the harmonious metropolis

Hank Shteamer on Braxton: in Time Out NY, on his blog, in several places.

Also in TONY, a Robert Glasper feature. I'm not particularly taken with his previous album, but he gives a pragmatic answer to my question:

"Can you name another black jazz pianist under 30?" he asks. "There are so few, because the money is either in gospel or making beats. In my mind, those things aren't as separate as they're perceived to be nowadays; they all have roots in the blues."

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NewMusicBox has an interesting 3-part series on New Music Economics (a.k.a. the other NME).

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Off Minor reviews a Tim Berne extravaganza, but loses all credibility at the finish line. "I think even Tom Rainey cracked a smile..." Come on, who's going to believe that?

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Salon asks: is Joss Stone the new Tom Jones? [via visionsong]

"the lilt of coastal England never surfaces" = "the desolate sound of the fjords is wholly absent" ?

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Friends and foes of Bill Dixon alike may want to check out The Dixon Society. Is it just me, or is Dixon far more loved in the blogosphere than anywhere else? For years, I'd never come across his name with any frequency or urgency, and all of a sudden he's everywhere. I'm not complaining and maybe I'm just projecting my own blindness, but it's a little odd. [via SpiderMonkey Stories]

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Friends and foes of the ukulele should be informed or warned of the Ukelele Club de Paris. [Vibrations Music]