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 […]
On Purple Moonlight Pages, R.A.P. Ferreira is extremely loose and free, at times even nonchalant, but he is always impressive and in control. The emcee’s intriguing abstract nature, wit, confidence and unwavering commitment to the craft of imaginative rhyming all combine in a performance that will undoubtedly go on to be remembered as one of […]
In the over fifty years since John Coltrane’s death, dozens, if not hundreds, of recordings have honored his artistic genius. The sheer quantity seemingly dwarfs even the number of releases by the saxophonist during his lifetime. This, of course, raises a fairly simple question: does the world truly need yet another homage to Coltrane? If […]
In January 2013, Brian Shimkovitz, the head of Awesome Tapes From Africa, found a cassette tape in a shop in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia titled Hailu Mergia & His Classical Instrument. Its combination of the nation’s traditional music with funk and jazz completely blew him away and he undertook a quest to share it with the […]
For one unfamiliar with Charles Lloyd’s illustrious discography, an octogenarian NEA Jazz Master may seem like an odd focal point for a site focused on music that pushes beyond categorical lines. However, the saxophonist has spent his entire career defying convention. From his early sideman recordings with Chico Hamilton to his more recent Marvels group, […]
Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted that “to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” Whether one’s expectations on another person, of an artist’s output as a certain type, or one’s inflated self-perception, far too often images are depicted and enforced which do not align […]
