Sunday Session: October 28, 2018

Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin

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:

* When David Bowie Became a Superstar: ‘It Was the Happiest I’d Ever Seen Him’ (The Daily Beast)
* Is your business streaming music for customers? That's breaking the law (The Guardian)
* Kandace Springs Motors Forward (DownBeat)
* Reconsidering Composer Raymond Scott, From Cartoons to the Cutting Edge, in Deep Dive (WBGO)
* Live Review: 2nd October Revolution in Philadelphia (Jazz Times)
* The Velvet Revolution of Claude Debussy (The New Yorker)
* Did Muddy Waters’ First UK Tour Launch The British Blues Boom? (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Here’s how horror film scores have evolved to scare us over the years (AV Club)
* City Hall lets KC’s American Jazz Museum languish with no permanent director or board (Kansas City Star)
* The Top 100 Albums Of The Quietus' Existence, As Picked By tQ's Writers (TheQuietus.com)
* The Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition Returns (NPR)
* The Strange World Of... Awesome Tapes From Africa (TheQuietus.com)
* My Teenage Son and I Went to the Same Music Festival. Our Experiences Were Totally Different (Observer.com)
* What crisis? Why music journalism is actually healthier than ever (The Guardian)
* The Music of “Doctor Who” Makes a Glorious Return to Form (The New Yorker)
* Wah Wah Watson, Guitarist for Marvin Gaye and Michael Jackson, Dead at 67 (Rolling Stone)
* Randy Weston 1926–2018 (The Wire)
* Makaya McCraven Isn’t Interested in Saving Jazz (Rolling Stone)
* Opinion: Apple Music’s human curation falls apart when it comes to less mainstream tastes (9To5Mac.com)
* In Ann Arbor, Edgefest Showcases Chicago Avant-Garde (DownBeat)
* Monk Institute Piano Competition Set for Dec. 2 and 3 (Jazz Times)
* Photos: 2018 BRIC JazzFest (Jazz Times)
* David Bowie: the day I pulled the plug on his Glastonbury comeback (The Guardian)

Sunday Session: September 16, 2018

Billy Cobham

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:

* For Chelsea native Chick Corea, one passion, many paths (Boston Globe)
* Pianist Matthew Shipp can make magic with the perfect partner (Chicago Reader)
* Bassist Eric Revis works at the conflux of the mainstream and its far-out tributaries (Chicago Reader)
* Conversation with Billy Cobham, Part 1: The Art of Creation (SomethingElseReviews.com)
* Conversation with Billy Cobham, Part 2: Brian Gruber and Ronnie Scott’s (SomethingElseReviews.com)
* Monterey Jazz Festival celebrates 40 years in Japan – and China could be the next stop (South China Morning Post)
* Hank Mobley, the greatest sax player you never heard (The Spectator)
* Channeling the cosmic imperfections of Sun Ra’s record sleeves (TheVinylFactory.com)
* Israeli music scene jolted by international boycott movement (Associated Press)
* Documentary Offers Intimate Portrait of a Demur Abercrombie (DownBeat)
* Barre Phillips announces his farewell record End To End (The Wire)
* Guantánamo Mixtape: This Would Be the Soundtrack to Hell (LitHub.com)
* Quincy review – portrait of a musical legend fails to sing (The Guardian)
* Musicians, Labels and Festival Programmers Anxious Over Brexit (DownBeat)
* Live Review: 2018 Detroit Jazz Festival (Jazz Times)
* The Untold Stories of Paul McCartney (GQ)
* No Boundaries: The Many Sides of Steven Bernstein (SFJAZZ.org)
* Fifteen Questions Interview with Olivia Block (15questions.net)
* The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s (Pitchfork.com)
* 'I didn’t just fade off the planet.’ Reconnecting with ’70s funk queen Betty Davis (Washington Post)
* No more heroes: how music stopped meaning everything (Irish Times)
* Count Basie Orchestra Knows Pop Music (DownBeat)
* Jazz in the Display Case (Jazz Times)
* With 'Emanon,' legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter finds a way to marry comic books and jazz (Los Angeles Times)
* In Memoriam: Randy Weston (DownBeat)
* Cuong Vu Keeps it Close to Home for ‘Change In The Air’ (DownBeat)
* Former Bad Plus pianist still 'loves playing in the Midwest' despite rocketing career (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
* Wilco Guitarist Nels Cline Reclaims Mood Music In The City Of Brotherly Love (NPR)
* Berkeley's Legendary Fantasy Studios to Close Its Doors (KQED)
* Trumpet Colossus Kenny Dorham Towers Alongside the Jazz Gods (Austin Chronicle)
* The World On Six Strings (ArtForum.com)

