Sunday Session: April 5, 2020

Wallace Roney

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

* Out of the Blues: Reflections on the 1960s Revival (Acoustic Guitar)
* What Bob Dylan Is Doing in “Murder Most Foul” (The New Yorker)
* The making of King Crimson's Starless And Bible Black (LouderSound.com)
* Mahler versus Slowthai! - what happened when our pop and classical critics traded jobs? (The Guardian)
* What happens to musicians when all the gigs stop? (The Undefeated.com)
* Robert Glasper On Nu Deco Collab, Crossing Over, Blue Note NYC, Surprise Sets With Dave Chappelle & More [Interview] (LiveForLiveMusic.com)
* Stefon Harris — Vibraphonist, Educator, Thinker — Teaches Empathy From The Bandstand (NPR)
* Van Morrison in lockdown: ‘I am trying to get back into writing songs’ (The Independent)
* Why Astrud Gilberto Is So Much More Than ‘The Girl From Ipanema’ (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Wallace Roney, Intrepid Jazz Trumpeter, Dies From COVID-19 Complications At 59 (NPR)
* The blistering cosmic music of The Black Unity Trio (The Wire)
* Reinventing the Sound of Protest (The Nation)
* Jazz and the Vinyl Renaissance (Jazz Times)
* Here’s Every Painstaking Step That Goes Into Making a Steinway & Sons Grand Piano (RobbReport.com)
* More Jazz Added to National Recording Registry (Jazz Times)
* In Memoriam: Ellis Marsalis (1934–2020) (DownBeat)
* Ellis Marsalis, New Orleans Jazz Patriarch, Dies at 85 (Billboard)
* Pianist and Educator Ellis Marsalis Dies at 85 (Keyboard)
* Branford Marsalis Pays Tribute to His Late Father, Ellis Marsalis Jr. (Billboard)
* Legendary guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli dies at 94 (NJArts.net)
* Bucky Pizzarelli, Jazz Guitarist And Prolific Session Musician, Dead At 94 (NPR)
* Remembering Bucky Pizzarelli (DownBeat)
* From Big Pink to Whitney’s Dream House: Here’s What It’s Like to Live in a Pop Star’s Former Home (Rolling Stone)
* Lakecia Benjamin Pursues a Spiritual Quest (DownBeat)
* Downsizing Is Good at Winter NAMM 2020 (Jazz Times)
* The Revolutionary Free Jazz of Irreversible Entanglements (Bandcamp.com)
* ‘Lean On Me,’ ‘Lovely Day’ singer Bill Withers dies at 81 (Associated Press)
* A Moment to Rethink How We Support Music (The New Yorker)

Sunday Session: November 3, 2019

Matana Roberts

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

* Andy Bey At 80: A Love Letter To A Jazz Legend (NPR)
* Exploring St Petersburg’s cosy jazz dens (Jazz Journal)
* The Grammys organizer is giving artists a metadata gold mine to credit unrecognized music workers (TheVerge.com)
* Tighter and looser with Mary Halvorson (ToneMadison.com)
* The average guitarist will spend $10,000 on gear over their lifetime (Guitar)
* Three British Labels are Deep in Dialogue with the American Jazz Tradition (DownBeat)
* David Sánchez and the African Tinge (Jazz Times)
* Bill Bruford on His Ups and Downs With Yes and King Crimson, Life After Retirement (Rolling Stone)
* Fred Taylor, Boston’s Beloved Jazz Impresario, Dies at 90 (Jazz Times)
* Chicago Trumpeter Jaimie Branch Delivers A Political Message On 'FLY or DIE II' (NPR)
* One of New York City’s Oldest Jazz Clubs Re-Opens (Forbes.com)
* Pi Recordings: A Home For Musicians Pushing Jazz Forward (Bandcamp.com)
* A Brief History of Witchcraft in Music (FloodMagazine.com)
* Crosscurrents Trio Brings Together Singular Musical Personalities (DownBeat)
* Marquis Hill Celebrates the Enduring Rhythms of Love (DownBeat)
* James Taylor: Artist in Residence (American Songwriter)
* A duel with Van Morrison: 'Is this a psychiatric examination? It sounds like one' (The Guardian)
* Manfred Eicher: "You Can't Record Everybody" (Stereophile)
* Myra Melford: Freedom and Form (New Music Box)
* The First Angel of the Future: Sun Ra's Heliocentric Poetics for After the End of the World (PoetryFoundation.org)
* Marvin Gaye: Live in Amsterdam 1976 (Oxford American)
* Matana Roberts’ ‘Coin Coin’ Project is a Sonic Patchwork of American History (DownBeat)
* Gearbox Records to release final Buddy Rich recording (Jazz in Europe)
* John Scofield and Bobo Stenson Engage Big Bands at Umeå Fest (DownBeat)
* Always Creating: Pianist Vijay Iyer Reflects on a Key Directive From His Elders, on The Checkout (WBGO)
* Change Comes to Pitt with Nicole Mitchell as New Jazz Chair (Jazz Times)
* Ronnie Scott’s 60th Anniversary Gala at the Royal Albert Hall (London Jazz News)
* Your Brain Can Recognize a Song in Just 100 Milliseconds (Newsweek)

Sunday Session: December 16, 2018

Nancy Wilson

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:

* American Pop Music No Longer The Global King, But Its Christmas Music Can't Be Beat (Forbes.com)
* The Untold Labor That Helped Make Charlie Chaplin’s Film Scores (The Atlantic)
* Michael League: Snarky Puppy's Jazz-Schooled, Grassroots Visionary (AllAboutJazz.com)
* John Scofield: Old and New Inspirations (DownBeat)
* Blood on the Tracks: How Bob Dylan Birthed Bootleg Culture (ConsequenceOfSound.net)
* Jason Moran offers sublime tribute to WWI hero and ragtime pioneer James Reese Europe (Washington Post)
* Charles Lloyd is not into ‘ageism.’ The musician still loves touring at 80 (Durham Herald-Sun)
* The Wild Story Behind Aretha Franklin’s Long-Delayed Documentary (Vulture.com)
* Dave Douglas Interview (BurningAmbulance.com)
* We Jazz Festival Fosters Surprise and Discovery in Helsinki (DownBeat)
* Rediscovered Duke Ellington Film to Be Reshown After More Than 50 Years (Jazz Times)
* In a world of ‘algorithmic culture,’ music critics fight for relevance (Columbia Journalism Review)
* Wayne Shorter: How the Future Would Be (Stereophile)
* Streambait Pop - The emergence of a total Spotify genre (TheBaffler.com)
* Interview with Billy Cobham – Crosswinds and more! (Jazz in Europe)
* WFMU’s Free Music Archive Is Saved, Moving to New Home (Pitchfork.com)
* Donny McCaslin: In a Different Place (Jazz Times)
* Is It Important To Own Music? (Offbeat)
* The Cure, Janet Jackson, Radiohead Among Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees For 2019 (NPR)
* John Coltrane’s Giant Steps and My Favorite Things Earn Gold Status (Jazz Times)
* Nancy Wilson, Legendary Vocalist And NPR 'Jazz Profiles' Host, Dies At 81 (NPR)
* Placemakers: Why Midsize Cities Are the Next Music Hubs (Hypebot.com)
* Van Morrison Discusses How Music Used to Be More Spontaneous and Communal (The New Yorker)
* Photographer Spends 10 Years Tracking Down The Original Locations Of Vinyl Covers (Demilked.com)
* 15 Saxophone Albums You Should Hear (SFJAZZ.ORG)

Sunday Session: November 18, 2018

Marshall Allen

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:

* I Thought CDs Were Supposed To Be Dying, But Maybe I Got It All Wrong (Forbes)
* Entangled in Berlin (TheBlueMoment.com)
* How a Lost Charles Mingus Recording Finally Saw the Light of Day (Bandcamp.com)
* The Accidental Perfection of the Beatles’ White Album (The New Yorker)
* The Album Is in Deep Trouble – and the Music Business Probably Can’t Save it (Rolling Stone)
* Nate Smith: Taking Jazz Ahead (Jazz Times)
* ‘Black Fire’: The Andrew Hill Classic That Still Burns Bright (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* How Legendary Composer W.C. Handy Became The 'Father Of The Blues' (WBUR)
* Baku Jazz Festival 2018 (AllAboutJazz.com)
* A Legendary Van Morrison Recording Just Hit the Internet and Quickly Disappeared Again (SPIN)
* TONTO: The 50-Year Saga of the Synth Heard on Stevie Wonder Classics (Rolling Stone)
* Bob Dylan’s Masterpiece Is Still Hard to Find (The New Yorker)
* ‘Green Book’ Renders Don Shirley in Film (DownBeat)
* Aretha Franklin Touches The Infinite In The Long-Delayed Film 'Amazing Grace' (NPR)
* JazzFest Berlin Challenges Attendees with Audacious Programming (DownBeat)
* Stars Celebrate Joni Mitchell at 75 (DownBeat)
* Roy Clark, country guitar virtuoso, ‘Hee Haw’ star, has died (Associated Press)
* James Booker’s “The Lost Paramount Tapes” to be released on vinyl (Offbeat)
* ’63 Monk Tapes Released (DownBeat)
* Latin Music Is Reaching More Listeners Than Ever — But Who Is Represented? (Rolling Stone)
* Working to Preserve Traditional Gospel Music (LongReads.com)
* Marshall Allen Sticks To The Music (AntiGravityMagazine.com)
* Louis Armstrong’s Life in Letters, Music and Art (New York Times)
* Jazz After College (Jazz Times)
* Hitting the Right Notes: Five Actors Who Played Real-Life Jazz Artists (Jazziz)
* Q&A: Ann Hampton Callaway: Creating Landscapes of Human Emotion (Jazziz)
* Strength & Power: In Praise of Roswell Rudd (Jazz Times)
* Crosley Is Now Releasing Retro Cassette Players Starting at $60 (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Setting the Record Straight: Bob Dylan’s ‘Blood On The Tracks’ (Guitarist Kevin Odegard Revisits the Sessions) (RockCellarMagazine.com)
* Iconic Guitar Builder Loses His Home and Workshop to Flames in Paradise (Popular Mechanics)
* Tony Allen: Jack of All Parades (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: July 22, 2018

Chucho Valdés

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:

* Major Labels Are Upset That They Aren’t Getting More Songs Onto Spotify Playlists, Deutsche Bank Says (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Classical Composers Have Been Inspired For Centuries By Insects (NPR)
* Montreal Jazz Fest Shapes Surrounding City—and Vice Versa (DownBeat)
* The Stone: An Oral History - Musicians and scenesters recount their experiences at John Zorn's storied NYC venue (Jazz Times)
* Guru’s ‘Jazzmatazz’ Uniquely Tied Together Jazz and Hip-Hop (DownBeat)
* In Tandem, the Morans Expand Notions of Art (DownBeat)
* Mary Halvorson: Reinventing the Identity of the Jazz Guitarist (Jazz Times)
* Joey DeFrancesco on Working With Van Morrison (Jazz Times)
* Vijay Iyer: 'We're all improvisers and we're all creative people making choices every step of the way.' (List.co.uk)
* Sound Matters: A History Of Legendary Recording Studios (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* The Perils Of A Cruise Ship Musician (FYIMusicNews.ca)
* Universal Music Group Is Making a Huge Move Into Nigeria (DigitalMusicNews.com)
* Billie Holiday: A Complex Woman, A Jazz Legend (UDiscoverMusic.com)
* Copenhagen Festival Spans Poetic Swing, Hard-Bop Themes (DownBeat)
* The Charles Lloyd Interview: Life of a Song (Jazz Times)
* George Wein: A Life and Legend in Jazz (AllAboutJazz.com)
* The scam industry: How the hip-hop boom sets hopefuls up for failure (AV Club)
* Asante Drum Language (Afropop.org)
* Chucho Valdés and Irakere: A Musical Revolution (SFJAZZ.org)
* Sun Ra in Sin City The origins of an outer-space empire (Lapham's Quarterly)
* The Music of Fred Rogers’ Neighborhood (Jazz Times)

Sunday Session: March 11, 2018

Herbie Hancock

Here's the 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:

* Ben Sidran Remembers Tommy LiPuma (Jazz Times)
* An ‘Astral Weeks’ origin story, told 50 years after Van Morrison fled to Boston (Boston Globe)
* Big Ears 2018 – Q&A With Milford Graves (ArtsKnoxville.com)
* McCoy Tyner In The ’70s: Part 1 (BurningAmbulance.com)
* Herbie Hancock 'still learning,' as eclectic music icon works on new album with Kendrick Lamar, Wayne Shorter and more (San Diego Union Tribune)
* Why are concert tickets going on sale so early? And where does all that cash go? (Kansas City Star)
* 7 Candid Photos of Jazz Legends (BBC)
* Like A Cosmic Newspaper: Val Wilmer On Sun Ra (TheQuietus.com)
* How the classical took control of the jazz in ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ (San Francisco Chronicle)
* Mere Virtuosity - Variations on a Slippery Idea (VQROnline.org)
* Inside the Bizarre, Booming Business of Turning Hit Songs into Baby Lullabies (Thrillist.com)
* Q&A with Steven Bernstein: On Respectability (DownBeat)
* Founder of Tower Records dies at 92 while drinking whiskey and watching the Oscars (Sacramento Bee)
* Herbie Hancock Taps Kendrick Lamar, Thundercat for New Album (Rolling Stone)
* NPR’s Tiny Desk Is Actually Not Tiny at All (Vice.com)
* NME to close print edition after 66 years (The Guardian)
* Big Ears Announces Full 2018 Lineup (DownBeat)
* An Impressive Audio Archive of John Cage Lectures & Interviews: Hear Recordings from 1963-1991 (OpenCulture.com)
* There’s a Tuba Crime Wave Sweeping America (Wall Street Journal)
* The Many Dimensions of Drummer, Composer and Bandleader Allison Miller (WBGO)
* Van Morrison teams up with Hammond hero Joey DeFrancesco on new album You’re Driving Me Crazy (Jazzwise)
* A Cherished BBC Radio Show Asks Celebrities to Pick a Desert Island Survival Kit (AtlasObscura.com)
* For iconic jazz club Village Vanguard, music rather than food is its main gig (New York Business Journal)
* Taylor Ho Bynum Presents New Suite in Hartford (DownBeat)
* Linda Ronstadt: From Tucson to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, her lifetime love affair with music (AZCentral.com)
* The Original Noise Artist: Hear the Strange Experimental Sounds & Instruments of Italian Futurist, Luigi Russolo (1913) (OpenCulture.com)
* An Interview with Billy Cobham, Genius Drummer with Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Peter Gabriel, Etc. Etc. (The Stranger)
* Kobalt invests $150m in independent artists to challenge ‘stupidity’ of traditional major label deals (MusicBusinessWorldwide.com)
* Her Tiny Apartment is New York’s Most Secret Jazz Club (MessyNessyChic.com)

Sunday Session: November 12, 2017

John McLaughlin

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

* Let's face the facts: Facebook controls classical music (OvergrownPath.com)
* Arts Critics Are Disappearing From Newspapers. Or, Wait, Is That The Good News? (ArtAndSeek.org)
* A Hard Day's Night: Solving a Beatles mystery with mathematics (ABC.net.au)
* Essential Solos: 40 Great Improvisations (Jazz Times)
* Van Morrison Announces New Album 'Versatile' (Rolling Stone)
* Field Notes: John McLaughlin & Jimmy Herring in NYC - Thinking about a jazz-guitar icon’s U.S. farewell tour (Jazz Times)
* Joni Mitchell Talks Exes, Addictions and Music in Candid, All-Access Biography (Rolling Stone)
* The demons and obsessions of jazz genius Thelonious Monk (The Guardian)
* Critic bashing - Defending the Music Media (Atavist.com)
* Blue Note Records Unveils a New Subscription Boxed Set Series, Blue Note Review (WBGO)
* The Strange World Of... Linda Sharrock (TheQuietus.com)
* The rise of ‘three-car garage rock’ (Curbed.com)
* Why the indie band never dies: fake breakups, permanent adolescence and cash comebacks (The Guardian)
* Bill Frisell Receives Honorary Degree and Is Subject of Film (Jazz Times)
* I went to see La Monte Young playing in his New York loft, and you should do the same (Medium.com)
* 'Only 17th-century industrial bluegrass will do': your favourite weird records (The Guardian)
* 'Their DNA is forever ingrained in the keys' - Roman Rabinovich on playing composers' own pianos (TheArtsDesk.com)
* After Six Decades in the Vault, 'Ella at Zardi's' Brings New Shine to Ella Fitzgerald's Centennial (WBGO)
* Malleable Structures: An Interview with Tyshawn Sorey (Atavist.com)
* How Concert Ticket Prices Vary Across the U.S. (Wanderu.com)
* The Many Faces of Jazz Today: The Big Picture (AllAboutJazz.com)
* Return of the Top 40 Troubadour: How Singer-Songwriters Reclaimed Pop Radio (Billboard)
* Pat Metheny: Driving Forces (AllAboutJazz.com)
* ‘In five seconds my life changed. I was worse than the worst jazz snob’ (Irish Times)
* A Jazz Centennial of a Seamier Sort: The End of Storyville, As Remembered Through the Ages (WBGO)
* Paul Buckmaster, Essential Arranger for David Bowie and Elton John, Dead at 71 (Rolling Stone)
* Meet Rufus Harley, the First Jazz Bagpiper (AtlasObscura.com)
* Herbie Hancock: ‘I like to discover new rules so I can break them’ (The Guardian)

Sunday Session: June 26, 2016

Bernie Worrell

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

* The Defeat of New Music (New Music Box)
* How a Shamir Soundalike Ended Up in Apple's New Commercial (Pitchfork.com)
* The Digital Music Business and the Rashomon Effect (Medium.com)
* Don’t Look Back: The Return of Napster Highlights a Company Running Out of Options (JonMaples.com)
* Seven Of Henry Threadgill’s Favorite Recordings (MusicAficionado.com)
* The History of Electronic Music, 1800-2015: Free Web Project Catalogues the Theremin, Fairlight & Other Instruments That Revolutionized Music (OpenCulture.com)
* Grappling with the issues facing the industry (Gramophone UK)
* Women Composers Reign At Subdued 70th Ojai Festival (ClassicalVoiceAmerica.org)
* Original Voices Spice up International Anthem Showcase (DownBeat)
* Sir Charles Thompson, jazz pianist who bridged swing and bebop, dies at 98 (Washington Post)
* Photo Coverage: Bucky Pizzarelli Returns To Birdland (BroadwayWorld.com)
* Almost Famous, Almost Broke: How Does a Jazz Musician Make It in New York Now? (Village Voice)
* One Man’s Mission to Keep Musicians’ Legacies Alive (New York Times)
* Portland's Allegro Sought Inventory On The Verge Of Liquidation (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
* The Zen of Sonny Rollins (Jazz Times)
* Salvant, Redman Bring Jazz Flair to Pop-Heavy Playboy Fest (DownBeat)
* Midtown Meltdown: MSR Studios is Shutting Down (SonicScoop.com)
* Wayne Jackson, half of Memphis Horns duo, dies at age 74 (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
* Cult heroes: the 5th Dimension – elegant pop crooners who wowed the mainstream (The Guardian UK)
* Why Record Stores Mattered (The New Yorker)
* All The Way Live Or Else: The Perfection Of Van Morrison's 'It's Too Late' (NPR)
* Converse Puts a Pedal in Your Sole (Pro Sound News)
* The Zappas go to war (Los Angeles Times)
* The surprising history of the "song of the summer" (Vox.com)
* Inside Vijay Iyer's Year-Long Met Residency (Jazz Times)
* Bernie Worrell, 'Wizard Of Woo,' Dies At 72 (NPR)

(Edited 7/1/16 to fix a formatting problem.)

Sunday Session: June 28, 2015

Nina Simone

For your Sunday reading, here are some interesting music-related items that have hit StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* The iTunes Download Model Is Broken—Here’s How to Fix It (New York Observer)
* Musicians don't just hear in tune, they also see in tune (MedicalXpress.com)
* Gunther Schuller, Who Bridged Classical Music And Jazz, Dies At 89 (NPR)
* Review: Van Morrison Finds New Meaning in Extensive and Nostalgic Catalog (New York Times)
* Gibson Guitar Is a Remarkably Unpopular Company (Gawker)
* You won’t steal our music anymore: The fraction of a cent that saved the major labels (Salon)
* James Horner, Film Composer for 'Titanic' and 'Braveheart,' Dies in Plane Crash (Hollywood Reporter)
* King Sunny Adé and Special Guest Wunmi Forced to Cancel US and Canada tour (Jazz Corner)
* The Sounds of Science: Inside Berkeley's Meyer Sound Laboratories (KQED)
* Rock and Roll HOF Dumps 16 Nominating Members, Proving Its Irrelevance Yet Again (New York Observer)
* A Tribute to the Enduring Voice of Nina Simone (Wall Street Journal)
* Music Of The Future Cannot Ignore The Past (Standpoint)
* An Engineer Takes Us Through The History of Abbey Road, the World's Most Famous Studio (Vice.com)
* How CDs Keep Clinging On To Life (Alternative Press)
* Love for Sale: Billie Holiday’s Greatest Songs (Barnes & Noble Review)
* The Prince of the Player Piano (New York Review of Books)
* Unearthed In A Library, 'Voodoo' Opera Rises Again (NPR)
* Blue Note Jazz Club Plans Expansion to China (New York Times)
* Using Music to Underscore Three Words: I Can’t Breathe (Medium.com)
* Iyer Voted Jazz Artist of the Year in DownBeat Critics Poll (DownBeat)
* The most powerful man in classical music (The Spectator)
* Musicians and writers choose their favourite book about music (The Guardian UK)
* Live Through This: A Pioneering Rock Critic Looks Back with Love and Sorrow on the 1960s (Los Angeles Review of Books)

Sunday Session: March 29, 2015

Wayne Shorter

For your Sunday reading, some interesting music-related items that have hit StLJN's inbox over the past week:

* Critic's notebook: Bebop hallucination from Wayne Shorter (Detroit Free Press)
* Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix’s original ‘foxy lady’ (The Guardian UK)
* Buena Vista Social Club: the legends look back (The Guardian UK)
* Audio For Virtual Reality Takes Off (Pro Sound News)
* What Makes an Electric Guitar Sound Like an Electric Guitar (The Atlantic)
* Phil Manzanera on Jay Z, Kanye West and the riff that changed his life (The Independent UK)
* The Electronic Composer in the Modern Age (Hyperallergic.com)
* Have We Reached the End of Jazz Itself? (The Nation)
* The five eras of listening - How music went from art form to ambient noise in the last 150 years (and five ways to listen better today) (Medium.com)
* The Sweet Memphis Sound Of 'Beale Street' (WBUR)
* Antonio Sánchez to Release Two New Albums This Spring; Drummer/composer will also tour (Jazz Times)
* Did these guys ruin music as we knew it? (Medium.com)
* Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online (NPR)
* Astral Sojourn - The untold story of how Van Morrison fled record-industry thugs, hid out in Boston, and wrote one of rock’s greatest albums. (Boston magazine)
* ‘Dylan, Cash and the Nashville Cats,’ an Unlikely Alliance of Rock and Country (New York Times)
* Three Jazz Pianists, A Generation After Apartheid (NPR)
* Photos: Celebration of Strata-East at Barbican Theatre in London (Jazz Times)