Joe Lovano, Cross Culture: The saxophonist clearly feels he has a thing going with his double-drummer band, Us Five. This is his third album with this group, and unlike the previous record, this one is almost entirely made up of original compositions. He tweaks his own sonic palette, adding a mezzo-soprano saxophone and tarogato to the proceedings, and welcomes [...]
NPR’s Top 12 Jazz Albums for 2012
December 10, 2012 | Posted by
For the better part of this year, I haven’t been able to shake a certain phrase from the back of my mind. It was written by the pianist and composer Vijay Iyer in the liner notes to his brilliant trio album Accelerando: “[T]his album is in the lineage of American creative music based on dance [...]
Final NPR Poll Says Presidential Race Is Too Close To Call
October 30, 2012 | Posted by
The final NPR Battleground Poll for 2012 shows former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holding a slim lead in the national sample, but trailing President Barack Obama in the dozen swing states that will decide the election. The poll adds further evidence that the Oct. 3 presidential debate between the two men redefined the race. But [...]
For The Ladies: R. Kelly, Teddy Pendergrass And The State Of R&B
October 19, 2012 | Posted by
This week, fans of music, melodrama and ridiculous wigs welcomed the return of Trapped in the Closet, R. Kelly‘s hip-hop soap opera, which returns to IFC the day after Thanksgiving with 20 new episodes. (Watch the recapping Chapter 23 here.) The singer-provocateur is having a busy fall — he’s touring with his “Single Ladies” show, [...]
Branford Marsalis and ‘Four MFs Playin’ Tunes’
August 12, 2012 | Posted by
Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, oldest son of New Orleans pianist and educator Ellis Marsalis, released an album with his quartet this week. He spoke to weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz about the failings of modern jazz, his hopes for the next generation and leaving New York City to move back to the South. [...]
NPR Gets $1.5 Mil Diversity Grant for More Stories on Race, Ethnicity and Culture
August 3, 2012 | Posted by
National Public Radio, criticized in recent years for a lack of diversity of its staff and coverage, is using a $1.5 million grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to put together a six-person team to report stories on race, ethnicity and culture. The national radio program producer and digital news provider was accepting the [...]
NPR Will Live Stream this Year’s Newport Jazz Festival
July 10, 2012 | Posted by
For those unable to attend Rhode Island for the venerable Newport Jazz Festival, NPR has decided to use technology to support the festival’s mission of bringing jazz to the masses. Since 1954, the Newport Jazz Festival has brought live music to seaside New England. This year, you can see it even if you can’t be [...]
New Study: Fox News Viewers Worst-informed, NPR’s Listeners Best-informed
May 23, 2012 | Posted by
People who watch no news at all can answer more questions about international current events than people who watch cable news, a survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind finds. “NPR and Sunday morning political talk shows are the most informative news outlets, while exposure to partisan sources, such as Fox News and MSNBC, has a [...]
