at the Case Memorial Library, Orange, CT
"The alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa combines razorlike articulation with a probing improvisational style on 'Codebook,' a body of work commissioned by Chamber Music America and released on Pi six years ago" (Nate Chinen, "Jazz Listings," New York Times, 9/13/12).
posted by casebook at 9:22 AM
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"By the time he was in his teens in the late 1970s, Donnie Emerson could play the trombone, clarinet, piano and guitar, and was writing and singing his own songs, musical gifts that took shape in a cabin set among the ponderosa pines on the Emerson family farm. ... The one-room recording studio, which they call the Practice Place, looked as if it hadn’t changed much in the intervening years, a time capsule covered in colored shag carpeting and filled with analog audio gear. Joe, who is older but played the loyal sideman role on drums, reminisced about their days as aspiring rock stars. ... It’s the kind of flashback the brothers have been experiencing for months now, since 'Dreamin’ Wild,' the album they recorded here and released themselves in 1979 as Donnie and Joe Emerson, has become an out-of-the-blue cult hit, rescued from obscurity by a music blogger. Will Louviere, a Bay Area record dealer and an early fan of the album, was mesmerized, he said, by the young Donnie’s 'stoney and hazy' voice. The music site Pitchfork proclaimed the album 'a godlike symphony to teenhood.' And Don read that another blog has pronounced 'Baby' — a song so soulful it’s as if teen isolation and yearning are embedded in its molecular structure — a classic ..." (Steven Kurutz, "A Time Capsule Set to Song," New York Times, 9/12/12).
posted by casebook at 9:48 AM
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"The unfalteringly elegant jazz pianist Fred Hersch has recorded worthwhile albums at the Village Vanguard before, and his latest — 'Alive at the Vanguard,' a two-CD set recorded in February and released on Palmetto — chronicles an especially strong engagement by his trio with the drummer Eric McPherson and the bassist John Hébert" (Nate Chinen, "Jazz Listings," New York Times, 9/6/12).
posted by casebook at 9:53 AM
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"Rock 'n' roll abandon is flying high and fast through the fingertips of Alabama Shakes. The swagger is comprised of leading lady Brittany Howard (vocals, guitar), Zac Cockrell (bass), Steve Johnson (drums), and Heath Fogg (guitar), with Ben Tanner (keys) filling out the lineup on the road. The band made its first steps in 2009 in Athens, Alabama, as a trio, and soon after added Fogg. Moving between original and cover material, the pack issued their freshman EP in 2011 and set their orbit, inking deals both Stateside and across the pond. Highlights include late-night moonglows for David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jools Holland. Stage highlights include Jack White, Drive-By Truckers, Jonny 'Corndawg' Fritz, and Wild Cub. Start with 'On Your Way,' from Alabama Shakes' 2012 tenderfoot full-length Boys & Girls. Drop your coin on the full set, and let it thunder in your head" (Phil Ramone and Danielle Evin, "Dog Ears Music," Huffington Post, 9/14/12).
posted by casebook at 9:22 AM
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"'We love you, Whitney,' Jordin Sparks declares at the end of 'Celebrate,' the song she shares with Whitney Houston on the soundtrack of the new 'Sparkle' (RCA), which now doubles as a postscript to Ms. Houston’s career. In 'Celebrate' Ms. Houston offers husky encouragement to Ms. Sparks, who stars in the movie — a remake of the 1976 'Sparkle' — as a rising Motown-style singer. But Ms. Houston got her own commanding showcase in the gospel standard 'His Eye Is on the Sparrow,' which revels in her voice. Backed mostly by just piano and organ — a choir shows up near the end — Ms. Houston moves from questioning to affirmation to serene faith. ... The new 'Sparkle' album has an implicit timeline, moving from nicely counterfeited 1960s Motown — especially Goapele’s 'Running,' with the hortatory flavor of Martha Reeves ... to a homestretch of Auto-Tuned, quasi-gospel R. Kelly songs, synthesizing what once was soul music" (Jon Pareles, "Playlist," New York Times, 8/5/12).
posted by casebook at 9:18 AM
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"I often refer to Mansun as the most under-appreciated band in Britpop. They managed to fuse guitar pop with elements of prog rock creating a sound that distanced them from most of Britpop. Lead singer Paul Draper snarled and whined his way through the band's concept album, Attack of the Grey Lantern. Mansun commented on everything from religion to the political state of the UK. By the start of the new millennium, Mansun wasn't quite sure where they fit in the post-Britpop world. They disbanded and have yet to reunite. However, Draper can occasionally be found working with successful British artists like the Joy Formidable and My Vitriol" (Kayley Kravitz, "Revisiting Britpop in 2012," Huffington Post, 8/3/12).
