Browsing: Vocal Jazz

Today’s Daily News Roundup asks whether Classical music is as calming as we are lead to believe. Plus a new appointment to the Philadelphia Orchestra, and more. + Is Classical Music calming for our brains? Gramophone’s Andrew Mellor deconstructs the notion. “Let’s not deny great music its reassuring, contemplative and soothing qualities. But let’s not pretend that’s all it does either. Music of all kinds – whether heard live at the Philharmonie in Berlin or via your phone on the top deck of the 196 bus – has the ability to temporarily realign the chemical balance in our brains. It’s a…

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In an interesting mix of West African Songhoy lyrics and electric guitar blues, the four member Songhoy Blues play trance-like grooves that shouldn’t be relegated into ‘fusion’ or ‘world’ music just because they aren’t western. From Mali, the Songhoy Blues play what they call ‘desert blues’ to capture the nostalgia and dislocation caused by wartime migration. Their droning guitar riffs and lyrical strains build into an infectious swelter, while the drum beats and guitar solos can’t help but raise heartbeats and get feet tapping. Video of the Day: Songhoy Blues – NPR Tiny Desk Concert

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Here is your Daily News Roundup megapost for July 13 to 15. We apologize that the website experienced some turbulence during that period – we are working tirelessly to fix issues as they arise! + La Scena Musicale is launching its 2015–16 fundraising campaign. Learn what you can do to help here. + Read Norman Lebrecht’s weekly album review. This week he critiques a disc of Polish violin concertos performed by Piotr Plawner and the Kammersymphonie Berlin. “Piotr Plawner is a dexterous soloist and the Kammersymphonie Berlin offer decent accompaniment, but the interpretations are safe and somewhat anonymous. Compare the Panufnik…

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Winner of the Grammy for best new artist in 2011, bassist, composer, singer Esperanza Spalding stands as one of the strongest young voices in the jazz scene. On her latest album, Emily’s D+Evolution, Spalding brings an eclectic fusion of Joni Mitchell style delivery, harmonically unique pop, and stylish rock punk. The use of foot pedals and electric bass departs from the earlier acoustic sound to create a warping soundscape that wraps up the listener in a series of loops and reverbs. In the following video, the more progressive and breathy style meshes well with the overly theatrical costumes and stage…

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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…

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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”

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+ R.E.M’s Mike Mills Concerto for Violin, Rock Band, and String Orchestra with the TSO was quite the hit with younger audiences. + A miniseries based on Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace begins shooting in August and will appear on both Netflix and CBC. + Sook-Yin Lee is moving onto a project called Sleepover, after Definitely Not the Opera got cut from CBC’s on-air programming earlier this year. + Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi is raising awareness for the environmental degradation of the North by playing on an ice floe in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. Watch a video of his performance. +…

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June 15, 1843 is the birthday of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Born in Bergen, he is widely considered as one of the leading romantic composers. His music celebrates both the Norwegian Folk heritage and the width of European culture. Listen to a 1906 recording of Grieg playing Butterfly, one of his 66 Lyric Pieces for piano. Today also marks the death anniversary of the First Lady of Song Ella Fitzgerald, who passed away on June 15 1996. She led a brilliant solo career—as her 14 Grammy awards indicate—and also recorded and performed with other great jazz musicians such as Duke…

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Spirits were running high during the final bows at the FMCM’s opening night last Thursday, June 9 at Pollack Hall, but opinions were mixed. The evening’s stars, soprano Measha Brueggergosman and trumpeter Jens Lindemann, carried the show—though not the show that the audience was expecting. While the program announced an arrangement of Bach’s Air on the G string for the second half of the evening, instead audiences were treated to a preview of the following June 10 jazz concert. After the intermission, the Honourable Tommy Banks (piano), Eric Lagacé (bass), and David Laing (drums) performed an off-the-cuff program of Duke…

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