So it's December again. For quite a few years now I've posted recommendations for recent BluRay/DVD releases, CDs and books that might prove useful for anyone wondering what to buy as gifts for Christmas; they appear to have been popular, so here we go again. (I myself find choosing presents enormously difficult, so I’m always … Continue reading Movies, Music and Books for Christmas… and Beyond
It’s strange: the Norwegians Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli undoubtedly count among my favourite musicians, and both – the former a saxophonist, the latter an accordionist – have been mentioned fairly frequently on this website. (Indeed, Haltli featured in my very first blog.) Nonetheless, while preparing a few notes for the following piece about Our … Continue reading Their Time: Trygve Seim and Frode Haltli on Stunning Form
The last couple of months have seen ECM release four wonderful albums by some of my favourite jazz musicians. There was September Night with the late, great trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, his Polish quartet – its members later the Marcin Wasilewski Trio – recorded at their peak in a Munich concert in 2004. (I recall seeing … Continue reading A Musical Cornucopia: Five Great New Jazz Releases
It’s emphatically a reflection not of their musical quality but of how busy I’ve been recently that I’m only now writing to pass on my enthusiasm for three rather wonderful albums released by ECM in January and early February. I’ve been listening to each of them a lot, but due to work I was so … Continue reading But is it jazz? (Yes!) Three more musical gems
As anyone who has seen Decasia (2002) or Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016), by the New York-based artist and filmmaker Bill Morrison, may be aware, there can be something strangely beautiful about film –film, the physical entity – decomposed by the passing of time. Even before I saw the former title, I’d already been intrigued … Continue reading Deciphering film’s decadent beauty: Bill Morrison’s Village Detective
For some years now I have been a regular attendee at concerts by the estimable Nash Ensemble, chamber ensemble in residence at London’s Wigmore Hall; their themed seasons of programmes are consistently intelligent, wide-ranging and illuminating, the level of musicianship dependably excellent. At one such concert, in November 2018, I was intrigued to see, sitting … Continue reading Viola, viola (II): the remarkable Timothy Ridout
As you may be aware, I’ve posted my personal ‘best of the year’ lists ever since I started writing here in 2016, and each time I’ve felt moved to mention the parlous state both of the UK and of the world in general. This last year saw no improvement on either front, which means that … Continue reading My best movies, music, books, etc, of 2023
Back in the 1990s, when I was film editor at Time Out, the magazine’s classical music critic suggested, at one of our weekly editorial meetings, that he interview an eminent British composer. I can no longer recall whether the proposal was to mark a new composition or a significant anniversary, but I vividly remember the … Continue reading Two Thomases and Tabakova: three new musical delights
Today I learned of the death of Carla Bley, on 17th October from brain cancer, at the age of 87. One of the greatest composers, arrangers, pianists and all-round musicians of the last sixty or seventy years – and I don't just mean in terms of 'jazz' – she was a major figure in my … Continue reading Carla Bley: some memories
Not so long ago, I wrote in appreciation of the lovely new album by Nils Økland and Sigbjørn Apeland. It wasn’t the first time I’ve enthused about Nordic music and, as I’m about to prove, it wasn’t the last. There’s something special about the way many musicians from the Nordic countries blend folk, jazz, formally … Continue reading Beyond Folk, Beyond Jazz: two terrific albums from Norway
notes and observations by Geoff Andrew 