posted by casebook at 12:18 PM
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"His works, it is often said, are the ne plus ultra of musical complexity, in the sense of notational overload, performing difficulty and even philosophical questioning. He is even, supposedly, one of the godfathers of 'New Complexity', although he rejects the term. ... What we're getting as listeners is a trace of the score the performer is playing from, which is in turn only a trace of the musical work that Ferneyhough has imagined. And yet, because of the ferocity of concentration on the part of the musician, and because of the range and imagination of what you hear, what you actually get when you hear a performance of his music is something definitive, direct and undeniable – a sheer thrill of musical extremity. ... All of that is a sort of gigantic upbeat to your own exploration of Ferneyhough's music. Get stuck into his works for solo instruments or chamber ensemble. There's also an unclassifiable music-theatre piece on Walter Benjamin called Shadowtime; there are those gigantically ambitious orchestral pieces, including the most recent, Plötzlichkeit; and there are some brilliant large ensemble pieces that grab you by the scruff of the neck and don't let go. Try the Carceri d'Invenzione pieces, or one of my favourites, Terrain, a kind of uber-violin concerto" (Tom Service, "A Guide to Brian Ferneyhough's Music," The Guardian, 9/10/12).
posted by casebook at 9:19 AM
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"Dispatch bounces back with Circles Around the Sun, their first album as a group since 2000's Who Are We Living For. ... Chad and the guys reconnect for a record that sounds like the logical progression for the group as musicians. They continue to possess the same soothing folk and reggae infused sounds that made them a very popular soundtrack on college campuses, however it's apparent that the bandmembers have grown to even further appreciate their attention to detail on this record. In no way were their past works sloppy, but they definitely contained a certain quality that one might refer to as 'raw.' Without losing this quality on the new album, the guys have chosen to refine it a bit, tighten their production and benefit from the advancements made in technology and the recording process since the first part of the last decade. The result is a short and sweet record of ten tracks that all fans of Dispatch should enjoy. Tracks like 'Never or Now' remind you of the several sing-a-long numbers that the band has on tap for their hugely populated live shows like their famous 100,000 people-plus 'retirement show' in Boston. On the flip side, 'Come to Me' is a Bob Dylan-like folk jam that causes the mind to wander, in a good way" ("Album Review," The Sound, 9/12, p. 42).
posted by casebook at 10:00 AM
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"On May 15, 1913, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, just two weeks before the premiere of Stravinsky’s 'Rite of Spring' provoked a riot among outraged audience members, the Ballets Russes presented the premiere of another daring ballet, ... Debussy’s 'Jeux.' ... Compared with 'The Rite,' a ballet depicting primitive pagan dance rituals, the scenario for 'Jeux' was fairly tame. ... Still, dangerous eroticism lurks below the surface of 'Jeux,' and in its subtler way Debussy’s music is just as radical as Stravinsky’s, if not more so. ... As Edward Lockspeiser wrote in his important book on Debussy, first published in 1936, some critics 'see in the audacious harmony of "Jeux" the origin of the polytonal passages of "Le Sacre"': moments where a theme is heard simultaneously in clashing keys. Lockspeiser went further, arguing that passages of 'Jeux' also point 'to the 12-note system of Schoenberg.' ... Pierre Boulez, who recorded the work brilliantly with the Cleveland Orchestra in the early 1990s, wrote that this influential score signaled 'the arrival of a kind of musical form which, renewing itself from moment to moment, implies a similarly instantaneous mode of perception'" (Anthony Tommasini, "Shocking or Subtle, Still Radical," New York Times, 9/18/12).
posted by casebook at 9:22 AM
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"Few guitars in rock ’n’ roll have been more controversial than the Fender Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. ... Now, a dispute has arisen between Mr. Dylan and the producers of the PBS series 'History Detectives' over what happened to the guitar, which according to some reports was lost in the months after the concert. The producers of the reality show say they have found the guitar. ... The evidence the guitar may have belonged to Mr. Dylan during that period is strong: the case is stenciled with the name of his touring company, Ashes and Sand Inc., and lyrics found inside the case appear to be in his handwriting. ... Thirteen pages of drafts — written partly on a typewriter and then revised in handwriting — were found in the case. The handwriting appears to match the writing on a verified Dylan manuscript for the song 'Absolutely Sweet Marie,' written in the same period, according to Jeff Gold, a well-known collector of rock memorabilia and a recognized expert on Mr. Dylan who examined the pages for the show. Some of the phrases in the draft match phrases from songs Mr. Dylan was working on in 1965 and early 1966 for 'Blonde on Blonde,' Mr. Gold said in an interview" (James C. McKinley Jr., "A Dispute Over a Famous Dylan Guitar," New York Times, 7/12/12).
