This past Tuesday was Voter Registration Day, singled out by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to recognize the need to "protect our health and our civil liberties at the same time, including our fundamental right to vote." To this end the ACLU created a Web page with separate hyperlinks for each of the fifty states, providing information about the different ways in which a vote may be safely cast. To encourage visiting that Web page, pianist Lara Downes created a video of a performance of "Take Care of This House." Members of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus singing from the windows o
"Take Five," a 1959 track by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, was always a musical oddity: a swinging, instantly catchy jazz piece written in the uncommon time signature of 5/4. But it was also a huge hit and the first platinum-selling single in jazz history. Roughly 61 years after the release of "Take Five" on Brubeck's Time Out album, the late pianist's estate will release TimeOutTakes, a new album of previously unreleased alternate versions of pieces from the iconic LP. Wednesday, in advance of Time OutTakes' December release, Brubeck Editions is unveiling a never-before-heard early run-thr
HBO will premiere the feature music documentary FANDANGO AT THE WALL on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (8:00-9:32 p.m. ET/PT). The film is a joint production between Tiger Turn Productions and Sony Music Latin and is directed by Varda Bar-Kar and executive produced by Quincy Jones, Andrew Young, and Carlos Santana. The film follows multi-Grammy award winning musician Arturo O'Farrill and multi-Grammy award winning producer Kabir Sehgal who journey to Veracruz, Mexico to recruit master musicians for a live album recording at the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The film will premiere on HBO Latino a
Bettye LaVette's first single in 1963 was a major hit, but for the next 40 years, the R&B singer bounced between label deals and near-destitution as her peers such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross became superstars. LaVette grew up in Detroit, the birthplace of Motown, but the label's founder Berry Gordy Jr. never brought her onto his roster. But LaVette is having the last laugh. At age 74, she's now enjoyed five Grammy nominations and numerous lifetime achievement awards. LaVette's new studio album Blackbirds is the ninth record she's released since 2003, when she kic
Data Lords is a new double-album by Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Inspired by conflicting relationships between the digital and natural worlds, the recording features Schneider's acclaimed orchestra of 18 world-class musicians. Schneider says; "No one can deny the great impact that the data-hungry digital world has had on our lives. As big data companies clamor for our attention, I know that I'm not alone in struggling to find space – to keep connected with my inner world, the natural world, and just the simpler things in life," says Sc
Guitarist Sharon Isbin recently released her newest collection of diverse music entitled Affinty. On this historic ZOHO release, the legendary guitarist performs multi-faceted and virtuosic new works for guitar, written for her by four leading composers. From the Africa-influenced El Decameron Negro by iconic Cuban guitarist/composer Leo Brouwer, through the Chinese and Spanish-inspired Seven Desires for Guitar by Tan Dun, to Richard Danielpour's sensual song cycle Of Love and Longing (with multiple Grammy winner Isabel Leonard) and the jazz and world music-influenced Affini
Ludwig Göransson is a famous Swedish composer, record producer, and conductor. He worked in many great films but never won an Emmy. Other than that he won Grammy's award for best soundtrack for visual media in Black Panther. On September 19th Saturday, Ludwig was announced as the best music composer for a series, where he scored his first Emmy. Göransson tweeted thank you to the academy for this honor and all the fame Mandalorian received this Emmy season. He even thanked Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau for giving him such a great opportunity to cross genres and boundarie
Following the injustice of being overlooked at the Victoires de la Musique, French rap continued its skyward trajectory in February with an abundance of high-caliber releases. New projects from Isha and Laylow were the highlights of a month that also saw ghostwriter extraordinaire, Meryl, release a stellar debut album, Jour avant caviar. From a February rich in sonics and superlative lyricism, here Laylow - "TrinityVille" is among DJBOOTH 'five choice additions to your French rap playlist.' Produced by Dioscures and Sofiane Pamart, "TrinityVille" is the third single from Trinity
"Beauty will save the world." Those are the words of cellist Camille Thomas, whose new album, Voice of Hope, speaks to this very idea. This album concept, at first glance, might have been at risk of feeling overly saccharine. It turns out, it'll take no more than nine seconds before the opening Kaddish by Ravel pulls you in and you know this is no lightweight endeavor from Thomas. This is not a sweet, innocent beauty, but one of visceral yearning, colored with mesmerizing, sometimes hauntingly beautiful soundscapes. Thomas delivers this, her second release on the Deutsche Grammophon lab
Canada's most successful songwriters, composers and music publishers are will be honoured in the 31st annual SOCAN Awards, held for the first time online, with Shawn Mendes solidifying his place in songwriting royalty earning two of the most prestigious prizes, becoming the most-awarded SOCAN member in a single year. Follow @socanmusic on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (#2020SOCANawards) to join in the celebration of more than 50 award winners announced today through September 25th via special virtual presentation. Celebrations include Drake, LIGHTS, bülow, Andrew Lockington,
Laila Biali released her cover of 'Anthem' by Leonard Cohen last Friday, Sept 18, for Leonard's birthday celebration TODAY Sept 21. The 2019 JUNO-Award winner covers her fellow Canadian and music icon with his relevant song that delivers a salient message for the times we find ourselves in: "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack in everything, that's where the light gets in." Leonard would have turned 86 today. This single releases on the heels of Laila's highly succsessful 2020 album release, Out
In 1968, a 16-year-old jazz fan at Palo Alto High School in California decides to hold a concert in the school's auditorium to raise funds for its International Club-and convinces Thelonious Monk's manager that his client should be the headliner. (Not surprisingly, the student, Danny Scher, would soon become a major force in the live-music production world.) As concert day approaches, one of the school's janitors, an audio enthusiast, offers to tune the piano in exchange for recording the show, a deal that's quickly agreed to. On the afternoon of October 27, the Thelonious Monk Quartet give
