1. William Parker: For Those Who Are, Still (Aum Fidelity/Centering)
I have been an admirer and observer of William Parker for a quarter century, but nothing prepared me for the impact of this three-disc set's final CD, which features an orchestral composition, Ceremonies for Those Who Are Still, which ranks high among the best orchestral music of the 21st century, and I'm including classical composers. In other words, don't cringe while imagining the usual jazz-with-strings hack job. There are moments in Ceremonies for Those Who Are Still -- particularly when the choir is singing Parker's poems of life and loss and creation -- when the grandeur of the year's most fashionable jazz album, Kamasi Washington's The Epic (also a three-cd set) comes to mind, but the difference -- the reason Parker's set ranks much higher -- is that his orchestrations are vastly more contrapuntal, colorful, individual, and just plain daring.
I have been an admirer and observer of William Parker for a quarter century, but nothing prepared me for the impact of this three-disc set's final CD, which features an orchestral composition, Ceremonies for Those Who Are Still, which ranks high among the best orchestral music of the 21st century, and I'm including classical composers. In other words, don't cringe while imagining the usual jazz-with-strings hack job. There are moments in Ceremonies for Those Who Are Still -- particularly when the choir is singing Parker's poems of life and loss and creation -- when the grandeur of the year's most fashionable jazz album, Kamasi Washington's The Epic (also a three-cd set) comes to mind, but the difference -- the reason Parker's set ranks much higher -- is that his orchestrations are vastly more contrapuntal, colorful, individual, and just plain daring.
- 1/3/2016
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Avant twang, Americana noir, garage chamber music, whatever you'd like to label composer/guitarist Stephen Ulrich's NYC-based trio Big Lazy (drummer Yuval Lion and bassist Andrew Hall), one thing is undeniable -- the vibe is unforgettable. "Avenue X" is from their fifth long player entitled Don't Cross Myrtle and it features Sexmob trumpeter Steven Bernstein. Love the "Mission Impossible" guitar lick during the middle eight. And the video is pretty fab, too. Ready for consumption today.
- 6/12/2015
- by Dusty Wright
- www.culturecatch.com
According to the New York Times, dance legend Twyla Tharp, whose choreography has been seen on Broadway in such shows as Movin' Out and Come Fly Away, is going on the road. The choreographer will celebrate her 50th year in the business with a national tour that will eventually make its way to Lincoln Center on November 22, 2015. The 15-stop tour will feature twelve dancers and new works to the music of Bach, Henry Butler, Steve Bernstein and John Zorn.An official schedule has not yet been announced.
- 2/9/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Because explaining the glories of a project like this requires a length unsuited for a listicle, my favorite jazz album of 2014 gets an article all to itself. The rest of my list will follow later this week.
Allen Lowe: Mulatto Radio: Field Recordings 1-4 or: A Jew at Large in the Minstrel Diaspora (Constant Sorrow)
Allen Lowe has (at least) a double identity: jazz composer/saxophonist, and scholar of early American jazz and pop. This four-cd set combines those identities even more than usual as it contains a whopping 62 original compositions, many -- perhaps even most; I didn't do the math, but it feels that way -- inspired by the sounds and personalities of early jazz and pre-jazz (both kinds of ragtime, etc.), as detailed vividly in his accompanying notes: Bunk Johnson (we get many movements from a Bunk Johnson Suite), Bix Beiderbecke, Paul Whiteman, Ernest Hogan, James Reese Europe,...
Allen Lowe: Mulatto Radio: Field Recordings 1-4 or: A Jew at Large in the Minstrel Diaspora (Constant Sorrow)
Allen Lowe has (at least) a double identity: jazz composer/saxophonist, and scholar of early American jazz and pop. This four-cd set combines those identities even more than usual as it contains a whopping 62 original compositions, many -- perhaps even most; I didn't do the math, but it feels that way -- inspired by the sounds and personalities of early jazz and pre-jazz (both kinds of ragtime, etc.), as detailed vividly in his accompanying notes: Bunk Johnson (we get many movements from a Bunk Johnson Suite), Bix Beiderbecke, Paul Whiteman, Ernest Hogan, James Reese Europe,...
- 1/5/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Not that Lou Reed would have recognized me (though I was introduced to him once, which I'll get to), but he and his body of work intersected my life in more personal ways than that of any other major rock star. So this isn't an obituary so much as a series of memories. For obituaries, check out Gary Graff in Billboard and Jon Dolan in Rolling Stone.
Lou was from Long Island and I was from Long Island. At the most basic level, this meant that, growing up listening to Long Island radio stations, I heard lots of Lou even when he was no longer especially fashionable (between about 1976 and 1981). Thus, while most of the world ignored his 1978 album Street Hassle, I heard much of it on Wlir and Wbab, and bought it – my first Lou album. He had started out underground in the Velvet Underground, had managed to claw...
