Tierney Sutton Band: Desire

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Stephen Holden wrote in the New York Times: "Meditations on materialism: on Wednesday evening that was the jazz singer Tierney Sutton’s description of the concept behind her newest album, 'Desire' (Telarc), from which she performed six numbers at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola. As Ms. Sutton and her excellent longtime band — Christian Jacob (piano), Kevin Axt (bass) and Ray Brinker (drums) — turned songs of avarice and power-mongering, like 'My Heart Belongs to Daddy' and 'Whatever Lola Wants,' into miniature jazz suites, her usually sweet singing acquired delicate bite. Indignation and sarcasm don’t come easily to Ms. Sutton, for whom jazz singing is a platform … to explore standards in a dreamy style. … The closest she came was in a percussive, playfully defiant 'The Lady Is a Tramp,' sung in the first person. Elsewhere, songs composed in major keys were often reharmonized to sound unmoored. A typical number began with a section of prayerful, nonverbal vocalizing that slid into a song treated as a tone poem blocked into sections through which Ms. Sutton’s voice wove smoothly in and out" (3/21/09).

Emmanuel Jal: Warchild

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Marc Gabriel Amigone wrote in the Huffington Post: "When he was about seven years old, his father joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). His mother was killed by soldiers loyal to the government, and his aunt was raped in front of him. He was then taken to Ethiopia with a group of kids who were promised an education in the neighboring country, but upon arrival, they were forced to become soldiers in the SPLA. Jal returned to Sudan to fight in the civil war, and for nearly five years, he was a war child, forced to fight carrying an AK-47 that was taller than he was. In the early 90's, Jal was rescued by a British aid worker named Emma McCune who smuggled him into Nairobi, Kenya to raise him as her own. It was there he first heard hip-hop. … While he draws his inspiration from contemporary hip-hop artists like Kanye West and Nas, Emmanuel Jal is nothing like a typical American rapper. Songs off his latest album like 'Skirt Too Short' and 'No Bling' speak out against what Jal sees as being wrong with the hip-hop industry: rampant sexism, materialism, and violence" ("Emmanuel Jal …," 3/1/09).

Rudresh Mahanthappa: Kinsmen

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Gary Giddins wrote in the New Yorker: "Jazz musicians have two fundamental goals: creating music that keeps listeners wondering what’s next, and finding a novel context within which to explore old truths. … Whenever a musician achieves this synthesis, usually after years of apprenticeship and exploration, a rumble echoes through the jazz world. Such a rumble was heard last fall, when the thirty-seven-year-old alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa released an astonishing album, 'Kinsmen.' … While Mahanthappa was at Berklee, his older brother teasingly gave him an album called 'Saxophone Indian Style,' by Kadri Gopalnath. … Gopalnath … has perfected something that jazz saxophonists have been attempting for decades: moving beyond the Western chromatic scale into the realm of microtones. … Mahanthappa resolved to work with Gopalnath, using a grant to finance a visit to India. … Mahanthappa wrote music that blended Western harmony with South Indian traditions. … Mahanthappa’s collaboration with Gopalnath … is documented in the spellbinding 'Kinsmen'" ("Jazz: A Passage to India," 3/2/09).

Winterpills: Central Chambers

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Brian LaRue wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Winterpills aren't the sort of band that plays all their cards before the first chorus. Their songs may start simply, with acoustic guitar or piano and vocals, then build into a shimmering full-band sound with galloping drums and echoed-out electric guitar — or they may start out with all cylinders firing, then abruptly scale down to a delicate vocal harmony between guitarist Philip Price and keyboardist Flora Reed. Whichever way they play it, these dynamics throw all the elements of the song into relief, producing a similar effect to coming up to the surface from underwater, or that moment when a fever breaks. Winterpills work with tension and release, stillness and motion, and that's what makes Price's melodically straightforward pop songs transcend, what piles a sense of drama onto their essentially simple structures. Price, the Northampton, Mass.–based band's main songwriter, says in a recent phone conversation that he aims to create 'little films' through a sound that ties together elements of classic pop-rock, contemporary indie rock, folk and chamber-pop."

Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos 1 & 2

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Anthony Tommasini wrote in the New York Times: "I grew up with Rudolf Serkin’s exuberant recordings of the two Mendelssohn piano concertos, and there are many other good ones. I especially admire the 2001 release by the French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet, with Herbert Blomstedt conducting the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, an ensemble once directed by Mendelssohn. Mr. Thibaudet brings his trademark brio, elegance and impeccable technique to these spirited, youthful works. In addition, the exceptional clarity of his playing allows the ingenuity of the contrapuntal writing to come through. Mendelssohn was a devotee of Bach. And the recording includes Mr. Thibaudet’s brilliant accounts of two Mendelssohn solo works: the 'Variations Sérieuses' and the 'Rondo Capriccioso'" ("Mendelssohn Favorites Offer …," 1/30/09).
Wilfred Blunt wrote in On Wings of Song: "His second piano concerto … when played by a great pianist … is enormously impressive, and it was not for nothing that a London audience applauded for ten minutes after a performance of it there by the composer in 1843" (pp. 192-193).

Hannah Montana: The Movie (Soundtrack)

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Jon Caramanica wrote in the New York Times: "Last year Billy Ray Cyrus famously left his daughter Miley at a photo shoot for Vanity Fair. What happened next involved a bared upper back, an online firestorm and a national referendum on teenage morality and parental responsibility. Ms. Cyrus’s appealing new single, 'The Climb,' is just the sort of demure, inspirational country-rock that could easily be mistaken for self-reckoning. 'Every move I make feels lost with no direction/My faith is shaken,' she sings. 'But I gotta keep trying/Going to keep my head held high.' Dad is feeling a twinge of regret too. His current single, 'Back to Tennessee,' reads as one long apology, both to his teenage self and, by extension, to the daughter under his wing. (Both songs are on the soundtrack to 'Hannah Montana: The Movie,' the latest extension of Ms. Cyrus’s blockbuster Disney franchise.) Sudden fame is illusory, he now realizes. 'Great big town so full of users,' he sings, and he could easily be talking about some of his daughter’s famous friends. 'Some’ll bet on you to win/Most hope you won’t'” ("Playlist," 3/15/09).

Hélène Grimaud: Bach

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Vivien Schweitzer wrote in the New York Times: "A red-hot rendition of the Bach-Busoni Chaconne in D minor from the Partita No. 2 for Solo Violin was a highlight of the pianist Hélène Grimaud's impressive evening at the 92nd Street Y on Saturday. The recital, in which she played selections by Bach juxtaposed with transcriptions by Liszt and Rachmaninoff as well as Busoni, coincided with the release of her new Deutsche Grammophon disc, 'Bach.' Ms. Grimaud is known primarily for her interpretations of 19th-century music, and her full-blooded and passionate renditions of Bach preludes and fugues, including No. 2 in C minor from Book 1 of 'The Well-Tempered Clavier,' were powerful, liberally pedaled and played with a Beethovenian force. The recital was organized by key. Bach's Prelude and Fugue No. 6 in D minor from Book 2 of 'The Well-Tempered Clavier,' for example, was juxtaposed with the Bach-Busoni. Busoni once said: 'Bach is the foundation of pianoforte playing; Liszt, the summit. The two make Beethoven possible'" ("Music in Review: Hélène Grimaud," 3/3/09).

Dan Auerbach: Keep It Hid

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Contents: Trouble weighs a ton — I want some more — Heartbroken, in disrepair — Because I should — Whispered words (Pretty lies) — Real desire — When the night comes — Mean monsoon — The prowl — Keep it hid — My last mistake — When I left the room — Street walkin' — Goin' home.
"Stripwax: The World's First and Only Comic Record Review" wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Hi kids! It's yer favorite rock radio programmer over at Kay-En-Oh-Bee Eff-Emmmm … Howzabout this Dan Auerbach kid, eh? He provides the blue-eyed soulful moan behind the terrific blues duo The Black Keys, and this week he makes his solo debut … It has a throwback sound to it. Auerbach's voice lands somewhere between Gregg Allman and John Fogerty, and although the elpee is a step ahead of the American primitive sound of his full time band, Auerbach remains firmly rooted in the blues tradition on this release … That means you kids out there with no sense of musical history will pass it right up" (2/12/09, p. 31).

Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple

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"AP" wrote in Play: "Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo Green and DJ Danger Mouse make some of the most deceptively funky songs about maladjusted behavior and alienation. … The Odd Couple doesn't feature a 'Crazy'-level supersmash, but they still wed dark emotions with compelling beats. The closest they come to recreating a 'Crazy'-like raucous paranoia is 'Run (I'm a Natural Disaster),' a '60s mod sendup. … 'Going On' is another uptempo hand clapper that fades out to Cee-Lo's echoing vocals, distorted drum kicks and soaring strings. The rest of the disc covers a range of melancholy, but never feels like you're emotionally sandbagged. Instead the somber tones merely sound artful, and transcendent in the disc's best moment. 'Who's Gonna Save My Soul' is a slow-burning, soulful lament on which Cee-Lo begins, 'Got some bad news this morning/ which in turn made my day.' The chilling 'Would Be Killer' jump-starts with what sounds like a gun being cocked, then continues with Cee-Lo's devilish snarls and Danger Mouse's penchant for moody atmospherics and retro-futuristic funk" ("Danger Mouse," 4/9/08, p. 18.).

Toots and the Maytals: Light Your Light

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Bill Carbone wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Toots’ 1968 single 'Do the Reggay' is heralded as the first published use of the term now synonymous with Jamaican music. … Toots, now in his mid-60s, continues to perform the lengthy, almost religious revival–energy sets for which he became famous. Toots continues to record as well. He won a Grammy in 2005 for True Love. … Light Your Light … opens with 'Johnny Coolman' … featuring Derek Trucks on slide guitar. Bonnie Raitt sings a duet with Toots on 'Premature,' a ditty about an underage girl set to a classic Maytals country-reggae groove. The album is also strikingly modern at times. 'Love So Strong' sets a typical reggae chord progression above a shuffling, Puerto Rican–inspired reggaeton groove. The juxtaposition of acoustic guitar, synth and monotonously thumping bass behind Toots’ tough lyrics on 'Don’t Bother Me' sounds like a slice of new school reggae producer Don Corleone’s empire; it could be comfortably spun between Beenie Man and Capleton sides at a dance" ("Sharing Punches, Bombs and Toots," 4/3/08).

Anne Akiko Meyers: Smile

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Steve Smith wrote in the New York Times: "The violinist Anne Akiko Meyers could hardly have done a better job of adapting her usual working mode to fit the brief, casual concert she presented on Tuesday night. … Ms. Meyers has just issued an appealing new CD. … The bulk of Ms. Meyers’s program consisted of works from the disc, an eclectic collection of mostly short, tuneful pieces: Charlie Chaplin’s nostalgic 'Smile,' Astor Piazzolla’s seductive 'Milonga en Re' and 'Introducción al Ángel,' Michio Miyagi’s wistful 'Haru no Umi' ('Sea in Spring'). She played with an unfailingly sweet tone, molding her phrases like a singer. The pianist Akira Eguchi, Ms. Meyers’s partner here and on the CD, played with his customary clarity and taste. From Schubert’s Fantasy in C … the most substantial and challenging work on the disc, she offered … the closing section. If anyone needed reminding that Ms. Meyers is a performer of substance and skill, here was the proof. Her feathery lines wafted upward on Mr. Eguchi’s tremulous zephyrs during the opening bars, then the two emphatically drove through a fleet, clean finale" (2/5/09).

