Protest songs, those associated with a movement for social change, have existed at least since the psalms of grassroots Protestant religious revival movements in the United States. Two of the best-known protest songs – Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”- were by Americans. It is easy to fall into the […]
What is silence? A basic dictionary definition describes it as “the absence of sound.” But is it truly possible to escape sound entirely when we live on a planet of different frequencies, both within and outside of human grasp? From the slight hum of the nearby lightbulb to the wind blowing by, we live in […]
“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 […]
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 […]
Jazz fans can be a disputatious lot, yet if there’s something on which we all can agree it’s this: the four clarion quarter notes that begin Louis Armstrong’s 1928 Okeh recording of “West End Blues” herald the birth of jazz as we know it. The foundational elements of the jazz DNA as we know it–flashing […]
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 […]
