Stories for April 21, 2021
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Todd Mosby discusses 'Aerial Views' with Harmonious World Podcast
Posted At : April 21, 2021 4:00 PM
Acclaimed guitarist Todd Mosby joins me for the latest episode of Harmonious World. We all need perspective right now, and there's a lot of that in Todd's latest album - Aerial Views . Todd's comment about creating music that musicians will love to perform on is very apt and I finish with Aether, one of my favourite tracks of 2021. Harmonious World Podcast gives many thanks to Todd for allowing me to feature clips from Aerial Views alongside our conversation. LISTENShabaka Hutchings is cover feature on DOWNBEAT - May issue
Posted At : April 21, 2021 12:00 AM
Over the last half decade, Shabaka Hutchings has established himself as a central figure in the London jazz scene, which is enjoying its greatest creative renaissance since the breakthroughs of Joe Harriott and Evan Parker in the 1960s. Hutchings has a restlessly creative and refreshingly open-minded spirit, playing in a variety of groups-most notably, Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, and Shabaka & the Ancestors-and embracing influences from the sounds of London's diverse club culture, including house, grime, jungle, and dub. "The common theme in my career as a jazz musician has been wondering if what I'm doing is the thing that I should be doing," says Hutchings, who studied classical clarinet at college at London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama. "Me learning about jazz, how to play and interpret, was always a case of just trial and error. I think where I've come to recently is I've stopped trying to think ‘Is what I'm doing valid? or ‘Is what I'm doing part of the jazz tradition?' and just see myself as a musician." Hutchings is featured on the cover of the May issue of Downbeat. SEE COVER IMAGEWhatever Art Of Time Ensemble's 'Ain't Got Long' is, Skope Magazine can't get enough
Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM
Skope's Sasha Lauryn writes....."A world in which people seek the uncertainties, and possibilities, of art" is the vision of one of the most innovative ensembles to be gracing the popular music landscape right now. With the recent release of their latest album, it's undeniable that Art Of Time Ensemble is bringing that vision to life. Led by the artistic direction and vision of Andrew Burashko together with arrangements by Jonathan Goldsmith who reinterpreted a wide array of songs that qualify as standards. Goldsmith stays faithful to the original melodies and form and then pushes the boundaries as far as possible in every conceivable way. After immersing myself in the deeply sensory sonic landscapes, mesmerizing motifs and hypnotic storytelling that their recent album ‘Ain't Got Long' boasts, I can say with certainty they do just that. The Canada based collective have been breaking archaic genre boundaries since 1998, as their eclectic mix of musicians has attracted captivated crowds on multiple tours. Honestly, I'm just waiting for them to announce their next road trip. This album features the phenomenal pipes of Madeleine Peyroux, Gregory Hoskins, Jessica Mitchell and Sarah Slean. Perhaps it's Andrew's perfect pairings of soundscape with singer or the astounding arrangements of the songs themselves that sets this album apart from anything I've experienced.
