Dizzy Gillespie’s long discography, but you won’t regret giving it a listen.
The performance of John Adams’s “City Noir” is swift and characterful, though sometimes pushed perhaps a bit too hard for its own good. The rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “Serenade” is clear but a bit too safe.
Gary Clark Jr.’s “JPEG RAW” could be seen as an orchard whose far-reaching sonic branches — nurtured by the rich, fertile, and ancient soil of the blues — stretch into jazz, hip hop, and funk.
Jazz Remembrance: David Sanborn, Way Beyond Smooth
He was lucky to be so well-rewarded for doing what he loved to do, and we were always lucky to hear him.
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