Stories » Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road & Rhiannon Giddens. Need we say more? / The Bluegrass Situation

Stories for July 06, 2020

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    Sharon Isbin's 'Affinity' has textural clarity and a perfect balance / musical america
     
    Posted At : July 6, 2020 12:00 AM

    Sharon Isbin has been a tireless commissioner of new work and her latest album Affinity is no exception with several recent compositions set alongside some old friends. It's Chris Brubeck's 18-minute Guitar Concerto-the longest and most colorful work here-that gives the album its title and opens proceedings. The concerto's name alludes to a shared "affinity" between composer and soloist, two musicians who thrive on exploring different styles. Like his father jazz legend Dave Brubeck, Chris Brubeck has his roots in jazz, but despite its plentiful toe-tapping syncopation, Affinity is most definitely a classical work. At its atmospheric heart the composer manages to incorporate one of his father's loveliest tunes-"Autumn in Our Town"-before a lilting Renaissance dance section ups the tempo to end with something akin to a wriggling Brazilian samba. Highly energetic, melodically infectious, and colorfully scored, Affinity is a real crowd pleaser, and with her immaculate and fleet-footed technique Isbin does it proud. The Maryland Symphony Orchestra under Music Director Elizabeth Schulze has just the right feel for this music and the excellent engineering ensures both textural clarity and a perfect balance. It's 40 years since Leo Brouwer wrote his solo guitar work El Decameron Negro for Isbin, and although she's recorded it previously, her interpretation has only deepened with time. The three evocative instrumental "ballads" are inspired by African love stories infused with the musical sensibilities of Brouwer's native Cuba. Isbin is a natural storyteller and is in her element here, putting on a virtuoso display full of light, shade, and manual dexterity. Ditto Tan Dun's Seven Desires, an intriguing solo work that straddles-and fuses-the seemingly disparate worlds of the Chinese pipa and Spanish flamenco guitar. Antonio Lauro's charming Waltz No. 3 is here arranged for two guitars by former Isbin student and now regular duet partner Colin Davin. The disc concludes with Richard Danielpour's Of Love and Longing, three contrasting settings for voice and guitar of the Persian poet Rumi. Performed here with great warmth and sensitivity by Isabel Leonard, it crowns an album that should please fans of Isbin and of contemporary guitar music in general.

  • Smartly played and engineered, Mark Abel's 'The Cave of Wondrous Voice' is music of expressive directness and charm / the arts fuse
     
    Posted At : July 1, 2020 12:00 AM

    One would find it hard to beat the all-star line-up featured in The Cave of Wondrous Voice, a new, hour-long survey of vocal and chamber music by the California-based composer Mark Abel. David Shifrin, Carol Rosenberger, Hila Plitmann, and Fred Sherry headline the album but they're not its only stars. On the whole, The Cave of Wonderous Voice is smartly played and engineered. Abel's writing throughout is fluent and often genial. While certain spots in the Trio, particularly, might benefit from grittier moments to offset the diatonic ones, this is music of considerable expressive directness as well as charm. SEE ALL the arts fuse Classical CD Reviews

  • Michael Shapiro joins FM91: Toledo to talk about his John Milton-inspired piano concerto - Archangel
     
    Posted At : July 1, 2020 12:00 AM

    Composer, pianist, and conductor Michael Shapiro joins us to talk about the music on his latest disc, including his John Milton-inspired piano concerto entitled Archangel. In this action-packed work, Shapiro lays out the epic Biblical battle between good and evil as a metaphor for the challenges we all face in our daily lives (which includes the current coronavirus pandemic – something Michael recently fell victim to himself). Also on the disc: orchestral excerpts from an opera based on Federico Garcia Lorca, and a full-throttle realization for orchestra of the famous organ Toccata by French composer Charles-Marie Widor. LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION

  • John Scofield & Steve Swallow is like one big guitar / CD HOTLIST
     
    Posted At : July 1, 2020 12:00 AM

    There are a few guitarists who are almost instantly recognizable by their tone: Richard Thompson, Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny - and John Scofield. It's not that his sound is idiosyncratic, it's just that it's personal. There's some chorus in there, and just a touch of distortion to rough up the very edges. But it's also the notes he plays, and the way that the blues are never far from him no matter how complex the chord changes get. On his latest solo album he's joined by drummer Bill Stewart and bassist Steve Swallow. As the title suggests, the album is actually a tribute to Swallow, and consists entirely of the bassist's compositions. Scofield has said that when the two of them play together "sometimes… it's like one big guitar," and you can definitely hear that; you can also hear why Scofield likes Swallow's tunes so much ("they're grounded in reality, with cadences that make sense"). As discursive as the trio sometimes gets - this is an ECM jazz recording, after all - they never lose the thread of brilliant continuity that binds these wonderful tunes together. For all jazz collections. SEE ALL THE CD HOTLIST REVIEWS

