Review

Jazz Commentary: Four Recent Composer-Driven Jazz Releases — New Wine in New Bottles

October 4, 2023
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Four recent releases illustrate what can happen when the only limits are the imagination of the composer and the passion of the performers.

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Poetry Review: “Aquamarine” — Stonecutter’s Craft

October 3, 2023
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Valerie Duff’s polished style is thoughtful and observant, her fluent voice compressed and controlled. She constructs meticulous lines with (to borrow one of her phrases from these pages) a “stonecutter’s precision.”

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Jazz Album Reviews: Winners from Roy McGrath, Chembo Corniel, and Big Band Leaders Marcos Fernández and Arturo O’Farrill

October 2, 2023
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Big band leader Arturo O’Farrill points out that “Santiago Brooklyn Santiago” makes a forceful argument that the embargo between Cuba and the United States should be done away with.

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Theater Review: “Fat Ham” — Hamlet at the BBQ

October 1, 2023
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In “Fat Ham,” Black pain and repressed desire are transformed into a celebration of liberation and empowerment — once the villain du jour, the patriarchy, has been dispatched.

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Television Review: “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” — The Virtues of Redemption

October 1, 2023
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Less is more in Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar”.

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Concert Review: The Tedeschi Trucks Band — A Triumph in the Arenas

September 30, 2023
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The bottom line: the Tedeschi Trucks Band proved that the group, and its hybrid of classic rock, soul, blues, and jazz, could rule on arena stages.

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Book Review: “American Purgatory” — Prison as a Form of Social Control

September 30, 2023
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“American Purgatory” is the sort of book reactionary politicians and organizations are trying to ban. It’s full of evidence that many of the attitudes and conditions prevalent in this country from its founding were racist, bigoted, even genocidal.

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Theater Review: “Lunar Eclipse” — Stepping into the Light

September 28, 2023
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Dramatist Donald Margulies seems to be putting his hand on the heart of the heartland — as well as taking the pulse of a pair of aging boomers. Read More

Visual Arts Review: “Strong Women in Renaissance Italy” — Women’s Lives Mattered

September 27, 2023
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The show would have been stronger if more context had been provided, both about women’s lives and the artistic traditions that inspired and influenced artists of the Renaissance.

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Doc Talk: Two at CineFest Latino Boston — Totaled Recall

September 27, 2023
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What happens when, through unwillingness or incapacity, memory is lost or forsaken? Two documentaries at the CineFest Latino Boston explore some answers.

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