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my review of the 2022 outsound new music summit is up on artforum https://www.artforum.com/music/making...
had a great day at amoeba yesterday. went there shopping for a friend's birthday present and picked up a few for myself:THE COMPLETE PHILLIPS RECORDINGS OF MISUKO UCHIDA PLAYS MOZART (piano sonatas) ... she has a touch that transcends. if you compare mozart's work with bach or hadyn or early beethoven or any of his contemporaries, it's easy to say, "there's not much here" ... he's not flashy on the page, but i've always felt this puts greater demands on the player for interpretation. uchida, in addition to having virtuosic technique, has a sound that is diaphanous, and, lame as this adjective is, there's a quality that suggests the spiritual. this box set is a goldmine.
RANDY WESTON TRIO - I WANT TO BE HAPPY
weston's piano playing has been a favorite since forever. his piano trio records are a bit rare, and this date from 1955 on the riverside label is indeed a rarity. everything i love about piano trios are on this disc: original interpretations of classics, daring originals, humor, group interplay, and the feeling that this group lives together.
NURSE WITH WOUND - OPIUM CABARET
one of the best ambient records this band has ever made ... big drone stuff with a touch of classic NWW creepiness, and lots of detail with the textures. you can't always tell if two instruments or 200 are playing ... perfect sunday early afternoon music.
LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS - FOLK BLUES LEGEND
this was in the vinyl section and had one of those anonymous covers that made me think maybe it was populated with lots of tracks i already had. about half of the titles were familiar ... but when i got it home, i discovered they were fresh recordings of some of his classics - GET ME MY SHOTGUN - for example, that i had never heard before. it was $6.99 so ... i'm considering this a big win. i'm a huge longtime fan of sam, so if you're not just keep it to yourself.
a friend gave me a guest pass for MASTER CLASS, and the first one i went to is the herbie hancock master class and skipped the intro and went straight to the first chapter: improvisation. while it may start by relating to people with little or no music education, he quickly starts taking chords and "decorating" them in that way that sounds like no one but herbie. i loved his manner throughout - such an open and beautiful human being.