  • Camille Thomas - Voice of Hope is the WFMT: Featured New Release
     
    Posted At : June 30, 2020 12:00 AM

    Voice of Hope is Camille Thomas's second album for Deutsche Grammophon. The Franco-Belgian cellist's program pays tribute to people's ability to triumph over adversity, create harmony in place of chaos, and overcome hatred with love. The album presents the world-premiere recording of Fazil Say's concerto Never Give Up, a response to terrorist attacks in Paris and Istanbul written for and premiered by Thomas, and also includes an exquisite selection of songs, prayers, and laments, Bruch's Kol Nidrei and Ravel's Kaddisch among them. For June 30, Camille Thomas - Voice of Hope is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release'

  • A little goes a long way on Dave Soldier's 'Zajal' / jazz Journal
     
    Posted At : June 30, 2020 12:00 AM

    "There is no denying the emotional expression and feeling of the music, the joy and exuberance transmitted, and at times it certainly lifts the spirits, but unless you have a taste for this style, a little goes a long way" An intriguing release, this is really world music, drawing on Middle Eastern and Andalusian traditions, with guitarist and keyboard player Dave Soldier setting poems, mainly Hebrew and Arabic, to music. For this he uses traditional instrumentation with occasional elements of contemporary music and a sprinkling of jazz. There are jazz connections in the personnel – bassist Ratzo Harris played with Mose Allison and Betty Carter, trombonist Chris Washburne with Eddie Palmieri, and Soldier himself studied with Roscoe Mitchell. But apart from this, the link is minimal. READ THE FULL jazz Journal REVIEW

  • Lucas Debargue joins 'Ludwig Van Toronto' with words on some of his pandemic-projects, reading list, and the importance of emphasizing our similarities rather than differences.
     
    Posted At : June 30, 2020 12:00 AM

    Recently French composer and pianist Lucas Debargue breathed new life into the harpsichord sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti and presents works outside the standard piano repertoire. The Parisian pianist has already climbed the pinnacle of piano artistry with Beethoven, Liszt and Ravel and unleashed full-blown romantic thunderstorms with Schubert's A-minor Piano Sonata no. 14 and the madcap finale of Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. On the album, Debargue devotes himself completely to Domenico Scarlatti. He already played four of this Italian master's sonatas on his highly acclaimed début album. Germany's Der Spiegel waxed ecstatic: "Debargue's Scarlatti recalls his mighty predecessors. He displays the subtle touch and feeling once bestowed on these miniatures by Vladimir Horowitz and imparts new sound to Scarlatti's keyboard music. … Debargue touches the outer limits of expression between joylessness and rapture: one may find it overwrought, but it's never less than gripping. And then there's the gentle Glenn Gould touch." Debargue joins us for this mini-episode of REMOTE with a couple words on some of his pandemic-projects, reading list, and the importance of emphasizing our similarities rather than differences.  READ THE Q&A

Top 10 for Jul

  • Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile :

    Not Our First Goat Rodeo

     Sony Music Masterworks today releases Not Our First Goat Rodeo, the long-awaited follow-up album to the GRAMMY Award-winning The Goat Rodeo Sessions, with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile.
  • Thelonious Monk :

    Palo Alto

     In the fall of 1968, a sixteen-year old high school student named Danny Scher had a dream to invite legendary jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk and his all-star quartet to perform a concert at his local high school in Palo Alto, CA.
  • Harry Connick Jr :

    Stars Still Shine

     GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning singer and actor Harry Connick, Jr.
  • Bettye LaVette :

    Blackbirds

     Blues Hall of Famer Bettye LaVette has decided to release her stirring rendition of "Strange Fruit" ahead of schedule as it says as much about the history of American racism and the state of the country today.
  • Terence Blanchard :

    DA 5 BLOODS OMPS

     Milan Records today releases DA 5 BLOODS (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SCORE) with music composed by six-time GRAMMY® Award-winning trumpeter and composer TERENCE BLANCHARD.
  • Jimmy Heath :

    Love Letter

     Verve Records announces the release of Love Letter, a parting masterpiece and the first all-ballads album from magisterial tenor saxophonist-composer Jimmy Heath.
  • Ludovico Einaudi :

    12 Songs From Home

     Ludovico Einaudi today releases a special 12-track digital collection, ‘12 Songs From Home', out digitally on Decca Records on 8thMay 2020 with artwork drawn by the composer.
  • Soundtracks :

    Animal Crackers

     Soon to be released on Netflix July 24th - Owen Huntington's life is one continuous loop of work, eat, and sleep.
  • John Scofield :

    Swallow Tales

     Guitarist John Scofield celebrates the music of his friend and mentor Steve Swallow in an outgoing and spirited recording, made in an afternoon in New York City in March 2019 - "old school" style as Scofield says, acknowledging that more than forty years of preparation led up to it.
  • El-P :

    Capone OMPS

     Milan Records Today Releases Capone (Original Motion Picture Score) With Music By The Grammy-Nominated Run The Jewels' Producer And Rapper El-P.

Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road & Rhiannon Giddens. Need we say more? / The Bluegrass Situation

Posted: March 3, 2016 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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The legendary cellist brought the talented solo artist and former member of Carolina Chocolate Drops on board for a project with the Silk Road Ensemble, a multi-national group of composers and performers Ma formed in 2000. The ensemble just readied a new album, Sing Me Home, featuring Giddens on the popular American folksong "St. James Infirmary Blues," which we're happy to premiere. Other guests on the album, out April 22, include Bill Frisell, Sarah Jarosz, and Gregory Porter. 

"Music is one of the best ways human beings have to code memory and often, at Silk Road, it's also the way we code friendships," Ma says. ""What an amazing session with the Silk Road Ensemble!" Giddens adds. "I was so honored to get to sing with these fabulous musicians, and you can tell we are all having a great time!" Listen to "St. James Infirmary Blues" and pre-order Sing Me Home here.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL Bluegrass Situation PAGE AND WATCH THE VIDEO

Crossover Media Projects with Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble

  • Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble

    Sing Me Home

    The latest album by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will surprise and delight, with guest performers and imaginative sounds that transform the traditional musical landscape. Sing Me Home is the sixth album by the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble and its founding member and guiding light Yo-Yo Ma. Available from Sony Music Masterworks. Sing Me Homeis a companion album, developed and recorded alongside The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, a documentary feature from Oscar® and Emmy-winning director Morgan Neville that tells the story of the Ensemble and Silkroad, its parent organization. The Music of Strangers is slated for theatrical release in June.

    14 NEW  272 Total
    SYND: NPR/ATC & Thistle & Shamrock, APM/Performance Today, PRI/C24, Echoes & The World, Sing Out!, Jazzfm
    Direct: SiriusXM, Music Choice, MOOD
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Seattle, St. Louis, Detroit, Denver, Portland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New Orleans, San Diego, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, Berkeley CA, San Antonio, Louisville, Wichita, Madison WI, Boulder CO., Montreal, Vancouver, Amsterdam
    INTER: Canada, UK, Ireland, Mexico, Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand
    Online: axs, CCTV, FilmNewEurope.com, MOVE - Maneater, The Bluegrass Situation Mother Jones, HuffPost, Parade.com, Musicas Imaginadas, allmusic, Bass Player, Wall Street Journal, MusicTAP, Musical Shapes, SONGLiNES, Yam Mag, yesasia.com, PopMatters, Taintradio, Smithsonian.com, Soulandjazz.com, JazzTimes, JazzPolice, examiner, SLANT, Metro, WSJ, Classical Candor, Quisqueya, RootsWorld, Observer.com, Hollywood Reporter, IndiWire

  • Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble

    A Playlist Without Borders

    The Silk Road Project has been on a mission to promote innovation and cross-cultural understanding through the arts for the last 15 years. The newest chapter comes with the Sony Masterworks release of the new album A Playlist Without Borders from the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. This is the groundbreaking group's fifth recording and first since 2009's Grammy-nominated Off the Map. The deluxe edition includes the CD and a DVD, Live from Tanglewood, featuring live concert footage of two performances on June 22nd and 24th, 2012, at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts, as well as insightful and intimate behind-the-scenes interviews with the musicians.

    24 New 'ON' this week:  109 Total
    SYND: NPR, Undercurrents
    Direct: SiriusXM, Spafax
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Houston, Minneapolis, Denver, Milwaukee, Austin, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Berkeley, San Antonio, El Paso, Wichita, Boulder CO, Hartford CT., Rochester NY
    Online: Taintradio, David Bruce
  • Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble

    Beyond the Horizon

    Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble continue to explore the musical cultures that flourished along the Silk Road – the ancient trade route between China and the West – with their latest recording for Sony Classical, entitled Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon. The recording will be released just as the performers embark on a brief tour of major U.S. cities. Silk Road Journeys: Beyond the Horizon will be released on Tuesday, April 5, 2005.

    24 Stations "ON"    
    Markets include:     Los Angeles, Boston, Cleveland, Kansas City, New Orleans

  • Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Ensemble

    New Impossibilities

    New Impossibilities, a new live recording by Sony Classical featuring multiple-Grammy-Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Silk Road Ensemble, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya, will be released on July 31. The recording is the result of "Silk Road Chicago," the first city-wide year-long residency spearheaded by the Silk Road Project, the organization founded by Ma as a catalyst for promoting innovation and learning through cross-cultural and interdisciplinary partnerships.

    10 New 'Stations', 124 'Total Stations', 46/CD, 78/Show *56 'Now Confirmed'
    SYND:     Sixty Second CD, APM: Performance Today
    Direct: Worldspace
    Markets include: Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington DC, Seattle(ADI), Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Baltimore(ADI), St. Louis, Kansas City, Portland, New Orleans, Indianapolis, Berkeley, Orlando