Bettye LaVette has cemented her reputation as a raw, emotional interpreter of other people's material. With I've Got My Own Hell to Raise (2005) she covered the likes of Fiona Apple and Joan Armatrading; in 2010 she tackled Pink Floyd, The Who, and the Rolling Stones with Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook; and the Grammy-nominated Things Have Changed (2018) drew entirely from the songbook of Bob Dylan. Blackbirds is largely an homage to the great Black women of jazz and blues, including Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson, and Dinah Washington. "These women are the first Black women sing
UK singer and producer Labrinth just scored his first-ever Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics thanks to his Euphoria soundtrack standout, "All For Us." The song, which ended the emotional rollercoaster first season, was nominated alongside Pharrell and Chad Hugo's "Letter to My Godfather" from The Black Godfather, Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore's "One Less Angel" from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' "The Way It Used to Be" from Watchmen. Reznor and Ross won the Emmy for the dramatically-titled Outstanding Music Composition For A Lim
Some years ago, I was stopped at a traffic light and heard Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 1 on the radio. It dawned on me (after many times listening and playing it in orchestras on the violin) that Brahms channeled his predecessor, Ludwig van Beethoven. The young Brahms cleverly passed this famous rhythmic tattoo among the various voices in the orchestra. Sometimes it's in your face. Sometimes it's subtle like this: There are other nods to Beethoven in Brahms' First Symphony that have been well pointed out. For instance, the nature of the broad, stately theme in Brahms' fina
In May, 2020, Anthony McGill launched a powerful musical protest video urging people to #TakeTwoKnees in demonstration against the death of George Floyd and historic racial injustice Today, the Avery Fisher Artist Program of Lincoln Center, in New York City, announced American clarinetist Anthony McGill as the 2020 recipient of the prestigious US $100,000 Avery Fisher Prize, in recognition of outstanding achievement and excellence in music. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Anthony currently serves as the principal clarinet of the New York Philharmonic and holds teaching
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein about her new album, A Character of Quiet, which she recorded at home during the pandemic. Life right now is a lot of things - unsettled, scary, quiet - rush-hour traffic mostly gone, the thrum of our daily routines suspended. For concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein, that has meant no touring, no concerts. Instead, she has recorded a new album at home during quarantine and chosen music that speaks to a sense of the world slowing down. It's called "A Character Of Quiet." And Simone Dinnerstein joins us now from
Today All Things Considered Honolulu Host Dave Lawrence continues our Off the Road series of interviews with musicians sharing how the pandemic and other crises have touched them. John Scofield has earned a place in the world of jazz guitar over a career that began decades ago when he started performing professionally while still a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He went on to be part of the Billy Cobham/George Duke Band, record with Charles Mingus, be part of Miles Davis' band, and work with members of the Grateful Dead and Allman Brothers Band, among numerous others.
Bettye LaVette's big ears, wide-open mind and ability to get inside a song's lyric, melodic line and harmonic implications "LaVetticize" every song she interprets. Her career parallels the rise of soul music, and she's among a tiny handful of her contemporaries who continue to create vital recordings. She was born Betty Jo Haskins on January 29, 1946, in Muskegon, Michigan. Bettye's family moved to Detroit when she was six years old. Her parents sold corn liquor and her living room was often visited by The Soul Stirrers, The Blind Boys of Mississippi, and many other trav
Pianist Igor Levit has released a very personal double album marked by a desire for encounter and togetherness. The program includes rarely played arrangements of Bach and Brahms by Ferruccio Busoni and Max Reger, as well as Palais de Mari – Morton Feldman's final work for piano. "Encounter" is the pianist's sixth disc released on the Sony Classical label and conveys the urgent desire for human togetherness – at a time when isolation is the order of the day. For September 15 2020, Igor Levit - Encounter is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New Release'
Verve Records announces the release of a never-before-heard stellar live recording from the First Lady of Song, Ella Fitzgerald. The Lost Berlin Tapes were recorded – incredibly in both mono and stereo – at Berlin's Sportpalast on March 25, 1962 and finds Ella at the top of her game with a trio led by pianist Paul Smith, Wilfred Middlebrooks on bass, and Stan Levey on drums. There was just something about Berlin that brought out the best in Ella. In February of 1960, she gave a concert at the Deutschlandhalle, which became one of her best-known and best-selling records, Mack
This week's KCRW: Los Angeles 'Rhythm Planet: September Songs' playlist includes a bit of everything, and we highlight some of the tracks here. Included in the mix is Lang Lang / "Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria" on Deutsche Grammophone. Lang Lang's global release of this new album included a special introduction from the historic Temple (東景緣, Dongjingyuan) in Beijing – site of the old imperial printing house and a former Buddhist shrine, meticulously renovated in recent years to preserve its multi-layered history. On release day, the pian
Grammy award-winning composer and orchestra leader Maria Schneider is one of the cultural world's most outspoken critics against the tech giants and one of jazz's strongest advocates for musicians' rights. So, as ‘Big Data' plays an ever-increasing, and ever more troubling, role in musical spaces, her new album Data Lords has arrived at exactly the right time. Stuart Nicholson finds Schneider as angry and as determined to act as ever. SEE THE Jazzwise PAGE
This week's KCRW: Los Angeles 'Rhythm Planet: September Songs' playlist includes a bit of everything, and we highlight some of the tracks here. Included in the mix is John Finbury / "Lay Me Down" from American Nocturnes on Green Flash Music. Released through Green Flash Music, American Nocturnes – Final Days of July, a new album of original compositions by Grammy and Latin Grammy nominated composer John Finbury is a collection of ten evocative pieces that spotlights the composer's mastery in an intimate small ensemble setting. This is music that crosses
This year's edition of the Proms may have been very different, given Covid-19, but we were still treated to some exceptional piano performances... Benjamin Grosvenor - Grosvenor was joined by the Philharmonia Orchestra and conductor Paavo Järvi for a performance of Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto, bookended by Ravel's neo-Baroque masterpiece Le tombeau de Couperin and Mozart's titanic Symphony No. 41. Isata Kanneh-Mason - Isata, who appeared on the cover of issue 110 of Pianist, joined her brother Sheku (cello) for a specially recorded recital of Beethoven, Barber
