Hammond organist Brian Ho, on the other hand, is just a rhythmic player who swings. He’s not as inventive as Jimmy Smith or Barbara Dennerlein , who are the two best jazz organists of my lifetime. Were his bandmates not on such an exalted level, it probably wouldn’t matter so much, but since they are, my verdict is that he is OK but nothing to write home about.
- I know that Aboriginal artists are not specifically including musical references, and most do not use music as the inspiration for their art, however, the colours, shapes, designs, and forms speak loudly of music to me.
- In his second improvised chorus, he resorts to some flashy triplets in lieu of his usual high-level creations.
- The Center features information on artists, architects, musicians, actors, filmmakers, dancers and other arts professionals and athletes — primarily those who have lived and/or worked in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- The circular patterns, which can represent family and local groups are much like the circular or repetitive voices we hear in music.
- Each of the three solo instruments play individually and independently of one another, adding their minimalist contributions in bits and pieces, fits and starts, but never quite conclusions.
- As in some of her other works, too, Zwilich throws in some clear jazz references—here, at least, in the earlier jazz-classical style of Gershwin, only a bit more modal.
As early as the 1930s, artists attempted to cultivate ideas of “symphonic jazz”, taking it away from its perceived vernacular and black American roots. Following these developments, histories of popular music tend to marginalize jazz, partly because the reformulation of jazz in the art discourse has been so successful that many would not consider it a form of popular music. Steve Drown, MECA&D’s new Assistant Professor of Music, in the newly launched Bob Crewe Program in Art and Music, has been an independent recording engineer for the last 21 years and a professional musician for nearly 30. He has a BM in music production and engineering from Berklee College of Music and works as an engineer at The Studio, which provides state-of-the-art recording, digital editing and more in downtown Portland. Steve’s forte is making good musicians sound great—often in ways they don’t expect. He has worked with James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Ronnie Earl, Roy Scheider, Patty Larkin, Kate Schrock, and Ron Carter, among other musicians.
Artists
I once knew a composer who very much liked performances of Mozart’s Symphonies that were unexciting but texturally clear because she enjoyed being able to hear the structure of the piece without interference from an individual interpretation, but I’m fussy. Boulez’ music, on the other hand, is even more severe than Schoenberg’s. With even the “melodic” line consisting of widely-spaced intervallic notes, there is very little room for lyricism, nor do I think the composer wanted any. Idil Biret, I think, has taken the best approach to his piano sonatas, playing them in a taut fashion which gives the music shape. Iman takes a different, more idiosyncratic approach, but despite his not being able to create a musical arch in this sonata, he still gives us various gradations of volume which enhance one’s listening experience.
Ongoing Events
He does not play it safe; he jumps into the fire feet first, exploring extended chord positions and somehow landing on notes you’d never expect, giving one the thrill of hearing a master improviser in his element. At the beginning of the 20th century, art music was divided into “serious music” and “light music”. During the second half of the century, there was a large-scale trend in American culture toward blurring the boundaries between art and pop music.
art music
The long but whimsical Ländler movement also has its surprises, again with accents and details normally glossed over. I also loved the swagger he gave to the music here; I’ve never heard this movement conducted as well. I also loved the way he did the “Rondo-Burleske,” almost making it an extension of the Ländler—but in the latter part of this movement, Rattle gets out of control. He makes up for it with a deeply-felt “Adagio,” however; this is as good as Solti’s performance. Although I get sick and tired of reviewing constantly-retreaded repertoire, I make exceptions for those few artists who are real interpreters and who have an affinity for certain composers of this kind of music. Simon Rattle is one such, particularly where Mahler or French impressionists are concerned.