Sugar Plum Fairy

A little Christmas music, delivered differently ...

Amnesty International and Bob Dylan

You have probably already heard that Amnesty International, as a fundraiser, is to release in late January 2012 an album of some 70 covers of Bob Dylan pieces. You can now listen online and pre-order here: http://www.facebook.com/amnestyusa?sk=app_115392725211599

The 4 CD collection is $24.99, with digital downloads ("high bitrate" MP3s) for $19.99. (I will prefer to rip my CDs to FLAC, thank you.)

And here's the complete tracklisting: http://www.nme.com/news/bob-dylan/60580

Bravura

Once again I am off on my annual quest to find tolerable Christmas music. One of my stellar finds a year or two ago was Tom Waits' Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis. Probably my reigning favorite piece of Christmas music would be the Estonian Chamber Choir's New Joy album. And of course, there is Bach's Christmas Oratorio. And so on.

Last night, plumbing the depths of the interwebs, I chanced upon Bravura Records, a recording studio that deals with producing high-resolution digital music. They have some utterly wonderful freebies as their Christmas gift to the user. These are 24-bit jazz pieces in AIF format (iTunes-compatible, but please play them through the best audio equipment you have for full effect), and even at 90 - 100mb per, they are well worth the download. They sound great, and only begin to hint at Bravura's even-higher res normal offerings. Read about how Bravura came to be, and get your free downloads here.

Loudness, Unabated

Having recently upgraded my audio system(s) -- and taking on, as a fresh empty-nester, a project to optimize the entirety of my music collection and digital playback scenario -- I have been revisiting old music. And, now that I have brought my turntable out of mothballs and integrated it into the new upstairs system, I am often shocked at how much better vinyl sounds than many recent CDs. And how much better older CDs can sound than newer CDs. I am really becoming wary of remasterings, even ones that purport to be digital remasters to high-resolution 24-bit lossless files. Chalk this all up to the "Loudness Wars", which is exposed and tracked by sites like TurnMeUp.org. For an illustration, watch this:



To help disclose the reality here, I am using a plug-in component for my favored (at his particular time) digital player for Windows, Foobar2000. The component is the Dynamic Range Meter (I downloaded mine from the author's site at http://www.dynamicrange.de/de/free-downloads). The software is based on work done by the Pleasurize Music Foundation. This thing measures a DNR value, or the decibel range in a digital music file. Pleasurize believes most everything should have a value of 12 to 14, and that something as low as a value of 3 is flat unacceptable.

With my newer equipment and optimizations (software tweaking included), lousy sonics of source material are now more apparent, and I am running Foobar2000 with the Dynamic Range Meter on suspect files, eventually intending testing all my digital collection (this will definitely take a while to get through everything). Sure enough, digital files that don't sound that great often turn out to have been ripped from "modern" CDs and display low DNR values. Thankfully, most classical and jazz albums I have tested so far are not so bad; the worst offenders are rock, pop, and re-issue compilations.

This appalling situation is driving me down a path of (a) buying only vinyl music from here on out, or (b) downloading only audiophile-acceptable high-res digital files from appropriate sources*, or (c) both. And probably working out how to make truly high-quality vinyl rips of my own.

* I have purchased good 16-bit and 24-bit music from the B&W Society of Sound and directly from some artist sites. I have also downloaded music from HDTracks with good results, but some audiophile forums warn against some HDTracks remasterings. I will be exploring these and more sites in the future and will keep you apprised.

Crazy Clown Time

Just got my hands on this new David Lynch album the other day. By no stretch of the imagination is David Lynch or this masterpiece, IMHO, for everyone. YMMV. It is on my personal list as a candidate for Album of 2011. Here is a sample:

A Different Take On Swan Lake

From the Great Chinese State Circus:

Larger Than Life?

Back in June, Pink Martini announced that its wonderful singer, China Forbes, would be out for at least a year to undergo vocal cord surgery and recovery. In the meantime, her stand-in was to be Storm Large, a Portland icon we last covered a couple of years ago. Take a look at what the aptly-named singer has been doing lately with the band, mostly as she accompanied them during their recent European tour.