Sharon Isbin is a world-renowned guitarist with over thirty albums, three GRAMMY's, numerous other awards, and nearly a million sales. The Atlanta Journal called her "the Monet of classical guitar." She recently won the 2020 Musical America Worldwide Instrumentalist of the Year award-the first guitarist to receive this accolade in its 59-year history. In continuing with her signature versatility, Isbin released two very different albums entitled Affinity and Strings for Peace in May of this year. Photo by J. Henry Fair READ THE Guitar Girl Q&A
Bettye LaVette got her start as a young soul singer who scored an R&B hit with her debut single, "My Man - He's a Lovin' Man," as a 16-year-old in 1962. Blackbirds, which was produced by Steve Jordan, the master drummer and bandleader who's done sparkling work with Keith Richards and Robert Cray, again finds LaVette reshaping songs, finding new shades of meaning and depth of feeling in compositions both treasured and obscure. This time, though, the material - with the exception of the Beatles' song that gives the album its name - comes from another source: Black women. T
To take a classic pop song people have heard dozens, if not hundreds, of times and rework it to the point where people feel like they're hearing it for the first time requires some serious chops. Legendary soul/R&B artist Bettye LaVette has those kinds of chops. And nowhere does she more ably demonstrate that than on her cover of The Beatles' Blackbird, the closing track from her latest project, Blackbirds. LaVette, who has had more than her share of ups and downs in the music business over the last six decades, takes the much-loved Beatles classic and transforms it he
Data Lords is a new double-album by Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Inspired by conflicting relationships between the digital and natural worlds, the recording features Schneider's acclaimed orchestra of 18 world-class musicians. "No one can deny the great impact that the data-hungry digital world has had on our lives. As big data companies clamor for our attention, I know that I'm not alone in struggling to find space – to keep connected with my inner world, the natural world, and just the simpler things in life," says Schneider. "Just as I f
Guitarist Sharon Isbin recently released her newest collection of diverse music entitled Affinty. On this historic ZOHO release, the legendary guitarist performs multi-faceted and virtuosic new works for guitar, written for her by four leading composers. From the Africa-influenced El Decameron Negro by iconic Cuban guitarist/composer Leo Brouwer, through the Chinese and Spanish-inspired Seven Desires for Guitar by Tan Dun, to Richard Danielpour's sensual song cycle Of Love and Longing (with multiple Grammy winner Isabel Leonard) and the
For the October issue of Gramophone, on sale from September 11, we talk to Lang Lang about his new recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, as well as to fellow pianists Angela Hewitt, Beatrice Rana and Igor Levit about their interpretations of and approach to this pinnacle of the solo piano repertoire. "This is a very important dream-come-true moment", says Lang Lang. The superstar pianist, who waited 20 years before playing Johann Sebastian Bach's monumental composition in public, has finally achieved his goal of recording the Goldberg Variations. The result of two decades of deep
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic present a rare complete set of the symphonies by Charles Ives. These critically acclaimed live performances were recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall in February 2020. Ives was an American original, an artist ahead of his time who explored novel combinations of traditional classical forms and American vernacular music, pioneering and exploiting techniques of polytonality, polyrhythm, and textural complexity. These recordings offer fresh insights into the music of a radical thinker and creator of what Leonard Bernstein called "his own private
If so-called "soul food" with taste, good ingredients and a beneficial consistency beyond the body can also make the soul happy, then Chad Lawson's music can certainly also be called "soul music", because the moods that the American artist creates created with the buttons, get under the skin and have an immediate positive effect on the inner workings. When the music starts, the world stops and all worries fall away - that's how you can describe the feeling that spreads when you immerse yourself in Chad Lawson's musical world with the new album " You Finally Knew ".
The Goldberg Variations is a masterpiece without consensus - in terms of what it is, who should play it and how it should be heard. There are no hidden enigmas, and next to no questions about what J.S. Bach actually put on paper. The essence of the Goldberg Variations is right there in front of you. So much is there, but so much is not, creating all kinds of loopholes. Bach asks that every passage be played twice. Was he serious? The answer can make the difference between 40 and 80 minutes in duration. Given the variety of instruments that play it - most anything with a keyboard, plus c
GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist/composer Arturo O'Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra release their latest recording, Four Questions (ZOHO Music), featuring special guest Dr. Cornel West marks O'Farrill's first album in his famed recording catalog to exclusively include all originally written compositions. Weaving together empowering messages for the times, Four Questions portrays the pioneering pianist as outspoken as ever on the obligation of artists to speak truth to the great injustices occurring across the globe. Premiered live-in-concert at The Apollo Th
In late 2019, just before the world as we knew it went astray, veteran composer John Finbury was nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album for his extraordinary collection Sorte! Featuring Brazilian singer/songwriter Thalma de Freitas. Whether consciously or not, he and the grand ensembles he works with found fascinating ways to chronicle the year since with works that speak to different elements of our collective experience. Released just before the events that prompted a summer of protests and a reckoning on systemic racism, the seven track, jazz and Latin jazz
This new album by Decca includes two pieces Barenboim has recorded before, as part of his Elgar series with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the mid to late 1970. In his older, impressive, and often overlooked version of "Sea Pictures" with the LPO, Yvonne Minto sang the Mezzo-Soprano role. In this newer Sea Pictures Barenboim is joined by mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, conducting the Staatskapelle Berlin, as in his previous recordings for the current series, which included Symphonies 1 and 2, the Cello Concerto, and "The Dream Of Gerontius". Whether from the piano stool or
Let me not dwell on this most disorienting summer of all our lives except to say that I hope you're coming through. At Catch of the Day, we've been chugging along, chalking up many fine discoveries. On a discouraging note, Radio Free America shut down on August 15. Thus, the seven-day streaming option I just announced has abruptly ceased to exist. For the foreseeable future, "Catch of the Day" is once again, worse luck, a live exclusive. On the plus side, you can still stream our playlists on Apple Music. Here are links for August 30 and September 6. Comments on the music follow.
