It’s a warm spring day in Asheville, North Carolina, and Charlie Parr is sitting on the back stairwell of Eulogy, a trendy music venue in the South Slope neighborhood. Later that evening, the singer-songwriter will play to a packed crowd. But, for now, Parr is soaking in every last ray of sunshine before he has to return to his native Minnesota, where winter has yet to fully let go.
“For a while, I think I was feeling intimidated by a lot of stuff,” Parr tells Rolling Stone. “Aging is intimidating.
“For a while, I think I was feeling intimidated by a lot of stuff,” Parr tells Rolling Stone. “Aging is intimidating.
- 4/30/2024
- by Garret K. Woodward
- Rollingstone.com
J.K. Simmons has joined the cast of Jason Reitman’s SNL 1975, and not only will the Oscar winner be playing Hollywood legend Milton Berle, but he’ll have the notable distinction of becoming the first actual SNL host to join the cast of the Sony movie.
Simmons hosted the Jan. 31, 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live, which featured D’Angelo as the musical guest. At the time, Simmons was riding high off an Oscar nomination for Whiplash, and he would go on to win the Academy Award following his SNL hosting stint.
Meanwhile, Berle hosted SNL on April 14, 1979, and Ornette Coleman was his musical guest. It’s unclear where Berle fits into Reitman’s movie at this moment in time.
SNL 1975 is a behind-the-scenes account of the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. The film will reportedly unfold in real-time.
On the heels of playing Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans,...
Simmons hosted the Jan. 31, 2015 episode of Saturday Night Live, which featured D’Angelo as the musical guest. At the time, Simmons was riding high off an Oscar nomination for Whiplash, and he would go on to win the Academy Award following his SNL hosting stint.
Meanwhile, Berle hosted SNL on April 14, 1979, and Ornette Coleman was his musical guest. It’s unclear where Berle fits into Reitman’s movie at this moment in time.
SNL 1975 is a behind-the-scenes account of the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. The film will reportedly unfold in real-time.
On the heels of playing Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans,...
- 3/26/2024
- by Jeff Sneider
- LateNighter
Cheech and Chong persist in the popular culture mainly as a metonym for stoner humor, but as any comedy fan knows, even the dumbest jokes — the one’s that can only be enjoyed while baked — don’t just appear out of smoke-filled air. “Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie,” a new documentary chronicling the eponymous duo’s meteoric rise in the 1970s, emphasizes the sheer amount of work and determination it took to become one of America’s most popular comedy acts. Long before Seth Rogen was born, Cheech and Chong were the hardest-working potheads in Hollywood, even if they played exaggerated burnouts on screen and stage.
Alas, every success story comes with its fair share of complications. “Last Movie” also explores the financial headaches and managerial difficulties Cheech and Chong weathered at the height of their success, as well as the creative differences that ultimately drove the two men apart.
Alas, every success story comes with its fair share of complications. “Last Movie” also explores the financial headaches and managerial difficulties Cheech and Chong weathered at the height of their success, as well as the creative differences that ultimately drove the two men apart.
- 3/12/2024
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Torben Ulrich, Danish tennis pro, jazz writer and father of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, has died at the age of 95.
Lars shared news of his father’s death in a social media post Wednesday. “Torben Ulrich: 1928-2023 95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing….and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude,” he wrote. “Thank you endlessly! I love you dad.” The caption was accompanied by a series of photos of his father including a black and white portrait, a magazine...
Lars shared news of his father’s death in a social media post Wednesday. “Torben Ulrich: 1928-2023 95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing….and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude,” he wrote. “Thank you endlessly! I love you dad.” The caption was accompanied by a series of photos of his father including a black and white portrait, a magazine...
- 12/21/2023
- by Charisma Madarang
- Rollingstone.com
Jenny Lewis knows she’s not a real Southerner. “Let’s be honest,” the 47-year-old indie-rock icon says on a Zoom call. “I’m a Jewish girl from the Valley, transplanted in East Nashville. I’m not an outlaw at all.” It’s true: In Tennessee, where Lewis has been splitting her time with L.A. since 2017, the only law she breaks is smoking weed. She’s also allergic to horses. And bonfires. “I’m the nerdiest, wimpiest Nashvillian,” she confirms.
Even so, Lewis’ new album, Joy’All, is her Nashville Skyline moment,...
Even so, Lewis’ new album, Joy’All, is her Nashville Skyline moment,...
- 6/6/2023
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour has stuck with a remarkably consistent setlist since it kicked off in November 2021. The show is heavy on tunes from Rough and Rowdy Ways, extremely light on hits, and features just a tiny smattering of Sixties tunes, including “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight,” “To Be Alone With You,” and “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine.”
Fans had essentially stopped anticipating surprises, but they got a big one Wednesday night at the Tokyo Garden Theater in Tokyo,...
Fans had essentially stopped anticipating surprises, but they got a big one Wednesday night at the Tokyo Garden Theater in Tokyo,...
- 4/12/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Pharoah Sanders, the saxophonist who helped John Coltrane explore the avant-garde and pushed jazz itself toward the spiritual, has died at the age of 81.
Record label Luaka Bop, which released Sanders and Floating Points’ acclaimed collaboration Promises in 2021, announced the jazz legend’s death Saturday; no cause of death was provided.
“We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away,” the label wrote on Instagram. “He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being,...
Record label Luaka Bop, which released Sanders and Floating Points’ acclaimed collaboration Promises in 2021, announced the jazz legend’s death Saturday; no cause of death was provided.
