When Sy Johnson, a jazz pianist and arranger, used to visit Charles Mingus at his apartment in the East Village in the 1960s, there was always a pot of soup on the stove, and Mingus—a gourmand who once interrupted a concert to eat a steak dinner on the bandstand—was constantly tasting it. “He would say—‘Needs … Continue reading Charles Mingus : The Jazz Workshop Concerts: 1964-1965
Month: January 2016
American Original : John Fahey (1939-2001)
“I consider myself a classical guitar player, but I’m categorized as a folk musician,” John Fahey says ruefully in the new documentary In Search of Blind Joe Death—The Saga of John Fahey. In true Fahey fashion, he speaks humbly while taking Occam’s Razor to his own complicated place in music history. One thing that Fahey … Continue reading American Original : John Fahey (1939-2001)
Abbey Lincoln : A Turtle’s Dream
Singer Abbey Lincoln has been persuasive in her recordings over the past few years, but in her latest release, "A Turtle's Dream," she attains a new expressive depth and ardor. Probably the best recording of her career, "A Turtle's Dream" documents an artist who has pared down her means and her message to their essence. … Continue reading Abbey Lincoln : A Turtle’s Dream
Three Birthdays Today : Mississippi Fred McDowell; Jay McShann; Morton Feldman
When Mississippi Fred McDowell proclaimed on one of his last albums, "I do not play no rock & roll," it was less a boast by an aging musician swept aside by the big beat than a mere statement of fact. As a stylist and purveyor of the original Delta blues, he was superb, equal parts Charley … Continue reading Three Birthdays Today : Mississippi Fred McDowell; Jay McShann; Morton Feldman
God Don’t Never Change : The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson
Seminal gospel-blues artist Blind Willie Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest bottleneck slide guitarists. Yet the Texas street-corner evangelist is known as much for the his powerful and fervent gruff voice as he is for his ability as a guitarist. He most often sang in a rough, bass voice (only occasionally delivering in … Continue reading God Don’t Never Change : The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson
Maurice Duruflé : The Last Impressionist
Maurice Duruflé (11 January 1902 – 16 June 1986) was a French composer, organist, and teacher. Although he was born in 1902 and died in 1986, Maurice Duruflé is not a typical 20th-century musician. Compared with other great composers of his day — Bernstein, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Britten — he seems strangely out of touch with … Continue reading Maurice Duruflé : The Last Impressionist
Composer Profile : Kate Soper
Kate Soper is a composer, performer, and writer whose work explores the integration of drama and rhetoric into musical structure, the slippery continuums of expressivity, intelligibility and sense, and the wonderfully treacherous landscape of the human voice. She has been hailed by the Boston Globe as “a composer of trenchant, sometimes discomfiting, power” and praised … Continue reading Composer Profile : Kate Soper
Francis Poulenc : Born today in 1899
Today is the birthday of French composer Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc, born in 1899. Poulenc has always had a special place in my heart ever since I first heard his music my first year at music school. Prior to my formal music studies my background had been in jazz and R&B. While I had a … Continue reading Francis Poulenc : Born today in 1899
Wynton Marsalis : His Jazz Suites from the 1990s
Shortly after Wynton Marsalis burst on the scene in the 1980s, he and what was seen as his “agenda” became subjects of controversy. Just prior, the Jazz scene had experienced Free Jazz and Fusion, both of which were styles Marsalis and his fellow traveler Stanley Crouch opined were “outside the tradition” of Jazz. Two decades … Continue reading Wynton Marsalis : His Jazz Suites from the 1990s
Musica Kaleidoskopea 