Journal
-
Thursday, August 13, 2020
Composer/multi-instrumentalist Jeff Parker spoke with drummer Jamire Williams and host Mark de Clive-Lowe for the inaugural episode of With Love From LA, a new monthly online series spotlighting "some of our favorite independent LA creatives." "They are both some of the best jazz-adjacent creative improvisers I’ve ever heard," de Clive-Lowe told Los Angeles magazine of his first guests. You can watch the conversation here, and catch Parker and Williams in concert for the series next Wednesday.
Journal Topics: Artist NewsVideo
-
Friday, July 17, 2020
British singer/songwriter/guitarist Lianne La Havas’ self-titled album, her first since 2015’s Blood, is out now. The eleven tracks span the arc of a love affair, one that brought growth and newfound confidence. “This is my first completely self-produced album with my own band. I got my own way with everything—all the decisions that you hear on this album were mine,” she says. “I’m a woman now, so I’m less shy and timid about saying certain things. And there’s no right or wrong when it’s your record, so I was very much embracing that fact, as well.”
Journal Topics: Album Release Artist News -
Thursday, July 16, 2020
While we can't go out to take in great live music, here are some events taking place online to enjoy while staying home this weekend: Lianne La Havas joins NPR Music's live listening party of her new album; Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi perform in National Concert Hall Covid-19 memorial concert; Chris Thile's Caramoor concert is streamed; Sam Amidon performs on DeBarra's Folk Club Facebook live; Jeremy Denk's 2015 BBC Proms debut airs on BBC Radio 3; the virtual Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival features past sets by Nickel Creek, Michael Daves.
Journal Topics: Artist News Weekend Events -
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Lianne La Havas, whose self-titled new album is out tomorrow, performed a few songs from home for MPR's The Current and spoke with host Sean McPherson about the new album. You can watch the full session, including her performance of "Courage" and "Bittersweet" from Lianne La Havas and "Green & Gold" from 2015's Blood, and the conversation here.
Journal Topics: Artist News Radio Video -
Thursday, July 16, 2020
Devendra Banhart has released "It's Not Always Funny," the third track from his upcoming four-song EP, Vast Ovoid, due as a limited-edition 12” colored vinyl 45 on July 24. You can hear the track below and download it now when you pre-order the EP, along with the previously released tracks, "Let's See" and "Love Song (Helado Negro Remix)." The EP is a follow-up to Banhart’s latest studio album, Ma, which was released to critical acclaim in September 2019 and includes the original version of "Love Song."
Journal Topics: Artist News -
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Ever wonder what The Staves talk about when no one else is around? Wanted to be a fly on the wall during one of their conversations? Ever wanted to listen in on three sisters who can’t be together during lockdown? Well now there's just the podcast for you: Dial-A-Stave, featuring some of the Staveley-Taylor sisters' phone calls during lockdown. You can get a taste of what's to come in the trailer here and subscribe to the series.
Journal Topics: Artist News -
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Vagabon (Laetitia Tamko) has released a remix of her song "Water Me Down" by Pamcy, which can be heard here. Tamko discovered and fell in love with the music of Manila-based producer and DJ on Bandcamp, where she herself had first released her music and found a music community. The two began an e-mail correspondence, which eventually led to the creation of this remix. The original version of the song appears on Vagabon's 2019 self-titled Nonesuch debut album.
Journal Topics: Album Release Artist News -
Monday, July 13, 2020
Lianne La Havas has released a video for her cover of Radiohead's "Weird Fishes," from her new, self-titled album, out this Friday. You can watch the live, full-band video, which was filmed at London’s 123 studios in Peckham, here. La Havas says: "In the deepest ocean, / The bottom of the sea, / I did this cover of Radiohead / I hope they don’t sue me!" La Havas plays a one-off solo live show this Wednesday, July 15, at London’s Roundhouse, that will be broadcast globally.
Journal Topics: Artist News Video -
Monday, July 13, 2020
Pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan has released "New Maps," the second song from his upcoming album, The Call Within, due August 28 on Nonesuch Records. The video, directed by Vahan Stepanyan and featuring archival footage from the Public TV Company of Armenia and the US Library of Congress, can be seen here. The track is available to download, along with the previously released track "Levitation 21," now.
Journal Topics: Artist News Video -
Friday, July 10, 2020
The members of the original Joshua Redman Quartet—Redman (saxophone), Brad Mehldau (piano), Christian McBride (bass), and Brian Blade (drums)—reunite with RoundAgain, the group’s first recording since 1994’s MoodSwing, out now. "A flawless effort," exclaims NPR. "Each one of them is at the very top of his game now." On July 22, NPR Music and Jazz Night In America will host a live chat and video stream of a rare performance by Redman, Mehldau, McBride, and Blade from last fall; the musicians will join Nate Chinen to discuss the gig and RoundAgain.
Journal Topics: Album Release Artist News -
Friday, July 10, 2020
David Byrne's American Utopia and other Broadway shows have partnered with HeadCount to promote voter registration in the US. Although Broadway performances remain suspended through 2020 due to COVID-19, fans can join their favorite shows in making their voices heard at the polls this fall. Now through October 1, visit headcount.org to register, check, or update your voter registration status online and find localized information about polling dates, sites, and candidates, and, by doing so, enter to win tickets to see American Utopia when performances resume.
Journal Topics: Artist News -
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Composer Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered, performed by the English vocal ensemble Gallicantus led by Gabriel Crouch, will be released on September 25 on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records. A video for “Sanctus/Benedictus” from the Mass, made by Deborah Johnson / CandyStations, can be seen here. Snider’s Mass, with a libretto by poet/writer Nathaniel Bellows, is a celebration of, and an elegy for, the natural world—animals, plants, insects, the planet itself—an appeal for greater awareness, urgency, and action.
Journal Topics: Album Release Artist News Video -
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Lianne La Havas has released a new video for the song “Can’t Fight” from her forthcoming self-titled album. Created in collaboration between La Havas and director Kevin Morosky, the video documents her cultural roots, influences, memories of love and loss, and daily passions, taking the viewer on a visual journey through her beloved South London. La Havas says, “I’ve finally made a video for ‘Can’t Fight’ navigating the social distancing guidelines, and had a lot of fun doing so. Enjoy.”
Journal Topics: Artist News Video
