Music
On the Mingus Big Band
My review of the Mingus Big Band at the Kimmel Center, in today’s Inquirer.
The week on disc (13)
In case you missed the last one…John Beasley, Letter to Herbie (Resonance, forthcoming)Cuong Vu, Vu-Tet (ArtistShare) Speak in Tones, Subaro (AlphaPocket) Eric McPherson, Continuum (Smalls)Kyle Brenders, Flows and Intensities (ind.) Ed Saindon with Dave Liebman, Depth of Emotion (World Improvised Music)
Benefits for Andrew
I’ve had a lot going on and thus never posted on the recent brain-surgery ordeal of alto saxophonist/bass clarinetist Andrew D’Angelo. Well, now I read the devastating news that Andrew’s tumor is cancerous. Darcy has more, a lot more, about donations, benefits and other links. Human Feel, the brilliant quartet with Andrew, Rosenwinkel, Jim Black and Chris Speed, just reunited
Felicitous phenomenon!
That’s from Marianne Moore’s poem “O To Be a Dragon,” one of four works set to music by pianist Dave Burrell and performed tonight in duo with bassist Michael Formanek. The poet Nzadi Keita recited Moore’s words before each piece. With its unique performance environments, Philly can be such a delight, and this program at the Rosenbach Museum & Library,
Music in Dakar
Wednesday, Feb. 13 was a starry and perfect night on Île de Gorée, just off the coast of Dakar, where my colleagues and I saw Youssou N’Dour (top photo) perform in a temporary structure that sat about 200 people max. N’Dour is a magnetic performer, as audiences well beyond Senegal have known for a while (the classic live clip of
On Pat Metheny
I have the featured CD review — Pat Metheny’s Day Trip — in the March issue of Jazz Times. Leaving town now, back on February 15. But watch this space; I might be able to post while away.
Housekeeping and departure…
I’m leaving imminently for a brief trip to Dakar, Senegal, where I’ll be part of a press contingent learning about Youssou N’Dour’s micro-credit initiative called Birima. This is modeled of course on the Nobel Peace Prize-winning efforts of Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh, whose concept of the “social business entrepreneur” is very much worth checking out. Yunus’s explanation of his Grameen
The week on disc (12)
In case you missed the last one… Matt Davis’s Aerial Photograph, Before the Stars Burn Out (Vandolah Sounds, 2006)Howard Alden & Ken Peplowski, Pow-Wow (Arbors)Mark O’Leary, On the Shore (Clean Feed) Herb Robertson NY Downtown Allstars, Real Aberration (Clean Feed) Paul Hanson, Frolic in the Land of Plenty (Abstract Logix) Ryan Blotnick, Music Needs You (Songlines)