The Fireman: Electric Arguments

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Contents: Nothing too much just out of sight (4:54) — Two magpies (2:10) — Sing the changes (3:42) — Travelling light (5:05) — Highway (4:15) — Light from your lighthouse (2:31) — Sun is shining (5:12) — Dance 'til we're high (3:37) — Lifelong passion (4:47) — Is this love? (5:50) — Lovers in a dream (5:21) — Universal here, everlasting now (5:05) — Don't stop running (10:28).
David Riedel wrote in the New Haven Advocate: "Everyone forgets that Paul McCartney can make honest, guttural, fun music. Then he puts out a disc like this (he's The Fireman), and people scratch their heads wondering where the vitality came from. This is the guy who wrote 'Helter Skelter,' for Christ's sake. Nothing he does should surprise anyone. Why he waited so long to make the best album he's made in years? Who knows. But he's still got the goods. All the McCartney naysayers out there should listen to this record and then kill themselves" ("CD Shorts," 2/5/09, p. 30).

Joseph Haydn, Isang Yun: Farewell

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Neil Butterworth wrote in Haydn: His Life and Times: "[Haydn's] Symphony No. 45 [nicknamed Farewell] … is perhaps among the best known of his works mainly on account of the true story associated with its unusual last movement. … [T]he Esterházy musicians … though they might well have found their work congenial … still managed to harbour one grievance. Their accommodation, in fact, was not large enough for them to have their families with them. … When the summer of 1772 passed and it seemed that the Prince would not make his customary visit to Vienna, the players became restless at the prospect of not seeing their families at all that year. They appealed to Haydn who had the characteristically subtle idea of conveying their unrest to the Prince by way of a musical joke. At the end of the fourth movement … as each instrument in turn finishes his part, the player puts out his candle, gathers his music and quietly departs, leaving only two violins still playing at the end of the work. Fortunately without anger, the Prince took the hint that the musicians were eager to get away for a holiday" (p. 52).

Labelle: Back to Now

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Hilton Als wrote in the New Yorker: "When the singing stars that make up Labelle — Patti LaBelle, Nona Hendryx, and Sarah Dash — became the first black contemporary-music act to perform at the Metropolitan Opera House, in 1974, they also became one of the first groups to infuse the look of glitter rock with soul. Dressed in silver body suits, space boots, and headpieces that brought to mind Josephine Baker fabulously strung out on Mars, the women, who had been singing together since the early nineteen-sixties, brought a new theatricality to R. & B. and funk. Gay audiences loved them, and straight women wanted to outfreak them. But no one could. Supported by Vicki Wickham, the brilliant impresario and manager, and owing largely to the extraordinary work of Hendryx, the team’s resident songwriter, Labelle gave voice to the lives of black women. After nearly thirty-two years, Labelle has released a new album, 'Back to Now.' To commemorate their reunion, the women will take the stage at the historic Apollo Theatre on Dec. 19" ("Critic's Notebook: Three Sisters," 12/22-29/08, p. 30).

Bruce Springsteen: Born to Run

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R. J. Eskow wrote in the Huffington Post: "Here's what Bruce Springsteen said in 1987: 'In '75, when I went into the studio to make Born to Run, I wanted to make a record with words like Bob Dylan that sounded like Phil Spector, but most of all I wanted to sing like Roy Orbison.' Now that's 'the audacity of hope.' No wonder he just endorsed Obama. But how will Bruce's move resonate in Pennsylvania? ... Springsteen's endorsement comes at an opportune time for Obama. Obama's 'bitter' and 'cling' words were ill-chosen — and not particularly accurate, either. There are a lot of reasons people like guns and religion, and bitterness isn't at the top of list. But there's an underlying truth behind them. So Springsteen's right on the money when he says 'these matters are worthy of some discussion.' He doesn't have to agree with the statements wholeheartedly in order to condemn the way 'they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision.' When Springsteen says Obama is 'head and shoulders above the rest,' it has some resonance in certain quarters" ("Barack and Bruce," 4/16/08).

