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Janeane Garofalo, poseur
Janeane Garofalo fancies herself politically informed, a critical thinker, but she certainly disproved it on last night’s edition of Real Time with Bill Maher. Aside from botching the French president’s name (“Sarkozky,” Maher’s mistake as well), the 9/11 conspiracy theory dabbler first offered a rousing defense of Maher’s satellite guest, former CIA creep-turned-author Michael Scheuer. Funny, since Scheuer is an
The Rite
My first experience of the Philadelphia Orchestra, with Christoph Eschenbach conducting, could hardly have been better. Yesterday’s matinee included a rousing Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1, followed by a lacerating, sweating, physical account of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. I’ve enjoyed the NY Philharmonic over the years, but this seems to be one area where Philly has the edge. I have
Sonny Rollins: the art of the trio
Last night’s historic Sonny Rollins show at Carnegie Hall was, among other things, a terrific and much-needed jolt of New York energy for this writer. Drummer Rashied Ali marched into the Pick-a-Bagel as I was finishing my sandwich. You just don’t experience this sort of thing in Philly. With a cursory glance around the lobby and inside the hall, one
Kucinich’s shame
On the question of whether to engage a regime such as Syria’s, last discussed here: There is world of difference between the kind of engagement Barack Obama has recommended, or that Nancy Pelosi undertook in April, and the deplorable toadying of Dennis Kucinich as seen in this video interview. The congressman’s hometown paper tears him a new one here (and
Quagmires, military and rhetorical
This week’s Petraeus/Crocker testimony has prompted another round of stern lecturing by war supporters about the cost of failure in Iraq. Most Americans know full well: it is the Bush administration that has given us failure in Iraq. Even the most diehard war supporters concede that “mistakes were made.” Sorry, the passive voice will not do. Bush took us to
Me on the Beeb
Apparently my comments on this year’s Vision Festival will be a part of the BBC radio program “Jazz On 3” this Friday, September 14 from 11:30 pm – 1 am (London time). You can listen, or access the broadcast after the fact for one week, here.
The week on disc (3)
In case you missed the last one… Eldar, Re-Imagination (Sony BMG Masterworks): The young Kyrgyz-American pianist goes nu-jazz on us. A bit chirpily bright at times, but it’s honest, gutsy music, fueled by the monster drumming of Terreon Gully and the stratospheric guitar of Mike Moreno. Jason Smith, Tipping Point (MoonJune): Californian drummer with Allan Holdsworth associates Gary Husband on
Exploding Star
Marvelous, though under-attended, performance last night at Philly’s International House by the Exploding Star Orchestra Quintet — a scaled-down incarnation of the group that released We Are All from Somewhere Else (Thrill Jockey) earlier this year. Even in the smaller-group context, orchestral timbres abounded, thanks in part to Rob Mazurek’s delay-enhanced cornet (distinct shades of Bill Dixon) and the painterly,