“An insult to the intellect of the people.” “Repetitious crap.” “Pure arrogance.” These are just a few of the choice descriptions provided to Miles Davis’ On the Corner (Columbia, 1972) upon its initial release. Or, as Stan Getz described it, “[t]hat music is worthless. It means nothing; there is no form, no content, and it […]
We continue our discussion with Michael Wimberly with an emphasis on the concept behind Afrofuturism (Temple Mountain Records, 2021), his influences, and his role as an educator. PG: You had mentioned that the concept for Afrofuturism was at least partly based on your love of the “Ancient to the Future” concept. The title track sounds like […]
Michael Wimberly’s musical career can be seen as focused on minimizing the gaps between different styles and forms of art. A significant amount of his compositions have been to support dance troupes and classes including the Martha Graham School of Dance, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, and Joffrey II Ballet. He’s also provided music for […]
At the mouth of the mighty Mississippi, New Orleans has always been a cultural melting pot. French, Spanish, Native American, African, and other influences blend to create art, music, food, and more that are unique and diverse. The city’s version of the Blues was not immune. Most Blues forms lacked complex polyrhythmic structures. And the instrument […]
On May 29, 1913, a violent brawl broke out between the audience at Paris’ brand-new venue, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. There was such extreme brutality the police were called to restore order among the furious crowd but ultimately proved ineffective as attendees continued to throw punches mid-performance. The scene was so chaotic that the mastermind […]
Far too many of music’s most innovative minds have died at a shockingly young age. Mozart, “Bird,” Dolphy, and Hendrix are just a few of the lights extinguished before age 40. Most of these fallen artists pass suddenly or after a few weeks, not after a long illness. This abruptness often leaves the artist without […]
2020 marks the 25th Anniversary of multi-instrumentalist/composer/ producer John Zorn’s founding of Tzadik Records. An incredibly prolific label, Tzadik Records also has an overtly diverse output. Our site initially planned a month-long celebration of some of the label’s releases. However, the chaos of the past year derailed those plans. Before Tzadik, Zorn released a series […]
Historians will probably remember 2020 primarily for the COVID pandemic, movements for racial justice, and lots and lots of politics. While all of that is true, to me it will also mark the creation of this site. Postgenre was born on February 20, 2020, less than a month before state and local governments would begin […]
Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed.) defines force majeure as “an event that can be neither anticipated nor controlled.” A party to a contract may be discharged of their duty to perform under said contract upon showing the occurrence of some unforeseeable event outside of their control which rendered their performance impossible or impractical. The concept […]
As the PostGenre Team is working on their list(s) of Favorites from 2020, here is a flashback to Rob Shepherd’s 2019 list. This list originally appeared at Nextbop. ————————————————————————————————————-Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from 2019 is the number of artists adapting music from the past into something new. Many of the past year’s releases have […]