Let me not dwell on this most disorienting summer of all our lives except to say that I hope you're coming through. At Catch of the Day, we've been chugging along, chalking up many fine discoveries. On a discouraging note, Radio Free America shut down on August 15. Thus, the seven-day streaming option I just announced has abruptly ceased to exist. For the foreseeable future, "Catch of the Day" is once again, worse luck, a live exclusive. On the plus side, you can still stream our playlists on Apple Music. Sharon Isbin, Strings for Peace - Premieres for Guitar and Sarod (Zo
As one of the top composer-arrangers on New York's big band jazz scene, Maria Schneider has covered a vast swath of musical territory since her namesake orchestra began recruiting ace instrumentalists and captivating listeners in the early 1990s. Over a series of acclaimed recordings starting with her 1994 breakout album, Evanescence (Enja), Schneider's writing style has evolved through multiple phases, incorporating the transparent tonal colors of Gil Evans' large ensemble works, exploring folkloric flamenco rhythms, applying orchestral concepts to the big-band palette and embracing the wi
The Week in Jazz is your roundup of new and noteworthy stories from the jazz world. It's a one-stop destination for the music news you need to know. Let's take it from the top. Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard is receiving the Campari Passion for Film Award at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, which runs on September 2-12 in Italy. The award, instituted two years ago, recognizes directors' closest collaborators and their contribution to artistic projects. Blanchard is a longtime Spike Lee collaborator and also scored Regina King's One Ni
This is the first time start pianist Lang Lang records a big Bach piece, having recorded only short samples for few collections. Although generally associated with large virtuoso repertoire, Lang Lang does perform and record classical repertoire such as Mozart and Beethoven, where more modest qualities of his playing come to light. This new Goldberg Variations release finds him bridging musical objectivity and strong personality. In the (many) promotional materials for this album, the pianist said he plays and studies the Goldberg Variations for 20 years, and his performance is clearly
The distinctive voice of Bettye LaVette opens her latest CD with a song sung by Nina Simone titled, "I Hold No Grudge." When Bettye LaVette sings, you believe every word. Her band is soulful and oozes the blues. There's a long, inspired guitar solo by Smokey Hormel that fades-out Track 1. Track 2 is the current single release by Ms. LaVette titled "One More Song," written by Sharon Robinson. The lyrics are poignant: "One more teardrop, every note. Another lyric caught in my throat. What was all this lovin' for, just to strike another mi
"Hope@Home" features a selection of the livestream concerts that violinist Daniel Hope presented during his period of social distancing. Performed from his living room in Berlin as well as with an assortment of prestigious guests for Arte Concert, "Hope@Home" includes appearances from Christoph Israel, Max Raabe, Till Brönner, Joy Denalane, Matthias Goerne, and Jacques Ammon, among others. Hope comments: "This album is a document of these extraordinary weeks. Everything you hear is live, one take only…there were no patches or editing, no second takes. Sometimes life doesn't allo
Superstar pianist Lang Lang will release not one, but two recording of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, with a streaming event live from Beijing on the release date of September 4. The unique double release on Deutsche Grammophon includes a live version captured during a single take from the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, and a studio version of the same work. To mark the official release, Lang Lang will be streaming a live event on his YouTube channel, including a performance of excerpts from the recordings, along with a Q&A session. In a release, Lang Lang is calling it his most persona
Acclaimed pianist and composer Joep Beving has digitally released his new EP The London Session. The recording features two different versions of ‘September', a meditation for piano and string quartet on stillness and concentration, and a new arrangement of ‘An Amalgamation Waltz 1839', for voice, piano and string quartet, featuring soprano Grace Davidson. Joep Beving explained, "‘September' was composed in late summer, early fall of last year, hence the title of the piece. At the time, there wasn't a bigger thought behind the music. I was invited to come and record tw
Sublime and gorgeously swinging sounds are emanating from the luscious voice of Magos Herrera and her top notch "supporting" cast of bassist John Patitucci, drummer Antonio Sanchez and piano Chano Dominguez. The three stallions are reigned in, and the percolating energy keeps this whole thing simmering like a pot of boiling water, with Herrera's husky and earthy voice romantically floating over the post bop pulse of "Llegara El Dia" or sauntering through Patitucci's bass line on "La Madre De Todos Los Errores". Her breathy and mellifluous lyricism seduces the ears on "Comenzar" while she pl
Ludvig Forssell is the featured guest on our Keeping Score podcast, produced and hosted by Crossover Media's Max Horowitz. The Death Stranding composer reveals his experience working alongside Hideo Kojima and crafting the gritty score by utilizing household appliances and synths that help create the natural, eerie sound. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST After the collapse of civilization, Sam Bridges must journey across a ravaged landscape crawling with otherworldly threats to save mankind from the brink of extinction. In the near future, mysterious explosions have rocked the
And still they come – excuse the cliché – Goldberg Variations that is, as surely as spring showers. This time it's Lang Lang, both in live performance and in the studio. In terms of duration, both versions are interminable and imply that most, if not all, repeats are made. The overall result is rather "Tureckian", after Rosalind Tureck, high priestess or grande dame of the work, whose marmoreal 1957 EMI recording became both the touchstone of later versions and the over reverential (piano) keyboard equivalent of the St Matthew Passion, for decades. There's no dreaded
Listen this weekend starting Thursday at 2 p.m. for all the hits, favorites and "must hear" pieces in classical music. It's one essential classic after another for over 100 straight hours! What Makes a Classic "Essential"? CPR Classical Music Director Jeff Zumfelde works to create just the right mix of music to get your heart relaxing, reveling, or revving this holiday weekend. And it's all about making connections big and small. Zumfelde looks for pieces that embody the essence of classical music and he sees that as a living thing. Each year the list of essentials is a little
Music can make or break a movie. And in a few special cases, it can jump out of the silver screen and take on a life of its own. In the Classic FM Movie Music Hall of Fame 2020, we asked you: what are the 50 greatest film scores of all time? You chose soundtracks that didn't just serve to support the film's narrative – but that stayed with you long after the feature was over. Special mention to Hildur Guðnadóttir's Joker, Philip Glass's The Hours and Rachel Portman's Emma, who all made it into the final countdown but snuck out of the top 50. CLASSIC fM presents the 50 g
