When many think of Texas, the first musicians that may come to mind are Bob Wills, Stevie Ray Vaughn, or Willie Nelson. However, these legendary figures are, in some ways, each mere reflective points. Historical emergence from the melding of countless Native, Latin, African, and European cultures has produced a rich yet underreported musical heritage. […]
The Brecker Brothers, throughout their twenty-year career, always embodied an interesting duality in their music. On the one hand, every member was accomplished in pop, funk, and R&B, performing on seminal albums with everyone from Frank Zappa to Parliament-Funkadelic. Their recordings are infused with a unique tightness of the horns and a deep groove, both […]
It can be incredibly difficult to be creative at the culinary arts. Insufficient attention to detail or excessive or inordinate amounts of particular ingredients potentially create a bland or inedible product. Masterful creation requires a background on how to best use materials and a desire to mix them in the best way possible. When done […]
In their debut and the live album released a year ago, Irreversible Entanglements wowed audiences with energetic free-jazz poetry performances, and that doesn’t stop on Who Sent You? (International Anthem, 2020). Camae Ayewa does not have as many lines as on the band’s first album, but whenever she does speak she is as effective as […]
Tonic, minor third, fourth, minor fifth, fifth, minor seventh. While this describes the blues scale, such a summation misses the point entirely. The blues is about more than a series of set modes or even emotions. Although often identified with sorrow, the form has always extended far beyond. In light of its historical basis, it […]
In ancient Greek mythological lore, Hephaestus, the god of technology, created a giant bronze automaton named Talos who was powered by ichor, the blood of the gods. It was Talos’ job to protect the island of Crete from invaders by throwing boulders at incoming ships and crushing anyone who washed ashore. He was programmed to […]
From the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Centuries, the powerful Mali Empire ruled Western Africa. Encompassing modern Mauritania, Niger, Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Mali, the nation was led by members of the Keita dynasty, a series of rulers who tracked their heritage to Bilal Keita, a freed slave who became a close […]
Throughout history, musicians have used the direst of circumstances, including widespread pandemics, to expand their artistic boundaries and examine unexplored sonic territories. As European society collapsed during the era of the Black Death, composers presented new complex forms – the rondeau, the virelai, and the ballade. By 1365, the last of these would become one […]
There is a Japanese proverb dating back to at least the 16th Century: 一期一会 . Roughly translated, it means “each moment only once” and is intended to convey the fleetingness of life. The focus on the current moment, however, does not mean the nation ignores its past. Instead, it often melds ancient traditions and contemporary […]
Due to the nation’s rich jazz history, it may appear surprising that a 2020 release – Nduduzo Makhathini’s Modes of Communication: Letters from the Underworlds (Blue Note Records, 2020) – is long-standing labels’ first by a South African musician. While the pianist will receive much coverage based on this fact alone, that singular focus improperly […]
