sounds of Chicago
Macie Stewart (violin, voice), Ben LaMar Gay (cornet, electronics, voice), live, Chicago, 2/22/24
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lagniappe
art beat: other day, Smart Museum (University of Chicago)
Ruth Duckworth (1919-2009), Untitled (1970s), detail
timeless
No one ever died from too much beauty.
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor (Op. 25); Fauré Quartet, live, Tokyo, 2014
passings
Seiji Ozawa, conductor, September 1, 1935–February 6, 2024
Vienna Philharmonic (Seiji Ozawa, cond.) with Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin), live, Tokyo, 2020; Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), Nostalghia: In Memory of Andrei Tarkovsky (for violin and orchestra), 1987
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Chicago
two takes
Carlos Simon (1986-), “Between Worlds” (2019); Miranda Cuckson (1972-), violin
#1 (1/21)
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#2 (9/21)
*****
About “Between Worlds”
Bill Traylor was born a slave in Alabama in 1853 and died in 1949. He lived long enough to see the United States of America go through many social and political changes. He was an eyewitness to the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow segregation and the Great Migration. As a self taught visual artist, his work reflects two separate worlds— rural and urban, black and white, old and new. In many ways the simplified forms in Traylor’s artwork tell of the complexity of his world, creativity, and inspiring bid for self-definition in a dehumanizing segregated culture. This piece is inspired by the evocative nature as a whole and not one piece by Traylor. Themes of mystical folklore, race, and religion pervade Traylor’s work. I imagine these solo pieces as a musical study; hopefully showing Traylor’s life between disparate worlds.
—Carlos Simon
*****
Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts (2023)
timeless
His is a singular sound-world.
Anton Webern (1883-1945), String Trio (Op. 20), 1926-27; Psappha Ensemble (Benedict Holland, violin; Heather Wallington, viola; Jennifer Langridge, cello), live, England (University of Manchester), 2015
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
timeless
The other night, driving to Kankakee to see a client in jail, I couldn’t have asked for better company.
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), Quintet for Clarinet and Strings; Quatuor Ébène with Damien Bachmann (clarinet), live, France (Wissembourg), 2018
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
Looking for something fresh?
Ingrid Laubrock (tenor saxophone, composition), Mazz Swift (violin), Tomeka Reid (cello), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Michael Formanek (bass), Tom Rainey (drums), “Grammy Season,” published 3/31/23
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
sounds of Chicago
Russ Johnson Quartet (RJ, trumpet, compositions; Mark Feldman, violin; Ethan Philion, bass; Tim Daisy, percussion), live (1st set: 1:42-; 2nd set: 2:28-), Chicago, 9/30/23
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lagniappe
random sights
last night, Chicago
timeless
Lou Harrison (1917-2003), Suite for Violin with American Gamelan (1973)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
sounds of New York
Bumped into this last night: enthralled from the first note.
Cory Smythe (1977-, piano) & eddy kwon (1989-, violin), live, New York (Target Margin, Brooklyn), 12/9/22
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
music clip of the day 