Engineer's Daughter: December 2020

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December 2020

December 30, 2020

a grassy noël

The radio play as a form has had quite a resurgence this year (for obvious reasons), and this week I've been very much enjoying listening to a play a day by Noel Grassy Macken online at London's Resonance FM. A poet and a playwright, Macken has been creating radio plays for the last 15 years, and the ones I've heard so far are farcical, clever, and subtly surreal. They're also timely as hell.

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Posted at 11:37 AM in Performing Arts | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 29, 2020

12 streams of serious

Another excellent way to pass the time this week, promotion company Serious has selected 12 standout performances from their 2020 productions for your streaming pleasure. Highlights include composer and percussionist Sarathy Korwar leading his new band in a gig at London's Total Refreshment Centre, and an online ensemble led by Orphy Robinson where people joined in from their homes to perform and record in a sort of virtual jazz club situation. But really all the streams are fantastic. Also keep an eye on the Serious site for their 2021 shows, much to look forward to on the horizon.

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Posted at 10:36 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 28, 2020

bang on a can marathons on demand

Bang on a Can has given us a wonderful present to help get us through this dreadful limbo time in between Christmas and New Year's, the gift of 24 hours of music and conversations recorded live during their online marathons this past year and available to watch for this week only. The list of musicians and composers who participated in the 2020 pandemic marathons is simply mind-boggling and includes Meredith Monk, George Lewis, Alvin Curran, Iva Bittová, Nicole Mitchell, Annie Gosfield, Rhiannon Giddens, to name just a few. You can skip directly to your favorites or proceed through the roster in the order provided (as I have been doing) for maximum surprise and delight. And don't forget to donate to Bang on a Can, so that they continue to pay artists and commission new work!

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Posted at 04:02 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0)

December 25, 2020

an ill considered christmas

How I like my holiday music: either utterly traditional, or blasted in from another dimension. This recent session from UK out-jazz trio Ill Considered falls decisively into the latter category, and as they reinterpret classics like "Ding Dong Merrily On High" and "Auld Lang Syne" the energy is undeniable. UnEvensong indeed. Ill Considered is Idris Rahman on sax, Emre Ramazanoglu on drums, and Liran Donin on electric bass, and you can find them on the New Soil record label.

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Posted at 08:29 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0)