Even by Maria Schneider's lofty standards the twin discs of "Data Lords" represent a highly impressive and very important piece of work that deals with weighty and significant subjects. Released in July 2020 to great critical acclaim "Data Lords" is a two album set from composer and conductor Maria Schneider and her eighteen piece jazz orchestra. Subtitled "A story of two worlds" the work examines the relationship between humans and the digital and electronic technologies that shape modern society. The two discs are subtitled "The Digital World" and "Our Natural World" and thr
The innovative British-German composer Max Richter recently released his ninth studio album called Voices. A decade in the making, Voices explores mental and historical landscapes as well as universal themes that seem particularly relevant today. The voices of the project come from people around the world who responded to Richter's social media invitation to be a part of the work. They, together with actor Kiki Layne and the historical voice of Eleanor Roosevelt, read the words of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights in many different languages, set to Richter's compositions-which
Johann Sebastian Bach is to music what the sun is to our solar system. All music revolves around him and all musicians gravitate towards him. The booklet notes point out: "Lang Lang first began exploring this masterpiece more than 20 years ago and presents this record as the outcome of a long personal and emotional journey. Marking a new stage in Lang Lang's artistic development, it is the project of a lifetime." Much like Glenn Gould who in 1981 revisited this iconic work 25 years after his original recording, it is a highly personal account, so similar and yet so different. Both v
The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit - stripped-down sets, an intimate setting - just a different space. Yo-Yo Ma, arguably the best known cellist in the world, assembled the world-class musical ensemble known as Goat Rodeo nearly 10 years ago. You've probably heard Stuart Duncan playing fiddle on albums with Dolly Parton, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and he was named the Academy of Country Music Fiddle Player o
Bettye LaVette took a long time to achieve the success she deserved (and one could reasonably argue she still deserves to be much more famous than she is), in large part because she's hard to pin down stylistically. She's a performer in the tradition of the great Southern soul singers of the '60s, she sings with the fearless emotional depth of a blues artist, and she's willing to linger over a song, investigating its musical and lyrical peaks and valleys, with the thoughtful curiosity of a jazz artist. LaVette clearly doesn't worry about genre, as she's far more conc
San Francisco's St. Ignatius Parish, in an effort to keep us all spiritually close while we are physically apart, will livestream from St. Ignatius Church 24/7, in support of your devotionals, prayer, and comfort seeking in this uncertain time. This is where 10:00am Sunday Mass will be celebrated live each week; other worship opportunities are listed at our parish website, www.stignatiussf.org. St. Ignatius Church will feature Cellist Jonah Kim and Pianist Keisuke Nakagoshi in 'Meditations and Celebrations: Songs of the Piano and Cello' on Thursday September 3, 2020 @7:
Beat Odysseys: Steve Jordan on Recording with Mix Master Mike, Bettye LaVette and Robert Cray "Being an artist or a musician is a preexisting condition," Steve Jordan reflects. "It's not a smooth ride. There are some amazing highs, but there are also some deep valleys. You need to go through all of it. You don't really have a choice." The drummer/songwriter/ producer describes these travails in conjunction with his role at the Jazz Foundation of America, the organization where he serves as artistic director alongside his wife, Meegan Voss. One of Jordan's current priorities is to help t
Under the direction of Magnus Lindgren, the SWR Big Band plays not only the big Jarreau hits like "Mornin '" or "Boogie down", but also songs from his more jazzy repertoire like "Spain" or "Mas que nada". The British jazz and soul singer Ola Onabulé is a guest at the popular living room concert series by the SWR Big Band. The recordings were made in October 2018 at the home game No. 5 in the Phoenixhalle in the Roman fort in Stuttgart. BROADCAST 08/30/2020 ∙ kulturmatinée ∙ SWR television WATCH THE VIDEO
There's no chance of missing the themes that have inspired the music on Data Lords, Maria Schneider's latest release through the crowd funding platform ArtistShare. Two CDs, The Digital World and Our Natural World, and on the back cover of the package, a poem that contrasts a dystopian vision of clutter, exploitation, isolation, manipulation with nurture, true connection, inspiration, freedom of thought, leave little doubt of the images conjured by the two worlds. Listening to the two sets, a few bars of either is enough to confirm which world you have entered, both are absorbing musical ex
Data Lords is a new double-album by Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Inspired by conflicting relationships between the digital and natural worlds, the recording features Schneider's acclaimed orchestra of 18 world-class musicians. "No one can deny the great impact that the data-hungry digital world has had on our lives. As big data companies clamor for our attention, I know that I'm not alone in struggling to find space – to keep connected with my inner world, the natural world, and just the simpler things in life," says Schneider. "Just as I f
"Wow!" That word burst from John Williams' lips at the finish of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's performance of "The Imperial March." It was just one of the orchestra's jaw-dropping renditions of Williams' film music, with the composer on the Musikverein podium, during a concert that Williams called one of the greatest honors of his life. Our Classical Album of the Week, John Williams in Vienna, beautifully captures the magic of that evening. If you've seen a movie in the last 50 years, you probably know that John Williams is one of America's preeminent film composers. Think of
California-based composer Mark Abel explains in the liner notes that his father was a "devotee" of such classical chamber music composers as Mozart, Brahms, Beethoven and Dvořák, which clearly influenced his emotionally driven compositions grounded in modern and classical styles. Abel is renowned for his vocal works. His exciting song cycle Four Poems of Marina Tsvetaeva features four Russian poems translated to English for the first time by Alyssa Dinega Gilliespie. Soprano Hila Plitmann sings with dramatic clarity, musicality, tuning and high pitches. Carol Rosenberger (pi
SINGING sensation Russell Watson is set to perform an intimate show in High Wycombe - showcasing some of his career highlights so far. The show, which has been rescheduled to February next year, celebrates 20 years since his debut album The Voice was released in September 2000. The Tenor will be joined on stage by a live band and choir as he performs songs including Caruso, O Sole Mio, Il Gladiatore, Nessun Dorma, You Are So Beautiful, Someone to Remember Me, Where My Heart Will Take Me and more. Describing the show, Russell, 53, said the show is about performing his favourite songs fro
