Tag Archives: music

Stan Getz’s live recordings from the vaults

Resonance Records continues its unparalleled string of historic jazz releases with two packages that document a week of shows at San Francisco’s Keystone Korner in 1976 by Stan Getz and his quartet, with special guest João Gilberto. Stan Getz and … Continue reading

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Michael Rose: Berlioz Remembered; Hector Berlioz (trans.and ed. by Alastair Bruce): The Musical Madhouse (Les Grotesques de la musique)

If the Paris of the 19th century was considered the cultural capital of the world, it was with good reason: of the major artistic and intellectual figures of the age, those who did not live there made a point of … Continue reading

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Judit Frigyesi’s Béla Bartók and Turn-of-the-Century Budapest and Peter Lakii’s Bartók and His World

Any genuine understanding of the role of Béla Bartók in twentieth century music is contingent on knowing about the cultural context in which he was formed — or in which he formed himself, as seems likely to be the case. … Continue reading

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Shujaat Husain Khan and Katayoun Goudarzi, Ruby

One of my favorite releases of 2013 was Spring, a beautiful and uplifting two-CD set by Katayoun Goudarzi and Shujaat Husain Khan. They have a new release out called Ruby, their fifth, and it’s definitely on my short list for … Continue reading

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Sound Bites — Francophone folk and rock roundup

North America has a sizable contingent of French speakers, including much of the Canadian province of Quebec, and much of southern Louisiana. The two regions are connected by history, too; the ancestors of the Louisiana Cajuns were driven out of … Continue reading

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Vishtèn’s Mosaïk

Among what is now a plethora of artists and groups playing the traditional music of Francophone Canada, the trio Vishtèn is taking things in a different direction. Their release Mosaïk could maybe be described as progressive Acadian, in much the … Continue reading

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Cesaria Évora’s Mae Carinhosa

Cesaria Évora died in 2011 at the age of 70, having spent most of her life singing. This posthumous release gathers a baker’s dozen tracks she recorded over her career but which never ended up on any of her 11 … Continue reading

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Mary Jane Lamond & Wendy MacIsaac’s Seinn

It’s hard to believe that, as I write this, it’s been just over 10 years since I experienced the music of Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island in its own environment, at the International Celtic Colours Festival in 2002. I wasn’t … Continue reading

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Angel Olsen’s Half Way Home

It’s a cliché to say that such-and-such a singer is a “unique voice,” but I have to resort to it in the case of Angel Olsen. In a world full of cutesy and waif-like vocals from female singers in all … Continue reading

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Bowerbirds’ The Clearing

The Clearing is a fully realized artistic vision of Beth Tacular and Phil Moore, the young North Carolina couple who perform as Bowerbirds. It’s their third album, and it’s a mature, emotionally charged work that reflects some of the travails … Continue reading

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