Jazz Releases

CD review – Billy Jenkins - I am a Man from Lewisham

From the bluesy growl of the opening title-track, through a series of rousing, eccentric instrumentals, to the closing 'Throw Them Blues in the Recycling Bin' featuring the Voice of God Collective Junior League Choir, this is quintessential Billy Jenkins: teasingly satirical, genre-melding, passionate, deeply rooted in South East London.

CD review – Stefano Battaglia / Michele Rabbia Pastorale

Pianist Stefano Battaglia is something of an old hand at the percussion–piano freely improvising duo, having collaborated in the early 1990s with Tony Oxley and Pierre Favre, and with his current partner, fellow Italian Michele Rabbia, on an earlier ECM release, Re: Pasolini. On these eleven pieces, which range from deft interpretations of prearranged material (the musical prayer 'Antifona Libera', the wisps of melody that inform the title-track) through Maghrebi-influenced improvisations ('Cantar del Alma', 'Sundance in Balkh')...

Gig review – Martin Carthy - Tuesday 2 March

The world of traditional folk music, characterised by trickery, down-to-earth wit and magic, that is illuminated by a Martin Carthy concert is perhaps best exemplified by the plot of one of the most striking songs he included in this mesmerising two-hour performance: 'Willie's Lady'.

CD review – Jason Adasiewicz's Rolldown - Varmint

Locating the vibrant, freewheeling music on this, Rolldown's second album, by identifying its roots in the freer 1960s Blue Note recordings (Andrew Hill, Eric Dolphy, Sam Rivers et al.) and in its home city Chicago's improvised music scene (Art Ensemble, AACM, Sun Ra) provides a useful shortcut for those new to the band, but might leave them unprepared for the thoroughly contemporary nature of Jason Adasiewicz's compositions, which bristle with all the viscerally affecting energy of the current avant-rock scene in which he used to operate.

Gig review – Mike and Kate Westbrook - Thursday 25 February – 606 Club

'Allsorts' is the title of the Westbrooks' latest duo album (see CD Reviews), and the two sets of music they are currently playing on a short UK tour are comprised mainly of songs that appear on that asc CD. Like the album, their first set began with Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler's 'Stormy Weather', its touching vernacular exploitation of the pathetic fallacy making it a perfect vehicle for Kate's subtly dramatic delivery.

Classic Releases

Leonard Bernstein

Mass (1971) Jubilant Sykes, baritone (The Celebrant) Morgan State University Choir; Peabody Children’s Chorus Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop Naxos By now, almost all our readers must have heard of this sensational recording and the string of awards it has garnered in the classical industry. After a long period of benign neglect, Leonard Bernstein’s acclaimed (or notorious?) masterwork has [...]

Lewis Spratlan

In Memoriam Soloists, Valley Festival Orchestra and Amherst College Concert Choir Lewis Spratlin conducting Streaming: Quartet for Piano and Strings Yvonne Lam. Violin; David Kim, viola; Christian-Pierre La Marca, cello; Xiang Zou, piano Navona Records “Sun, Sun, you bring us light. Never can we pay for the blessings that you give to us.” Thus begins a Mayan prayer to the Sun [...]

Alberto Ginastera

String Quartets (Complete) Ensö Quartet, with Lucy Shelton, soprano (Quartet 3) Naxos Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) listed three periods in his development as “Objective Nationalism” (1934–1948), “Subjective Nationalism” (1948–1958), and “Neo-Expressionism” (1958–1983). His best known works, the ballets Panambí and Estancia, are from the first period, in which he consciously used the folk music of his own [...]

Vivian Houle: Treize

Vivian Houle, vocalist Treize Drip Audio Mandrake (with Peggy Lee, cello) Molehills mumps (with Lisa miller, piano) Paperthin (with Coat Cooke, saxophone) Gratte-moi le dos (with Kenton Loewen, drums) Quiet eyes (with Ron Samworth, guitar) It’s not the moon (with Chris Gestrin, analog keyboards and live sampling) Betters and bads (with Jesse Zubot, violin) Finely tuned is my heart (with Jeremy Berkman, [...]