Visit Pink Martini's website for news on their latest releases and China Forbes updates.

Tiger Lillies

Around eight years ago, a small package appeared in my mailbox. Inside was a CD from my niece, featuring a band I had never heard although the cover artwork looked familiar. Turned out that the art was done by Edward Gorey, whose work you may know from the animated illustrations that accompany PBS-TV's Mystery series. Gorey had lived near my niece in her Cape Code neighborhood until his then-recent death. His legacy includes many books and illustrations, mostly dealing with the delightfully macabre. Shortly before Gorey died, as a fan and admirer, he sent an unsolicited box of his unpublished works to Martyn Jaques, the founder and frontman for the Brit neo-cabaret (I really don't know how to concisely describe the group; some say "surrealist pornography") trio, The Tiger Lillies, sensing that he and Jaques were kindred spirits. Inspired by Gorey's writings and illustrations, Jaques created the music and lyrics for what was to become "The Gorey End", a collaboration with the Kronos Quartet. Alas, not to be published until after Gorey's demise.

"The Gorey End" soon became a household staple, and my then-ten- and twelve-year old kids declared it to be the finest CD they had ever heard. "The Gorey End" chronicles the woes and tragedies of the Hipdeep family and other unfortunate characters, much in keeping with my children's interest at the time in the books of Lemony Snicket ("A Series of Unfortunate Events", etc.) For several years, we heard it again and again, finally retiring it to very occasional use after the kids developed other musical interests in their high school and college years.

The other night, "The Gorey End" became my Album of the Evening. I wanted to hear the Tiger Lillies again on my new PSB speakers, especially after I had been listening to another "cabaret" group -- the wonderful, bring-a-smile-to-your-face-anytime Portland-based group, Vagabond Opera -- all week. And as well I had been revisiting a lot of my Kronos Quartet music.

(Hey, I heard sonic nuances I never knew were there!)

The Tiger Lillies, if you haven't heard them, amaze in their delivery of material that makes you wonder if you are about to laugh or cry. In a few seconds, "The Gorey End" can flip from irreverent, almost deranged zaniness to startling beauty or haunting sadness. Martyn Jaques in his distinct falsetto (counter-tenor?) seems to hold nothing back. The track titles give you a feel for the album's contents:

1. Hipdeep Family Intro
2. ABC (Arsenical Bun)
3. Weeping Chandelier
4. Jesus on the Windshield (aka Jesus PL or The Birdpoop Jesus)
5. The Besotted Mother
6. Gin
7. Learned Pig
8. Hertha Strubb
9. Dreadful Domesticity
10. QRV
11. L'Histoire de K
12. Trampled Lily
13. Hipdeep Family

"Gin" has become something of an anthem for The Tiger Lillies, as shown by this YouTube example:




My daughter tells me she believes that she has watched every Tiger Lillies video on YouTube (often surreptitiously), and there are many. I'm going to try to catch up with her now.

Album of the Day - Vagabond Opera

Portland's own Vagabond Opera has a new album, their fourth, called "Sing For Your Lives", just out this last September. You can hear excerpts from their site at http://www.vagabondopera.com. In the meantime, here is an introductory video from a few years past, among many others you can explore at YouTube:

Death By Misadventure

So we learn from the British press this morning that Amy Winehouse's death was by alcohol poisoning. Characterized by the Brit coroner as "death by misadventure." (Can't help but also think of Janis Joplin ...) More on this great talent.

Tim Hawkins on Aging Rock Stars

Laura Gibson & La Grande

We've been Laura Gibson fans around here ever since we heard her collaborations with the Portland Cello Project. And she has worked with Colin Meloy (Decembrists) and others in the Portland music scene. We have at least a couple of her CDs -- If You Come To Greet Me and Beasts of Seasons -- and continue to be charmed. A couple of weeks ago we heard that she has signed with a new label and will bring out a new album before too long. Hear the title track - La Grande -- from that album here. Gibson, incidentally, comes from another small Oregon town, Coquille. Now I wonder exactly where Jeremy Peterson ate that muffin?

