Finnish tango has been a big deal for decades.
That's just one of many things I learned as I camped out at the intimate world music stage at last weekend's Jazz Winterlude festival. Correctly anticipating a line outside the door of the 100-person capacity Recital Hall, I arrived early with an empty bladder.
I refused to give up my seat for the next five hours. The education I received made my social and physical discomfort seem immaterial.
Accordionist Juha Silfverberg clued me in to the scene of his native Finland.
Ensemble Ibérica, a guitar trio led by Beau Bledsoe, played music of Spain, Portugal and Latin America with impressive precision.
I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't taken in a performance by Marimba Sol de Chiapas until Saturday. Although I could have done without the patronizing tone of the bandleader- "can you say Chiapas?"- the quartet made absolutely gorgeous music.
Did you know that musicians in gamelan orchestras use hammers as mallets? I didn't. Gamelan Genta Kasturi made one hell of a racket. The sonic assault was made even more overwhelming by the raucous Arturo Sandoval sound check that bled into the room.
My head still hurts.
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My notes about Terri Lyne Carrington's concert at the Jazz Winterlude festival are published at Plastic Sax.
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I mourned Keith Whitley's death in 1989. That's one reason Jason Eady's Daylight & Dark instantly hit home with me. Another reason is the reference to Kansas City on the opening track "OK City". Refusing to drink 3.2 beer in an Oklahoma tavern during a pit stop on a southbound drive toward Texas, a man has an ill-fated encounter with whiskey. RIYL: Gary Stewart, heartaches and hangovers, Alan Jackson.
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Listeners who are don't speak English and are unaware of the backstory of Against Me! might think that Transgender Dysphoria Blues is just another solid third-generation punk album. But the lyrics- many of which take on self-referential gender issues- are great. RIYL: The Clash, the new sincerity, F*cked Up.
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I admire how organizers of Plano's Suburbia Music Festival own it. Besides, the lineup is truly impressive.
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I'm going to skate to one album and one album only. Jennifer Holliday's The Song Is You is a completely over-the-top collection of standards. And I can dig it. RIYL: Eartha Kitt, gay cabaret, Luciano Pavarotti.
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I've always loved the Grammy Awards. A ranking of yesterday's performances follows. (Roomful of Teeth knocked me out during the non-televised segment.) Kendrick Lamar/Imagine Dragons, Beyoncé/Jay-Z, Paul McCartney/Ringo Starr, Pink/Nate Ruess, John Legend, the Sound City all-stars, Carole King/Sara Bareilles, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis/Mary Lambert/Madonna, Lang Lang/Metallica, Daft Punk and company, Kacey Musgraves, Chicago/Robin Thicke, Lorde, The Highwaymen, Billie Joe Armstrong/Miranda Lambert, Ringo Starr, Taylor Swift, Gary Clark Jr./Keith Urban and Katy Perry. Sorry, Katy- that was wack.
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Kansas City Click: My official picks are published here.
(Original image of a portion of Gamelan Genta Kasturi by There Stands the Glass.)
