PJ Harvey: Let England Shake

"The ever-mercurial PJ Harvey has released her first solo album since 2007's White Chalk. This time around she trades the piano for the autoharp, but the lyrics are as gloriously dark and oblique as ever. The U.S. refuses to let Harvey enter the mainstream, and this album won't likely land her an American Idol guest appearance. Still, Let England Shake is worth playing all year long, if only to unlock its mysteries — it keeps you guessing with every listen. As always, PJ Harvey defies categorization and moves to no other time but her own. Let England Shake is British through-and-through, but it's also of a land much farther away" (Shawn Amos, "PLAY > SKIP," Huffington Post, 2/15/11).
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Cage the Elephant: Thank You Happy Birthday

"Their self-titled debut ended up selling over 400,000, and last month, the band returned in full force with their second album, Thank You Happy Birthday which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. (The album's first single 'Shake Me Down' is #1 on Alt radio.) T.Y.H.B. marks a departure of sorts for the band, in that the tracks on this album are arguably more raw, louder, and in your face. In a Feb. 17 interview, frontman Matthew Shultz said the band prepared for their latest by listening regularly to tunes from the Pixies to '50s surf rock god Dick Dale. Those eclectic influences are heard all over their record. The somewhat new sound wasn't a conscious decision according to Shultz, although he admits the band didn't want to simply phone in the record and rehash 'Ain't No Rest For The Wicked.' 'I think we're definitely hyper-paranoid of repeating ourselves,' Shultz said" (Jon Chattman, "Cage the Elephant Frontman Discusses 'Wicked' Change in Direction," Huffington Post, 2/18/11).
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Railroad Earth (self-titled)

"Despite having once churlishly complained about their name, I've got to admit that Railroad Earth really nails it on 'Long Walk Home,' the first track on the self-titled album the New Jersey group released in October. It's a great road song, with a broad scope, a lilting melody and gentle harmonies" (Eric R. Danton, "Making Plans? Railroad Earth Performs Feb. 4 at Toad's," Sound Check, 2/3/11).
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Michael Jackson: Michael

"[T]he actual album ... on the whole, really is an exciting and enjoyable listening experience. Indeed, for all the controversy about its authenticity, going through the album song by song, Jackson's presence is undeniable. His habits, his obsessions, his versatility, and his genius are on display at every turn. Who else could move so seamlessly from social anthem to floor burner, fleet hip hop to cosmic rock, vintage funk to poignant folk ballad? Who besides Michael Jackson would follow a tender love song with a trenchant critique of the media? An uplifting gospel tune with a ferocious polemic on the monstrosity of Hollywood culture? This, ultimately, is the most important quality of Michael: it feels like Michael. The Estate and Sony should be given credit for retaining much of Jackson's edginess and eclecticism where they could have easily opted for a more traditional lineup" (Joe Vogel, "Is Michael Really Michael?," Huffington Post, 12/6/10).
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Keith Jarrett: The Carnegie Hall Concert

"The spontaneous solo piano outpouring is a powerfully refined gesture in the hands of Mr. Jarrett, who recorded an excellent album — 'The Carnegie Hall Concert' (ECM), released in 2006 — on this very stage" (Nate Chinen, "Jazz Listings," New York Times, 1/13/11).
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Maximum Balloon (self-titled)

"David Andrew Sitek (born 1972) is a guitarist and record producer based in New York City, best known as a member of the band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, and Celebration, and produced free jazz-influenced remixes of songs by artists such as Beck and Nine Inch Nails, and has contributed a solo track to the Red Hot Organization Dark Was the Night charity compilation. He is also a photographer and painter. Sitek lives in Los Angeles, California. In April 2008, Sitek was named Number One in NME's Future 50 list of the most forward thinking people in music today. ... A solo album from Sitek under the name Maximum Balloon was released on September 21, 2010 on Interscope with individual songs released as singles commencing June 15, 2010. The record includes contributions by many guests including David Byrne, Tunde Adebimpe, and Karen O" (Wikipedia).
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Saxophone Summit: Seraphic Light

