Kurt Weill at Sardi’s, 1943. Photo by Dan Grossi/Associated Press I recently embarked with soprano Juliana Brandon on a major project to develop and (when the pandemic lockdown ends) perform our own arrangements of the music of Kurt Weill (1900-1950). There’s a bit more to it than that, and you can read all about it …
On January 7, 2017 the Los Angeles Times published a piece about Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes) comparing his 2005 Album I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning written out of the wreckage of his (and others) failed attempt to have John Kerry elected president to his then current record Ruminations. It compares the first record album that speaks of disappointment, despair—dark thoughts of hope eclipsed by a diminished expectations …
Rocker John Cale, of Velvet Underground fame, made an appearance on American television show, I’ve Got a Secret, on September 16, 1963. Filmed only two years before he was to found the Velvet Underground with Lou Reed, in this clip Cale appears to be an overly grave, studious chap with what must have seemed like …
A friend died last Wednesday. It might seem odd calling him a friend, since I never saw him in the flesh, never spoke to him on the telephone, and have no idea what he looked like. On the other hand, it might not seem so strange. Having such friends seemed and seems strange to me. …