Taking The Soul For A Walk. Dafnis Prieto Sextet (Dafnison Music). Prieto’s October RJA appearance was like Miguel Zenón’s in April: a brilliant showcase of the fresh jazz springing from Afro-Latin and Caribbean roots. The album sparkles even more with the addition of Yosvany Terry’s sax and Avishai Cohen’s trumpet. Awake. Miguel Zenón (Marsalis Music). […]
Music
Coverage of the music scene in Humboldt County with upcoming shows from locals and out-of-town acts, reviews, interviews and more.
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Holidays Past
In the winter of 1985, I moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., and I worked at the now-closed Gotham Book Mart on 47th Street in mid-town Manhattan. The wooden floorboards were worn, and the shelves held books two rows deep. It was one of the oldest bookstores in New York, at the time, and it had held […]
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Top Five (+5)
A Virtual Landslide. Peter Molinari (Damaged Goods). This UK singer/songwriter’s sophomore effort is lush, though not overblown, creating a full sound that perfectly compliments his folk, country and pop sensibilities. Analog-recorded by Liam Watson, and accompanied by Toe-Rag Studio musicians, Molinari’s uncanny and sincere delivery is brilliantly captured. This is one of this year’s recordings […]
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Top Five (+5)
Treny. Michal Jacaszek (Miasmah). First real masterwork from Polish post-classical composer Michal Jacaszek. Jacaszek’s work is clearly nestled in the digital-conscious world of 21st century modern composition (think Max Richter, Ryan Teague, Jóhann Jóhannsson, etc.) but is strange enough to avoid the overtly cinematic/soundtrack feel of much of his peers’ work (Teague, for instance, is […]
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Grapevine
I heard it through the grapevine, second-, maybe third-hand: Absynth Quintet was allegedly breaking up — again. A distraught Lila Nelson heard the story and offered mediation services. When I put the breakup question to AQ guitarist Ryan Roberts, he replied with a paraphrase from Mark Twain: "The rumors of our death have been greatly […]
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Planet B-Boy
More nations compete in the breakdancing Battle of the Year than were participants in George Bush’s "coalition of the willing." The global nature of hip hop dancing is well documented by the 2008 film Planet B-Boy. Stunning images of fluid dancing are articulated by some of the most talented artists on the planet. The Battle […]
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Blitzen Trapper
"Blitzen what?" is the typical response you would get if you asked a handful of people about Blitzen Trapper. The next most common answer might be, "Yeah, I’ve heard of them. They’re pretty good." You would be hard pressed to find a more passionate response. Such was the scene outside of the Red Fox Tavern […]
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Father Yod’s Band
The epic story begins on the Fourth of July, goes to Hollywood, on to Hawaii, expands from there with chapters here and there including a chapter unwritten that takes place in Arcata next Wednesday, Dec. 17, as a proto-psychedelic band called YaHoWha 13 comes to town for a show at Humboldt Brews. On July 4, […]
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Dirt Don’t Hurt
Musician, songwriter and vocalist Holly Golightly hasn’t slowed up much. Since her time in the mid-’90s with the garage band Thee Headcoatees, the all-female counterpart to Billy Childish’s Thee Headcoats, Golightly has released over a dozen full-length studio albums. Her styles, like her moods, swung with each of her records, from rockabilly to folk to […]
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Not the King of Pop
I’ve never fully understood why Richard Thompson never achieved the popularity and the cultural icon status of some of his compatriots. He’s a stellar guitar player — when Rolling Stone magazine assembled a list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, he was in the top 20. And his songwriting is absolutely brilliant. Songs […]
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Live at Roadburn
Over the past three years, San Diego’s Earthless has steadily built a following based on the strength of its intense live performances and absurdly long, yet captivating, instrumental jams. Its reputation earned it an invitation to this year’s annual Roadburn Festival in Holland, where organizers unexpectedly asked Earthless to perform on the festival’s main stage, […]
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Smuin Ballet
I wanted to be dazzled. Christmas ballet programs are high-tech, high-quality entertainment. I wasn’t looking to be moved, only pleasantly distracted. From the start, Smuin Ballet’s The Classical Christmas wasn’t going to deliver. Although the requisite dance chops were present, the troupe’s unisons and executions were not piquant. The thing about great ballet: it has […]