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Recent Posts
- What’s New for the 11th of May: Special Jack Zipes edition on fairy tales; an obsure Tam Lin film treatment; songs that tell stories; new jazz, Danish fiddle tunes, Norwegian women’s vocal music; Russian and Eastern European food and cooking, and more
- What’s New for the 27th of April: Tim Pratt & Heather Shaw’s fiction and Flytrap zine; Tea with Jane Austen; a fine French fairy tale film; some new jazz and archival francophone music reviews; and the Stones!
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Most Beguiling Cookbook
- What’s New for the 13th of April: Anthony Bourdain in print and video; Calexico, Giant Sand and related music; new recordings of ragas, Nordic songs, and vocal jazz, ‘The Night They Drive Old Dixie Down’ performed by The Band
- A Kinrowan Story: We Lost The Cheshire Cat
- What’s New for the 30th of March: Space Opera by Niven & Pournell, Arkady Martine, C. J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Bear, Simon Jimenez and more; Kage reads for us ‘The Empress of Mars’, a novella she wrote; a grab bag of music including new Buryat folk music; The Ukrainians; live music from the Scottish band Iron Horse; Gail Simone graphic novels; Farscape; and of course chocolate
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Our Rooms
- What’s New of 16th of March: A variety of mysteries; some new Scottish music by an old band, new jazz, and splendid archival reviews; ballads in graphic novel form; and chocolate in Paris
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Pub Ghoulies
- What’s New of 2nd of March: Kibbles and Bits including ghostly stories, the Hotel California, music picked by Gary of course
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Quotes that aren’t
- What’s New for the 16th of February: Books by and about Bob Dylan, and music by Dylan and others; plus some new world music and jazz
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Unreliable Narrators
- What’s New for the 2nd of February: All about the Oz books, green man lore, and gargoyles; Baltic polyphony, East-West ambient psychedelia, and a grab bag of other music
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Knit One, Purl Two
- What’s New for the 19th of January: Go Ahead, Be Pleasantly Surprised At What’s Here
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Ancients and Venerables of Guild of St. Nicholas
- What’s New for the 5th of January: A look back at books Gary reviewed in 2024; some seasonally appropriate Nordic music and a little new jazz
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Biscuits
- What’s New for the 22nd of December: A Solstice Story, Crow Girls, Scrooge, Marley, Elizabeth I, Revels and more festive holiday reading; The Lion in Winter on stage and screen; Jethro Tull, Steeleye Span, Christine Lavin, swinging jazz and more holiday sounds
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Fireplaces
- What’s New for the 8th of December: Elizabeth Bear fiction; some holiday related offerings including new music from The Unthanks, Americana tinged jazz, Polar Express, and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Eggnog
- What’s New for the 24th of November: Norwegian winter holiday music, archival jazz, new roots music from around Europe, and more; books and what not about things fictional & medæival
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Pudding
- What’s New for the 10th of November: a grab bag of books from our favorite authors; Richard Thompson and Stephane Grappelli on film; music from all over; and comfort food
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Brandy (A Letter to Tessa)
- What’s New for the 27th of October: The Byrds Live, Trader Joe’s Organic Hot Cocoa Mix, Some Excellent Music Reviews, Folkmanis Puppets of an Autumnal Nature, The Mouse Guard begins…
- A Kinrowan Estate story: All The World’s A Stage
- What’s New for the 13th of October: Elizabeth Bear tends a pot of turkey stock, Groot and Rocket Raccoon, A Video and Fiction set in India, Tasty music reviews, and music from Irish trad band Clannad
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Category Archives: Music
Chet Baker’s When Sunny Gets Blue
Chet Baker had a busy, up-and-down career as a jazz trumpeter and singer, and perhaps remains best known today as the king of cool jazz. I’m a huge cool jazz fan but don’t have much Chet Baker in my collection. … Continue reading
Aruán Ortiz Quartet’s Orbiting
I came upon this 2012 release just this year (2014), as Ortiz was embarking on a tour that included many U.S. stops. I find this music moving and challenging in equal measures. Ortiz, a native of Santiago, the second-largest city … Continue reading
Laurie Lewis’s One Evening In May
I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed a summer evening concert under the stars by Laurie Lewis and her fine band a few years ago. This live disc recorded in May 2013 at the famous Freight and Salvage venue in her … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Americana music, Bluegrass music
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Kirk Knuffke’s Super Blonde, Steve Johns’s Mythology, David Janeway’s Forward Motion, and Alex Norris’s Table For Three
Somehow, this was my first knowing* exposure to the music of Kirk Knuffke, and it has rapidly become one of my current favorite albums. Super Blonde is a consistently engaging set of covers and standards played by a unique quartet … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Jazz music
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Ruckus & Keir GoGwilt’s The Edinburgh Rollick
The American band Ruckus is billed as “the world’s only period-instrument rock band.” And also as “a shapeshifting collaborative baroque ensemble with a visceral and playful approach to classical music,” and that playful part is definitely born out on their … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Celtic music, Scottish music
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Alasdair Fraser and Natalie Haas’s Abundance
Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser and American cellist Natalie Haas have released their fourth album Abundance on Fraser’s Culburnie label. It is an impressive addition to their catalog and an entertaining tour through some of the many possible settings for Celtic … Continue reading
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Tagged Americana music, Celtic music
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Anders Jormin and Christian Jormin’s Provenance
On Provenance, the Jormin brothers, Anders on double bass and Christian on piano, drums and percussion, play an album of open, airy, sometimes wintry music that blends jazz, classical and folk idioms. The two are both well known in the … Continue reading
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Tagged Jazz music, Nordic music
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X’s More Fun in the New World
In my review of the re-released reissue of X’s Under The Big Black Sun I asserted that it, their third, is X’s best album. In the liner notes of the remastered reissue of their next record, More Fun in the … Continue reading
X’s Under the Big Black Sun
I had no idea that it had been 14 years since X’s Under the Big Black Sun was last reissued (along with most of their catalog, on the Rhino imprint) with bonus live tracks, remastering and improved CD packaging. But … Continue reading
Andrew Bird’s Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of …
I discovered Andrew Bird and the Handsome Family at about the same time, in about 1998. Both were based in Chicago, but their music couldn’t have been much farther apart. Fiddler Bird and his Bowl of Fire were playing an … Continue reading
Posted in Music
Tagged Americana music
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