Music

Music Commentary: “Now and Then” — Nostalgia By and For the Beatles

November 13, 2023
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In many ways, “Now and Then” is the fitting gift — a single closing bookend, which Paul McCartney has called the Beatles’ last record.

Classical Album Review: World-Premiere Recording of Kurt Weill’s “Prophets” and Thomas Hampson in Weill’s “Whitman Songs”

November 12, 2023
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A world-premiere recording of Kurt Weill’s “Prophets” — originally intended as the last act of “The Eternal Road” — with excellent singers, plus Thomas Hampson in Weill’s Walt Whitman Songs.

Classical Album Reviews: Emerson String Quartet’s “Infinite Voyage” and Robert Trevino conducts Respighi

November 12, 2023
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The Emerson String Quartet concludes its recorded legacy pretty much the way it began it — in musical glory. Robert Trevino and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI’s Respighi has plenty of spirit and heart.

Author Interview: Critic Jim Sullivan on 45 Years of Modern Rock Chats & Rants

November 10, 2023
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An interview with veteran rock critic Jim Sullivan, who just dropped “Backstage & Beyond: Volume 2: 45 Years of Modern Rock Chats & Rants” in October.

Jazz Album Review: Hays Street Hart’s “Bridges” — A Beautifully Recorded Group Effort

November 8, 2023
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This is a trio of superb songsters, whose individual lyricisms support each other

Concert Review: Bob Dylan at the Orpheum — Far From the Same Old Song

November 4, 2023
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Songs were wholesale rearranged, and, most strikingly, Bob Dylan was a commanding presence at the baby grand piano for an 18-song, nearly two-hour set.

Jazz Album Review: “Pastor’s Paradox” — Paying Homage to Martin Luther King, Musically

October 31, 2023
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The intent of this fine album to dramatize the enduring legacy of Martin Luther King: no justice, no peace.

Opera Album Commentary: Maria Callas — Believe Her

October 31, 2023
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A massive, comprehensive new box set once again shows us the diva’s indomitable place in the history of opera.

Concert Review: My Morning Jacket at Roadrunner — Interesting and Overly Diffuse

October 27, 2023
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My Morning Jacket remains one of rock’s best live acts, and a stylistically broad one. And more bands should be so generous in not only representing their entire catalog but mixing up the song selection every night.

Book Review: “Lena Horne — Goddess Reclaimed”

October 27, 2023
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One might conjecture that  Lena Horne’s career was something like a mink-lined minefield: the promise of wealth and fame went hand-in-hand with the possibility of annihilation.

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