Monday, August 3rd
passings
Ivan Moravec, pianist, November 9, 1930-July 27, 2015
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), Ballade No. 1 in G minor
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lagniappe
random thoughts
Ever grow weary of the 21st century?
Me, too.
music clip of the day
jazz/blues/rock/classical/gospel/more
Category: piano
2015
2015
Saturday, August 1st
Even in death he remains a source of rare beauty.
Henry Threadgill (MCOTD Hall of Fame, bass flute) and Jason Moran (piano), “Sail” (H. Threadgill), live, New York (Ornette Coleman Memorial Service), 6/27/15
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lagniappe
reading table
The world she grew up in was so different it was hard to believe she was ever in it.
—Anne Enright, The Green Road (2015)
2015
Sunday, July 19th
Before Jerry Lee, before Little Richard, there was . . .
Arizona Dranes (c. 1891-1963), “I Shall Wear a Crown,” c. 1927
2015
Thursday, July 2nd
string festival
day four
Alfred Schnittke (1934-98), Piano Quintet (1972-76), live (Katya Apekisheva, piano; Boris Brovtsyn, Julia-Maria Kretz, violins; Amihai Grosz, viola; Torleif Thedéen, cello), Netherlands, 2010
2015
Thursday, June 18th
sounds from the other side of the moon
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Piano Sonata No. 5; Dmitry Rachmanov, live, San Francisco, 2015
*****
Here’s another take.
Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), live recording, Prague, 1972
2015
Wednesday, June 3rd
sounds of New York
Meredith Monk, “Last Song”
Live, New York (Joe’s Pub), 2005
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Recording (Impermanence), 2008
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lagniappe
random thoughts
Who is this guy who keeps talking, talking, talking inside my head?
2015
Wednesday, May 27th
Sit back. Close your eyes. Listen—just listen.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major (“Waldstein”); Emil Gilels (1916-1985), live
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lagniappe
reading table
My boys.
I don’t have them to hold. What do I do with my arms?
—Sonali Deraniyagala, Wave
2015
Thursday, May 14th
Whether you live for 50 years, 500 years, or 5,000 years, it makes no difference: always there are new things to hear.
Dieter Ammann (1962-), Violation (1999); Lemanic Modern Ensemble (William Blank, cond.) with Karolina Öhman, cello; live, Russia (St. Petersburg), 2014
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lagniappe
reading table
The old pond—
a frog jumps in,
sound of water.—Matsuo Basho (1644-1694; translated from Japanese by Robert Hass)
2015
Saturday, May 9th
tonight in Chicago
These guys will be at Constellation, as will I.
Tim Berne’s Snakeoil (TB, alto saxophone; Oscar Noriega, clarinet, bass clarinet; Matt Mitchell, piano; Ches Smith, drums, vibes, conga), “Lost in Redding,” live, Buenos Aires, 2015
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lagniappe
art beat
Bruce Davidson (1933-), Palisades, New Jersey, 1958
2015
Saturday, April 25th
Sometimes nothing is more enlivening than to hear something that sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard before.
Rebecca Saunders (1967-), Fury II (2009); Remix Ensemble (Emilio Pomarico, cond.; Antonio Augusto Aguiar, bass), live, Portugal (Porto), 2011
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lagniappe
reading table
after the dance
right away, cutting
the morning grass—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
music clip of the day 