"The prominent postbop saxophonists David Liebman, Joe Lovano and Ravi Coltrane constitute the front line of this collective, which released a purposeful new album, 'Seraphic Light,' on Telarc in 2008. Their rhythm section is first-rate, with the pianist Phil Markowitz, the bassist Cecil McBee and the drummer Billy Hart" (Nate Chinen, "Jazz Listings," New York Times, 2/3/11).
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Best Coast: Crazy for You

"You can feel the sand between your toes and the sunscreen on your nose when Bethany Cosentino sings any song off of Best Coast's 2010 smash album Crazy for You. The surf sound melts into girl group giddiness with an unpretentious, garage-derived approach that is perfect spiritual uplift for this moment of economic downturn. (BC makes me wish someone would have thought to have sounded exactly like this during the long, hard slog of the Bush administration. I'm thrilled to have it now.) Songwriters like Cosentino keep proving that the girl group genre has layers of nuance inside its snappy sound when a woman is authoring the outcome. ... The surf sound relies on many elements, Dick Dale-derived reverb chief among them. ... Reverberation is, of course, the persistent sounding of sonic echoes after the originating sound is no longer present. Echoes increase. ... Cosentino's guitar and voice deliver songs of love that showcase the increase as optimism" (S. X. Rosenstock, "Best Coast and Wavves Live," Huffington Post, 2/25/11).
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Beethoven, Britten Violin Concertos

"Janine Jansen, an appealing Dutch violinist, is featured in Britten’s Violin Concerto, a vivacious, underrated work conducted here by Paavo Jarvi, who recorded the concerto with Ms. Jansen for a 2009 CD" (Steve Smith, "Classical Music/Opera Listings," New York Times, 2/24/11).

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Gang of Four: Content

"Gang of Four arrived in the late 1970s with harshly danceable songs that depicted human relationships turning into commodities. Its jagged, sometimes virtually atonal grooves still echo through everything now called post-punk. And its lyrics, which at the time sounded dourly materialistic, grew all too prophetic. ... Gang of Four’s songwriters — [John] King, on lead vocals, and the guitarist Andy Gill — have a new rhythm section. And they have reclaimed, with a vengeance, their old attack. Once again, Gang of Four delivers a raw, syncopated wallop. The staggered impacts of Mark Heaney’s drums, Thomas McNeice’s bass and Mr. Gill’s guitar — with its glassy rhythm chops and staccato, distorted lead lines — make Mr. King’s terse vocal melodies bob and weave as if they were dodging bursts of flak. Punk, funk and reggae contribute to the sound — along with hints of math-rock, Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie — only to get caught up in the music’s precise melee" (Nate Chinen, "Critics' Choice," New York Times, 1/24/11).
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Joe Lovano Us Five: Bird Songs

"The subject on 'Bird Songs' is Charlie Parker: bop’s blazing paragon and a saxophonist of superhuman craft. But this album doesn’t set out to shadowbox with Parker’s genius, and it’s not about preserving the codifications of his art. What Mr. Lovano is after here is both simpler and more slippery, and better suited to his particular gifts. This is Mr. Lovano’s second album with the band he calls Us Five: James Weidman on piano, Esperanza Spalding on bass, and both Otis Brown III and Francisco Mela on drums. ... The band ... has a springy, texture rich, intriguingly destabilized rapport, with its two drummers engaging either in clattering dialogue or a washy tandem. The elastic interplay of Us Five is in fact the main point of 'Bird Songs,' which approaches its Parker-centric repertory as a springboard rather than an altar. The songs are subjected to unforeseen slowdowns, extended sidebars and more than a little reconstructive surgery" (Nate Chinen, "New CDs," New York Times, 1/10/11).
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Teddy Thompson: Bella

