Category: AJBlogs

The obituaries for André Previn were respectful, even admiring, in a way that they wouldn’t have been had he died a quarter-century ago. It took a very long time for Previn to be fully accepted by the classical-music establishment, … – Terry Teachout

One of Canada’s finest musicians, guitarist Ed Bickert, died on Thursday at 86. He was quiet and reserved, but the rich harmonies in Bickert’s playing captivated listeners and fellow musicians alike. – Doug Ramsey

Here is a piece from the 1975 Paul Desmond Quartet album Live, recorded at Bourbon Street in Toronto in 1975. – Doug Ramsey

Has any artistic movement since been as all-encompassing as the counterculture of the 1960s? – Jan Herman

In interviews, I found Previn bemused by the difficulty that critics, and sometimes his fellow musicians, encountered when they tried to strike a balance in considering his variegated musical personas.
Gitler was an invaluable chronicler of the crucial years when jazz made the transition from the swing era into bebop and a model of clarity. – Doug Ramsey

Bill Mays Trio Live At COTA
Pianist Mays recently reassembled his trio for a concert and their first CD release in more than ten years. Mays, bassist Martin Wind and drummer Matt Wilson came together in a live performance at last Fall’s COTA (Celebration Of The Arts) festival in the Poconos. – Doug Ramsey

Ned Bennett’s galvanic production for English Touring Theatre and Stratford East sets Peter Shaffer’s play at the time of the 1973 premiere, and the production’s props assemble like a toolkit of the 1970s and its discontents. So what’s in the 1970s toolkit? – David Jays

The hits to the Metropolitan Museum’s finances attributable to its previous director, Tom Campbell, just keep on coming. – Lee Rosenbaum

Bill Young/Colleen Thomas & Co. February 22 & 23
The wall to our right is mirrored; a trio can become a sextet, a duet a foursome. The wood floor — golden brown, unmarred, and glowing — plays a starring role. It all but invites a dancer to rest on it. Or fall to it, roll across it, and spring back up and into the arms of a colleague in one seamless maneuver. – Deborah Jowitt