Feist: Metals

Leslie Feist (of Canada's Broken Social Scene) is doing it again. I have been listening to her new Metals album, and it just keeps me wanting to play it again and again ... I thought of citing Get It Wrong, Get It Right as my Song of the Day, but the rest of the album keeps pulling me in, too. Started off as gentle background to my work day, but it is definitely going beyond that. You can stream some cuts at http://www.listentofeist.com/metals/ and take a look/listen to one of a number of her YouTube promos:

Radiohead, Again

Radiohead and Colbert

Monday Radiohead appeared on the Colbert Report. Not to be missed, in spite of annoying commercials.

Liszt and Apple's iPad

Violinist Giora Schmidt uses an iPad as a digital music stand. Read the Ariama piece here about how he never took his hands off his instrument while negotiating 35 pages of the Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor score.

Also take a look at Schmidt's site to learn more about his work and view and hear some examples.

The Slow Version

NPR gives us a reading of a remarkable rendition of Ray Charles' iconic Georgia on My Mind, slowed to an almost ridiculous but mesmerizing tempo. Read the back story and hear Ray from a 1965 concert performance here.

Bad As Me

Coming out in a couple of months (now pre-ordering), Bad As Me is Tom Waits' first studio album in several years. As you may know, he earlier promised that he would make a surprise announcement today, but word was leaked along with a preemptive notice by Amazon, spilling across the great wide Internets, about the album beforehand. Learn more on his site, here and here:



Thanks again to friend and fellow-huge-Waits-fan John for being on top of this.

Calle 54

Just stumbled across a 2000 documentary on Latin jazz tonight via Netflix streaming. Absolutely terrific. A French/Spanish film, directed by Spanish music lover/filmmaker Fernando Trueba, it was set mostly at Sony studios on 54th in Manhattan (hence the name of the film, I would suspect), where some of the hottest Latin jazz artists I have ever heard were gathered. I actually recognized only a few of the performers, like Tito Puente and Gato Barbieri, though some more names seemed to ring a bit of a bell. Many, many performers and magnificent performances. (I will be researching the work of some of these people right away!) One of the highlights was a high-energy conga/dance piece. The final number, a piano duo by reunited, long-separated Cuban father-son Bebo and Chucho Valdes, was especially remarkable and moving. I am going to see if I can track down a DVD of this thing, as the sonic quality seems worthy of replay on a good sound system; even sounded decent streamed. Highly, highly recommended.

All Is Not Lost, Or Is It?

I have mixed feelings about this ... musical mediocrity aside, OK Go is a group who has done some entertaining and novel dance and video pieces. And their latest project is particularly interesting to me, from my Web development perspective, as it exploits HTML5, the "latest and greatest" so-called Web standard. Trouble is, it isn't yet really standard, and as OK Go's piece shows us, we are still cursed with browser incompatibility. Try it. And discover that it runs only on Chrome. Not a big problem for me, as I have five browsers right at hand here on most all of my machines (where I usually spawn an alternate browser from a Firefox display by using one of several "view this in ..." Firefox extensions). But I'll bet it is an inconvenience or even a show-stopper for many others. Ten years ago, I said that surely browser wars would subside by now ... but they may as bad or even worse now. . At least nobody is using the accursed ten-year-old IE6 still ... or are they? Job security, I guess.

The defanged version here:



While we are at it, let's revisit an earlier OK Go vid or two.

