More Von The other night, during a performance and interview at the University of Chicago, he seemed, at times, a bit frail. He’s nearing 90 and was recently in the hospital. But what I said a while back still holds true: no tenor player moves me more. Von Freeman (tenor saxophone, with Mike Allemena, guitar; [...]
Archive for February 2011
Tuesday, 3/1/11
02/28/2011Monday, 2/28/11
02/27/2011When something is this lyrical, this convincing, there’s only one thing I want to do when it ends—hear it again. Michael Burks, “Empty Promises,” live, Falls Church, Virginia, 8/21/09
Sunday, 2/27/11
02/27/2011I’ll fly away . . . DeAndre Patterson, “I’ll Fly Away,” live, Chicago (homegoing service for Eugene Smith, Christian Tabernacle Church, 47th & Prairie), 5/18/09 #1 *** #2 ********** lagniappe art beat After a court hearing Friday, I stopped by the Art Institute of Chicago, which is just a couple blocks from the federal courthouse. [...]
Saturday, 2/26/11
02/26/2011If making mindless music is so easy, how come so few do it well? Ramones, live, London, 1977 #1 *** #2 *** #3 ***** lagniappe reading table Life on Earth is quite a bargain. Dreams, for one, don’t charge admission. Illusions are costly only when they’re lost. The body has its own installment plan. —Wislawa [...]
Friday, 2/25/11
02/25/2011Our music is a Secret Order. —Louis Armstrong, 1954 (John F. Zwed, Space Is The Place: The Lives And Times Of Sun Ra [1997], epigraph) Von Freeman (tenor saxophone, with Ed Petersen, tenor saxophone; Willie Pickens, piano; Brian Sandstrom, bass; Robert Shy, drums), live, Chicago (Green Mill Lounge), 12/31/10 More? Here. And here.
Thursday, 2/24/11
02/24/2011what’s new (an occasional series) Have you heard the Lupe & John Legend? —my 19-year-old son Luke Lupe Fiasco (featuring John Legend), “Never Forget You” (2010) Listening to music that means a lot to someone else gives you an opportunity nothing else does. You get to hear the world through their ears. This song, for instance, [...]
Wednesday, 2/23/11
02/22/2011street music (an occasional series) It ain’t just the beats—it’s the show. drummers, Chicago (Michigan Ave.) #1 *** #2 ********** lagniappe Drum mashup? Start the first clip. Then start the second.
Tuesday, 2/22/11
02/21/2011Don’t forget the Motor City Theo Parrish, Detroit-based DJ & producer Collecting sounds around Detroit *** Live, New York (Brooklyn Yard), 8/23/09 *** Live, Paris (Elysee Montmarte), 4/30/10 *** Recording, “Soul Control” *** Recording (with Marcellus Pittman), “Equality of Patience” ********** langiappe thoughts on music Music history as a whole has been drastically misnamed. Jazz [...]
Monday, 2/21/11
02/20/2011Whatever I’d say would be an understatement. I can only say my life was made much better by knowing him. He was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known, as a man, a friend, and a musician. —John Coltrane Eric Dolphy (alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute) June 20, 1928-June 29, 1964 John Coltrane Quintet [...]
Sunday, 2/20/11
02/19/2011combustible, adj. capable of igniting and burning. E.g., gospel singer Paul Arnold. Gospelaires (featuring Paul Arnold), “Joy” & “Rest for the Weary,” live (TV Gospel Time), 1966 ********** lagniappe He was singing, and he touched a lady, and she fainted . . . —Paul Arnold, Jr., Gospel Memories (WLUW-FM), 2/12/11
