Sunday Session: May 16, 2021

Melissa Aldana

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Computer World at 40: How Kraftwerk Predicted Our Techno-Utopian Fate (Consequence of Sound)
* Wes Montgomery and friends (TheBlueMoment.com)
* Growth drivers – what comes after streaming (Music Industry Blog)
* Melissa Aldana Signs to Blue Note, Building on the Legacy of Her Saxophone Heroes (WBGO)
* The Weight Of The Ritual: Frank Rynne On The Master Musicians Of Joujouka (TheQuietus.com)
* Vincent Herring: Not the End of the Line (Jazz Times)
* Carla Bley at 85: In Praise and Awe of an Unfettered Genius (WBGO)
* Dave Mason: Feelin’ Alright At 75 (RockAndRollGlobe.com)
* Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to Induct Jay-Z, Carole King, Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren and Foo Fighters (Variety)
* Curtis Fuller 1932–2021 (Jazz Times)
* Berlin to officially declare nightclubs as cultural institutions (DJMag.com)
* This man made opera history. Why did I not know him? (The Guardian)
* The Music Industry Is Finally Scaring Spotify (Slate.com)
* Pulling Back the Curtain on Alexander Shustorovich, Classical Music's International Man of Mystery (Billboard)
* Family Company Is Thriving Making Turntables For Vinyl Aficionados (Forbes)
* George Grella on Jazz: Is It Safe? (Red Hook Star-Revue)
* Kind of Blue Books: Novels about Jazz Musicians (NeglectedBooks.com)
* How James Brown’s Star Time Revolutionized the Box-Set Game—and Cemented His Legacy (Pitchfork.com)

Sunday Session: March 1, 2020

Terri Lyne Carrington

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Winner Takes All: Igor Levit in the Attention Economy (Atavist.com)
* Innovation is Kris Davis’ Motivation (DownBeat)
* ‘You’re one of the more normal composers’: Simon Rattle and Thomas Adès swap notes (The Guardian)
* In Solo Works and Soundtracks, Colin Stetson Follows a Narrative (DownBeat)
* Scientists study blind piano prodigy (CBS News)
* How Long Will Spotify Allow Bootleg “Podcasts” to Top the Charts? (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* American Routes Shortcuts: Michael Cuscuna (WWNO)
* Fela Kuti’s “Coffin for Head of State” was genuine life-and-death protest music (TrebleZine.com)
* It was banned by the Nazis, Stalin and the Vatican. This is the surprising history of the saxophone (ABC.net.au)
* 'Say Amen, Somebody' Restoration Unveils The Wonder Of The Gospel Pioneers (NPR)
* Musicians Algorithmically Generate Every Possible Melody, Release Them to Public Domain (Vice.com)
* On “I Am A Man,” Jazz Bassist Ben Williams Redefines Protest Music On His Own Terms (Bandcamp.com)
* The B-52s’ Kate Pierson on the Music That Made Her (Pitchfork.com)
* Melissa Aldana has burgeoning ‘Visions’ for her quartet (CapitalBop.com)
* There Was A Time: James Brown, The Chitlin’ Circuit, And Me: The First Days On The Bus (TheRecoup.com)
* Kurt Elling on Working with Danilo Pérez, Politics and Recording with an Indie Label (DownBeat)
* Social Science Becomes Social Art for Terri Lyne Carrington’s New Band (Jazz Times)
* Interview: Free Jazz Trumpeter Jaimie Branch on Music-Making as Time-Travel (Reverb.com)
* Watch the Trailer for Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things (Jazz Times)
* Bria Skonberg Digs Into Tension With ‘Nothing Never Happens’ (DownBeat)
* How Martin Luther King Jr. and Motown Saved the Sound of the Civil Rights Movement (TIME)
* Music Benefactors Wants to Solve the Crowdfunding Riddle for Musicians — Introducing the ‘Artist Public Offering’ (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Baltimore Rebirth: A New Bloom Of Jazz In Charm City (NPR)
* Pianist Abdullah Ibrahim reflects on life before and after apartheid, and how Duke Ellington and Thelonius Monk helped shape his career (Chicago Tribune)
* Post-club: Why DJs and producers are leaving nightclubs behind (MixMag.net)
* Branford Marsalis: Jazzman For The Masses (Long Island Weekly)
* Dweezil, Son of Frank (Weekly Alibi)

Sunday Session: February 23, 2020

Mary Lou Williams

Here's this week's roundup of various music-related items of interest:

* Early Reflections On Life In The Information Age: John Zorn's Naked City Turns 30 (TheQuietus.com)
* Lost in the woods with James Brown’s ghost - The Circus Singer and the Godfather of Soul (CNN)
* Artificial Intelligence doing Wonders in Music Streaming Industry (AnalyticsInsight.net)
* Warner Music Group’s A&R Costs Say a Lot About How Much Labels Need to Spend on Artists in Today’s Music Industry (Rolling Stone)
* Remembering Ivan Kral, Patti Smith Group member and New Brunswick video store owner (Asbury Park Press)
* When Keyboard Worlds Collide: Steve Nieve & Benmont Tench in Conversation (Variety)
* Sergio Mendes Talks New Album & Documentary 'In the Key of Joy' (Billboard)
* In Memoriam: Jimmy Heath (DownBeat)
* Cécile McLorin Salvant - Ogresse (SFJAZZ.org)
* Jerry Lee Lewis Returns to Music: ‘I Thought I Would Never Play Again’ (Rolling Stone)
* Reconsidering the Piano Legacy of Dave Brubeck, in a Deep Dive Centennial Special (WBGO)
* The Day the Music Became Carbon-Neutral (The New Yorker)
* Paal Nilssen-Love is in Perpetual Motion (DownBeat)
* Dave Brubeck Centennial Honored with Hometown Exhibition (Jazz Times)
* Louis Armstrong, the King of Queens (New York Times)
* Looking back at the life of Mary Lou Williams, the Lady Who Swings the Band (KNKX)
* That not-so-old black magic: how African mysticism returned to pop (The Guardian)
* Jon Christensen 1943 – 2020 (Jazz Times)
* Lester Young Instruments and Hat to Be Donated to Smithsonian (Jazz Times)
* In Memoriam: Lyle Mays (DownBeat)
* Watch Kandace Springs’ Live Video Of Billie Holiday’s ‘Strange Fruit’ (UDiscoverMusic.com)

Sunday Session: February 10, 2019

Archie Shepp

Here's a roundup of various music-related items of interest that have shown up in one of StLJN's various inboxes or feeds over the past week:

* Alice Coltrane - Journey in Satchidananda (Pitchfork.com)
* 'Holy relic' blues guitar could sell for £120k (Gazette and Herald)
* Wadada Leo Smith Reflects on Civil Rights and Large-Scale Works (DownBeat)
* 'Green Book' doesn't do justice to Don Shirley's brilliant musicianship (Los Angeles Times)
* Roomful of Teeth Is Revolutionizing Choral Music (The New Yorker)
* SFJAZZ Honors Chucho Valdés at Annual Gala (DownBeat)
* 'American Pie' isn't a song about Buddy Holly, Don McLean says: 'It's about America' (Des Moines Register)
* "A Great Day In Harlem": Remembering the iconic 1958 photo of legendary musicians (CBS News)
* The One That’s Got the Mojo: The Ric and Ron Records legacy (Offbeat)
* Loop History: Skull Snaps’ “It’s A New Day” (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* Malaco Records: A soul survivor celebrates 50 years (MississippiToday.org)
* Bobbie Gentry's Box of Surprises (PopMatters.com)
* When Jazz Was a Public Health Crisis (JStor.org)
* The Divine Madness of Bill Laswell (JazzDaGama.com)
* How Did They Do That? The Extraordinary Story of Tomorrow’s Warriors. (Jazz in Europe)
* Lost in the woods with James Brown’s ghost (CNN)
* Musicians Attempt Class-Action Lawsuits Against UMG & Sony to Reclaim Rights to Recordings (Billboard)
* Andy Statman: Practical Mystic (BrooklynRail.org)
* Restoration of Nina Simone’s childhood home to begin this spring (GoUpstate.com)
* How Saxophone Player Jean-Baptiste Jacquet Integrated Houston Audiences (Houstonia)
* Prospectus Feature: Baseball and Jazz (BaseballProspectus.com)
* Joseph Jarman (1937–2019) (Art Forum)
* Folklore as a political act: William Ferris on preserving Mississippi Delta blues (CBC)
* Travels with Joni Mitchell - An oeuvre inaugurated by disavowal (NPlusOneMag.com)
* Marvin Gaye's Unreleased Album 'You're The Man' To See The Light Of Day (NPR)
* The Anger Inside Gary Clark, Jr. (Rolling Stone)
* Did academia kill jazz? (TheConversation.com)
* Trumpeter Marquis Hill Has a Message (DownBeat)
* At 81, jazz titan Archie Shepp’s legacy comes into clear focus (Washington Post)
* The New Cool: Ben Wendel talks about his album that's not an album, until now (KNKX)

