Category: AJBlogs

Dancing with Music
The Mark Morris Dance Group performs in its own Brooklyn space. Sam Black and the Mark Morris Dance Group in Morris’s The. Photo: Mat Hayward Music often takes Mark Morris in directions I couldn’t have… … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2016-05-21

Weekend Extra: Fathead Newman’s “Hard Times”
When he was a member of the Ray Charles band in the 1950s, saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman was frequently the featured soloist on Paul Mitchell’s and George V. Johnson’s “Hard Times.” It became a musical… … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-05-21

Things I do not understand about the ticket-resale debate
The Guardian reports that next week Professor Michael Waterson will release a UK government commissioned report on the regulation of ticket resale. I’m glad to hear it, because it might shed some light on an… … read more
AJBlog: For What it’s WorthPublished 2016-05-21

[ssba_hide]

My concert, at last online
I’ll interrupt my posts about the DC Ring, and some of its implications for the future of classical music. Because I want to tell you something special for me — that video of my April … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-05-19

So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-05-19

[ssba_hide]

Artists and Relationship Building
There is a lot of work right now on building demand, value and interest in the contributions of art and artists to places, social change, economies and communities. This is the long overdue work … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-05-17

Is This How It Ends?
Tiffany Mills titled her latest work After the Feast, and the program note for its premiere during the annual La MaMa Moves! Festival asks the spectators to imagine: “an urban dystopia caused by vanishing resources.” In my mind, that includes … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-05-18

Art Museum Day’s Odd Couples: Corcoran/GWU, MASS MoCA/Crystal Bridges, Smithsonian/Hebrew University
In the provocative spirit of CultureGrrl, come join me, faithful art-lings, in an unconventional commemoration of Art Museum Day, spotlighting some unlikely pairings that have recently hit the news. Whether conceived in a spirit of … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-18

Recent Listening In Brief, Part 3: Strassmayer & Mondlak
Karolina Strassmayer & Drori Mondlak — Klaro!, Of Mystery and Beauty (Lilypad) From the drama of the album’s opening cymbal splashes to the fading piano notes at its end, alto saxophonist and flutist Strassmayer and drummer Mondlak … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-05-18

[ssba_hide]

That Sad, Empty,Yet Hopeful Palestinian Museum
You may have seen the New York Times article headlined Palestinian Museum Prepares to Open, Minus Exhibitions in Tuesday’s paper. It told the sad story of a new museum, … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts Published 2016-05-17

Chatting with Playwright Rich Orloff … on Relevance.
What is the value of relevance? As an arts marketer, I believe that relevance is the mandatory price of admission to an audience’s attention. That which is irrelevant is routinely ignored or discarded.  And for artists … read more
AJBlog: Audience Wanted Published 2016-05-17

Who Are the World’s Most Famous People?
You’d be surprised. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the world’s best-known American, followed by — are you ready? — Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Walt Disney, and Ben Franklin. Those are the top five. How do … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2016-05-17

Lookback: relativism and its discontents
From 2006: People are forever telling me that a work of art should be “criticized on its own terms.” (Mr. Parabasis, one of my favorite bloggers, got after me a few weeks ago on precisely… … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-05-17

[ssba_hide]

This Week In Audience 05.15.16 – New Audience V. Old Audience Edition
A confluence of stories this week that rocket between new and old, digital and physical. Physical books making a comeback while e-book sales fall. Downloads collapsing as streaming takes hold. Transitions sure are messy … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts Audience Published 2016-05-15

An Asterisk for Twombly Record* at Sotheby’s? Bloomberg Reports Payment by Art-Swap
When is an “auction record” not really an auction record? That’s a question that may be raised regarding a wobbly Twombly benchmark set at Sotheby’s last November. In her Bloomberg report on that auction house’s … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-16

Cattle And Kenny Dorham
A cycling expedition this morning found me in cattle country. As I pulled over to enjoy the bucolic scene, who should pop into my mind but Kenny Dorham. A native Texan who spent considerably more … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-05-16

[ssba_hide]

Propwatch: the invisible chairs in Boy
Our chat before Boy began was all about the travelator. The Almeida Theatre has been reconfigured for Leo Butler’s play to allow a moving walkway to snake around the space. Actors were already sitting,… … read more
AJBlog: Performance MonkeyPublished 2016-05-15

Comments from the outside
Reactions of outsiders to the DC Ring, which I raved about in my last post. The Valkyrie, end of Act 2. Battle under an overpass, with Fricka watching from above. By “outsiders” I… … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2016-05-13

For the twelfth time…this is it

The deepest power of classical music
I got chills at the end of The Rhinegold (as they called it at the Washington National Opera Ring, though they did the cycle in German). And I cried at the end of The Valkyrie. That’s one way to measure the power of this production, … read more
AJBlog: Sandow Published 2016-05-12

If Antony Tudor Wrote a Novel
Girl Through Glass, Sari Wilson’s debut novel about the 1970s New York ballet world, focuses on the imprint of George Balanchine on the young dancers in the city. … read more
AJBlog: Fresh Pencil Published 2016-05-12

Arhoolie Records (a dozen faves) to Smithsonian
Excellent news on the archival recordings front: Arhoolie Records, the 55-year old treasury of American folk and vernacular musics, has been acquired by … read more
AJBlog: Jazz Beyond Jazz Published 2016-05-12

Are We Still Awake? My Storify on Christie’s Impressionist/Modern Snooze
I don’t know about you, but I’m experiencing severe auction fatigue, which is not nearly as rewarding as museum fatigue. So let’s cut to the chase and get right to my Storify account … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-12

[ssba_hide]

“Contemporary Confidence” Game: Brett Gorvy Tells How Christie’s Got it Done
The headline for my last post was: Christie’s Gets It Done. At the press preview for last night’s confidence-restoring contemporary sale, Brett Gorvy, Christie’s chairman of Post-War and Contemporary art, told me how he had … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-11

Competition Lives! My Storify on Sotheby’s Creditable Contemporary Sale
After its rocky night Monday, it looked like Sotheby’s could become a distant also-ran in the art-auction sweepstakes. But tonight, with a little help from some late-breaking irrevocable bids (likely accompanied by lowered reserves), … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-11

Snapshot: Louis Armstrong performs “A Kiss to Build a Dream On”
Louis Armstrong and His All Stars perform “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” in concert in 1962. … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2016-05-11

[ssba_hide]

New vs. Existing: A Time for Every Patron
As a chief marketing officer, consultant and now managing director, I’ve participated in my fair share of marketing committee meetings. One of the most hotly debated topics is whether to focus resources on developing new audiences or on increasing loyalty … read more
AJBlog: Engaging Matters Published 2016-05-10

Christie’s Gets It Done: My Storify on Tonight’s Solid Contemporary Sale
Christie’s tonight pulled the art market out of its Sotheby’s-induced funk with a Post-War/Contemporary sale that hummed along nicely from beginning to end, with one manic moment … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-10

Satin and Furs and Love of Dancing
New York City Ballet’s  Spring Gala celebrates with new ballets and a recent masterwork. … read more
AJBlog: Dancebeat Published 2016-05-10

[ssba_hide]

This Week In Audience 05.08.16, Unintended Consequences Edition
So who exactly is the arts audience, and how and why do they engage? We’ve got some more data. … read more
AJBlog: AJ Arts Audience Published 2016-05-09

JJA Nominations
The Jazz Journalists Association has announced its 2016 awards nominees. … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-05-09

“Cautious Optimism,” Depressed Results: Sotheby’s Spins the Art-Market Slump for Analysts
How do you restore investor confidence in a company whose first-quarter results show a net loss of $25.9 million (compared to net income of $5.2 million for the same period the previous year), with … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-09

Sotheby’s Slump: My Storify from Tonight’s Painful Impressionist/Modern Sale
If Sotheby’s is trying to restore buyer confidence, tonight’s mediocre Impressionist/Modern sale wasn’t the way to do it. Only 66.1% of the works sold, and the sold total by hammer price total was considerably below … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2016-05-09

Monday Recommendation: A Twofer
Kirk MacDonald, Symmetry (Addo)
Oleg Kireyev & Keith Javors, The Meeting (Inarhyme)
The unprecedented double recommendation this week is because both albums … read more
AJBlog: RiffTides Published 2016-05-09

[ssba_hide]