Explore space through sound with the US Air Force Band and Washington Performing Arts. Hear the Amelia Earhart-inspired piece "Courage" from conductor Christopher Tin's To Shiver the Sky and watch interviews with NASA experts. The virtual event will also include a live interview with Tin and WPA head Jenny Bilfield. Saturday 8/29 at 7 PM; Free Recognized as the first artist to win a Grammy Award for music written for a video game, composer Christopher Tin released his new album titled To Shiver the Sky on August 21 via Decca Gold. To Shiver the Sky, is "an
Renowned jazz vocalist and pianist Diana Krall shared a lively take on the standard "I Wished on the Moon." Recorded in just one take by Krall and longtime bassist John Clayton, the song marks the second single off the artist's forthcoming album, This Dream of You, out September 25 via Verve. "I Wished on the Moon" was originally made famous by Bing Crosby, who recorded the song with The Dorsey Brothers Orchestra for the 1935 film, The Big Broadcast of 1936. Released as a single, the track hovered at No.2 for seven weeks, while Crosby would later revisit the song in 1954. The standard h
From Norman Lebrecht - Slippedisc.com......The arrival of an altogether astonishing album has made me break my solemn (and unrealistic) pledge to review only neglected composers during the COVID pandemic. Nobody could possibly call Rachmaninov neglected, although with the disruption of a regular supply of live music with a living, breathing audience this recital of solo pieces has the shock of the new - the more so when played by the Armenian artist Sergei Babayan, in his major-label debut. Sergei Babayan, 59, is best known as the teacher of Daniil Trifonov and occasional four-hand
No argument here if you thought Things Have Changed, Bettye LaVette's 2018 tribute to Bob Dylan, deserved its two Grammy nominations, and perhaps even a mantle-size trophy to boot. Still, for all its merits, that album is no match for Blackbirds, the 74-year-old vocalist's remarkable follow-up. Reuniting her with drummer/producer Steve Jordan, Blackbirds provides an unwaveringly soulful excursion into R&B, jazz, and pop waters. What's more, because so many things have indeed changed in 2020, for better or worse, some of the album's most compelling tracks now resonate in ways that LaVett
I don't know about you, but over the last few months, there have been some days where it's been hard to get up and get going. The world has felt tumultuous and scary, it can be tough to greet each day with a smile on your face, and that's how I was feeling the day I called up Bettye LaVette. And I'm so glad that I did because talking to her completely turned my day around. Bettye LaVette has a buoyancy to her, a positive attitude you can feel just through her voice. It's an attitude that's kept her making music through all the ups and downs of her almost 60-year
During her lengthy career-coming up on 60 years since her debut single at age 16-Bettye LaVette has paid tribute to all manner of influences: album-length considerations of music associated with British Invasion artists and Bob Dylan, tunes by everyone from Fiona Apple to Willie Nelson, and so much more. She's one of the most individualistic interpreters in contemporary music, but until Blackbirds, her newest, she has yet to nod to the numerous African-American women singers who came before her. Deftly produced by Steve Jordan, who also helmed the Dylan set, 2018's Things Have Changed, Blac
Norwegian singer-songwriter Ane Brun debuts new song "Lose My Way" featuring Oscar-nominated and Emmy-award winning composer (for his original theme for Transparent in 2015) Dustin O'Halloran. "Dustin and I decided to try to co-write in Dustin's studio on a very warm Berlin night back in 2016... When we met, it was only a few weeks since my father had passed away, so I was in a very special, vulnerable state of mind. We had a glass of wine and improvised our way to this song, which was finished the same night, with words coming out of me like a message to my father," Brun says of wo
The tireless Italian composer Ennio Morricone, winner of the Oscar, passed away at dawn on July 6, at the age of 91. Morricone, who worked on the soundtrack of more than 400 films, died in his native Rome, in a room of the Roman clinic Campus Bio Médico, of Opus Dei, where he was admitted after fracturing a femur in a fall, said the agency of EFE news. According to a statement issued by the family, Morricone died after saying goodbye to his wife, María, and having dedicated "an emotional memory to his audience, from whose loving support he has always obtained the strength
Dynamic pianist Chloe Flower returns with her new original single "Flower Through Concrete" available today via Sony Music Masterworks. An official Steinway Artist, Chloe recorded the euphoric new track on the state-of-art Steinway & Sons SPIRIO | r piano during quarantine. "This solo piano ballad is an original work that I wrote and recorded during quarantine," says Chloe of her new single, "Flower Through Concrete." "I created a song that evokes empathy and hope. No matter what your struggle is, be the flower that pushes through what seems impossible; there is hope and light waiti
Bettye LaVette is widely - and wisely - revered as one of our greatest living rhythm and blues singers, and maybe right there at the pinnacle. Her star as a knock-down, drag-out, leave-no-prisoners stylist has risen in the decade and a half since she made her return to prominence in her late 50s, 60s and now early 70s after decades of having seemed publicly MIA. But her comeback hasn't been fueled by mining the great American R&B songbook for material. She's remade her name these past 15 or so years by putting a blues spin on rock songs, for the most part, in conceptual albums from "I'v
Essential workers and first responders will be the guests of honor Sunday at a virtual concert streamed live from Hancock Shaker Village. Five musicians - internationally renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma; Grammy Award-winning classical pianist Emanuel Ax; singer/songwriter and public school music teacher Anjimile; singer/songwriter and founding member of The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow Billy Keane; and Chantell McFarland, Berkshires singer/songwriter and pianist for the all-female band Kashmir Souls - and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, will be participating in "Live at the Village: Songs
Meticulously designed, intense, and streetwise, David Chesky's music proposes a variation on an old musical gambit. Classical composers have long drawn from their national folk music for their work. Chesky's source for The Abreu Danzas is the sound and energy of New York City or, to be precise, a Latin New York City. The centerpiece of the album is a five-movement ballet dedicated to the late Venezuelan conductor, pianist, educator, and politician Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema. The program, which started in 1975, brought free music education to the poorest neighborhoods in Venez
The classical eminence Julian Bream died in his native England on August 14 at age 87. A towering influence in the history of the guitar and lute, Bream expanded the classical guitar's possibilities in performance and repertoire, and became an admired, dignified public face for his instrument. To pay tribute to his life and work, we asked another of the classical guitar's most transformative figures, Sharon Isbin, to reflect on Bream, one of her heroes and mentors. – Ed. from Sharon isbin - I started guitar at age 9 in Italy, but became serious about it at 14. By then I was passio
