Since before the recent US election the use of the term conservative has been driving me crazy. To tell you the truth, it has driven me crazy since I learned about ideology in university over ten years ago, but now that I have a blog, and now that I am inundated daily with misuse of …
Month: November 2012
Complete Organ Works (2003) by Maurice Durufle, performed by Friedhelm Flamme
The pipe organ must be one of the seriously neglected instruments of 20th century “classical” music, at least from the perspective of us musical naifs. I mean, even though there are plenty of notable organ and organ-centric compositions, very few of those have actually made it into mass awareness. The little bit of organ music …
The Great Transformation (1944) by Karl Polanyi
Despite two very serious flaws, The Great Transformation by Karl Polanyi is a major, important, path-breaking and near-classic work of economics.
Young Miles (1945-50, 2001) by Miles Davis et al. (1945-50, 2001)
For die-hard fans of Miles Davis, or for people really interested in how cool came out of bop, this is probably pretty nearly essential.
The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings (1997) by John Coltrane
When Coltrane and his “quartet” recorded these performances, he was just releasing Ole Coltrane, so I think it’s safe to say that much of what was heard here came as a shock to anyone in the audience who wasn’t constantly seeing him live. And even when the LP version came out the next year, much …
RIP Elliott Carter
I have come late to Carter’s work, having only heard most of his string quartet cycle in the last year. I must say that I was extremely impressed and really interested in hearing more. Carter’s music – at least his music of the ’60s – breaks boundaries – and perhaps that’s why it is most …
The Heavyweight Champion: the Complete Atlantic Recordings (1959-60, 1995) by John Coltrane
If Coltrane had died before he moved to Impulse, I still think he would be ranked as one of the two greatest jazz saxophonists ever. His Impulse recordings may have moved him into first place, but his Atlantic recordings are still a marvel.