Lou was from Long Island and I was from Long Island. At the most basic level, this meant that, growing up listening to Long Island radio stations, I heard lots of Lou even when he was no longer especially fashionable (between about 1976 and 1981). Thus, while most of the world ignored his 1978 album Street Hassle, I heard much of it on Wlir and Wbab, and bought it – my first Lou album. He had started out underground in the Velvet Underground, had managed to claw...
- 10/28/2013
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Sex Mob: Cinema, Circus & Spaghetti: Sex Mob Plays Fellini: The Music of Nino Rota (Royal Potato Family)
Call me crazy, but I feel a connection between Rota's themes for Fellini's films and the melodic styles of Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman. Granted, what each did once past their respective themes became wildly different, with Rota never abandoning harmony, Ornette twisting it in new directions, and Ayler abandoning it altogether, but before that happens, their themes share an effulgent earthiness and overflowing humanity. And who better to bring out the jazz side of that earthy humanity than the great recontextualizer Steve Bernstein and his longstanding quartet with Briggan Krauss (alto and baritone saxes), Tony Scherr (electric bass), and Kenny Wollesen (drums, gongs, log drum, waterphone, vibraphone).
Bernstein's slide trumpet in particular has the microtonal relationship with pitch that Ayler and Coleman each cherished to varying degrees, including a wide...
Call me crazy, but I feel a connection between Rota's themes for Fellini's films and the melodic styles of Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman. Granted, what each did once past their respective themes became wildly different, with Rota never abandoning harmony, Ornette twisting it in new directions, and Ayler abandoning it altogether, but before that happens, their themes share an effulgent earthiness and overflowing humanity. And who better to bring out the jazz side of that earthy humanity than the great recontextualizer Steve Bernstein and his longstanding quartet with Briggan Krauss (alto and baritone saxes), Tony Scherr (electric bass), and Kenny Wollesen (drums, gongs, log drum, waterphone, vibraphone).
Bernstein's slide trumpet in particular has the microtonal relationship with pitch that Ayler and Coleman each cherished to varying degrees, including a wide...
- 7/2/2013
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Woody Allen’s next film, heretofore known as ‘Nero Fiddled’, was officially re-titled yesterday and given a new name that should see it resonate better in its international territories, and so from here on out we’ll know it as ‘To Rome With Love’.
We now have the first eleven images to share with you, some images of the film itself and others including Allen on set, as well as the full cast line-up (which is excellent) and the full soundtrack details (which are just a little bit impeccable).
The romantic-comedy is made up of four vignettes, two of which revolving around American characters and two around Italian characters, with the main cast including the likes of Allen himself, Alec Baldwin, Penélope Cruz, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Roberto Benigni, Judy Davis, Greta Gerwig, and Alison Pill.
The newly re-titled To Rome With Love will open in Italy on 20th April...
We now have the first eleven images to share with you, some images of the film itself and others including Allen on set, as well as the full cast line-up (which is excellent) and the full soundtrack details (which are just a little bit impeccable).
The romantic-comedy is made up of four vignettes, two of which revolving around American characters and two around Italian characters, with the main cast including the likes of Allen himself, Alec Baldwin, Penélope Cruz, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Roberto Benigni, Judy Davis, Greta Gerwig, and Alison Pill.
The newly re-titled To Rome With Love will open in Italy on 20th April...
- 3/20/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
With a new geographically-specific title and a summer release just announced, Woody Allen's latest Euro-flavored venture, "To Rome With Love," is just around the corner. Looking to replicate the success of "Midnight In Paris," a career-best box office hit that won Allen his first writing Oscar since 1987 for "Hannah And Her Sisters," details of his latest film are being kept under wraps. Luckily, we now have a better look at what's to come as a host of photos from the project have been unveiled.
While there's no sign of young stars Greta Gerwig or Ellen Page amongst the pics, there's certainly no lack of star-power with our first glimpses at Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Judy Davis and even Allen in his first acting role since 2006's "Scoop." The images also feature Allen's army of lesser-known Italian stars including Monica Nappo, Flavio Parenti, Alessandra Mastronardi,...
While there's no sign of young stars Greta Gerwig or Ellen Page amongst the pics, there's certainly no lack of star-power with our first glimpses at Penelope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Alison Pill, Judy Davis and even Allen in his first acting role since 2006's "Scoop." The images also feature Allen's army of lesser-known Italian stars including Monica Nappo, Flavio Parenti, Alessandra Mastronardi,...
- 3/20/2012
- by Simon Dang
- The Playlist
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Fresh off their reunion performance at the Grammys, The Beach Boys have been added to the line up for the 2012 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
The initial lineup for the annual festival, which takes place from June 7-10 this year, was announced on Tuesday. Radiohead, Phish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform in Manchester, Tenn.
Both Radiohead and the RHCPs have history with the fest. The Beach Boys, meanwhile, are just musical history, incarnate.
Here is the full lineup for Bonnaroo 2012:
Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Phish
Bon Iver
The Beach Boys featuring Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks
The Avett Brothers
The Shins Foster
The People
Skrillex
Aziz Ansari
Dispatch
Feist
The Roots
Alice Cooper
SuperJam
Black Star
The Word featuring John Medeski, Robert Randolph and North Mississippi Allstars
Ludacris
Ben Folds Five
Flogging Molly...
