If you’re a gospel singer, any time—even (especially?) a sister’s funeral—is a time to sing. Gene Stewart (of the Soul Stirrers) with Willie Rogers (also of the Soul Stirrers), “The Last Mile of the Way” (recorded by the Soul Stirrers, with Sam Cooke, in 1955), live ********** lagniappe Once you are a Soul Stirrer you [...]
Archive for February 2010
Sunday, 2/28/10
02/28/2010Saturday, 2/27/10
02/27/2010It used to be that music came from a particular place. No more. Whether it’s Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (the Iranian saxophonist who’s lived in Germany, in Japan, and now in New York City [2/18/10]), or Burkina Electric (whose members come from Burkina Faso, from Germany, and from New York City [by way of Austria] [2/22/10]), [...]
Friday, 2/26/10
02/26/2010something you cannot do Watch this guy and not feel better about, well, pretty much everything. ***** Jackie Wilson, “You Better Know It,” 1959 Take 1: TV broadcast ***** Take 2: Movie (Go, Johnny, Go!) Want more? Here (“Lonely Teardrops” [11/20/09]).
Thursday, 2/25/10
02/25/2010Composed almost a century ago, these tiny pieces—haiku-like in their compression—still astonish. Anton Webern (1883-1945), Six Bagatelles for String Quartet, Op. 9 (1911-13)/LaSalle Quartet ********** lagniappe The 15th of September 1945, the day of Anton Webern’s death, should be a day of mourning for any receptive musician. We must hail not only this great composer [...]
Wednesday, 2/24/10
02/24/2010recipe 1. Take a singer whose range includes about as many notes as he has fingers (on one hand). 2. Add a saxophonist who’s renowned for his melodic and harmonic inventiveness. 3. Mix? Leonard Cohen with Sonny Rollins, “Who By Fire,” live (TV broadcast), 1989 These two mostly sound (to these ears) like, well, what [...]
Tuesday, 2/23/10
02/23/2010Innovation has its place. But sometimes you just want heart. Ben Webster (tenor saxophone) with Teddy Wilson (piano), “Old Folks,” live, Denmark (Copenhagen), 1970 (Just click on the X on the right and—poof—the ads vanish.)
Monday, 2/22/10
02/22/2010Digital Africa is here . . . —DJ Spooky Burkina Electric (Mai Lingani, vocals; Wende K. Blass, guitar, vocals; Lukas Ligeti [son of composer Gyorgy Ligeti], electronics, drums; Pyrolator [Kurt Dahlke], electronics), “Sankar Yaare” Take 1: DJ Spooky Remix *** Take 2: Mapstation Remix ********** lagniappe Marilyn Monroe, DJ Andy Warhol Remix
Sunday, 2/21/10
02/21/2010Ever wonder what Brian Eno has on his iPod? I’ve been listening a lot lately to a box-set called ‘Goodbye Babylon’ which is 6 CDs of early 20th-century American religious music, black and white music, you know. It’s got those Norfolk a cappella quartets and it’s got country singers, and there’s church services and everything. [...]
Saturday, 2/20/10
02/20/2010Bessie Smith, Clifford Brown, Scott LaFaro, Duane Allman: the road where musicians lose their lives goes on, and on, and on. Lil’ Dave Thompson, May 21, 1969-February 14, 2010 (killed in a car accident Sunday morning en route home to Greenville, Mississippi, after a Saturday night performance in Charleston, South Carolina) “I Got The Blues,” [...]
Friday, 2/19/10
02/19/2010From Reminders for Daily Living (3d ed. 2007): Always keep a cape handy. James Brown, “Please, Please, Please,” live, 1964, California (Santa Monica), The T.A.M.I. Show