"The quandary in which Teddy Thompson, one of the most gifted singer-songwriters of his generation, finds himself is symptomatic of the confusion and uncertainty that pervade the crumbling record industry. With his abundant talent and commercial potential Mr. Thompson, the son of the British folk-rock aristocrats Richard and Linda Thompson, would seem to have everything. His golden voice suggests an impassioned fusion of Roy Orbison and Jesse Winchester. His pop-country-rock songs have striding melodies that stick in your mind. His autobiographical lyrics about the ups and downs of relationships are heartfelt and savvy, complete with self-lacerating candor and ferocious wit. With his strawberry-blond hair, intense hazel-green eyes and slender figure, he exudes the glamour of a sullen Romantic poet. But Mr. Thompson ... has enjoyed only marginal success in the United States. ..." (Stephen Holden, "The Artistry Is Apparent, So Where's the Audience?,") New York Times, 2/6/11).

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George Shearing: Lullabies of Birdland

"Shearing, blind since birth ... had been a superstar of the jazz world since a couple of years after he arrived in the United States in 1947 from his native England, where he was already hugely popular. ... He remained active well into his 80s, releasing a CD called 'Lullabies of Birdland' as well as a memoir, 'Lullaby of Birdland,' in early 2004. ... Shearing's bebop-influenced sound became identified with a quintet – piano, vibes, guitar, bass and drums – which he put together in 1949. More recently, he played mostly solo or with only a bassist. He excelled in the 'locked hands' technique, in which the pianist plays parallel melodies with the two hands, creating a distinct, full sound. ... In 1952, Shearing wrote his greatest hit: 'Lullaby of Birdland,' an ode to the famous New York jazz club. He acknowledged composing it in just 10 minutes. 'But I always tell people, it took me 10 minutes and 35 years in the business'" (Jake Coyle and Charles A. Gans, "George Shearing, Legendary Jazz Pianist, Dies at 91," Huffington Post, 2/14/11).
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Elton John and Leon Russell: The Union

"Leon Russell was my biggest influence in the late 60s and early 70s, from a piano-playing point-of-view and from a vocal point-of-view. I've been influenced by a lot of other piano players too, but Leon was my man; he was the master as far as I was concerned. ... He was in the Troubadour club on the second night I played there in 1970. I saw him sitting in the audience and I was petrified because he was my idol. You couldn't miss him; he was such an incredible looking man with his silver hair and his dark glasses. He was so kind to me from the word 'go' and we did concerts together. We did the Fillmore East. We did other dates together and for me that was a dream come true to actually play with him, and for him to be so nice to me. ... He was the greatest bandleader of his era. He did Delaney & Bonnie and Joe Cocker with Mad Dogs and Englishmen and then his own records and then, of course, the Concert for Bangladesh. ..." (CD notes by Elton John).
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Lost in Translation: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack

"Sofia Coppola won a major coup by drawing My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields out of retirement to provide incidental music. And how can one forget that final scene set to Jesus and Mary Chain’s 'Just Like Honey'?" (Matthew Moyer, "Music for the Masses," Library Journal, 11/1/10).
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The Budos Band III

"Slowly and steadily, Staten Island's Budos Band has found a way out of the existing template of Afrobeat music and created a distinctive hybrid that no longer sounds very much like the past, or their peers. The ten-piece instrumental band, centered on a horn section led by the baritone-sax player Jared Tankel, produces thick, layered funk styles that can't easily be traced back to the music of Fela Kuti or other funk auteurs. The band's latest album, 'III,' has the deceptive ease of a perfectly conceived record" (Sasha Frere-Jones, "Critic's Notebook," New Yorker, 12/6/10).
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Elizabeth Cook: Welder

