Articles about composers, periods and styles, methods of composing.
Charley Patton is generally considered the oldest Delta blues musician with his work surviving in over 50 recordings. Born some time between 1885 and 1891 he probably was playing around his country from the first decade of the 20th century until his death in 1934. Son House knew him and played with him but was … Continue reading Charley Patton
Black, Brown and Beige was at the time of its debut Ellington's most misunderstood and under appreciated work. The 1943 Carnegie Hall Concert live recording presents the work in its only Ellington-led complete form. But after the initial critical trashing of the work he performed it once more, and then removed it from his band's … Continue reading Duke Ellington’s Black, Brown and Beige finally arrives
The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is the world’s only year-round, professional ensemble re-creating “America’s Original Music” – the syncopated sounds of early musical theater, silent cinema, and vintage dance. The PRO came into being as the result of Rick Benjamin’s 1985 discovery of thousands of turn-of-the-century orchestra scores once belonging to Victrola recording star Arthur Pryor. … Continue reading The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra
The sources for the history and overview of Mass include Anthony Tommasini's 2018 New York Times piece, "Is ‘Mass’ Leonard Bernstein’s Best Work, or His Worst?", the work description on the Leonard Bernstein Office website and Wikipedia. The controversy over Leonard Bernstein’s Mass began with its premiere in 1971. In his review for The New … Continue reading Leonard Bernstein’s Mass : Newer Recordings
Abigail Washburn is an American clawhammer banjo player and singer. She performs and records as a soloist, as well as with the old-time bands Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet, experimental group The Wu Force, and as a duo with her husband Béla Fleck. If American old-time music is about taking earlier, simpler ways of life … Continue reading Abigail Washburn : clawhammer banjo player and singer
Mandolin Orange is an Americana duo based out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group was formed in 2009 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and consists of the group's songwriter Andrew Marlin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and Emily Frantz (vocals, violin, guitar). Mandolin Orange has produced five albums of Marlin's original works. Their music draws … Continue reading Mandolin Orange : always firmly grounded in the South
May Erlewine is a musician from Big Rapids, Michigan. She sings and plays the guitar, piano, violin, and other instruments. She is also a songwriter, with over 15 albums of original work published since the beginning of her career, in the early 2000s. Her songs have been covered by other artists, on the local and … Continue reading May Erlewine : prolific and passionate songwriter
Raised in Wannamaker, Indiana, folksinger and songwriter Otis Gibbs' raspy vocals and sharp lyrics have had him compared to Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, and early Tom Waits, but his socially conscious writing style also puts him in a line that reaches back to Woody Guthrie and Peter Seeger. (Allmusic.com, Steve Leggett) His introduction to performing came … Continue reading Otis Gibbs : Thanks for Giving a Damn
The Ornette Coleman Trio, with Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone, violin, trumpet), David Izenzon (double bass) and Charles Moffett (drums), was the second working group that Coleman put together after the ensemble of his Atlantic years and with whom he recorded more than one album. The most famous release is a live date called, At the … Continue reading The Ornette Coleman Trio with David Izenzon, bass, and Charles Moffett, drums
Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s in the piano trio of Bill Evans, and later was a regular in pianist Keith Jarrett's … Continue reading Paul Motian : Trios and more
Musica Kaleidoskopea 