Category Archives: Music

Various artists’ Folk Music of China, Vol. 17 – Folk Songs of the Tujia and Sui Peoples

Posted on 3rd November 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

This disc, the 17th of 20 releases from Naxos highlighting the varied folk music of China, focuses on two ethnic groups, the Tujia and Sui peoples. They live mostly in several landlocked provinces of south-central china, the Sui in Guizhou, … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Various artists’ Folk Music of China, Vol. 17 – Folk Songs of the Tujia and Sui Peoples

Norman Blake’s Day By Day

Posted on 15th October 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

I probably first read Norman Blake’s name on the extensive liner notes that came with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s landmark country album Will the Circle Be Unbroken, but I’m sure I first saw him perform a few years earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Norman Blake’s Day By Day

George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary

Posted on 11th October 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

This album has been one of my favorites since I got it in December 1970. It was a monumental achievement and a towering artistic statement by the young man who had been called “the quiet Beatle,” toiling in the shadow … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary

Michael Nesmith & the First National Band’s Magnetic South, Loose Salute, and Nevada Fighter

Posted on 6th October 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

The blue, red and white trilogy of albums by Michael Nesmith & the First National Band (plus one later release in much the same vein) remain among my favorite albums more than 50 years later. Nesmith wasn’t the first rock … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Michael Nesmith & the First National Band’s Magnetic South, Loose Salute, and Nevada Fighter

Katayoun Goudarzi and Shujaat Husain Khan’s This Pale

Posted on 6th October 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

All of the projects by Iranian-American vocalist Katayoun Goudarzi and Indian composer and sitarist Shujaat Husain Khan are emotionally engaging in their own ways. But their 2021 recording This Pale is especially moving. Goudarzi specializes in singing and reciting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Katayoun Goudarzi and Shujaat Husain Khan’s This Pale

Helen Sung’s Quartet+

Posted on 27th September 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

Houston native Helen Sung has released six previous albums as leader, and the pianist also has appeard as guest on releases by Terri Lyne Carrington, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry and Louie Bellson, among others. This, her seventh leader date, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Helen Sung’s Quartet+

Devin Hoff’s Voices From the Empty Moor (Songs of Anne Briggs)

Posted on 22nd September 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

I only know a little about Anne Briggs, which means I know a lot more about her than most people. I’m a fan sort of around the edges of British folk music, which in my case means I know some … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Devin Hoff’s Voices From the Empty Moor (Songs of Anne Briggs)

Asleep at the Wheel’s Half A Hundred Years

Posted on 21st September 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

Not many bands make it to 50 years (we won’t get into the Rolling Stones, those great outliers). That’s what the Western swing band Asleep at the Wheel has achieved as of 2021, so of course they made a record … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on Asleep at the Wheel’s Half A Hundred Years

André Ferrari and Olov Johansson’s In Beat Ween Rhythm

Posted on 17th September 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

Olov Johansson and André Ferrari have performed and recorded together many times over the years, mostly as members of the Swedish folk band Väsen. For much of its existence since 1989 Väsen consisted of Johansson on nyckelharpa, Mikael Marin on … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged | Comments Off on André Ferrari and Olov Johansson’s In Beat Ween Rhythm

The Felice Brothers’ From Dreams To Dust

Posted on 10th September 2021 by Gary Whitehouse

On my first spin through The Felice Brothers’ new album From Dreams To Dust I found my new favorite song of 2021. The second track “To-Do List” is a rootsy, rocking romp through existential angst disguised as a humorous list … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Felice Brothers’ From Dreams To Dust