"Elizabeth Cook (born 1972 in Wildwood, Florida) is an American country music singer who made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry on March 17, 2000. She has released five albums to date ... 'Welder', released May 11, 2010, was produced by Don Was. The album received rave reviews ... [and] features appearances by an all-star roster of guests including Dwight Yoakam, Crowell and Buddy Miller. Two songs on the album featured in an NPR report at the time of its release were 'El Camino' and 'Heroin Addict Sister.' Through it all, Elizabeth maintained a relentless touring schedule. ... She has continued appearing on stage at the Grand Ole Opry - indeed, she has appeared over 300 times and yet is still a 'non-member'. She toured the UK in support of her Welder LP performing 18 dates with her husband Tim Carroll and her upright bass player Bones Hillman, formerly of Midnight Oil. ... Welder was number 23 on Rolling Stone's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010" (Wikipedia).
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Corelli: Concerti Grossi; Trumpet Sonata

"Born in the Northern part of Italy, Arcangelo Corelli had already lost his father shortly before he was born. He proved himself to be a child genius on the violin, and continued his education in Bologna under Giovanni Benvenuti and Leonard Brugnoli. At the age of sixteen, having passed a remarkably difficult theoretical examination, he was accepted into the famous 'Accademia filarmonica' — the only musician who has been admitted to this illustrious society at a younger age was Mozart, a century later. ... His total of twelve Concerti grossi op. 6 were published in Amsterdam in 1713. ... The most famous of the series of Opus 6 was to become the concerto No. 8 in G [minor]; according to reliable conjecture it was played at the annual Christmas Eve celebrations at the Vatican palace. However, if the final movement, the famous pastorale in the tradition of the shepherds' Christmas music [is] omitted, the work could be performed on any other suitable occasion" (CD notes by Uwe Kraemer).
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Graham Parker: Extended Versions

"Graham Parker (born 18 November 1950, London, England) is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British New Wave band Graham Parker & the Rumour. ... The band's first album, Howlin' Wind, was released to acclaim in April 1976 and was rapidly followed by the stylistically similar Heat Treatment. A mixture of rock, ballads, and reggae-influenced numbers, these albums reflected Parker's early influences (Motown, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison). ... Like the pub rock scene he was loosely tied to, the singer's class-conscious lyrics and passionate vocals signaled a renewal of rock music as punk rock began to flower in Britain. In terms of establishing a recording career in early 1976, Parker preceded two other new wave English singer-songwriters to whom he is often compared: Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. (Costello's first single was released in 1977, and Jackson's first solo single was issued in late 1978)" (Wikipedia).
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Duffy: Endlessly

"Aimée Ann Duffy (born 23 June 1984), known as Duffy, is a Welsh singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Her 2008 debut album Rockferry entered the UK Album Chart at number one. It was the best-selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 with 1.68 million copies sold. The album was certified several times Platinum and sold over 6 million copies worldwide, spawning the hits 'Mercy' and 'Warwick Avenue'. With 'Mercy', Duffy became the first Welsh female in 25 years to achieve number-one on the UK Singles Chart. In 2009, she won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Rockferry, and she was nominated for two other Grammys at the 51st Grammy Awards. In 2009 she won three Brit Awards: British Breakthrough, Best Female Solo and Best British Album. In 2010 Duffy completed recording of her second album Endlessly that was released on 29 November and made her acting debut in the film Patagonia" (Wikipedia).
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Mike Stern: Big Neighborhood

"MM: I was just listening to the tune Moroccan Roll before we started chatting. Are you going to be playing tunes from Big Neighborhood tonight at Catalina Jazz Club? MS: Yeah. That tune was fun for me, because it's got a lot of great players on there. Steve Vai, of course, is really coming from a different place, but he's a fantastic musician. MM: ... Mike, he played for Zappa. I mean ... MS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a bad dude, man. And a really, really smoking guitar player and really wonderful musician. And Eric Johnson too. Eric's more of a bluesier, blues guy, but man, is he burning. Beautiful, beautiful musician. So that was really fun. But also, Esperanza Spalding. She's so great, and she sang her ass off, and plays unbelievably great bass. ... MM: ... One of the new tunes, Moroccan Roll was inspired from the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. ... MS: Oh yes, it's amazing stuff, amazing music. And he was just a soulful cat, man" (Michael Martin, "Jazz Guitar Legend Mike Stern's Big Neighborhood," Huffington Post, 12/23/10).
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