Category: Reviews

By Maisie Sheidlower

Everything about the first five minutes of the House of Strombo performance, streamed on CBC music, made clear that it was recorded at a time before now. Quick shots to the stand-up bassist’s hands revealed them to be gloveless. Pans to the grinning faces of the audience revealed them to be maskless. Wider shots of the venue staff revealed them to be flirtily nudging each other — partaking in the physical contact many of us have been deprived of for so long now. And, in the center of it all, John Prine, who as of this week is another privilege Corona has dictated we must go without. 

Continue reading “John Prine’s Intimate House of Strombo Performance: Concert Review” →

By Tyler Smith

Hailed by the New York Times as “The Best Classical Music Ensemble of 2018,” Wet Ink Ensemble has lived up to this acclaim once again with their recent release Glossolalia/Lines on Black. The album takes its name from the two extended works by Wet Ink members Alex Mincek (saxophone) and Sam Pluta (electronics). The remainder of the septet includes Eric Wubbels (piano), Erin Lesser (flutes), Ian Antonio (percussion), Josh Modney (violin), and Kate Soper (voice). 

Continue reading “Wet Ink Ensemble: Glossolalia/Lines on Black“ →

By Damani Malcolm

On February 21st, I settled into a seat at the Cat in the Cream to watch Ben Oglesby’s Quintet play what will probably be Stolof’s final Jazz Forum. I was hoping the group — composed of himself on guitar, Matt Stolof (drums), Gervis Myles (bass), Abe Gold (piano), and Max Schlenk (tenor saxophone) — would take the opportunity to make a statement, and I was not disappointed.  Continue reading “Jazz Forum Review” →

By Megan McLaughlin

One of my favorite things I’ve watched online since the beginning of social distancing has been the playful banter between Opera Theatre Professor Chris Mirto and Musicology Professor Jamie O’Leary in their “Oberlin Stage Left” stream, Beat the Blues with Broadway. 

Started by Oberlin Conservatory in mid-April, the new series of livestreams hosted by Conservatory faculty ranges in format from documentary viewings to question and answer sessions with guests. Beat the Blues with Broadway is a carefree discussion about some of the hosts’ favorite choreographers and singers, complete with interactive audience participation and clips from different musicals.

Continue reading “Beating the Blues with Broadway on “Oberlin Stage Left”” →

By Lilyanna D’Amato

Every day, somewhere around four in the afternoon, I have the same conversation with my Mom. I wander into her office to tell her that I’m bored, she scolds me because she hates the word “bored” (it is “forbidden” in this house) and says that if I’m so unimaginative she will certainly dream up something for me to do. After five weeks of my nonsense, she finally did. 

Much to my dismay, I was sent to unpack the boxes in the basement, the contents of which haven’t seen the light of day since 1998. So, that’s how I spent my Saturday, up to my neck in junk. Or so I thought. On my sixth box, I uncovered my Dad’s collection of 80s CDs. At first I saw some familiar, albeit dusty, favorites — Prince’s Sign “O” The Times, Bowie’s Tonight, Marvin Gaye’s Midnight Love — but as I sifted through the piles, I found a few I had never seen before. Among them was a 1981 four-track EP from Italo disco artist Pino D’Angiò called Ma Quale Idea, the vivacious tech-pop album I never knew I needed.

Continue reading “Album Review — Ma Quela Idea“ →

By Tyler Smith

Due to the abrupt halt of live events because of the pandemic, Chicago’s Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) has begun an online series titled “The Quarantine Concerts.” The concerts, held on the streaming platform Twitch, involve artists from all over the world. With each artist given a half-hour slot to perform whatever they desire, every concert results in a diverse musical jumble. Earlier in April, ESS featured improvised sets by Oberlin professor Dana Jessen, and by Hanson Records owner Aaron Dilloway.

Continue reading “Dana Jessen and Aaron Dilloway — “The Quarantine Concerts”” →

By Megan McLaughlin

The Opéra National de Paris’s 2007 production of Giselle makes it abundantly clear why the French are known for ballet. The new choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot brings a breath of fresh air to the score of Adolphe Adam’s tried and true 1841 “ballet-pantomime.” Giselle recounts the tale of a peasant girl in the Middle Ages who dies after having her heart broken by a Duke. Streaming now on medici.tv with a duration of just under two hours, Giselle is a great quarantine activity for those looking to nourish their childlike sense of wonder.

The ballet opens with Duke Albrecht (Nicolas Le Riche) disguising himself as a peasant to court the lovely villager Giselle (Laëtitia Pujol). The two fall fast in love, chasing each other around the village square and engaging in playful gimmicks before joining in a capricious pas de deux. Their love dismays Giselle’s mother, who thinks the gamekeeper Hilarion (Wilfried Romoli) is a far better match. 

Continue reading “Review: Giselle on medici.tv” →

By Damani McNeil

In the pantheon of Jazz musicians, Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers hold a special place, and perform a critical function. Releasing 47 studio albums over a 35 year span featuring scores of members in myriad combinations, Blakey’s Jazz Messengers have served as a living archive of jazz, recording some of the most iconic snapshots of the state of the genre and it’s most prolific artists. Situated in between the release of Ugetsu (1963) and Kyoto (1964), Free For All is one of the group’s most legendary offerings, and also one of their most beautiful.

  Continue reading “Free For All — Album Review” →

By Damani McNeil

Through her successes on Shea Butter Baby and Revenge of the Dreamers III, Ari Lennox’s early buzz has bloomed into one of the most promising young careers in music. Known for her silky, seductive voice and well put-together visuals, her brand is cohesive and she seems primed to make a serious pass at the position of Queen of R&B.

As elite as her contributions have been over the past two years, her talent and vision were introduced to the world long before her popular success, in the form of a 7 track EP titled Pho.

Continue reading “Pho — Album Review” →