Sunday Session: September 9, 2018

Randy Weston

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:

* Curious questions: Do dogs like listening to music? (CountryLife.co.uk)
* Billy Childs’ Storied Past (NUVO)
* Little Feat – Sky, Heaven and California Up Ahead! (FYIMusicNews.ca)
* East Meets East - Nathan + Noah (Yumpu.com)
* 'My Spike Lee Joints': 'BlacKkKlansman' Composer Terence Blanchard on Working With the Director for Nearly 30 Years (Billboard)
* Washboards: The laundry tool that is music to the ears (CBS News)
* The Lost Mingus Tapes (Qwest.tv)
* “Lost” 1973 Live Charles Mingus Recording Set for Release (Jazz Times)
* Anthony Braxton’s Big Ideas: Why ‘Forces in Motion’ Is an Essential American Music Book (Rolling Stone)
* 'Art shouldn’t be weaponised': the atonal concert championing Berlin's homeless (The Guardian)
* Introducing Humbolt, The World’s First ‘Ethical’ Streaming Music Service (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* The Top Uses of John Coltrane Songs in Movies or TV (TVOvermind.com)
* Randy Weston Dies at 92 (Jazz Times)
* Pianist Randy Weston, An Eloquent Spokesman For Jazz's Bond with African Culture, Dies at 92 (WBGO)
* Amid Stormy Skies, Detroit Jazz Fest Honors Geri Allen (DownBeat)
* Let Them Play: Ethan Iverson Speaks (JazzSpeaks.org)
* A hard Brexit will smash the British music industry, experts warn (Gigwise.com)
* Alan Braufman: A Valley Worth Searching (Jazz Times)
* City’s Cultural Capital on Full Display at Chicago Jazz Festival (DownBeat)
* William Parker: Other Dimensions (Bass Player)
* Wayne Kramer On World Cafe (NPR)
* Paul Simon Says 'I'm Finished' Writing Music (NPR)
* Rod Argent -The Zombies' Co-Founder on The Beatles, Chick Corea, and His Love for the Piano (Keyboard)
* 'Quincy' Trailer Highlights Life and Career of Quincy Jones: Watch (Billboard)
* This artificial intelligence app wants to make beautiful music with you (Fast Company)
* Apple Music to Publish Its Own Top Music Charts (Rolling Stone)
* His Sh*t’s F***ed Up: The Complicated Legacy of Warren Zevon (TheRinger.com)
* Nolatet: Raising a Bigger Dust Cloud (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: August 12, 2018

Jason Moran

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:

* Randy Weston: Music is Life Itself (New Music Box)
* Houston celebrates jazz legend Arnette Cobb’s 100th birthday with music (Houston Chronicle)
* The Weirdest Musical Instruments Ever (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Alice Coltrane Concluded Trilogy with ‘Lord Of Lords’ (DownBeat)
* John Cage's ten rules for students and teachers (BoingBoing.net)
* Wisdom from a Master (OpenSkyJazz.com)
* How music has responded to a decade of economic inequality (Vox.com)
* An Interview with Jason Moran (The Believer)
* Four Pro Tips For Touring With Paul Simon (Billboard)
* These tiny, stretchy speakers and microphones let your skin play music (Science)
* These LA Artists Are Keeping Jazz Raw as Hell (Vice.com)
* The Rise and Decline of Guitarist Emily Remler (Jazz Times)
* Musicians Only Get 12 Percent of the Money the Music Industry Makes (Rolling Stone)
* 2018 Newport Jazz Festival: Special Recap (Jazz Times)
* Warner Music Group Sells Its Entire Stake in Spotify (Variety)
* Henry Threadgill’s sonic worlds (Qwest.tv)
* 'Hipster kryptonite': will CDs ever have a resurgence? (The Guardian)
* The Band's Robbie Robertson Looks Back On 50 Years Of 'Music From Big Pink' (NPR)
* This Band Launched a Business Writing Theme Songs for Tech Companies (Time)
* The Strange David and Goliath Saga of Radio Frequencies (Wired)
* Coming of Age in the Loft Jazz Scene (New York Times)
* In Various Constructs: Remembering Cecil Taylor (Viewpoint)
* The 50 most influential dance music albums of all time (MixMag.net)
* Ghost Man at the Player Piano (FYIMusicNews.ca)
* Delayed Trane: John Coltrane’s Lost Album (Jazz Times)
* Jazz em Agosto Spotlights Zorn’s Panoramic Work (DownBeat)
* Q&A with Chris Potter: Crossing Currents with Dave Holland and Zakir Hussain (Jazziz)

Sunday Session: July 2, 2017

Geri Allen

Here's the weekly roundup of various music-related items of interest that have landed in StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Rescuing the Treasures of a Dead Jazz Legend - Sun Ra, Alton Abraham, and the Taming of the Freak (LitHub.com)
* The Untold and Deeply Stoned Story of the First U.S. Rock Festival (Rolling Stone)
* How Japan’s Landscape Inspired a New Kind of Electronic Music (Bandcamp.com)
* A Ticket to Rock Royalty: Gregg Allman’s Midnight Ride through New Orleans (Offbeat)
* Dee Dee Bridgewater: Her Memphis Roots Are Showing (Jazz Times)
* Jazzfest review: Hudson raised the NAC Theatre's roof with its jazz-rock (Ottawa Citizen)
* Wadada Leo Smith, Mary Halvorson Among Winners in DownBeat Critics Poll (DownBeat)
* How Countries Around the World Fund Music—and Why It Matters (Pitchfork,com)
* Geri Allen, Brilliantly Expressive Pianist, Composer and Educator, Dies at 60 (WBGO)
* Geri Allen, Pianist Who Reconciled Jazz’s Far-Flung Styles, Dies at 60 (New York Times)
* Heartbroken Jazz Aficionados Agree: Geri Allen Brought ‘Spirit to the Music’ (DiverseEducation.com)
* Randy Weston: Music of The Earth (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Classical music's blurred boundaries (Gramophone)
* Still Dreaming: Joshua Redman's Tribute To A Tribute (NPR)
* A Brief History of Music That Doesn't Need to Be Listened To (Vice.com)
* Jazz great Branford Marsalis shares humble life lessons in Vancouver (Metro News)
* Boundaries - An Interview with George Lewis (Atavist.com)
* Sony Music to start manufacturing its own vinyl for the first time in nearly 30 years (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Will The Next Pop Culture Icon Be Augmented Reality? (HypeBot.com)
* Paul McCartney and Sony Settle Beatles Copyright Suit (UltimateClassicRock.com)
* Can Synthesizers Compose Music? Nearly 50 Years Ago, This One Could (LA Weekly)
* Video: Foley Artists – How Movie Sound Effects Are Made (ASoundEffect.com)
* In Stargoon’s Car (The Paris Review)
* Sustaining Americana - What do you get for the genre that has everything? (No Depression)

Sunday Session: August 14, 2016

"A Great Day In Harlem"

