Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (8 March 1566 – 8 September 1613) was Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza. As a musician he is best known for writing intensely expressive madrigals and pieces of sacred music that use a chromatic language not heard again until the late 19th century. He is also known for his cruelty … Continue reading Born today, Don Carlo Gesualdo is a much maligned polyphonic genius
Author: f. d. leone
Songwriter.
Townes Van Zandt one of America’s greatest songwriters was born today.
Townes Van Zandt one of America’s greatest songwriters was born today. He would have been 72, but left this world in 1997, far too early. If to live is to fly, as Townes Van Zandt would warble, then he himself, to quote from his devout admirer Willie Nelson, was an angel flying too close to … Continue reading Townes Van Zandt one of America’s greatest songwriters was born today.
WAM : new recording of music by Michael Finnissy
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
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)
Musica Kaleidoskopea 