David Adler
Pinter passes
Harold Pinter may have been an innovative playwright, but in death he is receiving accolades as a great moral force in politics as well. Pinter’s political views were in fact fanatical, irresponsible and utterly without nuance. (See my previous remarks here.) As Johann Hari reminds us, Pinter was an apologist for Serbian fascism and ultra-nationalism, going so far as to
The week on disc (34)
In case you missed the last one… Achim Kaufmann/Mark Dresser/Harris Eisenstadt, Starmelodics (Nuscope) Garaj Mahal, Woot (Owl Studios) Guillaume de Chassy, Faraway So Close (BEE Jazz) Peggy Lee Band, New Code (Drip Audio) Dred Scott Trio, Free (Robertson Music) The Wee Trio, Capitol Diner, Vol. 1 (Bionic)
Ethan on Wynton
A classic, obviously. It’s funny: blogging is thought of as the medium of the short and quick, nothing too in-depth, as we jump from screen to screen with a minimum of reflection. It’s not always so. Even without digesting it fully, Ethan Iverson’s multipart analysis has taught me a lot about music I thought I already knew well. It’s the
Jazz impressions 2008
The year of Nguyên Lê: Memorably searing guitar work on Uri Caine’s The Othello Syndrome (Winter & Winter) and Vince Mendoza’s Blauklang (ACT). Not to mention Joel Harrison’s 2007 gem, Harbor (HighNote). The year of John Abercrombie: Two compelling sideman appearances with tenor saxophonists, on Adam Kolker’s Flag Day (Sunnyside) and Jerry Bergonzi’s Tenor Talk (Savant). The year of Dewey
Quality tracks, 2008
1. “Never, ever, ever” Cuong Vu, Vu-Tet (ArtistShare) 2. “Felipe” (Moacir Santos) Enrico Rava & Stefano Bollani, The Third Man (ECM) 3. “The Cat” Marcin Wasilewski Trio, January (ECM) 4. “Rich Man’s Prayer” Matthew Herbert Big Band, There’s Me and There’s You (!K7) 5. “Free for C.T.” & “Jean-Pierre” David Murray & Mal Waldron, Silence (Justin Time) 6. “Ad Mortem” E.S.T.,
Top Shows 2008
Of the nearly 200 performances I attended in 2008, here are the 25 that defined my year, in chronological order: 1. Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society North IAJE Conference, Toronto January 10 2. Orchestra 2001, Pierre Boulez’s Le marteau sans maître Swarthmore College January 27 3. PIMA Group, Look! Dance/performance art piece Powel House, Philadelphia February 3 4. Wayne Krantz
On Donny McCaslin
My preview of Donny McCaslin’s trio at 55 Bar (Tuesday, Dec. 23), in the current Time Out New York.
Turangalîla-Tristan
Quite a play of classical contrasts… Sunday brought the Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale to Carnegie Hall for a reading of Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphonie, with Reinbert de Leeuw conducting. A gifted older maestro, young and hungry players — the mix couldn’t have been more combustible. The sprawling 10-movement work of the mid-’40s involves spine-tingling sustained crescendos and hints of Romanticism, and