Journal
- Friday, November 22, 2024
The Way Out of Easy, the first album from guitarist Jeff Parker and his long-running ETA IVtet—saxophonist Josh Johnson, bassist Anna Butterss, drummer Jay Bellerose—since their 2022 debut Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, which Pitchfork named one of the Best Albums of the 2020s So Far, is out now on International Anthem / Nonesuch Records. Like that album, The Way Out of Easy comprises recordings from LA venue ETA, where Parker and the ensemble held a weekly residency for seven years. During that time, the ETA IVtet evolved from a band that played mostly standards into a group known for its transcendent, long-form journeys into innovative, groove-oriented improvised music. All four tracks on The Way Out of Easy come from a single night in 2023, providing an unfiltered view of the ensemble, fully in their element.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist News
- Thursday, July 20, 2023
The Magnetic Fields have announced a fifteen-concert European tour this November. The shows, featuring songs from throughout the band's career, start at Sala Apolo in Barcelona on November 4, followed by dates throughout Spain, France, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Türkiye, Greece, and Austria. They will tour the US with songs from 69 Love Songs next year in celebration of the album's 25th anniversary. The Magnetic Fields' 2004 Nonesuch debut album, i, was released on vinyl for the first time in a limited-edition, gold-colored LP this past spring.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourWednesday, July 19, 2023Congratulations to Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, who have been nominated for seven IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards! Tuttle and the band are up for Entertainer of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year; Album of the Year for their debut album, Crooked Tree (which won the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album); and Song of the Year for that album’s title track. Tuttle is up for Female Vocalist of the Year (which she won last year) and Guitar Player of the Year (which she won in 2017 and 2018; Punch Brothers' Chris Eldridge is also a nominee this year), and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes for Fiddle Player of the Year (which she won last year and in 2021). They are due to perform at IBMA World of Bluegrass in Raleigh on September 30. Their second album, City of Gold, is out this Friday.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsWednesday, July 19, 2023Portuguese fado singer Carminho's new, self-produced album, Portuguesa, released to critical acclaim earlier this year, is due for release in the US on CD and vinyl August 18, ahead of a fall North American tour. The sixth album of Carminho’s career, Portuguesa features fourteen compositions, including several of her own songs as well as those of other writers, including traditional fado songs, through which she explores various combinations within the canons, reimagining the form.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist News, On TourWednesday, July 19, 2023Rhiannon Giddens is a host of the new PBS conversation series Arts Talk, which premieres today, with all episodes available to stream now on PBS.org and the PBS app. Giddens welcomes singer, songwriter, and producer Elvis Costello and actor and singer Brian Stokes Mitchell as her guests on the show to discuss their careers and share personal memories. You can watch them here. Guests on other episodes are Seal, Min Jin Lee, Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Jimmy Kimmel, and Twyla Tharp in interviews led by Misty Copeland, Henry Winkler, and Ann Curry.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoTuesday, July 18, 2023Kronos Quartet’s acclaimed 1995 album Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass gets its first-ever vinyl release on November 3, available to pre-order now, to coincide with Kronos Quartet: Five Decades, a year-long celebration of the quartet’s 50th anniversary. The two-LP set, produced by the composer, Judith Sherman, and Kurt Munkacsi, features violinists David Harrington and John Sherba, violist Hank Dutt, and cellist Joan Jeanrenaud performing quartets No. 2 (Company) (1983), No. 3 (Mishima) (1985), No. 4 (Buczak) (1990), and No. 5 (1991), the first piece Glass wrote for Kronos. “It contains some of Glass's best music since Koyaanisqatsi,” said the New York Times. “His ear for sumptuous string sonorities is undeniable.” The Washington Post called it “an ideal combination of composer and performers.”
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist News, On TourTuesday, July 18, 2023Pianist Jeremy Denk is on Speaking Soundly, a podcast in which host and MET Opera Principal Trumpet David Krauss talks with fellow performers about their creative process and lives as artists, to discuss his acclaimed memoir, Every Good Boy Does Fine, share lessons he learned from numerous piano teachers over the years, and more. You can hear their conversation here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, PodcastMonday, July 17, 2023David Byrne and Here Lies Love Broadway cast members Lea Salonga, Arielle Jacobs, and Jose Llana gave CBS Sunday Morning a behind-the-scenes look at the production, which has its official Opening Night at the Broadway Theatre in NYC this Thursday. They spoke with correspondent Elaine Quijano about the immersive disco pop musical based on the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos and the People Power Revolution of the Philippines, featuring music by Byrne and Fatboy Slim. You can watch the piece here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoFriday, July 14, 2023The Magnetic Fields are at World Café Live in Philadelphia and the new DC venue The Atlantis. Joachim Cooder is at the Vancouver Folk Festival. Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi join Christian McBride at Pori Jazz Festival in Finland. Hurray for the Riff Raff tours the Midwest, in Madison, Kalamazoo, and Cleveland. Gabriel Kahane performs in Caroline Shaw's backyard in Portland. Brad Mehldau Trio is in France for Jazz à Juan. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are in Idaho and at Under the Big Sky in Montana.
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsWednesday, July 12, 2023Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Yussef Dayes returns with two new singles, “Marching Band,” featuring Jamaican-American singer/saxophonist Masego, and “Tioga Pass,” featuring longtime collaborator and bass guitarist Rocco Palladino, both from his upcoming debut solo album, Black Classical Music, due September 8. You can watch visualizers for both tracks here. The arrival of new music is paired with the announcement of Dayes’ month-long US autumn tour, starting in Brooklyn on November 16.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourTuesday, July 11, 2023Wilco’s 2007 album Sky Blue Sky will be available in a limited-edition two-LP, sky-blue vinyl release on September 1. The Gold-selling album made year’s best lists from Rolling Stone, Uncut, Mojo, BBC Radio 6 Music, and more. “Near perfect,” said Spin. Featuring the band that was assembled after the release of 2004’s A ghost is born, Sky Blue Sky was the first studio album from a lineup that has remained the same to today: guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, percussionist Glenn Kotche, keyboardist Mikael Jorgensen, multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone, and avant-jazz guitarist Nels Cline.
Journal Topics: Album ReleaseFriday, July 7, 2023The 71st DownBeat Critics Poll results are in, and among the winners are Mary Halvorson, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Rhiannon Giddens. Halvorson’s Nonesuch debut albums, Amaryllis & Belladonna, have been named Jazz Album of the Year, and Halvorson herself Guitarist of the Year; Salvant is Female Vocalist of the Year; and Giddens has won in the Beyond Artist or Group field.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsFriday, July 7, 2023Julia Bullock joins Boston Symphony Orchestra, Hilary Hahn, and conductor Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood. The Black Keys are in Spain and Greece. Sam Gendel tours Japan with Festival Fruezinho. Emmylou Harris headlines Winnipeg Folk Festival. Brad Mehldau Trio plays Kongsberg and North Sea Jazz fests. Natalie Merchant joins Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra upstate. Cécile McLorin Salvant is in the Catskills. Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway are at Blissfest in Harbor Springs, MI.
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend Events