two takes
Weary of winter? Here in Chicago we’ve had six feet of snow. How about a little trip south, way south, to Argentina?
Juana Molina, “Un Dia”
Live (TV show), c. 2010
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Recording, 2008
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lagniappe
found words
This just in from Spotify:
Now trending near you. Bob Dylan.
passings
Robert Ashley, composer, March 28, 1930-March 3, 2014
“The Park” (1978)
#1
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#2
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Here I am working against time . . .
—Robert Ashley, “The Park”
what you simply cannot do
Listen to this drummer without feeling lighter, livelier.
Tony Allen (drums, vocals) & Band, live, Luxembourg, 2011
sounds of Chicago
Klang (James Falzone, clarinet; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Jason Roebke, bass; Tim Daisy, drums), live (studio performance), 2009
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lagniappe
art beat: the other day at the Art Institute of Chicago
Mark Rothko (1903-1970), Untitled (Purple, White, and Red), 1953
This painting and I have been getting together, several times a year, for decades. Admittedly, our relationship is rather one-sided. But, if anything, its indifference to me only deepens my feelings for it.
what’s new
Neneh Cherry, live (studio performance), New York, 2014
“Blank Project”
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“Weightless”
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These songs are on her new album, Blank Project, as is this track.
“Out of the Black” (feat. Robyn)
A pianist plays the piano.
A violinist plays the violin.
A percussionist plays . . . how much time have you got?
Augusta Read Thomas (1964-), Resounding Earth (2012); Third Coast Percussion
1st Movement
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2nd Movement
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3rd Movement
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4th Movement
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Augusta Read Thomas, talking about Resounding Earth:
what’s new
Vijay Iyer (pianist, composer, bandleader, Harvard professor, MacArthur “genius” grant winner, etc.), Mutations, 2014
sounds of Chicago
Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things (MR, drums; Jason Roebke, bass; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Tim Haldeman, tenor saxophone), “Wilbur’s Tune,” live, Paris, 2010
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Mike Reed’s Myth/Science Assembly (MR, drums; Tomas Fujiwara, drums; Josh Abrams, bass; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Ingrid Laubrock, tenor saxophone; Taylor Ho Bynum, trumpet; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Tomeka Reid, cello; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Nick Butcher, electronics), live (rearranging a found Sun Ra fragment [excerpt]), Chicago (Chicago Jazz Festival), 2011
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Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly (MR, drums; Josh Abrams, bass; Greg Ward, alto saxophone; Tomeka Reid, cello; Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone), live (studio performance), Chicago, c. 2009
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If other Chicago musicians are “busy,” what’s Mike Reed? In addition to leading various groups, he owns and operates Constellation, a performing arts center. Then there’s the Pitchfork Music Festival, which this summer will feature, over the course of three days, Beck, Giorgio Moroder, Kendrick Lamar, Grimes, et al. He books and produces it.
alone
Ran Blake (1935-), pianist, composer, teacher, MacArthur “genius” grant winner
Above the Sadness (trailer), 2011
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Live, “Over the Rainbow,” Portugal (Lisbon), 2010
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Live (at home), 2001
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lagniappe
reading table
‘[L]ife holds thee; not thou it.’
—Herman Melville (1819-1891), Moby Dick
music clip of the day 