old stuff
Kansas City Six (Buck Clayton, trumpet; Lester Young, clarinet; Eddie Durham, electric guitar; Freddie Green, rhythm guitar; Walter Page, bass; Jo Jones, drums), “Pagin’ the Devil,” 1938
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lagniappe
reading table
in blossoming trees
suddenly he’s hidden . . .
my son—Kobayashi Issa (1763-1827; translated from Japanese by David G. Lanoue)
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)
testify
Jackson Southernaires, “Can’t Make It By Myself,” live, Jackson, Miss., 1996
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lagniappe
reading table
Barn’s burnt down—
now
I can see the moon.—Mizuta Masahide, 1657-1723 (translated from Japanese by Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto)
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:
only rock ’n’ roll
The Ex, “Double Order,” France (Orleans), 2013
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lagniappe
found words
From the Chicago Reader music section (2/20/14):
. . . hails from the same quasi-grimestep/post-IDM interzone that’s home to artists as disparate as . . .
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This Liverpool trio plays what it calls ‘caveman doom’ . . .
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. . . retrofuturist murder ballad . . .
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. . . works the same territory that grindcore and sludge bands cleared in the 90s.
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.
sounds of Chicago
Baby Huey (AKA James Ramey, 1944-1970), “Listen To Me,” 1971 (Curtom)
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lagniappe
art beat: more from Thursday’s stop at the Art Institute of Chicago
Joan Mitchell (1925-1992), City Landscape, 1955
No stage. No microphone. Just heart.
Evangelist Mary Brown and the Spiritual Singers, “I’ll Fly Away,” live, North Carolina (Plymouth, pop. ~4,000), 2011
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lagniappe
art beat: Thursday at the Art Institute of Chicago (after meeting with a client at the nearby federal jail)
Paul Cezanne, The Bay of Marseilles, Seen From L’Estaque, c. 1885
If a stranger, standing next to me in front of this painting, leaned over and whispered, “There’s no better place to be on the planet,” I wouldn’t disagree.
