Review

Blues Album Review: Christone “Kingfish” Ingram’s “662” — A Mature Triumph

July 28, 2021
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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

July 28, 2021
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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

July 28, 2021
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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

July 27, 2021
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Two previously unreleased archival recordings take us on trips into the past well worth taking.

Opera Album Review: August Enna’s Wagnerian “Kleopatra” — Revived on Danish Soil After 122 Years

July 27, 2021
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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

July 26, 2021
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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’s Violin Concerto no. 2 at Tanglewood

July 25, 2021
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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.

Poetry Review: “Beowulf & Beyond” — A Rousing Night Out with Old English

July 25, 2021
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Translator Dan Veach invites us to “pull up a bench in the mead hall, grab a brew, and enjoy a jazzy new performance.”

Jazz Album Review: “Mingus at Carnegie Hall” — A Deluxe Edition of a Wondrous Evening

July 25, 2021
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This re-release features 72 minutes of unreleased music. Nearly every track on the two-hour set pushes the 20-minute range, with results more exhilarating than exhausting.

Classical Album Review: American Quintets — Why Has it Taken so Long?

July 24, 2021
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This disc from the London-based Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective pairs piano quintets by Amy Beach and Florence Price with Samuel Barber’s haunting “Dover Beach.”

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