Music of the Day

Kim asked me thia morning for ideas on suitable music for today's forthcoming get-together with family and friends. So I turned to my FLAC library, fed from my basement Linux music server to my chairside MacBook on to an HRT DAC then to NAD amp and finally out through vintage Polk tower speakers. As my default screen interface is in alpha order by artist, I immediately saw Allen Toussaint and played his West End Blues several times during breakfast. This led to the revelation that I should just queue up my entire Louis Armstrong collection (starting with the great Essential Louis Armstrong compilation -- Columbia Legacy remaster K 89280-S1) for the day. Trouble is, I keep finding myself unable to treat it only as background; I am continually diverted from my other tasks leading up to our celebration and find myself stretched out in front of the stereo in listening mode.

Here's a taste from a live performance in the early 30s:

Speaking in Tongues

Arcade Fire is releasing a new DVD version of its acclaimed Suburbs album, and also including a couple of new cuts. One is a title you might recognize from the 1983 Talking Heads album. Listen for David Byrne helping out a bit:

Arcade Fire - Speaking in Tongues (feat. David Byrne) by MergeRecords

Btw, if you are an audiophile who loves the Talking Heads, you may know about the remastering about five years ago of the Speaking in Tongues album, as it included 24-bit, 96KHz versions, and is well worth seeking out, if you can still find it.

And here is the other new cut from Arcade Fire, Culture Wars:

Arcade Fire - Culture War by MergeRecords

Saturday Night with Maria Joao

Just spent an i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e couple of hours experiencing a 1999 performance by the stunning Maria Joao Quartet, another terrific discovery on Roku's ClassicalTV channel (also available at www.classicaltv.com).

Here is a quote from ClassicalTV on this thing:

This recording was made when Portuguese singer Maria João appeared at the Bayerischer Hof night club in Munich with Marcio Doctor (percussion), Miroslav Tadic (guitar) and her long-standing partner, the brilliant pianist Mario Laginha. In this intimate venue, Joao's vocally and physically dynamic performance created an electric atmosphere.

And that's putting it mildly ...

Now I must get back to scouring the Internet for anything more I can hear/see of her tonight. YouTube has dozens of clips, showing her extraordinary range of abilities, but none I have seen so far bring together what the Munich night club performance does. Two I have seen so far stand out, however: one is a live improv piece with Bobby McFerrin, and another has Joao collaborating with legendary jazz pianist Aki Takase. Not to mention her amazing covers of music from Bjork to Tom Waits to Lerner & Loewe. And the dancing! Maybe that has something to do with her mother who came from Mozambique. It's ... well ... all good.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

("It will be live.") So said Gill Scott-Heron, who died last Friday. Undoubtedly a great influence on rap and hip hop that was to follow, when I first heard him in the early 70s he was known for his stance on hipocrisy in politics and entertainment, and was even regarded by some as the "black Bob Dylan". Here is one of his most memorable pieces ...

The Day

Moby gives us another free MP3 download, this an orchestral version of his The Day, included in a different arrangement on his new Destroyed album. Nice, peaceful, meditative. Along with the album is a selection of Moby's own fine, mood-fitting photography, also shown on the site.

Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan

Seventy. Believe it or not. Today my favorite is either Bob Dylan's Dream or Moonshiner. Fat chance getting some Dylan here but here are some covers, first from Judy Collins WAY back when ...



Then Cat Power (Bob Forrest also has a great cover of Moonshiner from the I'm Not There OST, too, btw) ...



Tomorrow, who knows what Dylan song I will want to hear? So many great things to pick from ...

Vivian Maier Update

Back in December 2010, we talked about Vivian Maier. A traveling exhibition of her remarkable photographs is underway. The Vivian Maier website also is now showing quite a number of images, including one of my favorites, a self-portrait made in New York City in 1953, as shown here.

Oregon Symphony at Carnegie Hall

As part of New York's Spring for Music festival, Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony performed at Carnegie Hall last Thursday to critical acclaim. You can hear the concert at NPR's Classics in Concert site, and read The Oregonian's David Stabler on the event, along with more photos and video. And even more today.

The New York City classical music station WQXR also arranged for a live broadcast of the concert in 3D binaural, optimized-for-headphones form. See here and here for more information.

