When it comes to contemporary classical minimalist music, I’m more inclined toward rhythmic stuff like Steve Reich or Philip Glass—I’m at heart a rock and roll lover, after all, and...
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Trumpeter Miles Davis has had such a prolific career, that it would be nearly impossible to satisfyingly summarize his career in a mere five CD-length playlists. But here I am,...
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Saxophonist Ornette Coleman is one of the key figures in jazz history, notable for launching an entire genre, free jazz. The genre eventually took many forms—from atonal improvisation that defied...
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The great Johnny Cash needs no introduction. So let’s get to it. Playlist 1 The first playlist presents my mix of Johnny Cash’s two famous live albums from the late...
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It’s very hip to be a fan of Serge Gainsbourg, the crown prince of French perversity—at least it was the last time I paid much attention to what was hip....
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Intro text After John Coltrane, Charles Mingus was my next great jazz love. The first Mingus recording that blew me away was the album The Black Saint and the...
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Patsy Cline was one of the first country music singers to find success on the pop charts. She has a terrific voice, and has justifiably found her place in the…
Doo-wop originated in the 1940s among urban African-Americans—enabling them to create rich musical accompaniment vocally, without the need for costly instruments—and was quickly adopted by Italian-Americans, who at that time…
Don and Phil Everly had a nice string of hit singles from 1957 to 1961 that put them at the forefront of pop music. Their vocal harmonies seem to my…
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