This weekend is the huge Sasquatch Music Festival in Seattle. Alas I was there last weekend! However the Cheese Festival and Wine Tasting Tent in Pike Place Market were great. Tons of people, superior wines to taste and wonderful buskers filling the air with music. Loved the counter culture on display in Seattle - including my own.
Jim Byrnes new CD - "My Walking Stick" is a marvel. Think Robert Johnston meets early Ray Charles. Completely different from his last two CDs but just as enchanting. The final track on the CD: "Creole Poetry" is a wonder, and worth the price of the whole CD. You will know what it means to be human and in touch with the spirit world after close listening.
Also bought Ruthie Foster's new CD - "The Truth According to Ruthie Foster." One track "Love in the Middle" by Eric Bibb is one of those great songs you are sure was pulled from the collective memory of the human race. It is immediately familiar on first hearing. Ruthie and the superior studio musicians she gathered for this CD just nail it.
Then there is Dion's "Heroes, Giants of Early Guitar Rock." A salute to the likes of Chuck Berry, Elvis, Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, et al. Seriously wonderful time warping happens when you listen to this CD.
Finally, need to track down a way to buy Angus Wilson's CD "In the Gray." A friend brought it back from Rosebud and it is simply mesmerizing. Indie bent stripped down to a beautifully intense acoustic sound. I will find a way to own it.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Winter Was Long!
But full of good music.
The major treats?
Joan Baez. Gotta love it when an icon's current work is as interesting as her classic work.
Alberta Ballet's production of Joni Mitchel's the Fiddle and the Drum. An extraordinary collaboration of installation art, dance and the music. Spell binding.
Met Opera's Live HD transmissions. Got to three this year. The Salome was rewardingly intense. La Sonnambula had the cast born to sing the major roles. Alas a stage director's conceit damaged the production. La Cenerentola - just about perfect in every sense. I doubt that I have heard the ensembles sung with better matched voices.
Hearing the Duhks at SAIT - what a treat to feel their energy in an intimate venue!
Two jazz concerts - a group of young musicians at BeatNiq that were spellbinding and a classic jazz master at Epcor Engineered Air Theatre. Transporting music both nights.
Now to get ready for the summer. Am already pumped about the Calgary Folk Festival - the scope of the artists leaked promises four magical summer days, and Michael Franti says he is coming to it as well - oh yes that will be a show stopper performance again!
The major treats?
Joan Baez. Gotta love it when an icon's current work is as interesting as her classic work.
Alberta Ballet's production of Joni Mitchel's the Fiddle and the Drum. An extraordinary collaboration of installation art, dance and the music. Spell binding.
Met Opera's Live HD transmissions. Got to three this year. The Salome was rewardingly intense. La Sonnambula had the cast born to sing the major roles. Alas a stage director's conceit damaged the production. La Cenerentola - just about perfect in every sense. I doubt that I have heard the ensembles sung with better matched voices.
Hearing the Duhks at SAIT - what a treat to feel their energy in an intimate venue!
Two jazz concerts - a group of young musicians at BeatNiq that were spellbinding and a classic jazz master at Epcor Engineered Air Theatre. Transporting music both nights.
Now to get ready for the summer. Am already pumped about the Calgary Folk Festival - the scope of the artists leaked promises four magical summer days, and Michael Franti says he is coming to it as well - oh yes that will be a show stopper performance again!
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