Etran Finatawa: Desert Crossroads

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Jon Pareles wrote in the New York Times: "Two groups of desert nomads meld their music in the sparse, spellbinding songs of Etran Finatawa, a band from Niger. … For centuries Tuareg and Wodaabe nomads have traversed the Sahel grasslands and Sahara in northern Africa, herding cows, camels and goats, and sometimes feuding over water and pastures. They now face the erosion of their age-old cultures and the desertification of their lands. Etran Finatawa responds in its songs while it symbolically reconciles the two groups. 'A man is nothing when he is alone/People need other people,' they sang in 'Jama’aare,' from their second album, 'Desert Crossroads.' … Many of Etran Finatawa’s lyrics insist on the value of heritage. Meanwhile, the music looks forward, altering that heritage by bringing together Wodaabe and Tuareg musicians and by using instruments that were introduced to Tuareg music in the 1970s: electric guitar and bass. … Most of Etran Finatawa’s songs revolve around one of Alhousseini Mohamed Anivolla’s repeating guitar lines: not chords, but picked, syncopated notes and trills" (4/21/08).

The Gossip: Live in Liverpool

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Nate Chinen wrote in the New York Times: "Outspoken as a lesbian, as a self-proclaimed fat woman and as an all-around misfit … [Gossip lead singer Beth Ditto] works hard to spark pride among her constituencies. … This music thrives on an unhinged energy, or the suggestion of it. Hence the impact of Ms. Ditto, whose overheated yowl can suggest a Janis Joplin for the postpunk age. … Ms. Ditto … often presents herself as a force of nature, just barely contained. A rock star, in other words. Her ragged charisma helps explain how she manages to fuse the personal and the political with such urgency. In the Gossip’s best songs — like 'Standing in the Way of Control' … and 'Listen Up' … the perspective shifts noticeably from a struggling 'you' to an empowered 'we.' That shift was echoed in the stage rush and Ms. Ditto’s foray into the crowd [during a Webster Hall performance]. … As she does in passing on 'Live in Liverpool' (Columbia), the Gossip’s new concert album and DVD, she struck up a protest mantra: 'Ain’t no power like the power of the people, ’cause the power of the people won’t stop!'" (4/17/08).

Toumast: Ishumar

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Ernest Barteldes wrote in the Village Voice: "After a bullet nearly killed him while he served as a freedom fighter in the '90s, Toumast founder Moussag Ag Kenya … relocated to France and began writing songs about the plight of the Touareg, the African desert dwellers displaced and separated by the borders imposed on them by different governments. … Though the music is clearly influenced by the fusion of rock and indigenous rhythm pioneered by Tinariwen … the guitarist and bandleader takes it a step further by drawing inspiration from African and American blues by guitar heroes like Jimi Hendrix, Ali Farka Touré, and Albert King. 'Amidinine' is a percussion-rich tune enhanced by a well-placed string arrangement; 'Kik Ayittma' is an upbeat, rock-inflected tune that climaxes with a technically complex guitar solo. … 'Ammilana' features soulful vocals … lamenting the current situation of the Touareg, who feel that their dignity has been stripped by intolerance. More positively, 'Dounia,' a tight, high-octane rocker filled with smart guitar licks, intends to celebrate the magic of everyday life" (4/9-15/08).

The Killers: Day & Age

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Nick Catucci wrote in New York: "[T]he Killers redeem themselves with their new Day & Age, abandoning (for the most part) their pretensions and coming to terms with who they really are: cheesy pop geniuses. … Producer Stuart Price … helped the band concoct ten different sounds, one for each of Day & Age’s songs. Want a taste of Tropicália? Skip to 'I Can’t Stay.' The steel drums of 'Joy Ride' channel the Clash channeling world music. And on 'Human,' the album’s first single, that’s none other than a rippling, house-music synthesizer hook, as universal a marker of musical Gouda as adult contemporary’s saxophone solos. Did we mention there are sax solos, too? … The disc ultimately hangs together on mood; Price unfailingly accentuates the bright, shiny, and happy. This not only makes good pop sense, it provides an effective counterbalance to [singer-keyboardist Brandon] Flowers and his achy-breaky vocals. Though he oozes showbiz in his personal style, Flowers was raised Mormon and is married to a schoolteacher. This homespun side of him is amply exhibited in his lyrics" ("See Ya, Springsteen," 12/1/08, p. 82).