posted by casebook at 9:39 AM
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"Today would have been Glenn Gould’s eightieth birthday. He was a true musical genius—not just a talented performer but also a great musical intellectual. He was an important aesthetic philosopher whose ideas regarding recording get to the heart of cultural modernity who also, miraculously, had the technique with which to reproduce in sound his ideas. ... He revered Bach, and had a deep and distinctive understanding of Bach’s counterpoint. ... But Gould’s devotion to Bach also turns his performances into something of a distorting mirror. ... That’s why, though I’m something of a Gould obsessive, I usually listen to him performing music by composers other than Bach. ... I’m very fond of his performances of ... Haydn sonatas, which he plays with an almost whispering tenderness ..." (Richard Brody, "Glenn Gould at Eighty," The New Yorker, 9/25/12).
posted by casebook at 1:57 PM
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"On a recent Saturday morning here Frank Ocean was up early, well rested and ready to walk Everest, his Bernese mountain dog, through the up-and-down streets near the modest and modern home he’s been renting near the foot of the Hollywood Hills. For five and a half years he’s lived in this city, since he drove west from New Orleans with $1,200 in his pocket, spending $400 on the way for gas. In that time he’s become an in-demand songwriter and now a rising star in his own right. ... 'Channel Orange' (Island Def Jam), his beautiful first full-length studio album, will be released this month, and it’s rife with the sting of unrequited love, both on the receiving and inflicting ends. Mr. Ocean, 24, is an extremely unflashy songwriter, avoiding big proclamations and broad brush strokes, instead leaning on conversational gambits and the power of detail. He makes warm, cloudy soul with echoes of Stevie Wonder, Prince and Pharrell Williams that’s almost never about seduction. In Mr. Ocean’s universe, pretty much everyone is broken beyond repair ..." (Jon Caramanica, "Creating His Own Gravity," New York Times, 7/4/12).
posted by casebook at 10:05 AM
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"As the greatest, most influential debut album ever released, Are You Experienced is sort of the musical equivalent of the Big Bang that scientists believe originated the universe. In both cases, many generations later, the world is still trying to absorb, organize and make sense of what that initiating event spewed forth. No other rock artist has, from the outset, violated so many rules while completely fulfilling so many expectations. The proof is that more than forty years after it first hit our turntables, Are You Experienced still sounds not only fresh but startling. That this is true of Jimi Hendrix as a guitarist everyone knows, and it would be silly to think that the case needed to be made again, but just to summarize: Forever after the issuance of the first Hendrix album, the electric guitar was a different instrument, with different sonic possibilities, tonal characteristics, even physical properties (just for starters, Jimi immediately made it clear you could play more than just the strings and fretboard) ..." (CD notes by Dave Marsh).
posted by casebook at 10:19 AM
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"Growing up, few bands influenced me like Manic Street Preachers. I discovered them in 2001 almost 10 years after the release of their debut album Generation Terrorists. The following February marked seven years since the disappearance of guitarist Richey Edwards. Obviously, the Manics weren't exactly blowing up the American pop charts in 2001. So why did they become the favorite band of an eighth grader in Murfreesboro, Tenn.? For many, middle school is a horrific experience. I was a scrawny kid with bad hair, bad skin and a big nose. My classmates teased me mercilessly. I found solace in music. The Manics' angst-ridden lyrics spoke to my tortured teenage soul and like that, I had found my new favorite band. Music was my entire identity back then (but let's be honest, it still is!). The Welsh glam-meets-punk-meets-stadium rock band's music couldn't have been a further cry from life in Murfreesboro. Being a Manics fan allowed me to have some horrifying-then, hilarious-now experiences. ... People often asked me if my copy of the Manics' Holy Bible was a recording of the actual Bible" (Kayley Kravitz, "Growing Up in Tennessee with Manic Street Preachers," Huffington Post, 8/8/12).
