This is state-of-the-art modern jazz with an up-and-coming lead soloist, well-chosen guests, and a dream rhythm section.
Review
Poetry Review: Maureen N. McLane’s “More Anon” — Lots of Existential Fun
Her poems are sassy.
Classical Album Review: “The Other Cleopatra”—Three Major Opera Composers Bring Us the Forgotten Queen of Armenia
A delightful recording — and the first ever! — of arias from Hasse’s and Gluck’s operas about Tigranes and Cleopatra of Pontus. Plus four arias by Vivaldi for that same Cleopatra.
Blues Album Review: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram’s “662” — A Mature Triumph
662 will appeal to hard-core blues fans along with those who want more of a hyphenated blues sound, be it blues-rock, blues-funk or blues-pop.
Book Review: “Disquiet” — A Compassionate Litany of Tragedies in The Middle East
This is a timely novel, a lament for the multicultural harmony that has disappeared from Mesopotamia as well as a dire warning: fundamentalism is on the rise, not just in the Middle East but in the West as well.
Film Review: “Stillwater” Runs Superficial
The irony is that this effort, surely not the last, of Hollywood reaching out to the “solid” citizens of Trump’s America will only alienate them further.
Jazz Album Review: Valuable Blasts from the Past — Bill Evans and Roy Hargrove & Mulgrew Miller
Two previously unreleased archival recordings take us on trips into the past well worth taking.
Opera Album Review: August Enna’s Wagnarian “Kleopatra” — Revived on Danish Soil After 122 Years
August Enna’s colorful and vividly melodramatic score does justice to the robust exoticism of H. Rider Haggard’s novel.
Arts Feature: The Lockdown Underground — Discoveries in Isolation
Stuck in a world where regular shopping was rare and live performances extinct, the right path seemed to be the curls and swirls of mentions and references that led to surprising new or little-known artists and fascinating new levels of famous ones.
Concert Review: John Williams’ Violin Concerto no. 2 at Tanglewood
On first impression, John Williams’ second violin concerto didn’t strike me as an instant classic, but there’s more than a little here to warrant repeated listening.