a kaleidoscopic view of music
This is where I will post my thoughts about my favorite classical or jazz CDs and sometimes survey the various recordings of a specific piece.
In May of this year (2018), Charles Lloyd & The Marvels released their second album Vanished Gardens; this one featuring Lucinda Williams. In the opinion of this writer, it is simply fantastic. However, be forewarned, Vanished Gardens is genre-bending music and if you are looking for a strictly jazz record from Lloyd this is not it. But there is … Continue reading Charles Lloyd + Lucinda Williams = jazz + roots = fantastic
J. S. BACH SIX SUITES FOR SOLO VIOLA Kim Kashkashian, Viola Release Date: October 12, 2018 Label: ECM Records The disc features J.S. Bach’s cornerstone 6 Solo Cello Suites – transcribed for solo viola. “The Bach cello suites have been a life long partner and teacher … every day, we learn anew from our … Continue reading J. S. BACH SIX SUITES FOR SOLO VIOLA : Kim Kashkashian, Viola
Guillaume de Machaut (c1300–1377) is considered now, as he was in his own day, the most significant French poet and composer of the fourteenth century. Sometimes described as ‘the last of the trouvères’ because of his dual talents as wordsmith and musician, Machaut built on past traditions yet spearheaded a new school of lyric composition. … Continue reading The Orlando Consort’s latest installment in their complete survey of the music of Guillaume de Machaut : The Gentle Physician
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
Chris Coole got his first banjo when he was 17 years old after falling in love with the sounds of folk and early country music. Today, Chris is known internationally for his clawhammer banjo style, songwriting, and singing. Early on, Chris discovered the joys of busking. His practice halls were the streets and subway of … Continue reading Chris Coole : Clawhammer banjo and more
On his first album of new songs in over 13 years, John Prine’s new songs on The Tree of Forgiveness are presented with ragged simplicity and homey cheer. Then the veteran tunesmith moves to songs of stark resolve. But, just as you think his world has gone off the cliff, Prine ends the record with … Continue reading John Prine’s latest is among his best
You’re Driving Me Crazy is the third album Van Morrison has released since September of 2017, when he delivered the hard-charging blues of Roll With the Punches. In December, he put out Versatile, an amiable collection grounded by standards that found him moving toward jazz. Morrison’s newest release delves even deeper into the genre, pairing the 1960s legend with jazz … Continue reading Van Morrison : You’re Driving Me Crazy