posted by casebook at 9:33 AM
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"Superunknown is the fourth album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994 through A&M Records. It is the band's second album with bassist Ben Shepherd. Soundgarden began work on the album after touring in support of its previous album, Badmotorfinger (1991). Superunknown continued a departure from the band's earlier releases while displaying a more diverse range of influences. Superunknown was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and reached high positions on charts worldwide. Five singles were released from the album:'The Day I Tried to Live', 'My Wave', 'Fell on Black Days', 'Spoonman' and 'Black Hole Sun', the latter two of which won Grammy Awards and helped Soundgarden reach mainstream popularity. In 1995, the album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album. The album has been certified five times platinum by the RIAA in the United States and around 9 million copies worldwide and remains Soundgarden's most successful album. In 2003, the album was ranked number 336 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time ..." (Wikipedia).
posted by casebook at 9:43 AM
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"You have to wait until track 8 of Kenny Chesney's new album for that defining moment that grips your heartstrings. It comes with 'While He Still Knows Who I Am,' a poignant ballad about a son reconnecting with a father who has Alzheimer's: 'This time I'm gonna kiss him / Instead of just shaking hands / Gonna tell him that I love him / While he still knows who I am.' Handled with understated grace by Chesney, it's enough to make the toughest cowboy cry" ("Music," People, 7/2/12, p. 45).
posted by casebook at 10:11 AM
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"The Soul Sessions Vol. 2 is the sixth studio album by English recording artist Joss Stone. It was released on 16 July 2012 by Stone's own independent label Stone'd Records and the label that released her first two albums, S-Curve Records. The album consists of eleven cover versions and is a follow-up to Stone's highly successful debut album The Soul Sessions (2003). ... The album was recorded over two live recording sessions in New York City and Nashville. Stone stated, 'I really had fun revisiting The Soul Sessions' idea and I'm really pleased with the results. I've committed long term to my label Stone'd Records, but it felt right to team up with Steve Greenberg and S-Curve again for this release. I think there are some great songs on the album and I loved performing them with such brilliant musicians.' ... The Guardian's Dave Simpson described the album as 'a powerful, heartfelt and classy comeback', claiming that Stone has 'certainly returned to her debut's soul covers format in more mature and superb voice. Stone has always been a tremendous shouter, but has acquired a vulnerability and ability to truly inhabit emotional songs such as Eddie Floyd's "I Don't Want to Be With Nobody But You" and the Dells' "The Love We Had (Stays on My Mind)"'" (Wikipedia).
posted by casebook at 9:28 AM
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"A jazz singer of cool poise and effervescent style, Tierney Sutton draws here from 'American Road' (BFM), a broadly defined standards album — Gershwin alongside George Benson, with some Leonard Bernstein for good measure — with her longstanding band" (Nate Chinen, "Jazz Listings," New York Times, 8/16/12).
posted by casebook at 9:19 AM
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"It's thrilling to be re-introducing Marvin Gaye's Here, My Dear, a work of haunting beauty and fascinating complexity. For years this singular suite of songs has been out of print. And for years a number of us rabid Gaye fans have pressed for its re-release, arguing for its place among the major works of a major artist. That argument has been won. Glory hallelujah! ... I first heard the album, which was recorded in 1977, in the winter of 1978. I was stunned. I must have listened to it thirty times, driving my family a little crazy. I became obsessed, just as Gaye himself had been obsessed with his subject matter -- his first wife Anna, their tumultuous marriage and acrimonious divorce. The fact that a soul singer had fashioned this theme into a dramatic narrative -- a cohesive if somewhat abstract story -- struck me as both strange and wonderful. Mostly, though, it was the power of Marvin's singing that helf me spellbound, the way he employed his several voices -- natural tenor, piercing falsetto, anguished growl -- conveying and contrasting his mercurial states of mind. It was all Marvin, more Marvin than I ever had heard before -- Marvin's melodies, Marvin's lyrics, Marvin's harmonies, Marvin's narcissism, spirituality, sarcasm, gratitude, resentments and, above all, Marvin's inner turmoil ..." (CD notes by David Ritz).
posted by casebook at 12:54 PM
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The CDs we collect and describe can be borrowed on site at the Case Memorial Library by patrons of any Connecticut library. In addition, patrons of most libraries belonging to Libraries Online, Inc. (LION) can have our CDs delivered to their home libraries for pickup. Those libraries include Branford, East Lyme Public, East Lyme High School, Essex, Guilford, Ivoryton, Mitchell College, Middletown, Meriden, Old Lyme, Stony Creek, Wallingford, Yalesville, Woodbridge, and Westbrook.
