Thursday, September 10th
what’s new
George Lewis (1952-), String Quartet No. 1.5, “Experiments in Living” (2016); Spektral Quartet, 8/27/20
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Chicago
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: cello
2020
Monday, August 31st
Why not begin the week with something that’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before?
Nathalie Joachim (vocals, flute, electronics, compositions, arrangements) and Spektral Quartet, Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), live (with recorded voices), New York (Kaufman Music Center), 2019
Composer/performer Nathalie Joachim and Spektral Quartet perform Joachim’s Fanm d’Ayiti (Women of Haiti), an evening-length work for voice, flute, string quartet and electronics. A celebration of some of Haiti’s most iconic yet under recognized female artists as well as an exploration of Joachim’s Haitian heritage, Fanm d’Ayiti features original songs incorporating the recorded voices of Joachim’s grandmother and the girls’ choir of her family’s home farming village of Dantan; new arrangements of songs by some of the greatest known female voices in Haitian history; and recorded interviews with these artists about their lives fighting for social justice and uplifting the people of Haiti.
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random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2020
Wednesday, August 26th
alone
Abdul Wadud (1947-, cello), “In a Breeze,” 1977
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
2020
Tuesday, August 25th
sounds of Chicago
Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly (MR, drums; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Tomeka Reid, cello; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Joshua Abrams, bass), live (performance begins at 13:10), Chicago (Constellation), 8/15/20
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, outside Chicago
*****
reading table
Moon in midsky, high
over the village hovels
and wandering on—Yosa Buson (1716-1784), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
2020
Monday, August 24th
Why not begin the week with something beautiful?
Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble and Alarm Will Sound, “Anthem” (M. Monk), published 8/22/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, outside Chicago
2020
Wednesday, August 19th
what’s new
Why not immerse yourself in something beautiful?
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), String Quartet No. 12 in F major (“American,” 1893); Lincoln String Quartet (featuring members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra: Qing Hou and Lei Hou, violins; Lawrence Neuman, viola; Kenneth Olsen, cello), live, Chicago, 8/16/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
2020
Tuesday, August 18th
Want to go somewhere you’ve never been before?
Linda Catlin Smith (1957-), String Quartet No. 6 (2013); Mivos Quartet (Olivia De Prato, violin; Maya Bennardo, violin; Victor Lowrie Tafoya, viola; Tyler J. Borden, cello), live, New York, 2019
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, outside Chicago
2020
Saturday, August 15th
sounds in the dark
Morton Feldman (1926-1987, MCOTD Hall of Fame), Clarinet and String Quartet (1983); KOAN Quartet and Katie Porter (clarinet), live, Los Angeles, 2/15/20
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
*****
reading table
In the beggar’s tin
a few thin copper coins
and this evening rain—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
2020
Thursday, August 13th
sounds of all over
Negarit Band and Friends (Nick Mazzarella, alto saxophone; Tomeka Reid, cello), live, Ethiopia (Fendika Cultural Center, Addis Ababa), published 5/13/20
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
2020
Saturday, August 8th
Feeling inert?
Not anymore.
Tomeka Reid Quartet (TR, cello; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Jason Roebke, bass; Tomas Fujiwara, drums), “Old New” (T. Reid), 2019
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago (Columbus Park)
*****
reading table
On these southern roads,
on shrine or thatched roof, all the same,
swallows everywhere—Yosa Buson (1716-1784), translated from Japanese by Sam Hamill
music clip of the day 