Hollywoodnews.com: Fresh off their reunion performance at the Grammys, The Beach Boys have been added to the line up for the 2012 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
The initial lineup for the annual festival, which takes place from June 7-10 this year, was announced on Tuesday. Radiohead, Phish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform in Manchester, Tenn.
Both Radiohead and the RHCPs have history with the fest. The Beach Boys, meanwhile, are just musical history, incarnate.
Here is the full lineup for Bonnaroo 2012:
Radiohead
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Phish
Bon Iver
The Beach Boys featuring Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks
The Avett Brothers
The Shins Foster
The People
Skrillex
Aziz Ansari
Dispatch
Feist
The Roots
Alice Cooper
SuperJam
Black Star
The Word featuring John Medeski, Robert Randolph and North Mississippi Allstars
Ludacris
Ben Folds Five
Flogging Molly...
- 2/14/2012
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
Phish, Radiohead, Blackstar, Civil Wars, Roots, Beach Boys also on the bill.
By Gil Kaufman
Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis
Photo: Getty Images
The lineup for the 11th annual Bonnaroo Festival features a powerhouse lineup for headliners including Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phish, along with some recent Grammy winners such as Bon Iver and Edm star Skrillex.
As always, the roster of acts who will descend on the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, for the four-day festival held June 7 to June 10 is a wildly eclectic mix of jam, rock, hip-hop, bluegrass and just about everything in between. The reunited Beach Boys are also on the list, along with the Shins, Avett Brothers, Black Star, shock rock icon Alice Cooper, Feist, rapper/actor Donald Glover as Childish Gambino, the Roots and legendary reggae-spike punk act Bad Brains.
The full roster includes more than 125 bands and 20 comedians performing on 13 stages,...
By Gil Kaufman
Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis
Photo: Getty Images
The lineup for the 11th annual Bonnaroo Festival features a powerhouse lineup for headliners including Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phish, along with some recent Grammy winners such as Bon Iver and Edm star Skrillex.
As always, the roster of acts who will descend on the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, for the four-day festival held June 7 to June 10 is a wildly eclectic mix of jam, rock, hip-hop, bluegrass and just about everything in between. The reunited Beach Boys are also on the list, along with the Shins, Avett Brothers, Black Star, shock rock icon Alice Cooper, Feist, rapper/actor Donald Glover as Childish Gambino, the Roots and legendary reggae-spike punk act Bad Brains.
The full roster includes more than 125 bands and 20 comedians performing on 13 stages,...
- 2/14/2012
- MTV Music News
Here's a fairly strong cast conjured up for a small indie we've heard nothing about until now. Veteran Helen Hunt, Emmy-winning "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul and former 'Lost' star Maggie Grace will all star alongside Samantha Morton and Christina Hendricks in the feature directorial debut of producer Steven Bernstein, the indie-dramedy "Decoding Annie Parker." No word on the exact roles each actor will be taking on, however, Morton is noted to be playing the titular role in the story of the "irrepressible Parker, a breast-cancer patient who stops at nothing to solve the mystery behind her illness despite the…...
- 10/4/2011
- The Playlist
On May 17, Vanguard Records will release Levon Helm: Ramble at the Ryman, a live music performance by the seminal singer/drummer/musician and his band, on DVD, CD and even vinyl!
Levon leaves cripple creek behind for a Ramble at the Ryman.
Recorded in 2008 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, the acclaimed concert features Helm and company joined by special guests Sheryl Crow, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton (Faster).
The set list includes favorite songs from The Band including “Evangeline” and “The Weight,” and selections from Helms’ Grammy-winning 2008 album, Dirt Farmer. Helms’ band consists of his daughter Amy, Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Brian Mitchell, Erik Lawrence, Clark Gayton, Jay Collins, Steven Bernstein, Paul Ossola, Tony Leone and Sammy Davis.
The DVD will carry a list price of $1998, the CD $14.53 and the vinyl $18.88. No bonus features have been announced for the DVD.
Levon leaves cripple creek behind for a Ramble at the Ryman.
Recorded in 2008 at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, the acclaimed concert features Helm and company joined by special guests Sheryl Crow, Buddy Miller, John Hiatt, Sam Bush and Billy Bob Thornton (Faster).
The set list includes favorite songs from The Band including “Evangeline” and “The Weight,” and selections from Helms’ Grammy-winning 2008 album, Dirt Farmer. Helms’ band consists of his daughter Amy, Bob Dylan guitarist Larry Campbell, Teresa Williams, Brian Mitchell, Erik Lawrence, Clark Gayton, Jay Collins, Steven Bernstein, Paul Ossola, Tony Leone and Sammy Davis.
The DVD will carry a list price of $1998, the CD $14.53 and the vinyl $18.88. No bonus features have been announced for the DVD.
- 4/7/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
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