Sunday Session: March 5, 2017

Here are some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* We Are The Robots: Is the future of music artificial? (FactMag.com)
* Sun Records Studio: 18 Musical Milestones (Rolling Stone)
* Dot Time Records Discovers Previously Unreleased Armstrong Recordings (DownBeat)
* The fight to preserve King Records’ legacy (Cincinnati Enquirer)
* It’s a Synthesizer. It’s a Violin. It’s a Modulin (HackADay.com)
* Grammy-winning jazz superstar Gary Burton to play final concerts in March, then retire (Miami Herald)
* KCSM jazz station cuts programming (SFGate.com)
* Veteran jazzmen played with the greats (NorthJersey.com)
* Philly jazz greats celebrate publication of new book (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Is vinyl Detroit's latest growth industry? (Detroit Metro Times)
* The Keith Jarrett Phenomenon (The Nation)
* How Raphael Saadiq is quietly keeping R&B on film, TV and the radio (KPCC)
* Lou Reed's Archives Acquired By New York Public Library For The Performing Arts (Billboard)
* Inside Lou Reed's Revelatory New Public Archive (Rolling Stone)
* UMG Alone Earns $4.5 Million a Day from Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Saving Nina Simone’s Birthplace as an Act of Art and Politics (New York Times)
* Sending Off Nat Hentoff, With Memories and Jazz (Village Voice)
* Linda Oh Pursues New Direction on Forthcoming Album (DownBeat)
* Soundcloud Tells Guy It Needs To Kill His Account Of 8 Years Because Someone Else Trademarked His Name (TechDirt.com)
* The Internet Is Silencing Artists, According To An Artist On The Internet (TechDirt.com)
* Ride the Feedback: A Brief History of Guitar Distortion (Vice.com)
* John Hammond: The Lost Interview (Part 1: Signing Aretha and Dylan) (BestClassicBands.com)
* 9 Artists Carrying the Torch for Cosmic Jazz (Pitchfork.com)
* How A Contract Clause Led To A Fight Between Musicians And Austin's Biggest Event (NPR)
* Misha Mengelberg, Influential Dutch Pianist-Composer Behind the ICP Orchestra, Dies at 81 (WBGO)

Sunday Session: May 1, 2016

Eddie Palmieri

Some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Jazz Fest Day 2: Whatever Happened to Rosie? (Offbeat)
* Before & After with Trevor Dunn - Listening wide, from A to Zappa (Jazz Times)
* New Music From Professor Longhair, Who Taught New Orleans How to Play The Piano (The Daily Beast)
* Artist backlash over YouTube’s royalty payments grows noisier (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Esperanza Spalding: Character Study (Jazz Times)
* How we made Laurie Anderson's O Superman (The Guardian UK)
* That Time I Opened Tower Records Early So Prince Could Shop (NBC)
* The oral history of Eddie Palmieri’s Harlem River Drive (WaxPoetics.com)
* How Jazz Saved Hip-Hop Again (Playboy)
* Photo Album: Highlights of the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest–Part 1 (DownBeat)
* 13 Cartoon Portraits of Legendary Blues Artists (Mother Jones)
* Classical music page-turners turn the page into the modern era (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* 'James Brown: Live At The Apollo Vol. 4' Is A Marvelous And Mysterious Time Capsule (NPR)
* Jazz Foundation of America Loft Party - The Cookers, Kahil El'Zabar and more (Jazz Times)
* After The Album: How Playlists Are Re-Defining Listening (MusicIndustryBlog)
* Beyond 'Mrs. Jones': Billy Paul's Music You Might Not Have Heard (NPR)
* Revisiting Loma Records, the L.A. Soul Label That Launched Ike and Tina Turner (LA Weekly)
* The Inside Story on Designing Prince's Paisley Park: Exclusive (Billboard)
* The Unbelievable True Story of the Wrecking Crew’s Max Bennett (Observer.com)
* Phil Kives, K-Tel International founder, dies at 87 (CBC)
* Sonny Rollins: “John Coltrane Was Like A Preacher” (Mojo)
* Photo Highlights of the 2016 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest (DownBeat)
* Anat Cohen Tentet Brings Retro Sound and Ebullient Spirit to Jazz Standard (DownBeat)
* The Blur of Music Discovery (Disquiet.com)
* Gregory Porter review – jazz chameleon finds countless ways to seduce (The Guardian UK)
* FootPrince - The jazz side of Prince (Jazz Times)
* Dweezil Zappa Changes Name of Zappa Plays Zappa Due to Sibling Disputes (Relix.com)
* Jazz Fest Day 4: What a Difference a Week Makes (Offbeat)
* Jazz Record Mart founder opens new store (Chicago Tribune)
* The great disappearing venues disaster (CentreForLondon.org)
* Stuck on repeat: why we love repetition in music (The Guardian UK)
* Radiohead's corporate empire: inside the band's dollars and cents (The Guardian UK)

