World Music
The Slide Brothers fuse steel with gospel, Etana brings the roots back to reggae, Duke Levine steps out on his own, and much, much more this month.
The merry mood, welcoming atmospherics, and cultural richness of this year’s Irish “Christmas Revels” make it the perfect family event.
Don’t expect a standard musical. Think of Fela! as an immersive, artsy, concert experience featuring virtuoso displays of dance and musicianship.
While jazz and classical Hindustani music, tap and kathak, share a number of striking elements, the collaboration presented in India Jazz Suites is not about “fusion.”
Between songs Touré and Raichel conferred inaudibly with one another, deciding which tune they would play next. There was very little chatting up the audience, until before the fourth song. Raichel said “Hello, Boston.” Touré asked, “How you doing?” and the audience roared.
This CD marks a turning point: a solo effort by Basya Schechter with outstanding back-up by a wide range of musicians that features music based on the Yiddish poetry of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
The strength of the poetry is the ambiance it creates. Narrative is almost totally submerged in imagery, which may seem natural enough in verse but often is not the case.
When the Boston Jewish Music Festival presented a special afternoon of Lazar Weiner’s Yiddish Art Songs, it became clear that it’s time for a reappraisal that will bring these small, intense gems back into broader musical circulation.
Recent Comments