Mobile
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Live Reviews Hope springs in Savannah
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 1:37 PM
I'm almost glad I missed Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir de Florence" when members of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra presented the sextet at the Myers Park Baptist Church earlier this month.
Down at the Savannah Music Festival, where I'm spending five days in jazz and chamber music bliss, my wife, Sue, and I attended a performance led by violinist Daniel Hope that was nectar of the gods - and I'm not obliged to make comparisons! Nor was that the only delight in this Daniel Hope & Friends event, titled "From Russia With Love." The recovered half of Borodin's String Sextet and Anton Arensky's String Quartet No. 2 came before the intermission, both featuring Benny Kim in the first violin chair.
The Hope & Friends series continues with "German String Masterpieces" on March 31, another all-German program on April 1 and concludes with a "French Soiree" on April 3. I do envy ticketholders who sit in on this soiree, for it will include a Ravel violin sonata, a Fauré piano quartet and César Franck's mighty piano quintet.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
News Banjo legend Earl Scruggs dies at age 88
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Mountain music legend Earl Scruggs, who popularized a three-finger style of banjo picking and brought bluegrass to mainstream audiences with his duo Flatt and Scruggs, died of natural causes on Wednesday, March 28, at 88. The three-finger, or "Scruggs style," of playing banjo helped to bring banjo from the rhythm section into a lead position, making an indelible impact on country and bluegrass.
Scruggs was born on Jan. 6, 1924, in Flint Hill, N.C. He first picked up a banjo at age 4 and was later known for his innovative drive as much as his picking style. He played with bluegrass inventor Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s, helping to put bluegrass on the national radar. Scruggs teamed with Lester Flatt and in 1948 formed the Foggy Mountain Boys; the two performed as Flatt and Scruggs through the '50s and '60s, and their progressive style of bluegrass had a huge influence on the the era's folk revival.
In the 1960s, Flatt and Scruggs' "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," sung by Jerry Scoggins, became the theme song for TV sitcom "The Beverly Hillibillies."
Over the years Scruggs performed and recorded with countless musicians including Bob Dylan, the Byrds, Elton John, Travis Tritt, John Fogerty, Johnny Cash and Steve Martin.
Though poor health sidelined him in the 1990s, Scruggs returned to limited touring in the 2000s, including multiple performances at MerleFest.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
-
Live review: Fiona Apple, The Fillmore (9/26/2012) 16
Fans ate it up, but it was a trainwreck of tragic and frustrating proportions.
-
Frank Ocean tops Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll
Annual critics list creates requisite buzz
