Steve Smith
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The first recording I was moved to listen to in 2018 is Hidden, a new Wergo album featuring two dynamic, disparate compositions by Chaya Czernowin. Adiantum Capillus-Veneris (2015-16) is a three-part composition designated "for voice and breath" – the first and second parts involving amplification, the last adding electronics – performed with intimacy and vitality here…
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Happy New Year, everyone. I'm resolved to keep things humming here again… watch this space.
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The Girl's continuing journey through music, with The Dad taking notes. Stevie WonderSongs in the Key of Life(Motown; 1976) [“Tonight I’m playing you one of mama’s very favorite albums, and it’s one of mine, too.”] “Who is it?” [“This is Stevie Wonder, and he’s one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time.”] “Well,…
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Photographs courtesy of Joda Clément Originally published by National Sawdust Log on Dec. 15, 2017 I've always listened to a lot of what might be termed electronic music, but I haven't always felt especially comfortable writing about it. Evaluating music in print can be challenging under the best of circumstances, given the intrinsic subjectivity of…
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The Girl's continuing journey through music, with The Dad taking notes. “You always pick the best music for bath time, Dad.” [“Well, that’s very nice of you to say. I try hard to pick things that you’ll find interesting. But if I played something that you didn’t like, it would be okay for you…
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The Girl's continuing journey through music, with The Dad taking notes. Photograph: Peggy Harper Paul SimonOver the Bridge of Time: A Paul Simon Retrospective (1961-2011)(Sony Legacy; 2013) ["So, what kind of music do you feel like hearing tonight?"] "Well, Paul Simon," The Girl says. ["OK, whatever you say." "The Sound of…
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The Girl's continuing journey through music, with The Dad taking notes. Photograph: Tony Levin King CrimsonRadical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind(DGM, 2016) [during percussion-only intro to "Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Part 1"] "This is cool music, Papa!" [during choppy guitar transition] "I really like the music, Papa! I like the way…
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Originally published by National Sawdust Log on May 26, 2017 Jürg Frey ephemeral constructions Erik Carlson, violin; Jürg Frey, clarinet; Greg Stuart, percussion; University of South Carolina Experimental Music Workshop Edition Wandelweiser; CD (U.S. distribution: ErstDist) The less I say this time, the better – partly because I have so very, very little information available…
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Vanessa Rossetto (Image: Matthew Revert) Vanessa Rossettoerased de kooning + rocinanteBandcamp; DL only Originally published by National Sawdust Log, May 5, 2017 Everything that’s erased leaves its trace of its passage behind: a point as familiar to the manuscript recyclers of antiquity for whom the term palimpsest was coined to modern-day digital data-recovery sleuths. We learn…
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Formed in 1966 in the city whose banner it would fly around the globe, the Art Ensemble of Chicago turned 50 in 2016. Of the longtime classic lineup – saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, trumpeter Lester Bowie, bassist Malachi Favors, and percussionist Don Moye – two, Bowie and Favors, have passed away, and one, Jarman,…
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An occasional tally of memorable things Steve Smith has stuck in his ears lately. Richard Wagner – Die Walküre – Matthias Goerne, Michelle DeYoung, Stuart Skelton, Heidi Melton, Petra Lang, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra/Jaap van Zweden (Naxos) <a href="http://tonkatsurecords.bandcamp.com/album/lark-city">Lark City by Skylark Quartet</a> Skylark Quartet – Lark City (Tonkatsu) <a href="http://fabricarecords.bandcamp.com/album/same-animal-different-cages-vol-2-solomonos-for-analog-synthesizer">Same Animal, Different Cages Vol.…
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An occasional tally of memorable things Steve Smith has stuck in his ears lately. <a href="http://jonathanfinlayson.bandcamp.com/album/moving-still">Moving Still by Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense</a> Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense – Moving Still (Pi Recordings; 2016) Chöying Drolma & Steve Tibbetts – Chö (Rykodisc; 1997) Mayhem – De Mysteriis dom Sathanas (Century Black; 1994) Laraaji – Ambient…
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An occasional tally of memorable things Steve Smith has stuck in his ears lately. Linda Catlin Smith – Memory Forms (Artifact Music; 2001) > Among the Tarnished Stars – The Burdocks; Through the Low Hills – Andrew Smith, Stephen Clarke; Knotted Silk – Stephen Clarke, Arraymusic/Henry Kucharzyk; With Their Shadows Long – Marc Sabat, Stephen…
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An occasional tally of memorable things Steve Smith has stuck in his ears lately. Linda Catlin Smith – Memory Forms (Artifact Music; 2001) > Among the Tarnished Stars – The Burdocks; Through the Low Hills – Andrew Smith, Stephen Clarke; Knotted Silk – Stephen Clarke, Arraymusic/Henry Kucharzyk; With Their Shadows Long – Marc Sabat, Stephen…
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An occasional tally of memorable things Steve Smith has stuck in his ears lately. Van der Graaf Generator – Do Not Disturb (Esoteric Antenna; 2016) Eli Keszler – Last Signs of Speed (Empty Editions; due Nov. 17, 2016) Linda Catlin Smith – Dirt Road – Mira Benjamin, Simon Limbrick (Another Timbre; 2016) Joseph Kudirka –…
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A bit of news to report, and rather than waxing loquacious I'm simply going to state it plainly: This is, for the foreseeable future, the last post I'll be writing for Night After Night, the blog I've operated on Typepad since October 2005. That's not to say I'm packing it in, just that I've decided…
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Away With You by Mary Halvorson Mary Halvorson Octet – Away With You (Firehouse 12; due Oct. 28) Claude Debussy – Images; Jeux; Nocturnes; La Mer; Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune; Marche écossaise sur un theme populaire; Printemps; Two movements from L’Infant Prodigue; Berceuse héroïque – Women of the RSNO Chorus, Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Stéphane…
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Photograph: Paola Prestini, by Brigitte Lacombe Originally published by National Sawdust Log on Oct. 3, 2016 When I first met with composer Paola Prestini just over three years ago to discuss her dreams, plans, and goals for the wide-ranging arts venue, incubator, and accelerator that would become National Sawdust, she expressed her conviction that journalism…
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Originally published by National Sawdust Log on Sept. 30, 2016. David Lang: the loser Presented by BAM Next Wave FestivalHoward Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NYReviewed on Sept. 9, 2016 By Steve SmithPhotographs: Richard Termine If you’ve followed the career of David Lang, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and co-founder of the revolutionary…
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King Crimson – Radical Action (To Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind) (DGM/Panegyric) Uton and Ø+yn/Bird People and Creation VI – Monster Collab (Cosmic Winnetou) Strom Noir – The White Colour of the Clouds (Cosmic Winnetou) America's National Parks by Wadada Leo Smith Wadada Leo Smith – America's National Parks (Cuneiform; due Oct. 14) An…
Night After Night 