Saturday, March 24, 2018

Repast Baroque Ensemble's "Dresden Fireworks" illuminated little known works and often overlooked instruments.

›
Some wag -- probably a frustrated clarinet or English horn player -- once defined the oboe as "an ill wind that nobody blows good....
Saturday, March 17, 2018

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "Finnegan's Wake"

›
James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake , reckoned one of the most difficult books to read, took its title and a tiny bit of its narrtive fr...
1 comment:
Monday, March 05, 2018

Roger Bannister, 1929-2018.

›
On May 6, 1954 I was eight years and not quite two months old. My parents and I were preparing for a European vacation before returning to...
Wednesday, January 24, 2018

The Bench, Robert Galinsky's searing play about homelessness, directed by Jay O. Sanders

›
How could I pass up a play that had as its author and sole performer, and as its director, men I had known since our children had all been...
Monday, January 15, 2018

Mavis Staples, "We Shall Not Be Moved."

›
In the clip below, Mavis Staples sings a song that's perhaps more timely now than since the years leading up to the passage of the Civi...
Tuesday, January 09, 2018

2017: remembrances.

›
2017 was a year of many losses. The Grace Church community suffered the loss of several long standing members. Ann Gaffney was an artist...
Sunday, December 24, 2017

Boston Camerata, Joel Cohen conducting, "Jesus, the Light of the World."

›
According to Joel Cohen's notes accompanying the Erato CD, the source of this delightful song is " The Finest of the Wheat: Hymns...
Monday, November 20, 2017

RIP Mel Tillis

›
Mel Tillis, who died today at 85 was a talented singer and prolific songwriter (over 1,000 songs written). He is one of ten country musi...
Friday, November 03, 2017

Astros rule!

›
The Houston Astros have won their first World Series championship, prevailing at the end of a thrill packed seven game marathon. I began t...
Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Adieu, Antoine! Fats Domino, 1928-2017

›
Antoine Dominique Domino Jr., best known as Fats Domino, died today at the age of 89. Of African and Creole ancestry, he was born and rai...
Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Dvořák's bird and train.

›
Two weeks ago my wife and I attended a concert presented by the Brooklyn Chamber Music Society , featuring performances of string quartet...
Saturday, October 21, 2017

Should I keep on hating the Yankees?

›
If anyone asks me what pro sports teams I root for, I'll say I back all New York teams whose names end in "ets" or "der...
Thursday, October 05, 2017

Mets finished fourth in division.

›
At the beginning of this season I facetiously posted  here that the Mets were in first place in their division. This was after one game , ...
Tuesday, October 03, 2017

Tom Petty, 1950-2017.

›
The worlds of jazz, country, and rock music have lost many great performers this year -- in chronological order I've noted here the de...
Thursday, August 31, 2017

Happy 72nd, Van Morrison!

›
I almost missed it. Indeed, from the point of view of Van's hometown, Belfast, I did. It's already September 1 there. Anyway, than...
Wednesday, August 09, 2017

Glen Campbell, 1936-2017

›
Glen Campbell died yesterday at 81, after many years' struggle with Alzheimer's. He had a fine, clear tenor voice, but his greate...
Monday, May 29, 2017

Gregg Allman, 1947-2017

›
In April of 1969 I was in my second year of law school, and visited my parents in Tampa during spring break. Paging through the Tampa Trib...
Sunday, May 28, 2017

They also served, and many died: remembering the merchant mariners.

›
This weekend we remember the men and women whose lives were lost in defense of our nation and its allies. Among these have been many mercha...
Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Ella Fitzgerald's Centenary

›
Today, April 25, would have been Ella Fitzgerald's 100th birthday (I'm getting in very late, now), and I must remember her as one of...
Tuesday, April 18, 2017

J. Geils, 1946-2017

›
I first knew of the J. Geils Band some time after my arrival in Cambridge for law school. Looking through one of the local "what'...
Monday, April 03, 2017

Mets in first place in NL East!

›
Of course, they're sharing this lofty position with the Nationals and the Phillies, who also won their season openers today. The Mets ...
Sunday, March 19, 2017

Chuck Berry: 1926-2017

›
Chuck Berry, who, in my opinion. did as much or more than anyone to make rock 'n' roll what it is, and whose inspiration was essent...
Thursday, March 16, 2017

A "Celtic Appalachian Celebration."

›
On Saturday evening, March 11, my wife and I attended a concert billed as "A Celtic Appalachian Celebration" at Symphony Space ...
Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Another remembrance I missed: Mose Allison (1927-2016).

›
I first heard of Mose Allison during my college years. I had a copy of Johnny Rivers' album Meanwhile Back at the Whiskey à Go Go , w...
Friday, February 24, 2017

Baseball is back! Mets win spring training opener from Red Sox.

›
The Mets opened their Grapefruit League pre-season with a 3-2 win over the Red Sox today. This makes me happy, but my wife, most of her r...
Sunday, February 19, 2017

Remembrances--an addendum: John Glenn

›
When I had finished my Remembrances post, I had a feeling that I'd left out someone very significant. I had noted the death of John G...
Sunday, February 12, 2017

Al Jarreau, 1940-2017

›
Al Jarreau, whose syncretic style bridged jazz, mainstream pop, and rhythm 'n' blues, died today at 76. In the clip below, he doe...

Remembrances, 2016

›
Back in January I posted my "Look Back" at 2016 . I noted that past New Year's posts had included remembrances of those frie...
Monday, January 16, 2017

Morehouse College Glee Club: "We Shall Overcome"

›
The video clip below is of the Morehouse College Glee Club singing "We Shall Overcome" (arranged by Wendell P. Whalum ) at the 2...
Monday, January 09, 2017

2016: a look back.

›
Marsh, Orleans (Cape Cod) Massachusetts, January 1, 2017 For some years I've posted (with a few days' delay) a "New Year...