Stacker sorted 2020's 50 best albums as of June, collecting statistics on this year's top albums from Metacritic. Each album is ranked by Metascore data and its number of reviews. Uncertainties have rocked the start of 2020, crushing promises of live concerts at venues and festivals. But today's artists aren't letting these aftershocks pause the show. The start of the new decade was blessed with so many fresh albums in various genres While reality seems to grow more chaotic by the minute, these new releases are perfect for those who want to temporarily escape from the real world through
Terence Blanchard, Oscar and BAFTA-nominated for Spike Lee's "BlacKkKlansman," and a Grammy winner for the "Blood and Soil" track from the film's original soundtrack, will receive the Venice Film Festival's Campari "Passion for Film" award this year. Blanchard also composed the score for Lee's Netflix film "Da 5 Bloods" and Regina King's "One Night in Miami," which is playing out of competition at Venice. The award, instituted two years ago at the 75th Venice Film Festival, seeks to highlight the contribution of the director's closest collaborators to the fulfilment of the artistic project
Today, Aug. 26, at 2 p.m. ET, Jackson Browne, Jenny Lewis, Jonathan Wilson and more will participate in an online discussion hosted by the Grammy Museum. The group of musicians will discuss "the creation of the super-group album Let the Rhythm Lead: Haiti Song Summit, Vol. 1."Browne, Lewis and Wilson will be joined by their collaborators: singer-songwriter Jonathan Russell; "Haitian guitarist, bandleader and bass player Paul Beaubrun; Malian singer and guitar virtuoso Habib Koité; flamenco guitarist, musicologist and producer Raúl Rodríguez; and Artists Institute co-fou
Several artists from a variety of fields have joined the lineup paying tribute to the late Jessye Norman September 15-what would have been the operatic soprano's 75th birthday. Newly added to Black Opera Productions' upcoming gala as performers and speakers are Emmy nominee Laverne Cox (an opera aficionado herself), Pulitzer Prize finalist Anna Deavere Smith, the company of Dance Theatre of Harlem, and more. They join the previously announced J'Nai Bridges, Harolyn Blackwell, Martina Arroyo, Simon Estes, Damien Sneed, George Shirley, Measha Brueggergosman, Krysty Swann, Kare
As Emmy voting draws to a close, the 2020 music nominations span rookies to regulars. Martin Phipps landed his sixth nomination overall for the dramatic score to Netflix's "The Crown." Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and his scoring partner Atticus Ross nabbed a nomination for their first series, HBO's "Watchmen." Emmy fave "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" grabbed another music supervision nom, while composers Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore landed their first for music and lyrics. There is a wealth of music nominated across different sounds and genres. Variety breaks it all down in the an
World-renowned guitar hero Al Di Meola welcomes a new decade with an ambitious follow-up to his 2013 studio recording All Your Life: A Tribute to the Beatles with a sophomore homage to the Beatles, entitled Across The Universe, is available on earMUSIC. Al Di Meola's exquisite mastery of the fretboard is equal only to his appreciation of the Beatles' legacy that has inspired generations of both musicians and music fans with their famed recording catalog. A retrospective of Al Di Meola's nearly 50-year acclaimed career expressed through his virtuosic arrangements of 14 Beatle
SILENCE and darkness. From the void, a whisper of wind. Then we see distant hills beneath a vast layer of menacing grey cloud. An object begins to fill the sky - its ambiguous geometry suggests a colossal spacecraft. The sound segues into an eerie choral effect and a voice urges us to "listen patiently." Good advice, because Last and First Men is an unhurried and complex contemplation of loss, memory and the mysteries of existence. Based on the 1930 novel of the same name by British philosopher, sf writer and Common Wealth Party member Olaf Stapledon, the film explores the history of hu
"We have really arrived in a way that we don't even have to say this is a women's recording anymore. And I feel like we've come really just the last few years there's a change. You know, during the process, I really didn't think so much about, oh, we're women. You know, it was just very organic and natural." That's cellist Inbal Segev, who's new recording features a concerto written for her by composer Anna Clyne. Inbal commissioned the five-movement work, titled Dance, after Marin Alsop introduced Inbal to Anna, who is also a cellist. On this recording,
For far too many years, Bettye LaVette was the buried gem that should have been glittering at the top of the heap. Unrewarded and largely ignored, she was poorly promoted and left by the side of the road while her contemporaries rode by in limos. Her debut album, 1972's Child of the Seventies, was shelved, re-emerging 30 years later on a French label. In the meantime, LaVette survived by incessant touring and gigs on the theatrical stage, including a run with Bubblin' Brown Sugar. By the 1990s she was starting to get noticed again in the UK, then won over American audiences with 2
Too often we hear a piece of music or a live performance described as a "journey", but the latest release from Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho lives up to the cliché. Using Schubert's Wanderer Fantasie as a starting point, the 26-year-old virtuoso takes the listener on a road trip through that masterpiece's four movements, into the passionate late Romantic landscape of Alban Berg to finish up with the spectacular, vertiginous mountains and valleys of Liszt's Sonata in B Minor. And the ride is Bentley-smooth luxury with plush trimmings all the way. The fourth of his releases for Deut
Sergei Babayan is one of the leading pianists of our time, hailed for his emotional intensity, bold energy, and remarkable levels of color. Le Figaro has praised his "unequaled touch, perfectly harmonious phrasing, gust and breathtaking virtuosity." Following the 2018 release of Prokofiev for Two with Martha Argerich, Babayan's latest album features Rachmaninoff's short-form gems, including selections from the Études-Tableaux, the Préludes and Six Moments Musicaux. For August 26 2020, Sergei Babayan: Piano Music of Rachmaninoff is the WFMT: Chicago 'Featured New R
Usually American Songwriter focuses on artists that write and perform their own material, or contribute it to others. But in Bettye LaVette's case, neither of those apply. .For this follow-up, the singer tackles selections (mostly) made popular from other iconic black women artists. The Beatles (almost) title track is the exception, but it fits the disc's theme of the African American experience in love, loss and civil rights through the decades. Songs associated with Nina Simone ("I Hold No Grudge"), Dinah Washington ("Drinking Again") and Nancy Wilson ("Save Your Love for Me") capture
Following on from James A. Grymes book and a a documentary, Niv Ashkenai's recital, Violins of Hope, provides a musical soundtrack featuring instruments which had survived the Holocaust and had made their way to Jerusalem to be restored by luthier Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshalom. Understandably the book became a great success in America where it also spawned an acclaimed series of concerts and films which continue to this day. The Weinsteins have gathered a considerable collection of refurbished instruments which has led to concerts of entire string sections being composed of them.
