Sunday Session: April 19, 2020

Henry Grimes

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

* These are the musicians being listened to more (and less) during the pandemic (QZ.com)
* A Titan of Tumbao: Remembering Latin Jazz Bassist and Bandleader Andy González (WBGO)
* Lockdown learning: How a techno-head got into Beethoven (The Guardian)
* Why Do We Even Listen to New Music? (Pitchfork.com)
* Live Concerts Won’t Return Until “Fall 2021 at the Earliest,” Health Expert Warns (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Just Play - Ruminations on the themes of McCoy Tyner’s life on the occasion of his passing (TheNewInquiry.com)
* Coronavirus: Healthcare expert predicts concerts and festivals will not return until autumn 2021 (NME.com)
* Band Practice at Home Alone, Together: How JamKazam Became an Essential App Amid Self-Isolation (Billboard)
* Charles Lloyd Offers A Respite From Life’s Countless Dilemmas (DownBeat)
* Ticketmaster Slammed by US Congresswoman: ‘Worst Customer Service In Any Industry’ (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Hands Off: A 100th Anniversary Guide to Theremin Music (Bandcamp.com)
* Pandemic Complicates Nashville's Already Fragile Studio Business: 'We're Dealing In This Unknown' (Billboard)
* Behind The Scenes: Mixing Monitors On A Late-Night TV Show (ProSoundWeb.com)
* Lightning Strikes Twice: Songs Topping the Billboard Hot 100 Twice (MusicTimes.com)
* For Asian-American Jazz Artists, The Pandemic Uncovers Deep Wounds (DownBeat)
* The Morbid Comforts of Pandemic Playlists (Pitchfork.com)
* Tenor badness: Benny Golson, last legend of bebop (The Spectator)
* Ryo Kawasaki, Jazz Fusion Guitarist and Guitar Synth Inventor, Dies at 73 (Billboard)
* Lee Konitz, Alto Saxophonist Who Exemplified Jazz's Imperative to Make It New, Is Dead at 92 (WBGO)
* Exhibiting Wit And Chops Until The End, Saxophonist Lee Konitz Dies At 92 (DownBeat)
* John Prine: The Last Days and Beautiful Life of an American Original (Rolling Stone)
* A Touring-Dependent Genre Feels the Pain: ‘I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues’ (Billboard)
* Music to his ears: How Jackie Robinson’s love of jazz helped civil rights movement (TheUndefeated.com)
* Van Dyke Parks’ existential awakening: ‘This is a time for reimagining’ (Los Angeles Times)
* Giuseppi Logan, Free-Jazz Multireedist Who Returned Once From Oblivion, Has Died at 84 (WBGO)
* Henry Grimes, Bassist of Avant-Garde Pedigree and a Storied Return, Dies of COVID-19 at 84 (WBGO)
* You Have a TikTok Hit! Now, Quick — Change the Title (Rolling Stone)
* Delfeayo Marsalis Is A Merchant Of Joy (DownBeat)