“We are devastated to share that Pharoah Sanders has passed away,” the label wrote on Instagram. “He died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends in Los Angeles earlier this morning. Always and forever the most beautiful human being,...
- 9/24/2022
- by Daniel Kreps
- Rollingstone.com
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
The Before Trilogy (Richard Linklater)
Earning its status amongst the likes of Three Colors, Apu, Human Condition, Antonioni’s ’Decadence’ trilogy, and Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke’s exploration of romance both fledgling and tested is one of the great film trilogies of all time. Though there’s Before Movie, Says Julie Delpy”>no plans for a fourth film in sight, one can enjoy all three films, now available to stream on The Criterion
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Blue Bayou (Justin Chon)
After Antonio (Justin Chon) is wrongfully arrested in front of his wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and step-daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske), he’s surprised to learn he’s been flagged for deportation. Due...
The Before Trilogy (Richard Linklater)
Earning its status amongst the likes of Three Colors, Apu, Human Condition, Antonioni’s ’Decadence’ trilogy, and Kiarostami’s Koker trilogy, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke’s exploration of romance both fledgling and tested is one of the great film trilogies of all time. Though there’s Before Movie, Says Julie Delpy”>no plans for a fourth film in sight, one can enjoy all three films, now available to stream on The Criterion
Where to Stream: The Criterion Channel
Blue Bayou (Justin Chon)
After Antonio (Justin Chon) is wrongfully arrested in front of his wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and step-daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske), he’s surprised to learn he’s been flagged for deportation. Due...
- 7/1/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Bob Dylan has essentially stuck to the same setlist since kicking off his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour in November 2021, but he wrapped up his show at Oakland, California’s Fox Theater on Saturday night by covering the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil” instead of the standard set-closer “Every Grain of Sand.” It was his first time playing the song since 2007, and the first time he’s changed his setlist by even a single song in the past 37 concerts. Check out a recording of the big moment:
Dylan...
Dylan...
- 6/12/2022
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re living in a Wordle world. Ever since the popular spelling game came through in October 2021 and crushed the buildings, everyone’s suddenly more obsessed with taking over blocks than The Wire kingpin Avon Barksdale. It’s a quick rise that makes particular sense for the generation raised on hip-hop.
“It’s like I’ve spent my whole life training for the Olympics of five-minute, once-a-day word games,” says the rapper, comedian, and Wordle wizard Open Mike Eagle. “All I do is think about words,...
“It’s like I’ve spent my whole life training for the Olympics of five-minute, once-a-day word games,” says the rapper, comedian, and Wordle wizard Open Mike Eagle. “All I do is think about words,...
- 2/16/2022
- by Will Dukes
- Rollingstone.com
Greg Tate, one of the most incisive, insightful, and influential cultural critics of the past 35 years, has died. His publisher Duke University Press confirmed the author’s death to Rolling Stone, though a cause of death was not confirmed.
“Hard to explain the impact that Flyboy in the Buttermilk had on a whole generation of young writers and critics who read every page of it like scripture,” The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb wrote on Twitter, aptly summing up the effect that Tate’s iconic 1992 essay collection had on the world.
“Hard to explain the impact that Flyboy in the Buttermilk had on a whole generation of young writers and critics who read every page of it like scripture,” The New Yorker’s Jelani Cobb wrote on Twitter, aptly summing up the effect that Tate’s iconic 1992 essay collection had on the world.
- 12/7/2021
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
Many years in the making, Fire Music tells the many-stranded story of free jazz, a chronically misunderstood and often maligned expansion of the improvisatory African-American art form that exploded as a movement in the 1960s through the innovations of path-breaking titans like John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. Although this avant-garde has been around long enough to become its own tradition – its oldest living exponents are in their 90s – the music still remains somehow outside the mainstream. Even this week, Twitter was abuzz over Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon’s mockery of the German […]
The post “…The Parts That Were Left out of the Ken Burns Documentary”: Tom Surgal on the “Historical Corrective” That is His Free Jazz Documentary, Fire Music first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “…The Parts That Were Left out of the Ken Burns Documentary”: Tom Surgal on the “Historical Corrective” That is His Free Jazz Documentary, Fire Music first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 9/10/2021
- by Steve Dollar
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
In documentary Fire Music, the hostile reaction that met the unusual genre soon turns into deep appreciation and a lasting influence
When Miles Davis first heard the music of Eric Dolphy, a key figure in the free jazz movement, he described it as “ridiculous”, “sad” and just plain “bad”. Upon encountering the early sounds of free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, Thelonius Monk said “there’s nothing beautiful in what he’s playing. He’s just playing loud and slurring the notes. Anybody can do that.” The editors at the jazz world’s bible, Downbeat Magazine, went further, initially criticising the entire genre as a force that’s “poisoning the minds of young players”, jazz critic Gary Giddens recalled.
Related: ‘Rawness, freedom, experimentation’: the Brit jazz boom of the 60s and 70s...
When Miles Davis first heard the music of Eric Dolphy, a key figure in the free jazz movement, he described it as “ridiculous”, “sad” and just plain “bad”. Upon encountering the early sounds of free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, Thelonius Monk said “there’s nothing beautiful in what he’s playing. He’s just playing loud and slurring the notes. Anybody can do that.” The editors at the jazz world’s bible, Downbeat Magazine, went further, initially criticising the entire genre as a force that’s “poisoning the minds of young players”, jazz critic Gary Giddens recalled.
Related: ‘Rawness, freedom, experimentation’: the Brit jazz boom of the 60s and 70s...
- 9/7/2021
- by Jim Farber
- The Guardian - Film News
In 2013, I interviewed the Rolling Stones for this magazine as the band prepared for the next leg of their 50th anniversary tour. I’d talked to Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Ron Wood before, but never Charlie Watts. I was excited by the prospect: For more years than I could count, I had wanted to be able to sit in a room and talk with him about jazz. I got to do that, but the section I wrote about him didn’t make the final story.
After I learned Watts...
After I learned Watts...
- 8/25/2021
- by Mikal Gilmore
- Rollingstone.com
Charles Lloyd & the Marvels have released a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Anthem,” off their upcoming album Tone Poem. The song comes off of Cohen’s 1992 LP The Future and is known for the lines, “There is a crack in everything/That’s how the light gets in.”
The cover features Greg Leisz’ serene steel guitar and Lloyd’s tenor saxophone. “Anthem” follows a cover of Ornette Coleman’s “Ramblin.'” Tone Poem is out March 12th via Blue Note Records; the album also includes a version of Thelonious Monk...
The cover features Greg Leisz’ serene steel guitar and Lloyd’s tenor saxophone. “Anthem” follows a cover of Ornette Coleman’s “Ramblin.'” Tone Poem is out March 12th via Blue Note Records; the album also includes a version of Thelonious Monk...
- 2/19/2021
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
To anyone who’s studied Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead, their connection to jazz was unmistakable: From their own onstage improvising to collaborations with Branford Marsalis and Ornette Coleman, the Dead clearly saw jazz musicians as simpatico. But how far back did those bonds go? An upcoming, previously unreleased live set — GarciaLive Vol. 15: Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders, May 21st, 1971 — provides a few more clues.
Even in the early days of the Grateful Dead, Garcia somehow found the time to engage in a plethora of side projects, one of...
Even in the early days of the Grateful Dead, Garcia somehow found the time to engage in a plethora of side projects, one of...
- 10/21/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
“The Glorias,” now streaming on Amazon Prime, tells the story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem, her troubled home life as a child, her travels through the decades, and her rise to prominence as a leader in the women’s movement.
It fell to New York composer Elliot Goldenthal to musicalize that journey. The director, Julie Taymor, is his longtime partner, and he has scored all seven of her films, winning a 2002 Oscar for the Mexican-flavored music of “Frida.”
Surprisingly, electric guitars are featured throughout the score, although there are moments of jazz and orchestral textures as well. The composer was inspired by Taymor’s images of the bus carrying young Steinem out west. “The big sky, the stretched-out highway, and these really simple, major-chord guitar strums” felt to him like a modern-day version of Aaron Copland’s symphonic Americana of the mid-20th century.
Goldenthal turns to jazzier sounds, notably...
It fell to New York composer Elliot Goldenthal to musicalize that journey. The director, Julie Taymor, is his longtime partner, and he has scored all seven of her films, winning a 2002 Oscar for the Mexican-flavored music of “Frida.”
Surprisingly, electric guitars are featured throughout the score, although there are moments of jazz and orchestral textures as well. The composer was inspired by Taymor’s images of the bus carrying young Steinem out west. “The big sky, the stretched-out highway, and these really simple, major-chord guitar strums” felt to him like a modern-day version of Aaron Copland’s symphonic Americana of the mid-20th century.
Goldenthal turns to jazzier sounds, notably...
- 9/30/2020
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Following a listening party on Monday, Deerhoof dropped a surprise new album, Love-Lore, via Joyful Noise Recordings.
Love-Lore was recorded live in the studio over a single afternoon at Rivington Rehearsal Studios in New York City. The album contains a medley of 43 covers, which range from the Velvet Underground to Krzysztof Penderecki.
Muindi Fanuel Muindi wrote an essay to accompany the release, while Benjamin Piekut wrote the liner notes. “Deerhoof is not the future of music and doesn’t want to be — they simply want to embrace you, here and now,...
Love-Lore was recorded live in the studio over a single afternoon at Rivington Rehearsal Studios in New York City. The album contains a medley of 43 covers, which range from the Velvet Underground to Krzysztof Penderecki.
Muindi Fanuel Muindi wrote an essay to accompany the release, while Benjamin Piekut wrote the liner notes. “Deerhoof is not the future of music and doesn’t want to be — they simply want to embrace you, here and now,...
- 9/28/2020
- by Angie Martoccio
- Rollingstone.com
Among the many fellow travelers Jerry Garcia met on his musical journey was Bruce Hornsby. The singer, songwriter, and pianist had caught his first Dead show in 1973, at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Thirteen years later, he and his band the Range were opening for the Dead in Salinas, California, the same night the band’s “Touch of Grey” video was shot.
Later, Hornsby, who had once played in a Dead cover band, sat in with the band. In 1990, after Brent Mydland died, it seemed only...
Later, Hornsby, who had once played in a Dead cover band, sat in with the band. In 1990, after Brent Mydland died, it seemed only...
- 8/9/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
David Byrne launched a new radio show, Here Comes Everybody, on Sonos Sound System Station this past Saturday. Airing on the first of every month — and available on MixCloud afterward for all to hear — the show sees Byrne creating a new, “very often thematic” playlist each episode.
“I make a new playlist every month!” Byrne explained in a statement. “I try not to repeat songs, but sometimes one can’t help going back to something one loves. The playlists for this radio show are very often thematic — movie scores, current releases,...
“I make a new playlist every month!” Byrne explained in a statement. “I try not to repeat songs, but sometimes one can’t help going back to something one loves. The playlists for this radio show are very often thematic — movie scores, current releases,...
- 8/3/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Ellis Marsalis, a jazz patriarch in New Orleans and father of Wynton and Brandon Marsalis, has died. He was being treated at a local hospital with suspected Covid-19 infection, but the test results have not yet been returned, according to a family member.
Mayor Latoya Cantrell praised him in a tweeted statement. “Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz. The love and the prayers of all of our people go out to his family, and to all of those whose lives he touched.” Marsalis was a noted teacher in New Orleans and a frequent performer at festivals.
Mayor Latoya Cantrell praised him in a tweeted statement. “Ellis Marsalis was a legend. He was the prototype of what we mean when we talk about New Orleans jazz. The love and the prayers of all of our people go out to his family, and to all of those whose lives he touched.” Marsalis was a noted teacher in New Orleans and a frequent performer at festivals.
- 4/2/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Over the decades, a diverse array of musicians sat in with the Grateful Dead — everyone from Bob Dylan and Neil Young to Ornette Coleman and Daryl Hall and John Oates found themselves on the same stage with the band, attempting to fit in as best they could. But even in light of that list, Clarence Clemons remains one of their more surprising jam pals.
When the E Street Band went on hiatus at the end of the Eighties, Clemons, who by then had moved to the Bay Area, went in...
When the E Street Band went on hiatus at the end of the Eighties, Clemons, who by then had moved to the Bay Area, went in...
- 3/10/2020
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
When we talk about rock, we talk about bands: Zeppelin, the Who, the Stones. But when we talk about jazz, we tend to talk about individuals: Miles, Monk, Coltrane. On some level, that makes sense: If the song is the primary mode of rock expression, the solo is generally the way you make your mark in jazz. Whether you’re considering Coleman Hawkins, Louis Armstrong, Freddie Hubbard, or the colossal, now-retired Sonny Rollins, it was when they stepped out front and said their piece that they truly embodied their legendary status.
- 3/7/2020
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
Here’s a partial list of musicians we lost in the 2010s: Aretha Franklin, David Bowie, Chuck Berry, Ornette Coleman, B.B. King, Etta James, Whitney Houston, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, Prince, Merle Haggard, Kitty Wells, João Gilberto, Ravi Shankar, Tabu Ley Rochereau, David Mancuso, Amy Winehouse, Abbie Lincoln, Gil Scott Heron, George Jones, George Martin, George Michael, Allen Toussaint, Donna Summer, Phife Dawg, Prodigy, Adam Yauch, Heavy D, Captain Beefheart, Robert Hunter, Gregory Isaacs, Johnny Otis, Big Jay McNeely, Levon Helm, Kate McGarrigle, Guy Clark, Pete Seeger, Ralph Stanley, Gregg Allman,...
- 12/11/2019
- by Will Hermes
- Rollingstone.com
It’s hard to dispute Ginger Baker’s status as a rock icon. Unless you’re Ginger Baker, that is. “Oh for god’s sake, I’ve never played rock,” the drummer, who turns 80 today, said testily during a 2013 interview. “Cream was two jazz players and a blues guitarist playing improvised music. We never played the same thing two nights running. … It was jazz.”
Related: 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time
Baker’s history with jazz dates back to the mid-Fifties, when he began playing in British Dixieland-revival groups and absorbing...
Related: 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time
Baker’s history with jazz dates back to the mid-Fifties, when he began playing in British Dixieland-revival groups and absorbing...
- 8/19/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
It’s fascinating to watch mainstream audiences fall in love with Jon Batiste on a nightly basis as the bandleader of “The Late Show.”
At 32, Stephen Colbert’s congenial foil — an adroit pianist equally agile and equally playful on melodica and organ — is known for his eclectic crossover compositions which juxtapose pop, gospel and the R&b of his Louisiana youth with an adventurously spritely and subtly avant-garde brand of sonorous jazz.
It is the latter, something Batiste calls “melodious atonality,” that flows through his newest album, “Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard.” Recorded during a six-night Vanguard residency in the fall of 2018, “Anatomy of Angels” has Batiste summoning the ghosts of heroes and old friends (friend-trumpeter Roy Hargrove who passed last autumn) with no edits or retakes. “It’s a snapshot of live art,” said Batiste.
Variety caught up with Batiste on a humid July afternoon in Manhattan.
At 32, Stephen Colbert’s congenial foil — an adroit pianist equally agile and equally playful on melodica and organ — is known for his eclectic crossover compositions which juxtapose pop, gospel and the R&b of his Louisiana youth with an adventurously spritely and subtly avant-garde brand of sonorous jazz.
It is the latter, something Batiste calls “melodious atonality,” that flows through his newest album, “Anatomy of Angels: Live at the Village Vanguard.” Recorded during a six-night Vanguard residency in the fall of 2018, “Anatomy of Angels” has Batiste summoning the ghosts of heroes and old friends (friend-trumpeter Roy Hargrove who passed last autumn) with no edits or retakes. “It’s a snapshot of live art,” said Batiste.
Variety caught up with Batiste on a humid July afternoon in Manhattan.
- 8/2/2019
- by A.D. Amorosi
- Variety Film + TV
In a 1997 interview with philosopher Jacques Derrida, the late saxophonist and sonic trailblazer Ornette Coleman recalled the origins of his most famous composition. “Before becoming known as a musician, when I worked in a big department store, one day, during my lunch break, I came across a gallery where someone had painted a very rich white woman who had absolutely everything that you could desire in life, and she had the most solitary expression in the world,” he said of his time working as a stock boy at L.A.
- 5/22/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
In 2018, pioneering spoken-word collective the Last Poets returned with their first album in more than 20 years. Now the group — consisting of Seventies-era members Abiodun Oyewole and Umar Bin Hassan, along with percussionist Baba Donn Babatunde and a slew of collaborators, including renowned avant-jazz bassist Jamaladeen Tacuma — is back with a follow-up. Due May 10th, Transcending Toxic Times finds the group addressing themes it’s been tackling since its founding in Harlem in 1968, including racism, oppression and the sins of America’s past.
In “For the Millions,” which the group is unveiling today,...
In “For the Millions,” which the group is unveiling today,...
- 3/21/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
The Flying Luttenbachers are more of an idea than a band. Just as Robert Fripp has steered King Crimson through countless lineups and styles during the past 50 years, Luttenbachers drummer, composer and sole consistent member Weasel Walter rebooted his group constantly during its initial 1991–2007 run, typically reemerging each time with a whole new sound and set of collaborators.
Depending on when you were tuning in to the project — whose odd moniker came from Harold Luttenbacher, the birth name of original horn player Hal Russell— you might have heard No Wave–influenced punk-jazz,...
Depending on when you were tuning in to the project — whose odd moniker came from Harold Luttenbacher, the birth name of original horn player Hal Russell— you might have heard No Wave–influenced punk-jazz,...
- 2/26/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
There’s no easy shorthand for James Brandon Lewis’ musical M.O. Ever since his early releases — 2010’s Moments, 2014’s Divine Travels — the saxophonist has balanced a deep, gospel-informed spirituality with free-jazz abandon and hard-hitting funk-meets–hip-hop underpinnings.
“Sir Real Denard,” a track from his new album An UnRuly Manifesto, shows how adept he’s become at bridging different approaches. On one hand, it’s a fierce rhythmic workout driven by the tireless bass-drums team of Luke Stewart and drummer Warren “Trae” Crudup III, both of whom also appeared on...
“Sir Real Denard,” a track from his new album An UnRuly Manifesto, shows how adept he’s become at bridging different approaches. On one hand, it’s a fierce rhythmic workout driven by the tireless bass-drums team of Luke Stewart and drummer Warren “Trae” Crudup III, both of whom also appeared on...
- 2/6/2019
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
To start the new year right: classic English punk and a shot of what’s next; the definitive account of the greatest British white-r&B band of the Sixties that you still don’t know; and experimental vigor from Norway, vintage and immediate.
The Buzzcocks, Another Music in a Different Kitchen; Love Bites (Domino)
The latest CD-and-vinyl iterations of the Buzzcocks’ first two albums didn’t arrive in time for their 40th-anniversary deadline. By cruel coincidence, these newly remastered English-punk landmarks — originally issued in rapid-fire sequence in March and September...
The Buzzcocks, Another Music in a Different Kitchen; Love Bites (Domino)
The latest CD-and-vinyl iterations of the Buzzcocks’ first two albums didn’t arrive in time for their 40th-anniversary deadline. By cruel coincidence, these newly remastered English-punk landmarks — originally issued in rapid-fire sequence in March and September...
- 1/9/2019
- by David Fricke
- Rollingstone.com
Makaya McCraven’s set at New York’s (Le) Poisson Rouge on Sunday touched on a universe of musical styles. Driving funk, hypnotic reggae, loping odd-time vamps, hectic Afrobeat-esque workouts and more all found their way into the mix as the Chicago drummer and his 11-piece all-star band — featuring a roll call of rising jazz stars, including reedists Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings, harpist Brandee Younger, vibraphonist Joel Ross and violinist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson — presented music from McCraven’s enthralling new LP Universal Beings and earlier efforts like 2017’s Highly Rare.
- 12/3/2018
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
The Art Ensemble of Chicago, the pioneering jazz-and-beyond outfit formed nearly 50 years ago and still thriving today, self-describes with a proud motto: “Great Black Music, Ancient to the Future.” The phrase speaks to the group’s musically omnivorous approach: Everything from funk to bop, blues, rock, avant-garde composition and the furthest reaches of free improvisation is in play at all times. According to Melvin Gibbs, bassist of the long-running, radically versatile NYC power trio Harriet Tubman, he and his bandmates — guitarist Brandon Ross and drummer Jt Lewis — operate along similar lines.
- 11/15/2018
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
Plenty of posh European directors make a breakout movie but fail the transition to a commercial Hollywood picture. Oscar-winning British filmmaker Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) is defying the odds by fashioning a smart hybrid genre movie that combines his sophisticated sensibility with an accessible, aspirational story that’s enriching and fun. What’s harder to gauge: Where does “Widows” fall on the awards spectrum?
The Fox movie wowed critics and audiences at its Toronto debut and played the international fall festival circuit, winding up at AFI Fest before it opens wide November 16. Impeccably crafted by such Oscar perennials as McQueen and Denis Villeneuve’s go-to editor Joe Walker, composer Hans Zimmer, production designer Adam Stockhausen, and lead actress Viola Davis, the ensemble movie is a crowdpleaser nourished by its provocative gender-bending plot and social realism. It could be a factor in several Oscar categories.
Back in 1983, McQueen was...
The Fox movie wowed critics and audiences at its Toronto debut and played the international fall festival circuit, winding up at AFI Fest before it opens wide November 16. Impeccably crafted by such Oscar perennials as McQueen and Denis Villeneuve’s go-to editor Joe Walker, composer Hans Zimmer, production designer Adam Stockhausen, and lead actress Viola Davis, the ensemble movie is a crowdpleaser nourished by its provocative gender-bending plot and social realism. It could be a factor in several Oscar categories.
Back in 1983, McQueen was...
- 11/12/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Plenty of posh European directors make a breakout movie but fail the transition to a commercial Hollywood picture. Oscar-winning British filmmaker Steve McQueen (“12 Years a Slave”) is defying the odds by fashioning a smart hybrid genre movie that combines his sophisticated sensibility with an accessible, aspirational story that’s enriching and fun. What’s harder to gauge: Where does “Widows” fall on the awards spectrum?
The Fox movie wowed critics and audiences at its Toronto debut and played the international fall festival circuit, winding up at AFI Fest before it opens wide November 16. Impeccably crafted by such Oscar perennials as McQueen and Denis Villeneuve’s go-to editor Joe Walker, composer Hans Zimmer, production designer Adam Stockhausen, and lead actress Viola Davis, the ensemble movie is a crowdpleaser nourished by its provocative gender-bending plot and social realism. It could be a factor in several Oscar categories.
Back in 1983, McQueen was...
The Fox movie wowed critics and audiences at its Toronto debut and played the international fall festival circuit, winding up at AFI Fest before it opens wide November 16. Impeccably crafted by such Oscar perennials as McQueen and Denis Villeneuve’s go-to editor Joe Walker, composer Hans Zimmer, production designer Adam Stockhausen, and lead actress Viola Davis, the ensemble movie is a crowdpleaser nourished by its provocative gender-bending plot and social realism. It could be a factor in several Oscar categories.
Back in 1983, McQueen was...
- 11/12/2018
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
For some, Ken Burns’ 2001 PBS series Jazz was a definitive, open-and-shut take on its subject, as comprehensive a portrait of the genre as one could hope for. For others, the series was a major slight. As Tom Surgal, director of the new doc Fire Music put it in a 2015 interview, Burns’ 10-part program “really got into pretty thoroughly depicting the entire history of the jazz continuum and virtually ignored free jazz altogether.”
Fire Music, which screens Monday night at the New York Film Festival, is his feature-length corrective. Whether you...
Fire Music, which screens Monday night at the New York Film Festival, is his feature-length corrective. Whether you...
- 10/1/2018
- by Hank Shteamer
- Rollingstone.com
Neneh Cherry will release her fifth solo album, the Four Tet-produced Broken Politics, on October 19th via Small Supersound/Awal Recordings. The singer previewed the record with the hushed, tense “Shot Gun Shack,” which alludes to cycles of fear and violence. “Pick up the gun, you know you gonna use it,” she sings over a trip-hop-styled beat. “You know that gun is gonna get loaded/ Say my name before you pull it.”
In a statement, Cherry said the song title was inspired by a conversation she had at the funeral...
In a statement, Cherry said the song title was inspired by a conversation she had at the funeral...
- 8/30/2018
- by Ryan Reed
- Rollingstone.com
Rock & roll and Anthony Bourdain were a natural fit. So it made sense that artists from Alison Mosshart to Josh Homme would pop up on his various shows, acting as culinary tour guides, drinking buddies, performers or all of the above. But in keeping with Bourdain's adventurous spirit, he made a point of meeting up with musicians representing many different regions and cultures. Over the years, his guests included System of a Down's Serj Tankian, African pop legend Youssou N'Dour, Morocco's Master Musicians of Jajouka and many more. Here, in...
- 6/8/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Pianist Cecil Taylor, a legend of free jazz whose career spanned six decades, died Thursday evening at his home in Brooklyn, New York, NPR confirmed early Friday. He was 89.
“Cecil is of jazz, and also beyond it,” Ben Ratliff, author and longtime jazz critic for The New York Times, told NPR. “The thing that Cecil was doing in 1959 or whatever, the stuff that had basically a steady beat, but was pushing out on all sides with strange harmonies and strange dynamics — you know, we’re doing stuff now that’s more like that. And to think that at that point in the late ’50s, Cecil Taylor was just saying, ‘Yeah, this is the right way to play, this is the way to do it,’ is truly amazing.”
He was a pivotal figure of free jazz and released one of the essential albums of the genre, “Jazz Advance,” in 1956. Along with other leaders,...
“Cecil is of jazz, and also beyond it,” Ben Ratliff, author and longtime jazz critic for The New York Times, told NPR. “The thing that Cecil was doing in 1959 or whatever, the stuff that had basically a steady beat, but was pushing out on all sides with strange harmonies and strange dynamics — you know, we’re doing stuff now that’s more like that. And to think that at that point in the late ’50s, Cecil Taylor was just saying, ‘Yeah, this is the right way to play, this is the way to do it,’ is truly amazing.”
He was a pivotal figure of free jazz and released one of the essential albums of the genre, “Jazz Advance,” in 1956. Along with other leaders,...
- 4/6/2018
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
"Lost" experimental 1966 drama with spirited Ornette Coleman soundtrack returns!
- 9/14/2017
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Jazz Notes From New York: Mike Stern, Ornette Coleman and More...
- 8/10/2017
- Pastemagazine.com
Joining such memorable events as Ornette’s week at Lincoln Center in 1997 and the celebration in his honor at Celebrate Brooklyn which was the last time he played in public and which is now documented in an incredible box set alongside the memorial held for him at Riverside Church and Wynton's own celebration of Ornette at Lincoln Center will be Ornette Coleman: Tomorrow is the Question, July 11–16 as part of their yearly indoor festival. There will be a four-part series honoring Ornette's work as a composer, innovator, and performer.
The evenings include a screening of Naked Lunch with live accompaniment by such giants as Ravi Coltrane, Henry Threadgill, Charente Moffatt, and Denard Coleman. Coleman will also be part of a Prime Time Reunion that will honor guitarist Bern Nix who sadly recently passed away and who had been a long time member of the original band. This night the members will include Joshua Redman,...
The evenings include a screening of Naked Lunch with live accompaniment by such giants as Ravi Coltrane, Henry Threadgill, Charente Moffatt, and Denard Coleman. Coleman will also be part of a Prime Time Reunion that will honor guitarist Bern Nix who sadly recently passed away and who had been a long time member of the original band. This night the members will include Joshua Redman,...
- 6/28/2017
- by steve dalachinsky
- www.culturecatch.com
Bénédicte de Montlaur with Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters honoree Dave Kehr Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
On a beautiful late spring afternoon in New York, across the street from Central Park and a few blocks down from The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, Museum of Modern Art curator in the Film Department Dave Kehr was presented with the insignia of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy Bénédicte de Montlaur (dressed in Diane von Furstenberg) at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.
For Films on the Green, Isabella Rossellini has chosen Jean Renoir's Elena and Her Men, starring Ingrid Bergman Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Past American recipients include Robert Redford, Paul Auster, Uma Thurman, Ornette Coleman, Jim Jarmusch, Agnes Gund, Marilyn Horne, Richard Meier, Robert Paxton, and Meryl Streep.
The 10th anniversary of Films on the Green had guest curators Wes Anderson,...
On a beautiful late spring afternoon in New York, across the street from Central Park and a few blocks down from The Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue, Museum of Modern Art curator in the Film Department Dave Kehr was presented with the insignia of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy Bénédicte de Montlaur (dressed in Diane von Furstenberg) at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.
For Films on the Green, Isabella Rossellini has chosen Jean Renoir's Elena and Her Men, starring Ingrid Bergman Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Past American recipients include Robert Redford, Paul Auster, Uma Thurman, Ornette Coleman, Jim Jarmusch, Agnes Gund, Marilyn Horne, Richard Meier, Robert Paxton, and Meryl Streep.
The 10th anniversary of Films on the Green had guest curators Wes Anderson,...
- 6/17/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Ben Wheatley’s thriller about a protracted gun battle, starring Brie Larson and Cillian Murphy, has no plot – but it’s smart, stylish and dazzlingly put together
The restlessly inventive director Ben Wheatley gives us the crime-thriller equivalent of a violently atonal jazz suite lasting an hour and a half, like a Sam Peckinpah movie storyboarded by Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra. Gunshots here are as frequent, numerous and noisy as an avant garde drumroll. The film turns out to be plotless, formless, shapeless, McGuffinless, directionless and ruthless, but it is dazzlingly well put together, with some lethal zingers amid the gunfire and a droll use of John Denver on the soundtrack – alluding subtextually, I suspect, to the urban myth about Denver’s war service in Vietnam.
It’s supremely stylish and smart, and the melee becomes so disorientating that you forget, almost, that the whole thing is taking place in just the one place.
The restlessly inventive director Ben Wheatley gives us the crime-thriller equivalent of a violently atonal jazz suite lasting an hour and a half, like a Sam Peckinpah movie storyboarded by Ornette Coleman and Sun Ra. Gunshots here are as frequent, numerous and noisy as an avant garde drumroll. The film turns out to be plotless, formless, shapeless, McGuffinless, directionless and ruthless, but it is dazzlingly well put together, with some lethal zingers amid the gunfire and a droll use of John Denver on the soundtrack – alluding subtextually, I suspect, to the urban myth about Denver’s war service in Vietnam.
It’s supremely stylish and smart, and the melee becomes so disorientating that you forget, almost, that the whole thing is taking place in just the one place.
- 3/30/2017
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out….but mostly movies.
This Past Weekend:
It was absolutely no surprise that Hugh Jackman’s last Wolverine movie Logan would top the box office, but it actually ended up doing even better than my prediction when actual numbers came in, grossing $88.3 million over the weekend. That makes it the fourth highest X-Movie opening (including Deadpool) but also the biggest R-rated opening for March, defeating 300’s once-impressive $70 million opening. It’s also the fourth highest R-rated opening of all time after Deadpool, The Matrix Reloaded and American Sniper.
The bigger surprise was how well Jordan Peele’s thriller Get Out held up in its second weekend, not only because it was going up against Logan, but also because high-profile horror films tend...
This Past Weekend:
It was absolutely no surprise that Hugh Jackman’s last Wolverine movie Logan would top the box office, but it actually ended up doing even better than my prediction when actual numbers came in, grossing $88.3 million over the weekend. That makes it the fourth highest X-Movie opening (including Deadpool) but also the biggest R-rated opening for March, defeating 300’s once-impressive $70 million opening. It’s also the fourth highest R-rated opening of all time after Deadpool, The Matrix Reloaded and American Sniper.
The bigger surprise was how well Jordan Peele’s thriller Get Out held up in its second weekend, not only because it was going up against Logan, but also because high-profile horror films tend...
- 3/8/2017
- by Edward Douglas
- LRMonline.com
Okay, it's time for me to stop trying to listen to more 2016 albums and just wrap up this list. In the past I would split my jazz list into a new releases part dedicated to current recordings and a historical part combining first releases of archival material with reissues. This year I'm skipping reissues, partly because some projects were so gargantuan that little guys like me weren't serviced with them, partly because the vinyl renaissance means everything is being reissued at once, and partly because so much stuff is just rehashing the same material in new packaging, with or without a gimmick or a little additional material added. So first releases of archival material are lumped in here. Maybe that's not entirely fair to the current guys, but on the other hand I don't include many archival items on my list.
1. Matthew Shipp & Bobby Kapp: Cactus (Northern Spy)
Two generations...
1. Matthew Shipp & Bobby Kapp: Cactus (Northern Spy)
Two generations...
- 2/9/2017
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
Chucky’s back and better than ever… Mezco Toyz presents their newest Chucky doll based on his likeness in the first Child’s Play movie. Also: Wizard World and Crypt TV’s eight-city video showcase, Mondo’s Cronenberg vinyls, the Screamfest 2016 announcement, and over 10 photos from Shortwave.
Photos of Mezco Toyz’s New Chucky Doll: From Mezco Toyz: “Unlike the scarred and battle-damaged look Chucky normally bears (people have tried to destroy him in six films so far), this version represents the cleaner, earlier Chucky. His trademark outfit is un-slashed, his face is not yet mauled.
Just as he did in his films, Chucky has lots to say from his trademark “My name is Chucky” to far more sinister phrases.
The star of the Child’S Play films, Chucky stands fifteen inches tall and features real cloth Good Guys clothing, eleven points of articulation, his trademark orange hair and realistic glass-like eyes.
Photos of Mezco Toyz’s New Chucky Doll: From Mezco Toyz: “Unlike the scarred and battle-damaged look Chucky normally bears (people have tried to destroy him in six films so far), this version represents the cleaner, earlier Chucky. His trademark outfit is un-slashed, his face is not yet mauled.
Just as he did in his films, Chucky has lots to say from his trademark “My name is Chucky” to far more sinister phrases.
The star of the Child’S Play films, Chucky stands fifteen inches tall and features real cloth Good Guys clothing, eleven points of articulation, his trademark orange hair and realistic glass-like eyes.
- 5/25/2016
- by Tamika Jones
- DailyDead
Exciting vinyl announcement from our friends at Mondo:
Mondo, in collaboration with Howe Records, announces three incredible Howard Shore scores from classic David Cronenberg films Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers and Crash. This continuation of Mondo’s Cronenberg series, which began with a soundtrack for Scanners and The Brood, features beautiful and haunting design work and marks the first time all three titles will be available on vinyl.
Can’t wait to own these. While you’re waiting for these records to go on sale, check out this new Hoop Dreams print from Mondo.
Crash (1996) – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2Xlp Music by Howard Shore Original Artwork by Rich Kelly 20th Anniversary. First time ever on Vinyl. Available online at mondotees.com this July $35
Dead Ringers (1988) – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP Music By Howard Shore Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra Original Artwork by Randy Ortiz First time ever on Vinyl. Available online at mondotees.
Mondo, in collaboration with Howe Records, announces three incredible Howard Shore scores from classic David Cronenberg films Naked Lunch, Dead Ringers and Crash. This continuation of Mondo’s Cronenberg series, which began with a soundtrack for Scanners and The Brood, features beautiful and haunting design work and marks the first time all three titles will be available on vinyl.
Can’t wait to own these. While you’re waiting for these records to go on sale, check out this new Hoop Dreams print from Mondo.
Crash (1996) – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2Xlp Music by Howard Shore Original Artwork by Rich Kelly 20th Anniversary. First time ever on Vinyl. Available online at mondotees.com this July $35
Dead Ringers (1988) – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack LP Music By Howard Shore Performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra Original Artwork by Randy Ortiz First time ever on Vinyl. Available online at mondotees.
- 5/24/2016
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
The death of the visionary pianist/ improviser Paul Bley leaves a big hole in the jazz universe. Bley, a fearless improviser with grace, bite, humor, and knowledge, will be remembered for the ability to empty his self of all preconceptions and impediments before sitting down at the instrument, and for the ability to take his own specific approach and language and to morph it into something that works with whatever the environment and/or musicians that are in the ambient -- and for the ability to sit at any piano [and they all have different personalities] and except for being extremely stylized, he could pull out the personality of that particular piano while still sounding like himself.
Paul, though studied, was completely naturalistic and organic in his musical conception. He had a mindset that was always in the moment, and if so-called history ever came through in his playing, it was more a function of the...
Paul, though studied, was completely naturalistic and organic in his musical conception. He had a mindset that was always in the moment, and if so-called history ever came through in his playing, it was more a function of the...
- 1/6/2016
- by Matthew Shipp
- www.culturecatch.com
Happy birthday to Pat Metheny (born August 12, 1954), one of the few jazz superstars of the past four decades to combine commercial success and critical plaudits. After paying his dues in Gary Burton's band (which he joined at age 19), Metheny put out his first album in 1976 and by the time of his third release two years later was gaining crossover radio play. Though the style of his eponymous band was smooth and tuneful, Metheny had a firm basis in jazz and straight-ahead guitarist gods such as Jim Hall (with whom he eventually recorded a fine duo album).
With success came the challenge of avoiding complacency, which Metheny has met masterfully with a wide-ranging series of albums in a variety of stylistic bags, from atonal skronk to mellow Brazilian, from thorny Ornette Coleman covers to mercurial bebop. Along the way he has lent his prestige to both respected elders (Hall, Burton, Coleman,...
With success came the challenge of avoiding complacency, which Metheny has met masterfully with a wide-ranging series of albums in a variety of stylistic bags, from atonal skronk to mellow Brazilian, from thorny Ornette Coleman covers to mercurial bebop. Along the way he has lent his prestige to both respected elders (Hall, Burton, Coleman,...
- 8/12/2015
- by SteveHoltje
- www.culturecatch.com
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