Whatever it is, I can't get enough. READ THE FULL Skope Magazine REVIEWThe Catalyst Quartet Uncovers Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and is the 90.1WRTI: Classical Album of the Week
Posted At : April 19, 2021 12:00 AM
WRTI's SUSAN LEWIS writes......The Catalyst Quartet uncovers music and the stories of the people who wrote it in its new recording series UNCOVERED. The first volume focuses on music by late 19th-century English composer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. The Catalyst Quartet, founded in 2010 by the Sphinx Organization, aims to "reimagine" the classical music experience. "Sometimes classical music is presented like a museum piece," says violist Paul Laraia. "We want to make sure everything we do has relevance to today," and so the ensemble's programs reach out to a diverse audience, with diverse repertoire. This new project, Uncovered, featuring music of composers who have been overlooked because of race or gender, begins with an album of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Black English composer born in the late 19th century, the child of an English mother and an African father from Sierra Leone. Ironically, Coleridge-Taylor, who was born in 1875 and died suddenly at the age of 37, was acclaimed during his short lifetime. Raised in England, he started violin at 5, joined the Royal College of Music at 15, and at 23, had a triumphant premiere of his cantata, Hiawatha's Wedding Feast, set to the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He toured the U.S., where he visited The White House at the invitation of President Teddy Roosevelt. He was so successful, the story goes, that New York musicians in the early 1900s began referring to him as "The Black Mahler;" others are said to have called him "The Black Dvorak." And while Hiawatha's Wedding Feast remains familiar to many choral ensembles and you may recognize his melodies such as Deep River, much of his over 80 compositions, including operas, ballet music, songs, a symphony, violin concerto and chamber music are unknown today. Volume 1: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor includes one quartet, and two quintets, one featuring pianist Stewart Goodyear, and one with clarinetist Anthony McGill. LISTEN & WATCH THE 90.1WRTI: Philadelphia INTERVIEWIt's 'The Joe Lovano Show' on 'SOMETHING came from Baltimore'
Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM
'SOMETHING came from Baltimore's' Thom Gouker......Yeah! This was a big thrill for me. I was nervous interviewing one of my favorite artists of all time, Joe Lovano, so I decided to ask him 20 goofy questions to see how he handled them. He easily accepted the challenge and spun junk questions into gold. It's very impressive and that it why I suggest that you check out the Youtube interview, we chatted for 1 1/2 and must of it make it to tape. "Garden of Expression" is the sent album with the trio Lovano/Crispell/Castaldi, the first was the 2018 release "Seeds of Change" Do we have to explain who Joe Lovano is????? This is copied from Wiki. Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952) is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarinetist, flautist, and drummer. He has earned a Grammy Award and several mentions on Down Beat magazine's critics' and readers' polls. He is married to jazz singer Judi Silvano with whom he records and performs. Lovano was a longtime member of a trio led by drummer Paul Motian. LISTENCatalyst Quartet is on a mission with UNCOVERED Vol. 1 / LIMELIGHT Magazine - Recording of the Month
Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM
LIMELIGHT Magazine's Clive Paget writes......Superlative soloists and compelling chamber music from a quartet on a mission. One of the revolutions set in progress by last year's Black Lives Matter protests has been the refocusing of the classical music industry's attention of composers of colour, many of them historical figures formerly the preserve of the curious collector and rarely programmed live. New York-based Catalyst Quartet was founded in 2010 by the Sphinx Organization, an outstanding Detroit-based social justice organisation dedicated to transforming lives through the power of diversity in the arts. The ensemble (Karla Donehew Perez, violin; Abi Fayette, violin; Paul Laraia, viola; and Karlos Rodriguez, cello) build programs and projects accordingly and this excellent release of music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor is the first in a projected series of "Uncovered" CDs focussing on composers overlooked because of race and/or gender (others releases will include music by Joseph Boulogne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, William Grant Still, Florence B. Price, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, and George Walker). CLICK HERE FOR THE LIMELIGHT PAGEIn a continuous exploration of harmonic and rhythmic patterns, William Susman releases; Collision Point & A Quiet Madness
Posted At : April 18, 2021 12:00 AM
Spellbinding Music's GUILLAUME writes....Born in Chicago and based in Palo Alto, California, William Susman is an American composer and pianist whose work encompasses orchestral, chamber, vocal and soundtrack music informed by western classical, jazz, African and Latin American traditions as well as contemporary minimalism. Constantly toying with instrumental permutations – from solo performance to his scaled-down big-band formation Octet – the music of William Susman is a continuous exploration of harmonic and rhythmic patterns. Released in October 2019 and January 2021 respectively on his own Belarca label, Collision Point and A Quiet Madness introduce works spanning over 25 years. This is "music for moving pictures" – to paraphrase the title of his documentary soundtrack released in 2009 – an astute and contemporary sonic expression of the "quiet madness" playing out on 24-hour news TV channels or as an infinite scroll on our smartphone screens. READ THE FULL Spellbinding Music REVIEWTop 10 for Apr
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Vijay Iyer :
Uneasy
Uneasy, with Tyshawn Sorey and Linda May Han Oh, is Vijay Iyer's second trio album on ECM and his seventh appearance as a leader on the label. -
Sons of Kemet :
'Hustle' from Black To The Future
Saxophonist, composer, philosopher and writer Shabaka Hutchings returns with a brand-new album from his Mercury Prize nominated outfit Sons of Kemet. -
Dustin O'Halloran :
Silfur
Dustin O'Halloran's debut Deutsche Grammophon album, Silfur, explores the shifting perspective of music through time and place in new pieces and reimagined earlier works. -
Eydís Evensen :
Bylur
Icelandic pianist and post-classical composer Eydís Evensen has confirmed details of her debut album, BYLUR, which will be released on 23rd April, 2021 by XXIM Records, Sony's new imprint for innovative, post-genre instrumental music. -
Moby :
'Porcelain' from Reprise feat. Jim James
Musical pioneer Moby announces his new album Reprise, out May 28th on Deutsche Grammophon. -
Jacob Muhlrad :
Time w/Swedish Radio Choir
Those who peep through the window of Jacob Mühlrad's studio in Stockholm will see the composer busy behind his computer screen, perhaps blasting some Drake or FKA Twigs as he works on his own music. -
Anoushka Shankar :
'Sister Susannah' from Love Letters P.S.