Tom Johnson on New World

Tom Johnson Rational Melodies New World CD 80705-2 When he was a critic at the Village Voice in the 1970s, Tom Johnson (b. 1939) was one of the first writers to apply the term ‘minimalism’ to music. As time has moved on, many composers originally associated with minimalism have branched out stylistically; while certain gestural signatures may remain, [...]

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Radio Magico News

Amy Winehouse to unveil fashion collection

Thursday, 11 March 2010 22:11

radio magico article Singer collaborates with Fred Perry label to produce retro collection including cardigans and mini-dresses

Amy Winehouse is to bring out her own clothing collection as part of a collaboration with the Fred Perry label, it was announced today.

"I'm really excited – we've been working on it for a while and it's great to see it finally come to fruition," the singer said.

The 17-piece retrocollection will consist of capri trousers, cardigans and mini-dresses.

Tags: Amy Winehouse

Pink Floyd sue EMI over download royalties

Thursday, 11 March 2010 04:38

radio magico article Prog-rock band take record label to court for allegedly breaking terms of contract regarding individual track sales

Pink Floyd are suing their record label EMI, claiming that it has no right to sell their songs except as part of full albums. According to a 1999 contract, tunes like Money and Another Brick in the Wall cannot be "unbundled" from the albums on which they appear; EMI alleges this does not apply to downloads.

Tags: Pink Floyd

Retro Latin Band Las Rubias del Norte Release Ziguala

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 16:56

Las Rubias del Norte is releasing Ziguala this week. The group hails from Brooklyn (New York), fronted by vocalists Allyssa Lamb and Emily Hurst, with multi-instrumental backing from a seven-piece ensemble. The band bids farewell, for the most part, to its beloved glockenspiel and brings in some vintage Farfisa organ, hints of distortion, some surf guitar , effect pedals, marimba, vibraphone, Hammond B-3 organ, and a string quartet on a couple of tracks. This instrumentation introduces songs plucked from traditions, from Bollywood to Tex-Mex and Neapolitan folklore.

Tags: Las Rubias del Norte

Stevie Wonder collects lifetime achievement prize ... 30 years late

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 04:25

radio magico article 'Scheduling conflicts' to blame for R&B legend taking nearly three decades to pick up lifetime achievement prize

Almost 30 years after being awarded one of France's top cultural honours, Stevie Wonder finally showed up to receive the decoration. The R&B legend was formally made a Commander of the National Order of Arts and Letters at a ceremony last weekend.

Tags: Stevie Wonder

Zakir Hussain and the Masters of Percussion to Perform at Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 16:22

Zakir Hussain, the legendary percussionist whose intoxicating rhythms have accompanied India's major artists and leading names in world music, returns to New York on March 12 & 13 of 2010 with his Masters of Percussion ensemble. He is joined by Taufiq Qureshi (percussion), the superb violin duo of Ganesh & Kumaresh, sarangi (lute) player Sabir Khan, Sridar Parthsarathy (mrdangam - double-headed barrel drum), Navin Sharma (dholak - two-headed folk drum), and the Motilal Dhakis from Bengal (dancing drummers).

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Nigel Kennedy lines up soundtrack to 1973 England v Poland game

Tuesday, 09 March 2010 05:21

radio magico article Violinist and Polish jazz band to improvise during screening of match as part of Southbank festival of Polish culture

It was one of the most traumatic matches in England's football history, the one where that "clown" Jan Tomaszewski made save after save ensuring Poland went to the World Cup and – unthinkably – England didn't. So the decision by the violinist Nigel Kennedy to screen it at the Royal Festival Hall just weeks before this year's World Cup may, at the very least, raise eyebrows.

Tags: Nigel Kennedy

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