Sunday Session: April 12, 2020

Ron Carter

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

* Even in the Swinging Sixties, Ray Davies was feeling nostalgic (The Spectator)
* How Professor Bop Paid His Dues: Babs Gonzales (IndianaPublicMedia.org)
* John Edward Hasse Remembers U.S. Rep. John Conyers (Jazz Times)
* Guitarists Fareed Haque And Goran Ivanovic Reconvene After 15 Years (DownBeat)
* An Extraordinary Documentary About the Art of Sun Ra (The New Yorker)
* Chicago’s elder jazz musicians are playing not just for money but for time and yearn to return to the stage (Chicago Tribune)
* Jazz At Lincoln Center, Cultural Institutions Open Up Archives Amid Pandemic (DownBeat)
* Stayin’ alive! How music has fought pandemics for 2,700 years (The Guardian)
* Hal Willner, Music Producer and Longtime ‘SNL’ Music Supervisor, Dead at 64 (Rolling Stone)
* John Prine, Hero Of 'New' Nashville, Dies After Developing COVID-19 Symptoms (NPR)
* John Prine's Songs Saw The Whole Of Us (NPR)
* Onaje Allan Gumbs, Pianist Whose Reach Spanned the Soulful and the Smooth, Dies at 70 (WBGO)
* Kendrick Lamar Thinks Like A Jazz Musician (NPR)
* Ron Carter: A record-breaking jazz legend returns to Tokyo (Japan Times)
* Lakecia Benjamin Pursues a Spiritual Quest (DownBeat)
* Bob Dylan Scores First-Ever No. 1 Song on a Billboard Chart With 'Murder Most Foul' (Billboard)
* Blue Engine Chronicles Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Performances (DownBeat)
* Jazz Artists Raise Concerns Over Coronavirus Cancellations (Jazz Times)
* Best McCoy Tyner Albums: 20 Essentials From The Legendary Pianist (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* People Are Remembering What Music Is Really For (The Atlantic)
* Uri Caine Celebrates the Legacy of Octavius Catto (Jazz Times)
* Roscoe Mitchell reconciles improvisational sources and orchestral means (Chicago Reader)
* Unwinding the mystery of degraded reel-to-reel tapes (Phys.org)
* Nerding Out With Thundercat - On his new album, losing Mac Miller, and the Evangelion dubbing controversy (Vulture.com)
* Shine On Till Tomorrow: The Beatles’ Breakup at 50 (Rolling Stone)
* Bassist Andy González Dies At The Age Of 69 (DownBeat)
* Fenway Park's Organist Gives Fans That Ballpark Sound At Home — And He Takes Requests (NPR)
* Jazz Messengers’ Bassist Jymie Merritt Dies At 93 (DownBeat)
* Jymie Merritt, Bassist Who Brought a Rooted Yet Exploratory Spirit to Post-Bop, Dies at 93 (WBGO)
* The legal underbelly of livestreaming concerts (Water & Music)
* Coronavirus ravages storied New Orleans Mardi Gras group (Associated Press)

Sunday Session: January 8, 2017

David Garibaldi

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

* Music History in an Alternate Universe: Imagine the Beatles Never Existed (Crixeo.com)
* Mahalia Jackson rediscovered: New CD features unreleased recordings from Historic New Orleans Collection (New Orleans Advocate)
* 'La La Land' Composer Explains Why His Music Isn't Supposed to Sound Nostalgic (Vice.com)
* ‘Kimono My House’: Sparks’ audio guide to the Los Angeles rock scene of the Sixties (DangerousMinds.net)
* How Sun Ra’s Definitive Singles Catalog Finally Saw The Light of Day (Bandcamp.com)
* Listeners Are Paying for Music Again: Subscription Streaming Soars (Pitchfork.com)
* United Record Pressing's Original Nashville Plant, Steeped in Music History, to Cease Operations (Billboard)
* 'Loft Jazz: Improvising New York in the 1970s' Explores a Vital Chapter in Downtown History (Village Voice)
* Another Good Year For Jazz Drummer Bill Stewart (Iowa Public Radio)
* Q&A: Catherine Russell (Jazz Times)
* Inside the Life of John Prine, the Mark Twain of American Songwriting (Rolling Stone)
* Give The Drummer Some: Tower of Power’s David Garibaldi (RedBullMusicAcademy.com)
* 50 Years Ago, the Wah-Wah Pedal Was Born in a Hollywood Hills Garage (LA Weekly)
* Before & After: Andy Bey - A listener, and storyteller, for the ages (Jazz Times)
* Irving Fields: Bagels and Bongos (LatinoUSA.org)
* The Self-Evidence of Kamasi Washington (Tucson Weekly)
* Curtains fall on arts critics at newspapers (Columbia Journalism Review)
* Meet The Producer Who Runs Her Opera Empire From A Two-Bedroom Apartment (NPR)
* Jazz Legends Explore Their Social Justice Legacy at Winter Jazzfest 2017 (Observer.com)
* Joe Henderson In 5 Songs (SFJAZZ.org)
* David Byrne on not being afraid to fail (TheCreativeIndependent)
* Nat Hentoff, Journalist and Social Commentator, Dies at 91 (New York Times)