Vinyl is back! Each month on "Vinyl Watch," we list some of the most noteworthy new vinyl releases - including new albums, reissues, special-edition box sets and more. At JAZZIZ, we share the vinyl community's appreciation of the experience of collecting and playing vinyl records. As an increasing number of music fans discover the joy of vinyl, we hope these lists will serve as a starting point for new musical discoveries. Singer/songwriter Bebel Gilberto's first new studio album in six years emerges from a period of loss and grief, during which she also lost her father, bossa nova pion
Itzhak Perlman is a superstar in classical music. And not just there: No other violinist enjoys his level of recognition among people who don't even go to traditional concerts. Many have seen him on "Sesame Street," or at Madison Square Garden appearing alongside Billy Joel. They might have heard him speaking about disability issues, informed by the childhood bout of polio that took away the use of his legs. They might have teared up listening to the theme from "Schindler's List," which Mr. Perlman infused with ineffable melancholy. Mr. Perlman has been so ubiquitous that it is easy
Cellist Inbal Segev's new cd on the Avie label with the London Philharmonic conducted by Marin Alsop with Anna Clyne's Dance and the Elgar Cello Concerto. These two works are separated by almost exactly 100 years. The Elgar Cello Concerto, written in the shadow of the war to end all wars, and Clyne's brand new Concerto based on a poem by Rumi. Segev talks about both pieces as well as her work with other women composers, what she is doing during the pandemic in New York, a commissioning project and much more in this interview with 89.7:WCPE: Wake Forest NC - Rob Kennedy. L
This follows hard on the heels of the success of Deutsche Grammophon's previous John Williams album - "Across The Stars", with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The previous album had a more soulful ambiance, featuring the theme from "Schindler's List" and "A Prayer For Peace" from "Munich." This new release has more edgy, exciting and exhilarating music from blockbuster and iconic movies. It's finely programmed to include some softer moments with the reflective "Dartmoor 1912" from "Warhorse" and the gentler "Luke and Leia" from "Star Wars: Return of The Jedi", tempering the more dramatic musi
For Moshe and Golda's son, Amnon Weinstein, that hope manifested in the thin wooden bodies of violins, violas, and cellos rescued from the Holocaust. Amnon and his son, Avshalom, created Violins of Hope to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit. Using their private collection of over 60 violins, violas, and cellos all restored since the end of World War II, the Weinsteins continue to tell the story of the instruments' previous owners, each with their own personal stories from the Holocaust. A number of concerts were scheduled this year in my hometown, Los Angeles, but were all cancel
'Sacred Spaces' is an epic recording nearly ten years in the making. Keyboardist and composer Michael Whalen said of his latest CD "I have been pursuing a spiritual ‘awakening' for most of my adult life. Over the past decade, I realized that I am 100 percent responsible for whatever my relationship with a ‘higher being' might be," Filled with sonic landscapes built from hundreds of layers of sound, "Sacred Spaces" is Michael's tour-de-force electronic project, which seamlessly blends his natural gift for melody with fresh textures and percolating rh
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale (PBO) breaks new ground as a pioneer in bridging new music with old instruments-as PBO announces a collection of commissioned works composed by GRAMMY- and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. "PBO& Caroline Shaw", the 12th release on the Philharmonia Baroque Productions label, coincides with the launch of the "PBO&" imprimatur, created to record and showcase vital contemporary composers who are committed to composing for the unique sounds of period instruments. The recording will be released on April 3 and reflects the range an
Data Lords is a new double-album by Grammy Award-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Inspired by conflicting relationships between the digital and natural worlds, the recording features Schneider's acclaimed orchestra of 18 world-class musicians. "No one can deny the great impact that the data-hungry digital world has had on our lives. As big data companies clamor for our attention, I know that I'm not alone in struggling to find space – to keep connected with my inner world, the natural world, and just the simpler things in life," says Schneider. "Just as I f
Welcome to a new edition of the Neon Jazz interview series with Jazz Singer Robin McKelle .. We caught up with Robin in Paris to talk about the 2020 CD Alterations that came out in February 2020 and this odd COVID-19 world of no live jazz .. On this new album she delves into the catalogue of some of the most celebrated women of song, interpreting these masterworks through the lens of the jazz idiom. She is a powerful vocalis with a great story .. Get to know her... Neon Jazz is a radio program airing since 2011. Hosted by Joe Dimino and Engineered by John Christopher in Kans
"Ave Maria," a gem of sacred music is one of the most frequently composed and recorded works of sacred music in the Catholic songbook. Even though there is no shortage of versions, set to a wide range of styles, most people are only really familiar with Schubert's popular arrangement. Of course, Schubert's solid hold on the prime spot is well deserved, as his music was designed to draw reverent emotions from listeners, but there are many other worthy treatments of this prayer to the Blessed Mother that are worth exploring. Today, we bring to you "Ave Maria" by Franz Biebl, a 20th-centur
