Michael Finnissy was born in Tulse Hill, London in 1946 and studied at the Royal College of Music. He later studied in Italy with Roman Vlad. He went on to create the music department of the London School of Contemporary Dance, and has been associated as composer with many notable British dance companies. He has … Continue reading WAM : new recording of music by Michael Finnissy
Month: February 2016
New Hyperion : Haydn String Quartets – Op. 50
Hyperion Records has continued its excellent series of Haydn string quartets by the London Haydn Quartet with the newly released Op. 50 quartets. This group of works has a tendancy to be somewhat of a dark horse among Haydn's quartets, but these works are some of the his best and adventurous. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycy98U6FxQ4 Here's a lengthy … Continue reading New Hyperion : Haydn String Quartets – Op. 50
Four Post-Bop Classics on Blue Note
Post-bop is jazz from the mid-1960s onward that assimilates hard bop, modal jazz, avant-garde and free jazz without necessarily being immediately identifiable as any of the above. According to musicologist Jeremy Yudkin, post-bop does not follow "the conventions of bop or the apparently formless freedom of the new jazz". He wrote in his definition of … Continue reading Four Post-Bop Classics on Blue Note
Miles Davis “Lost Quintet” : Live in Europe 1969
It’s been said, "You haven't heard Miles Davis, until you've experienced him live in concert.” And with with over 36 official live recordings (and countless unofficial bootlegs) the release in 2013 of the Miles Davis Quintet from 1969, Live in Europe, adds what amounts to one of the most important live recordings ever. "It was … Continue reading Miles Davis “Lost Quintet” : Live in Europe 1969
Pets
I had never been a "cat person". All the cats my wife and I had were wonderful pets but were more hers than mine. That was true until we brought Sam into our home in October of 1998. Sam had a way of engaging you with his gaze that just made you feel there was … Continue reading Pets
Athens, Alabama-based Alabama Shakes : Sound & Color
Muscle Shoals-inspired, Athens, Alabama-based quartet Alabama Shakes formed in 2009 around the talents of Brittany Howard, Zac Cockrell, Steve Johnson, and Heath Fogg. Originally simply called the Shakes, the band's blend of fiery blues-rock and hard-hitting Southern soul drew comparisons to the Black Keys, Drive-By Truckers, the Detroit Cobras, and even Sharon Jones & the … Continue reading Athens, Alabama-based Alabama Shakes : Sound & Color
Lucinda’s Louisiana Ghosts : Highway 20
One year after the release of her double album, Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, Lucinda Williams has released another record. The Ghosts of Highway 20 (February 5th), which focuses on a region which I know well. Having grown up in Shreveport, Louisiana, I-20 (which Lucinda calls a highway) runs right through my home … Continue reading Lucinda’s Louisiana Ghosts : Highway 20
American Original : Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974)
"I am not an instrument-maker, but a philosophical music-man seduced into carpentry." American composer Harry Partch (1901-1974) had a musical vision for which 12-toned instruments were not enough. His objection to the standard western classical scale wasn’t so much along the philosophical lines of Schoenberg and other early 20th-century atonalists; he was mainly frustrated by … Continue reading American Original : Harry Partch (June 24, 1901 – September 3, 1974)
Muddy Water[s] : Down on Stovall’s Plantation
“Name McKinley Morganfield, nickname Muddy Water, Stovall’s famous guitar picker,” Muddy clearly said in his first ever recording session, August 1941. McKinley “Muddy Water” Morganfield, of course, the father of modern Chicago Blues, and the only household Blues name – along with B.B. King. Note that “Water” is singular, and the beauty here is that … Continue reading Muddy Water[s] : Down on Stovall’s Plantation
Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) : Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions
Perhaps the greatest Modern Italian composer after Puccini, Luigi Dallapiccola was born in Pisino, in the disputed territory of Istria, then under Austrian rule (it is now part of Croatia and Slovenia). His father, a teacher suspected of Italian nationalism, lost his job during World War I, and the Austrian government interned the entire family … Continue reading Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) : Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions
Musica Kaleidoskopea 