Category Archives: Music

Scott Allen Nollen’s Jethro Tull: A History of the Band, 1968-2001

Kate Brown penned this review. Scott Allen Nollen has proven his devotion as a Tull fan in the countless miles travelled and the hours passed collecting details and interviewing band members and other associates. He has included nostalgic pictures of … Continue reading

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Various Artists’ Gamelan of Central Java XII: Pangkur One/XIII: Pangkur Two

“Pangkur” denotes a kind of music in the Javanese classical canon that can take many forms — sung poetry, court dances, and many other idioms — and can be performed in either slendro or pelog scales. It is perhaps the … Continue reading

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Robert Sandall’s The Penguin Café Orchestra: A History

The Penguin Café Orchestra: A History is just that (although arguably it is as much a history of Simon Jeffes, but Jeffes and the Orchestra are so inextricably intertwined that I’m not prepared to argue the matter). The meat of … Continue reading

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Michael Chapman’s 50

I’m a little embarrassed to say that Michael Chapman’s new album 50 is my first exposure to this nonpariel British guitarist, singer and songwriter. After all, he gets name-checked alongside such greats as Richard Thompson, Bert Jansch and Davy Graham, … Continue reading

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Pandit Ram Narayan’s Raga Puria-Kalyan

Pandit Ram Narayan was born in 1927 in Rajasthan, the fifth generation of a family of musicians. At the age of seven he began formal training on the sarangi, a bowed string instrument traditionally played to accompany singers. Narayan was … Continue reading

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Various Artists’ Gamelan of Central Java, XI: Music of Remembrance

This volume of the series Gamelan of Central Java presents an interesting conundrum: in a cultural tradition that has ideas of death, dying, and commemoration that differ radically from those we in the West hold, what is music suitable for … Continue reading

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Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus, String Quartet No. 4, Symphony No. 5

Regarded as one of Finland’s foremost contemporary composers, Einojuhani Rautavaara is a graduate of Helsinki University and the Sibelius Academy. In 1955 he was selected by Sibelius himself to receive a fellowship to study in the United States, awarded in … Continue reading

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Colin Vallon Trio’s Danse

Danse is the Colin Vallon Trio’s third outing on ECM since 2010’s Rruga, although the Swiss pianist has been leading his own ensembles since 1999. This group, with bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Julian Sartorius, emphasizes cooperative exploration of melody, … Continue reading

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Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Symphonic

Antonio Carlos Jobim, known widely as “Tom,” was one of the key figures in the popularity of the bossa nova, a style he and his fellows — particularly Joao Gilberto, Luiz Bonfá, and Vinícius de Moraes — created from the … Continue reading

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Rayna Gellert’s Workin’s Too Hard

Rayna Gellert is one of those musicians who has played with lots of folks and who can play lots of instruments. She may be best known for her stint in Uncle Earl, which is sort of a retrospective supergroup in … Continue reading

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