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
- Friday, June 10, 2022
Nonesuch Records releases the first recording of Steve Reich’s Reich/Richter, performed by Ensemble intercontemporain and conducted by George Jackson, on CD and digital today, with the vinyl due August 5. The composition was originally written to be performed with German visual artist Gerhard Richter and Corinna Belz’s film Moving Picture (946-3). A video of the composer talking about Reich/Richter may be seen here.
Journal Topics: Album Release, Artist NewsWednesday, June 8, 2022Jeff Parker is on the International Anthem Podcast. He spoke with host Ayana Contreras in front of a live audience at Dorian's (Through The Record Shop) in Chicago last December, ahead of the release of his new solo guitar album, Forfolks. They talk about record collecting, Parker’s journey to embracing solo guitar sonics as improvisational atmospheres, and more. You can hear their conversation here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, PodcastWednesday, June 8, 2022The Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall in Toronto has announced its 2022–23 concert season, including performances from Nonesuch artists Tigran Hamasyan, Kronos Quartet, Punch Brothers, Jeremy Denk, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and Joshua Redman.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourFriday, June 3, 2022Laurie Anderson gives a free presentation of Lou Reed's Drones at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC, this afternoon ... Devendra Banhart and LA Phil celebrate Latin American protest songs ... Jeremy Denk, Steven Isserlis perform Mendelssohn in NYC ... Richard Goode performs at Wigmore Hall in London ... Lake Street Dive tours Northeast ... The Magnetic Fields do Denmark ... Cécile McLorin Salvant sings at Chicago's Symphony Center ... Molly Tuttle is at North Carolina Guitar Celebration ...
Journal Topics: On Tour, Weekend EventsWednesday, June 1, 2022Composer Ingram Marshall, about whose music composer Timo Andres once said that it "merges sacred and secular in mysterious ways, following a train of thought into territories entirely on its own,” died on Tuesday at the age of 80. “To reach the music of Ingram Marshall," New York magazine music critic Justin Davidson has said, "turn left at minimalism, right at electronica and keep going until just before you reach avant-garde. Marshall occupies a one-man lot on the contemporary music landscape. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that he creates his own musical landscapes—mists, mysterious places that afford moments of strange lucidity.” Nonesuch has released two albums of music by Ingram Marshall and a recording of his famed Fog Tropes, conducted by John Adams.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsTuesday, May 31, 2022Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway performed three songs from their new album, Crooked Tree, in a live Paste Studio on the Road session from DelFest in Cumberland, MD. They were joined by special guest Jerry Douglas, who co-produced the album with Tuttle, to perform “Over the Line,” “Dooley’s Farm,” and “Crooked Tree” and talk about the making of the album. You can watch the set here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On Tour, VideoTuesday, May 31, 2022Congratulations to Tyondai Braxton, who has been named to the faculty of the Department of Music at Princeton University. As Assistant Professor, he will be teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses beginning this fall. Braxton is joining the composition faculty, which includes Professor of Music Donnacha Dennehy. Among the other artists in Princeton’s Department of Music who have recorded on Nonesuch are Ensemble in Residence Sō Percussion, Director of Choral Activities Gabriel Crouch, and Global Scholar: Irish Studies & Music Department Iarla Ó Lionáird.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsMonday, May 30, 2022Rhiannon Giddens performed in the National Memorial Day Concert on the National Mall in Washington, DC, last night. Giddens sang "Count on Me," a song she and Dirk Powell wrote and which she performed on the television show Nashville in 2017. You can watch her National Memorial Day Concert performance here.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoFriday, May 27, 2022Rhiannon Giddens’ new opera with Michael Abels, Omar, gets its long-awaited world premiere at Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston ... Jeremy Denk is at Hay Festival in Wales ... Tigran Hamasyan plays StandArt at Jazz sous les Pommiers in France ... Hurray for the Riff Raff tours with Bright Eyes in Florida, Atlanta ... Kronos Quartet is at Bergen International Festival in Norway ... Lake Street Dive plays three shows in upstate New York ... Joshua Redman, Christian McBride perform at Wigmore Hall in London ... Caroline Shaw, Attacca Quartet are in Maryland, as are Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway ... Wilco leads Solid Sound Festival at MASS MoCA; Daughter of Swords performs ...
Journal Topics: Artist NewsThursday, May 26, 2022Rhiannon Giddens has been named the Music Director for the 77th Ojai Music Festival, to be held June 8–11, 2023, in Ojai, CA. The initial list of guest artists includes Francesco Turrisi, Attacca Quartet, Wu Man, and Kayhan Kalhor. “I am so thrilled that Rhiannon Giddens accepted my invitation to become Music Director of the 2023 Ojai Music Festival,” says the Festival’s Artistic and Executive Director Ara Guzelimian. “I have boundless admiration for Rhiannon as both a compelling musician and as an extraordinary artistic catalyst bringing together musical worlds towards important philosophical, cultural, and social goals." Julia Bullock performs at the 2022 Festival, which takes place June 9–12. Past Artist Directors include John Adams, Jeremy Denk, and Dawn Upshaw.
Journal Topics: Artist News, On TourWednesday, May 25, 2022Punch Brothers were on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last night to perform Jimmie Rodgers’ “Any Old Time,” from their new album, Hell on Church Street, a reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album Church Street Blues. You can watch the performance here. Punch Brothers perform at Telluride Bluegrass Festival, ROMP Fest, Ottawa Jazz Festival, and Blue Ox Music Festival in June and are then joined by Watchhouse and Sarah Jarosz for the American Acoustic tour across the US.
Journal Topics: Artist News, Television, VideoTuesday, May 24, 2022Congratulations to vocalist, violinist, composer, and producer Caroline Shaw, who was one of ten individuals to receive an honorary degree from her alma mater Yale University for distinction in their fields at Yale’s 321st graduation ceremony on Monday. She was given an honorary Mus.D. Shaw earned her master’s degree from Yale in 2007 after graduating from Rice University in 2004. “The 10 individuals we honor this morning serve as examples to you, our graduates, to encourage you to aspire to excellence and to value those elements of human character that they embody: creativity, curiosity, discipline, integrity, and a passion for public service,” Yale President Peter Salovey said during the university-wide Commencement ceremony.
Journal Topics: Artist News