Sunday Session: April 24, 2016

Henry Threadgill

Some interesting music-related items that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Artist's Choice: Linda Oh on Duo Tracks Featuring Bassists - Jaco/Don Alias, Tim Berne/Michael Formanek & more (Jazz Times)
* Embrace Everything - The Big Ears Festival, in Knoxville (The New Yorker)
* 48% Of People Who Buy Vinyl Don’t Even Listen To It, Study Finds (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Hear Now: 5 New Jazz Albums You Need to Check Out (Billboard)
* Museum Concerts Capture Iyer, Taylor, Smith in Peak Artistic Form (DownBeat)
* Henry Threadgill wins 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Music (New Music Box)
* Henry Threadgill on his Pulitzer prize win for music: 'I just try to stay hopeful' (The Guardian UK)
* Jazz bands capture youthful attention at Coachella (Palm Springs Desert Sun)
* A Remembrance For Chicago's Jazz Record Mart (NPR)
* REWIND: The Meters, Fire on the Bayou (Offbeat)
* Why Pitchfork Made a Magazine About Jazz (Pitchfork.com)
* Sonny Rollins: The Saxophone Colossus (Pitchfork.com)
* Upcoming Amazon series is based on the music of Bob Dylan (DigitalTrends.com)
* Two Turntables and a Saxophone (Pitchfork.com)
* Incredibly Clear Duke Ellington Recording Surfaces Online (Offbeat)
* Jazz funeral to commemorate Shakespeare’s life (Tulane University)
* When Music Pirates Used Pirate Ships (The Daily Beast)
* Can’t We Honor James Brown’s Last Wish? (The Daily Beast)
* Only known film of Louis Armstrong in studio discovered in storage facility (The Guardian UK)
* Depending On Who You Talk To, Jazz Is Alive And Well In San Francisco - Or It's Dead And Never Coming Back (SF Weekly)
* How the orchestra is arranged by the biology of the brain (Aeon.co)
* Trip celebrates Monk's birthplace (Rocky Mount Telegram)
* Thelonious Monk: So Plain Only the Deaf Can Hear (Pitchfork.com)
* Philly 'Real Book' would collect local jazz compositions under one cover (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* Cuban-born musician who wrote to Obama says White House confirmed his participation in upcoming event (InCubaToday.com)
* The Beach Girl Behind the Beach Boys (Vulture.com)
* What's old is new: MTV plots a major return to music (Los Angeles Times)
* Prince, Musician And Iconoclast, Has Died At Age 57 (NPR)
* Maybe We Should Just Leave Prince’s Vault Closed (UltimateClassicRock.com)
* Yellowjackets Showcase New Bassist, Fresh Material at Birdland (DownBeat)
* Photos: Jazz Fest Opens with Steely Dan, Gov’t Mule, Grace Potter and So Much More (Offbeat)
* Mason Ruffner, Aya Takazawa Shine on Day One of Jazz Fest (Offbeat)
* Are Algorithms Ruining How We Discover Music? (FiveThirtyEight.com)

Sunday Session: January 11, 2015

Vijay Iyer

For your Sunday reading enjoyment and edification, some noteworthy items from the past week about jazz, creative music, and more:

* In Music, Uniformity Sells (The Atlantic)
* Paris classical music row intensifies as new concert hall prepares to open (The Guardian UK)
* Mahanthappa, Lake, Iyer To Play 2015 New York Winter Jazzfest (Down Beat)
* Vijay Iyer to Host 12-Set Residency in NYC (JazzTimes)
* Vijay Iyer Hates the Toys 'R' Us Ferris Wheel (New York)
* A history of New Music in NYC, 1972-82. Tom Johnson's Village Voice articles (Ubu.com, PDF)
* Thom Yorke likely made millions from torrenting his new record (AV Club)
* The Original Funky Drummers On Life With James Brown (NPR)
* Nashville's musical middle class collapses (Nashville Tennessean)
* 6 Predictions For The Music Industry In 2015 (Hypebot.com)
* Nielsen Music's Year-End: Streaming Is Not Killing the Record Business (Billboard)
* Music tech through the ages (Mashable.com)
* Ravi Coltrane Pays Moving Tribute to His Father at SFJAZZ Celebration of A Love Supreme (Down Beat)
* R.I.P. Andrae Crouch: Remembering the Gospel Great's Immense Influence (Billboard)
* Video demonstrates how mind-numbingly formulaic and shitty Country pop music has become (DangerousMinds.net)
* Ornette Coleman Quietly Releases New Album (Jazz Times)
* Disco Mystic: Ornette Coleman, Asha Puthli and Science Fiction (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* The 2015 Jazz Connect Conference in Photos (Jazz Times)