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CD Review – Michael Finnissy: Gershwin arrangements for piano (White)

By Kiersten van Vliet on 11 July 2016 CD and Book Reviews, Contemporary, Mainstream Jazz, Piano, Popular Music, Scena Jazz

George Gershwin’s songs are so ubiquitous that it is hard to imagine an experience of his work untouched by adaptations, whether in film or in the concert hall. This set of 13 tunes was transcribed by English composer Michael Finnissy over the same number of years, between 1975 and 1988. Finnissy is perhaps best known for his transcriptions, from his English Country Tunes (1982–85) to his completion of Mozart’s Requiem (2013). Finnissy, who celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this year, hailed Dirk Herten’s performance as “thoughtful, sensitive, [and] delicately-shaded,” while praising his refined touch. He continued, “I feel like a…

A Festival of 1001 emotions! 37th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

By Newswire on 11 July 2016 Experimental Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Newswire, Popular Music, Scena Jazz, Vocal Jazz, World Music

Montreal, Saturday, 9 July 2016 – When it comes to musical pleasure, nothing delivered like this 37th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, presented by TD in collaboration with Rio Tinto! For 11 days and nights, from June 29 to July 9, 2016, jazz unfolded in all its sounds, shapes and styles… a Festival of effervescence and serenity, full of raw, passionate, challenging, inspiring, impressive musical moments! With a program this eclectic and packed with options, with young newcomers and veterans, Montréalers welcoming tourists, and fans of jazz, electronica, blues, hip-hop, etc. rubbing shoulders under the stars of our…

George Gershwin

This Day in Music – 1937: Death of George Gershwin

By Weiyu Dang on 11 July 2016 Contemporary, Popular Music, Scena Jazz, This Day in Music, Vocal Jazz

Gershwin, one of the main catalysts for jazz to become America’s music, was a composer and pianist who bridged popular and classical modes. His prolific compositions are now considered jazz and pop standards, most notably the “rhythm changes” in his tune “I got Rhythm” that would become a seminal chord sequence for bebop development. Notable works include An American in Paris, Porgy and Bess, and Rhapsody in Blue. Ella Fitzgerald – “Summertime”

Nikki Chooi

Daily News Roundup: 8 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 8 July 2016 Classical Music, Daily News Roundup, Mainstream Jazz, Musical Theatre, Opera, Popular Music, Romantic, Scena Jazz

+ Canadian violinist and winner of the OSM’s Manulife Competition in 2004, Nikki Chooi has been named the new concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera. + China’s Cultural Revolution made listening to Beethoven a political crime, but half a century later, the relationship between Chinese people and western classical music has evolved in unpredictable ways. “When it comes to ways of listening, the Chinese have long been open to other cultures and to change – not in a revolutionary way, but through a process that builds on its long musical tradition.” + Video of the Day: Lullabies with Alessio Bax on…

Lila Downs. Photo credit: Frédérique Ménard-Aubin, 2016

Daily News Roundup: 6 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 6 July 2016 Choral, Contemporary, Mainstream Jazz, Piano, Romantic, Scena Jazz, World Music

+ Cleveland Classical talks with guitarist Denis Azabagić about winning prizes, his wife and duo partner flautist Eugenia Moliner, and practice philosophy. “I remember when I came to the U.S. more than a decade ago. I opened the yellow pages and found an ad that said, ‘Learn to play the piano without practice.’ I thought, who in the world could put out such an ad? I mean how can you lie like that — because that’s impossible. We would all like to get our things in life the easy way, but music is something that certainly doesn’t happen like that.…

This Day in Music – 1937: Benny Goodman records “Sing, Sing, Sing”

By Weiyu Dang on 6 July 2016 Mainstream Jazz, Scena Jazz, This Day in Music

On July 6th 1937, Benny Goodman recorded New Orleans swing standard “Sing, Sing, Sing” in Hollywood with his band. Goodman would go on to make this song an anthem of sorts for the Big Band and Swing era. His famous quote goes “‘Sing, Sing, Sing’ (which we started doing back at the Palomar on our second trip there in 1936) was a big thing, and no one-nighter was complete without it.” Benny Goodman – “Sing, Sing, Sing”

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

Video of the Day – Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers “Dat Dere”

By Weiyu Dang on 5 July 2016 Mainstream Jazz, Scena Jazz, Video of the day

In light of the ongoing Montreal Jazz Festival, here’s a wonderful live performance of the pianist Bobby Timmons’s “Dat Dere” by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone offers a virtuosic solo spanning the whole instrument’s range and tone palate; Lee Morgan on the trumpet slurs poignant licks; and Timmons brings his usual hard-grooving, crunchy block chords. Add in legendary Jymie Merritt on bass and, of course, Art Blakey on drums and you have a superteam that colours beyond the bounds of the hard bop classic’s lines before the idea of superteams came to be. Art…

Daily News Roundup: 1 July 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 1 July 2016 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Mainstream Jazz, Opera, Romantic, Scena Jazz, Violin

+ The marriage between text and music in contemporary opera is more important than ever, says William Littler, citing Fellow Travelers (Cincinnati Opera) and Les Feluettes (Opéra de Montréal) as recent examples. “Perhaps today, more than at any other time in the recent past, librettists are coming into their own as something approaching full partners with composers in the creation of successful opera. And tied to this development is the heightened importance in an age of film and television of casting singers who can give visual credibility to their roles. Tenor Aaron Blake and baritone Joseph Lattanzi both looked and…

Andris Nelsons Photo: Marco Borggreve

Daily News Roundup: 30 June 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 30 June 2016 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Daily News Roundup, Mainstream Jazz, Opera, Scena Jazz

+ Andris Nelsons has pulled out of a production of Parsifal that opens the Bayreuth Festival. “Owing to a differing approach in various matters, the atmosphere at this year’s Bayreuth Festival did not develop in a mutually comfortable way for all parties,” said a written statement that was issued on behalf of Mr. Nelsons and his management team, Konzertdirektion Schmid. + Long-time proponent of new new music, violinist Anahid Ajemian has passed away at the age of 92. + His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada announced 113 new appointments to the Order of Canada. See…

Daily News Roundup: 28 June 2016

By Kiersten van Vliet on 28 June 2016 Contemporary, Daily News Roundup, Mainstream Jazz, Opera, Scena Jazz

+ Alan Fletcher, the CEO of the Aspen music festival in Colorado, asks why great American symphonists are neglected by American orchestras. + From the Archive: Jon Vickers interview from 15 March 1985 in The Guardian. “The foundation on which I stand as an artist is that all art must appeal to the intellect. Then we’re making a contribution to civilisation, to the uplifting of man. But if we chose to indulge ourselves and chase dollars and fame at the expense of artistic integrity, if we smear the line between entertainment and art, we’re in trouble. “And the operatic world…

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