Better yet, listen directly from WQXR:

The National Jukebox

Now hear online historical recordings from the Library of Congress:

http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/

For example, here is the incredible Enrico Caruso (pictured), surely the most famous operatic tenor of the early 1900s:



Looks like there are 176 Caruso pieces here. One I just spotted was Enrico doing the "O soave fanciulla" duet from Puccini's "La Bohème". Will have to give that a listen, for sure. Wonder who the soprano was? It will take some time to read up and work through this stuff -- and build up some playlists.

One of my anticipated future retirement projects was to be an attempt to digitize my very small collection of Caruso, mostly one-sided 78s, but now I may simply listen to those arias and more online. Brought to us by ... your Government!

Kora Time

After watching news tonight, much of it dealing with African nations, followed by a travel show on Nigeria, I found myself in the mood to hear the soothing sounds of the kora virtuoso from Mali, Toumani Diabate. Here is a sample of his amazing work on the 12?-string kora, an instrument that is somewhat a blend of guitar, lute and harp.



If you like this stuff -- and how could you not? -- you can pick up any of his many albums (a couple with the late, great Ali Farka Toure, one of Mali's most famous musicians). You won't find a bad one in the bunch. My Ali & Toumani album (recorded in 2005, released 2010) remains one of my favorites in my entire collection, and it's very accessible to Western ears. Heck, let's check them out together on the final cut of that album ...



Aha! I just found this little one-minute snippet that will introduce you to Diabate's instrument:



Can't stop. Here's more, live at Studio 360:

The Nikon Way

How to clean your lenses ... with John Coltrane!

John Butler Trio: Ocean

Co-worker James, a guitar/mandolin/banjo guy himself, sends along this Australian discovery he made:

Japan Relief and Flyer Goodness

Flyer Goodness, one of my favorite art and design blogs, has assembled a collection of very noteworthy Japan Relief posters, which you can see here. The site has tons of other wonderful posters and flyers to see.

Viva Roku

Just discovered that ClassicalTV is now a channel choice for Roku streaming. While a fair amount of really good stuff (both free and pay-for-view) is available on classicaltv.com, one or two hours of sustained viewing from my computer chair, especially at work, doesn't quite work. But to curl up at home on the easy chair and watch on a Hi-Def screen along with "real" loudspeakers is another matter.

First thing that caught my eye -- and the next two hours of my time -- was the (legendary?) Viva Vivaldi concert in 2001 Paris by mezzo-soprano Cecelia Bartoli and Il Giardino Armonico backing her up on period baroque instrumentation. I know that some regard Cecelia as too flamboyant or overwrought, but I am always spellbound by her work. Here is a link to a snippet of that concert.

So if you own a Roku box to stream Netflix, crank it up and subscribe to the free ClassicalTV channel.

Wild Is The Wind

First time I heard it was by Johny Mathis, from the 1957 movie of the same name (which made quite an impression on my at the time of my youth):



Since then, many, many singers have covered the song, including the rather famous version by David Bowie in the 70s:



More recently, even Cat Power did it:



But tonight, it was while Kim and I watched a performance from a re-run of Austin City Limits that we saw/heard (the great, IMHO) Esperanze Spalding do her cover. That inspired an Internet search where I found that she has a number of YouTube vids of differently-arranged tour performances of this piece, including ...



Now, while Esperanza's rendition has become one of my favorites -- although she may not quite have a big enough voice for the song, as evidenced by comparison with what has to be my All Time Favorite, Nina Simone from 1964:



You might also want to listen to WITW covers by, say, Amel Larrieux or Randy Crawford, all good stuff. Yeah, I know, Barbra Streisand has covered WITW, too. But, heck, so has the Clan of Xymox.

The Universal Sigh, Super Collider, Etc....

You have probably already heard about Radiohead's new, limited edition "newspaper", The Universal Sigh. Haven't seen it and don't know if I ever will. In more Radiohead news, they are said to have just issued a limited edition vinyl recording of a couple of tracks, one new plus Super Collider, something heard only in live shows, such as this raw and rugged example from 2008:



This one's not a heckuva lot better ...

