Reviews of new albums from pianists who started on different instruments—Marc Copland on sax, Florian Hoefner on trumpet—celebrate their decision to move to the keyboard. Continue reading
Dialogue, Myra Melford and Ben Goldberg (BAG Production Records)
A Review
Pianist/composer Myra Melford and
clarinetist/composer Ben Goldberg engage in serious play on their first-ever duo release, Dialogue (BAG Production Records). Serious, but never solemn, and always with a playful disregard for the orthodox.
The two share several characteristics that have allowed them to contribute as a
sideman in each other’s projects and that also make for an electric pairing. First, there is the absolute command of their instruments that
supports a fearless confidence, a willingness to take corners on two wheels and to see just how far they can tip this thing over without crashing. Continue reading
Peter Guralnick. Photo by David Ghar.
Peter Guralnick, Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll (Little, Brown; 661 pages)
&
Sam Phillips: The Man Who
Invented Rock ’n’ Roll (YepRoc Records)
A Review
That descriptive identifier, “The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll,” says biographer Peter Guralnick in his author’s note at the front of the book, is one that Sam Phillips “would have both claimed and
disclaimed . . . , as he frequently did, more often than not in the same elongated sentence.”
If we unpack Guralnick’s sentence, we begin to get a picture of the complex, charming, exasperating, visionary, and profoundly human being whose ear caught something new and different—“different” being the Sam Phillips’ standard of excellence—in the air as various strands of American music were entwining themselves into rock ’n’ roll. His
Memphis Recording Services studio and Sun Records label provided a laboratory where he and a host of artists, black and white, explored the possibilities of that new music in the 1950s and ’60s. Continue reading
Chris Buckholz, Versatility (indie)
A Review
Trombonist Chris Buckholz christened his double album Versatility because it showcases his indisputable ability to live comfortably in both the jazz and classical worlds—something widely and apparently incorrectly considered impossible by musical pundits. He might just as well have named it Virtuosity, because that quality is on display in every track—and
always in the service of the music, not his ego. Add Buckholz’s scholarship, curiosity, humor, and respect for the material, and you have the ingredients for a satisfying and diverse collection of music that stretches from the 17th to the 21st century. Continue reading
In the interest of getting the word out on several albums, here are three short reviews for your reading pleasure. Continue reading