Category Archives: Music

Johnny Clegg’s Live! And More…

One wet summer night in 1990, my brother and I went to see a concert at the Jones Beach Amphitheater on Long Island, just east of New York City. Tracy Chapman headlined the show, but we actually went to see … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Johnny Clegg’s Live! And More…

Various Artists, Gamelan of Central Java

Vol. I: Classical Gendings (Felmay, 2001) Vol. II: Ceremonial Music (Felmay, 2002) Vol. III: Modes and Timbres (Felmay, 2004) Vol. IV: Spiritual Music (Felmay, 2004). It occurs to me, embarking on the exploration of central Javanese gamelan, that some explanation … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Various Artists, Gamelan of Central Java

Mahmoud Fadl’s The Drummers of the Nile in Town: Cairosonic

Mahmoud Fadl is a well known percussionist and advocate of the music of Nubia, that region in southern Egypt largely forgotten in the contemporary world. Raised in Assuan and Cairo, he is today based in Berlin, not coincidentally a traditional … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Mahmoud Fadl’s The Drummers of the Nile in Town: Cairosonic

And Reels: Johnny Cock/Johnny O’Braidslea  

Chuck Lipsig penned this essay. One of the fascinating things about folk music is the variety that one song or tune can produce. Niggling purism aside, there has never been one folk style. That’s even more true these days with musicians … Continue reading

Posted in Commentary, Music | Tagged | Comments Off on And Reels: Johnny Cock/Johnny O’Braidslea  

John McEuen’s Made in Brooklyn previewed

You and I would probably never think of playing Warren Zevon’s “Excitable Boy” as a bluegrass song. That’s why someone like John McEuen, who did think of it, has had a 50-year career as a groundbreaking roots musician, and you … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on John McEuen’s Made in Brooklyn previewed

Peter Erskine Trio’s As It Was

This wonderful set reprises the rich legacy of the Peter Erskine Trio’s four albums for ECM between 1993 and 1999. It’s four hours of music that covers nearly all the bases of contemporary piano trio possibilities, from sublime ballads and … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Peter Erskine Trio’s As It Was

Oysterband’s Alive and Shouting and Alive and Acoustic

I have a confession to make. With the exception of Jethro Tull, I have more Oysterband in my personal CD library than any other group. Really. Truly.Way back in ’96, I sold seventy or so copies of the Alive and Shouting CD … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Oysterband’s Alive and Shouting and Alive and Acoustic

Mats Eilertsen’s Rubicon

The tune “March” on Mats Eilertsen’s Rubicon is one of the most delicious bits of atmospheric noir jazz I’ve heard in some time. It’s unexpected coming from this Norwegian bassist’s septet, on an album that draws on various styles and … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Mats Eilertsen’s Rubicon

Nils Økland Band’s Kjølvatn

Kjølvatn is an acoustic tradition-based project by Norwegian hardanger fiddler Nils Økland. His most recent release on ECM was by his psychedelic, distortion-drenched drone-rock band Lumen Drones. In contrast, Kjølvatn sounds like ancient music, sometimes drawn from folk sources and … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Nils Økland Band’s Kjølvatn

Andrea Hoag, Loretta Kelly and Charlie Pilzer’s Hambo in the Barn

Back in the twentieth century, a lot of Scandinavians relocated from Sweden and the surrounding countries to the upper Midwest where they became farmers and shopkeepers for the most part.  Naturally they brought both their instruments and their music with … Continue reading

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Andrea Hoag, Loretta Kelly and Charlie Pilzer’s Hambo in the Barn