Neil Inducts Tom

A few years back, musing about what I would take with me to the "desert island", Tom Waits immediately was on the short list ... and still is. I have long wanted to post something worthy of the man and his beautiful work, and try occasionally (just do a search in this blog's archives) but there is SO much to choose from. Here is something very special -- again I must credit friend John for finding this clip from the March 14, 2011 ceremonies -- which gets another of my favorites, Neil Young, in on the proceedings. If you don't know Tom Waits by now, this is a wonderful introduction.



Visit the Tom Waits site anytime. Buy his music; he's been making records since the 70s. Tom Waits feels like an old friend.

A Bit Of Allen Toussaint

My turn now to share one with Ivi and Jordan ...

Pass The Peas

Ivi, her horn playing boyfriend Jordan, and I are mostly exploring the FLAC library for jazz gems tonight. And all the relatives of jazz -- funk, gospel and on and on. Ivi introduces us to Maceo Parker and one of her favorites, right here:

Nachtwey in Japan

James Nachtwey's work, last visited here over two years ago, registers again as he travels to Japan to document the earthquake/tsunami aftermath. See this Time slideshow.

Tezeta Band

Here is one brought to my attention by Mom-In-Law, Janet. This band is self-described as "sound of memory, of nostalgia, of sweaty soulful dance music, part jazz, part motown, part Ethiopian folk music, inspired by and arranged from the Golden Age of Ethiopian music, the late 1960’s and early 1970’s." One of its horn players, Curt Bieker, is related to one of Janet's neighbors. Give them a listen at their MySpace site or at http://tezetaband.com/.

Victor Wooten and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival

At about 5:30am today, Ivi appeared on the doorstep, snow-covered, having just pulled into town after a couple of days in Moscow, Idaho at the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. She and her fellow jazz ensemble members attended workshops and performed in student events. (Ivi tells us that a camera sending live audience projections to the large screens during the big band performance zeroed in for at least thirty seconds on her and Jordan as they danced in the pit) The visiting artist who most blew her away was the "crazy-good" Victor Wooten. Here is a sample from about a year ago:



And from Wooten's own site, a notice of his forthcoming March 8 Virtual Release party for an anniversary of his Show of Hands album:

I see that Wooten will be continuing to tour with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, possibly to a venue near you.

Another Kind of Music

Coming Up - 100 Lovers

DeVotchKa, one of our favorites, is scheduled to release its new album, 100 Lovers, next Tuesday. In the meantime, you can stream it from NPR.

Robert Johnson Revisited

Robert Johnson, born Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 - August 16, 1938) is among the most famous of the Delta Blues musicians.

Crossroads Blues (Alternate Take)

Hell Hound On My Trail

I Believe I'll Dust My Broom

Kind-Hearted Woman Blues

Love In Vain

Phonograph Blues

Preaching Blues (Up Jumped The Devil)

TKOL

Everybody who knows me knows that I am a rather devoted Radiohead fan.

A few days ago, I put in an online pre-order -- sound unheard -- for Radiohead's "The King of Limbs", to be available for download at its site on February 19 or as a special vinyl/CD/artwork/digital download combination package by postal mail in May. As I was sitting around on this Friday night, unwinding from the workweek and relaxing with my new Andreas Scholl and catching up with reading, I made a mental note to remember to visit the download site on the 19th to collect the goods. Then it dawned upon me that it was already the 19th for the Brits, so I jumped online and pulled down the 368 MB Zip file (I chose the WAV option rather than MP3: eight tracks at around 50 MB each).

Taking advantage of the absence of Kim and Ivi (they are gone for several days in a whirlwind junket on the west side of the state to visit prospective colleges for Ivi this fall), I was able to crank up the stereo with impunity at the late hour, which is no problem for Nik, either, who also stayed behind and is a night owl, anyway. So for the past couple of hours, we have been infused with the new Radiohead. So far, "Codex" is my favorite cut. Radiohead's stuff is always so sonically rich that I am bound to discover more nuances upon repeated listenings. I highly recommend getting it in WAV format -- and it is well worth hearing with your best headphones, too.