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

* We’ve Passed Peak Vinyl – Here Comes The Collapse (Stereogum)
* What It Takes for an Independent Record Store to Survive Now (Pitchfork)
* Twang Time: Scofield Explores Country Music on New Album (DownBeat)
* A Conversation With ... Norah Jones (FYIMusicNews.ca)
* Norah Jones Teams with Jazz Icons for Day Breaks (DownBeat)
* Kittens, Kisses, And Razorblades: Behind Star Trek's Iconic Sounds (AudibleRange.com)
* 5 Musicians Pick Their Favorite Herbie Hancock Recordings (NPR)
* The Collapse of Music Dealers and Music Licensing’s “Race to the Bottom” (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Harry Connick Jr. joining daytime talk world and all that jazz (Fresno Bee)
* Herman Leonard’s intimate portraits of jazz greats draw viewers into smoky clubs (Washington Post)
* Paul McCartney Looks Back: The Rolling Stone Interview (Rolling Stone)
* SoundGirls Go To Camp (Pro Sound News)
* Bonerama Sends Love to Roswell Rudd (MySpiltMilk.com)
* Reviving a Detroit jazz legacy: Terry Jean Pollard was queen of the vibes (Detroit Metro Times)
* Tunisia’s Dying Jazz (Foreign Policy)
* From Gladiators to Bog Bodies: How inventive, evocative museum sound design is created today (ASoundEffect.com)
* Epic Records Whips Up Hit Album Out of Thin Air (and Online Streams)(New York Times)
* Tony Bennett's Season of Celebration: At 90, the Singer Reflects On A Life Rich with Collaborations, from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga (Billboard)
* Randy Weston Archive Provides Glimpse Into the History of Jazz in America and Africa (Harvard.edu)
* A visual chronicle of Tokyo’s disappearing jazz bars (TheVinylFactory.com)
* 12 Sound Artists Changing Your Perception of Art (Artnet.com)
* Cruisin’: Vintage photos of cars tricked out with record players (DangerousMinds.com)
* Stoop Summit - How a Harlem brownstone was immortalized when the living legends of jazz assembled there for an iconic photograph (New York Daily News)
* Inside Elvis Presley's Legendary Man-Cave Studio (Rolling Stone)
* Review: Herbie Hancock, Basking in a Boundless Legacy of Fusion (New York Times)
* Saving American Music: Heather West (ElmoreMagazine.com)
* Robert Glasper Experiment Returns with Eclectic ArtScience (DownBeat)

Sunday Session: February 7, 2016

Maurice White

For your Sunday reading, some interesting music-related items that have turned up recently in StLJN's inbox:

* Esperanza Spalding on Her Alter Ego and Being Inspired 'By Stuff People in Suits Don't Give a Shit About' (Billboard)
* For the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Monday Becomes an All-Week Affair (New York Times)
* Who Should Pay for the Arts in America? (The Atlantic)
* Inside the Strange, Hidden World of Offstage Touring Musicians (LA Weekly)
* The Riffs And Rhythms That Led To Jazz As We Know It (NPR)
* Five Questions With Jason Kao Hwang (Textura.org)
* Cash-Strapped Spotify Is Desperately Seeking a $500 Million Loan (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* All On A Mardi Gras Day: New Orleans’ unique carnival traditions (Offbeat)
* Interview: Trombone Shorty on refining Supafunkrock, the future of jazz, and playing for Obama (Vanyaland.com)
* If Rihanna Can Go Platinum Giving ANTI Away For Free, What Does Platinum Even Mean? (Stereogum)
* The Art of Blue Note (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* SFX Entertainment files for bankruptcy in the US (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* A Conversation with Randy Weston - The African connection (Jazz Times)
* Pianist Aaron Goldberg Tells the Story of How Expatriate Drummer Leon Parker Returns and Begins His Next Chapter at National Sawdust (ZealNYC.com)
* Maurice White, Earth, Wind & Fire Singer and Co-Founder, Dead at 74 (Rolling Stone)
* Maurice White: The Audacity Of Uplift (NPR)
* Good time: the greatest moments of Maurice White and Earth, Wind & Fire (The Guardian UK)
* How David Liebman got the keys to the jazz kingdom (Irish Times)
* Hear the Experimental Music of the Dada Movement: Avant-Garde Sounds from a Century Ago (OpenCulture.com)
* Vinyl revival: Canadian company reinvents the record pressing plant (The Globe and Mail)
* The Biggest Session Drummer Of All Time Is Ready For The Spotlight (Buzzfeed.com)
* Marshall Allen Spreads Enlightenment with Arkestra (DownBeat)
* Bowie: follow the changes (Jazz Journal)
* A Fearless Soprano's Case For Contemporary Music (NPR)