Music Reviews

Bjork Review

October 25, 2001 • Critic Will Hermes listens to the new Bjork cd titled Vespertine. The music composed on her laptop computer is full of unusual rhythms and textures. (4:45) The cd Vespertine, by Bjork, is on Elektra records.

Music Review: Babyface and Alicia Keys

Fresh Air

October 24, 2001 • Music critic Milo Miles reviews albums from neo-soul artists Babyface and Alicia Keys.

Beulah: 'The Coast Is Never Clear'

October 17, 2001 • Music critic Sarah Bardeen reviews a new CD by the band Beulah, called The Coast is Never Clear. Bardeen says that even if the coast is not, the band's sound is.

Two New Jazz CDs

October 10, 2001 • Charles de Ledesma reviews two new modern jazz releases. The first is Hyperion with Higgins, by Charles Lloyd, who plays the tenor saxophone. He has dedicated his album to the late Billy Higgins, who played drums with Lloyd. The second album is Not for Nothin, by the Dave Holland Quintet. Ledesma says both albums reinforce that modern jazz is still a potent creative musical force.
Both CDs are from the record label ECM.

Review: Bob Dylan's 'Love and Theft'

Fresh Air

October 3, 2001 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Love and Theft (Columbia) the new release by Bob Dylan.

Leos Janacek

September 24, 2001 • Tom Manoff has a review of a new CD of piano music by Leos Janacek, a Czech composer who lived and composed in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It's called Leos Janacek, A Recollection. Janacek was known for infusing his classical compositions with the folk music of his native Moravia. This new recording features pianist Andras Schiff. It's on the ECM label.

Evan Ziporyn's 'This Is Not a Clarinet'

September 10, 2001 • Colin Berry reviews the CD This is Not a Clarinet, by Evan Ziporyn. The album offers incredible insight into the kinds of sounds the clarinet can deliver. The album has been released by Cantaloupe Music.

'Rocket House'

September 7, 2001 • Scott Aiges reviews Rocket House, the latest album from Chris Whitley. Whitley's debut album a decade ago was called a masterpiece in postmodern blues. On this record, he mixes songs that are firmly rooted in the blues with hypnotic futuristic sound effects. The highly stylized sound doesn't obscure the solid foundation of the songs, and Aiges says the album is both rootsy and experimental.

Music critic Milo Miles reviews Avalon Blues, (Vanguard)

Fresh Air

August 8, 2001 • Music critic Milo Miles reviews Avalon Blues, (Vanguard) a new tribute album to country blues performer Mississippi John Hurt.

'Del and the Boys' from the Del McCoury Band

Fresh Air

August 7, 2001 • Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Del and the Boys by the Del McCoury Band.

Great Performances: Three Mo' Tenors

Fresh Air

August 6, 2001 • Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews Three Mo' Tenors, a PBS Great Performances program and a new CD. It features the African-American tenors Rodrick Dixon, Victor Trent Cook and Thomas Young.

Gene Ammons: 'All-Star Sessions with Sonny Stitt'

August 1, 2001 • Gene "Jug" Ammons played bebop and R&B with equal skill. As the founder of the "Chicago School" of tenor sax, he performed with the Woody Herman and Billy Eckstine orchestras. He and his saxophonist friend, Sonny Stitt, often seemed to be in competition when they played together, as they do in this album.