I have no idea, yet, what the album title is all about.

PDX Jazz Fest

Starting today, the Portland Jazz Festival extends through February 27 with an intriguing theme, "Bridges and Boundaries: Jewish and African Americans Playing Jazz". Esperanza Spalding, local girl made good at this year's Grammys, will be a headliner and is designated the festival's "community ambassador". Her friend, Tel Aviv-born woodwind player, Anat Cohen, is also to perform. A group I look forward to hearing, and which is said to exemplify the spirit of the event, is the Afro-Semitic Experience, described as "three Jews and three African Americans playing Klezmer soul".

Read more about the festival in tonight's piece from The Oregonian.

In the meantime, let's hear Linda Hornbuckle, a Portland jazz/soul/gospel singer who came to our attention a few years ago via OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) and its ArtBeat program:

Andreas Scholl, Klaus Nomi and The Cold Song

Just received a new CD today from Amazon of songs and arias by Henry Purcell, the Baroque master, as sung by the incredible countertenor, Andreas Scholl. Here is an amazing taste of his work as found on YouTube, where Scholl performs Purcell's astonishingly-modern-sounding "The Cold Song" from his 1691 opera, King Arthur:

Try this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9wHFCXuCsg

As long as we are here, we should see if we can find the interpretation by the late Klaus Nomi, possibly the most famous and controversial avant-garde countertenor of modern times:



Okay, let's find the lyrics ...

What power art thou
Who from below
Hast made me rise
Unwillingly and slow
From beds of everlasting snow

See'st thou not how stiff
And wondrous old
Far unfit to bear the bitter cold

I can scarcely move
Or draw my breath
I can scarcely move
Or draw my breath

Let me, let me,
Let me freeze again
Let me, let me
Freeze again to death
Let me, let me, let me
Freeze again to death...

Yes, I did think of this as I walked to work this morning, cold wind blowing, just above freezing ...

(Maybe sometime we will have to hear Nomi's "Samson and Delilah Aria" ... maybe even his rendition of Chubby Checker's "The Twist". I'll try to track those down; sorry, won't try to play my own FLACs online.)

More on Esperanza

Today's The Oregonian ran this piece as a front-page story. Portland seems rightly proud of its hometown Best New Artist. In the article, Spalding cites Thara Memory as one of her mentors. (An aside: Ivi was lucky enough to meet Thara Memory and attend one of his workshops a year or two ago in her jazz studies.)

Another Valentine

If you haven't heard of Esperanza Spalding yet, you will soon.


Esperanza Spalding: Short And Sweet

Here's some sample press from Atlantic.com.

eye avenue picked up the now-Grammy's Best New Artist in October 2010; check out her PBS interview and performance.

(In case you're wondering, the Short and Sweet piece was a free download from her site; no animals were harmed, etc.)

A Bit of Beethoven for Valentine's Day

Last night, Kim and I made the one-block walk to our local college campus theatre where two faculty members (Matt Cooper, piano and Lisa Robertson, violin) were putting forth one of their periodic violin and piano recitals. Among other pieces (Janacek, et.al.), they performed Beethoven's Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 30, in C Minor. Wanting to make immediate comparisons of that performance upon returning home, I jumped online and we spent the next couple of hours listening to many different interpretations.

They ranged from an interesting version by the very young Yehudi Menuhin on violin with his sister, Hephzibah, on piano, from many years ago (date?), to this one (also date unknown, obviously several years old), with Itzhak Perlman's violin and Vladimir Ashkenazy's piano:



Another interesting performance was by Jacqueline Wedderburn-Maxwell, who I understand is a teenage South African violinist who started playing at age five, now studies in England, and seems to be a rising star: