“Cuba is producing musicians of Herculean technique, many of whom have applied their intensive classical training to the art of jazz – and thus have come to tower over their counterparts around the world. The last two generations have yielded larger-than-life jazz players whose mastery of their instruments and exalted level of musicianship enables them to conquer audiences wherever jazz is played. Exactly why Cuban jazz musicians sound consistently brilliant may be a mystery to the outside world, but in Havana it is no secret…”
Tag: 02.02.03
Today Vs. Yesterday – Are Symphony Orchestras Better?
Are today’s symphony orchestras better or worse than the orchestras of yesterday? The technical level of the players is better, but is the way they play together superior? The Boston Globe asked five prominent conductors to make comparisons.
The 50s Boring? Really?
The 1950s were boring. Dull. Nothing happened. Nothing changed. The mythology about the 50s is that it was a decade “so constricting that the ’60s had to come along to blow things up.” And yet – look at the art that was created then. “The ’50s produced an amazing body of art, one that we revisit time and again not for kitsch or nostalgia, but for the sense of excitement it conveys.”
Even Threat Of Jail For Music Pirates Doesn’t Satisfy Recording Industry
Last week the European Commission issued a draft directive to try to discourage music file traders. The directive “called for counterfeiters to be jailed and their bank accounts frozen.” Evidently even the threat of jail isn’t enough for the big recording companies. “The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said the measures failed to introduce ‘urgently needed measures to hold back the epidemic of counterfeiting’.”