Even though he is an expatriate, John Sinclair should be declared a national treasure. He’s a poet, historian and musicologist who, instead of publishing his research and findings, declaims them in the oral tradition with music. His latest works revisits themes he has worked with before and also adds several new poems and interpretations to [...]
Tag Archives: Thelonious Monk
John Sinclair & Hollow Bones, Honoring the Local Gods (Straw2Gold Records)
October 1, 2011 – 12:50 am
Joe Henry, Blood from Stars (Anti-)
August 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Joe Henry albums aren’t easy. His lyrics are never from the easy surrealist school that too often creates word soup instead of something evocative. They’re abstractions created through subtraction, illustrating what becomes of a narrative when a few key parts are omitted? His lyrics are stories told by narcoleptics and self-absorbed businessmen, this time drawing [...]
Marcus Roberts, New Orleans Meets Harlem, Vol. 1 (J-Master)
June 1, 2009 – 12:01 am
Blind piano prodigy, Wynton Marsalis protégé and staunch traditionalist Marcus Roberts returns with his first album in eight years, New Orleans Meets Harlem, Vol. 1. He is back with his longtime trio, New Orleans bassist Roland Guerin and drummer Jason Marsalis, reinterpreting the sounds that led from saloons of Storyville to the streets of the [...]
Paul Bley, About Time (Justin Time)
September 1, 2008 – 12:01 am
Paul Bley says the subject of his new album is time. I take him at his word. On About Time the 75-year-old jazz pianist offers two solo improvisations: the 33-minute title track followed by a 10-minute “encore.” When we think of time in music, it’s the meter and not the length that matters. Music marks [...]
Ellis Marsalis Quartet, An Open Letter to Thelonious (ELM)
May 1, 2008 – 12:01 am
Thelonious Monk compositions are like Egyptian tombs, each with its own unique curse for those unworthy to open them. Monk himself had little patience for those who didn’t understand how important it was to play his compositions exactly the way he wanted them to sound, which is why he chose his band members so carefully. [...]
Johnny Griffin, The Cat (Antilles Records)
October 1, 1991 – 12:01 am
Johnny Griffin’s first U.S. recording in too many years is everything that you’d expect from someone who has worked with Thelonious Monk and Art Blakey—hard swinging! What one is immediately impressed with is Griffin’s tone, deeply rooted in the tradition of Ben Webster and perhaps similar to Dexter Gordon. His solos make extensive use of [...]
Video Vistas: New Films on Video
October 1, 1990 – 12:01 am
Amidst the newest films on tape, such as Total Recall, I Love You to Death, and Stanley and Iris, come some rare gems that were not as accessible to theatrical audiences. Some are older films, perhaps seen once years ago and since longed for by film buffs. Others are relatively recent works that received limited [...]