Seven-time Grammy® Award-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar announces a stunning new digital release Love Letters P. -
Jon Batiste :
We Are
WE ARE represents a completely new sonic chapter for Jon Batiste. -
Clark :
Playground in a Lake
On 26 March 2021 the ambitiously multifaceted musician/composer Clark presents his chillingly affecting ninth studio album Playground In A Lake, on which he broadens horizons and tries new things, with profound results. -
Joey Alexander :
SALT
Three-time GRAMMY Award-nominated pianist Joey Alexander follows his major-label debut album, WARNA (Verve Records), with three new singles "SALT" (March 19: LINK), "Under the Sun" (April 23), and "Summer Rising" (May 28) set for global release on Verve.
Elektra Kurtis - Bridges from the East makes July - Dirty Dog List
Posted: July 11, 2015 12:00 AM | By: AdminOpened in 2008, The Dirty Dog Jazz Cafe located on 'The Hill' in Grosse Pointe Farms, is one of the premiere destinations in the United States for world class Jazz and cuisine. It combines the charm of an English-style pub with intimacy and meticulous attention to detail and hospitality. The Dirty Dog brings together the musicians and guests in a way that creates a lasting impression and desire to come back.
Detroit Public Radio mainstay, Judy Adams, is a trained pianist, composer and musicologist who hosts a Jazz and contemporary music show on CJAM 99.1FM and guest hosts on WRCJ 90.9FM. Each month she creates a The 'Dirty Dog' playlist that reflects her personal recommendations. This month, Adams has selected - Elektra Kurtis - Bridges from the East.
Bridges from the East, the new CD from Polish born Elektra Kurtis comes straight out of the composer's Greek heritage. Always an outsider, Kurtis' music is deeply personal with interweaving elements referencing different music styles and origins. Committed to making the music her own, Bridges from the East reflects the sound of Eastern Europe and North Africa, cultures Kurtis relates to the most, and although separated geographically all of this music is connected by human spirit, emotion, ethics, and expression. Deeply influenced by 20th Century Classical composers such as Bartok, Stravinsky, and Lutoslawski, as well as Jazz and Arabic folk music, Kurtis' cultural threads are expressed on this disc through her Quintet - Ensemble Elektra which she started in the 1980s. VIEW THE FULL July 2015 Dirty Dog List
Crossover Media Projects with Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra
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Elektra Kurtis & Ensemble Elektra
Bridges from the East
Bridges from the East, the new CD from Polish born Elektra Kurtis comes straight out of the composer's Greek heritage. Always an outsider, Kurtis' music is deeply personal with interweaving elements referencing different music styles and origins. Committed to making the music her own, Bridges from the East reflects the sound of Eastern Europe and North Africa, cultures Kurtis relates to the most, and although separated geographically all of this music is connected by human spirit, emotion, ethics, and expression.
11 NEW 80 Total
SYND: PRI/The World, CBC
Markets include: New York, Boston, Cleveland, Portland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Houston, Denver, Milwaukee, Berkeley CA, San Antonio, Boulder CO, Albuquerque & Santa Fe NM, Montreal, Toronto
Online: Taintradio, DirtyDog