Celebrating Community
A belated Baldwin birthday bash. After being rained out on August 2—the proper centennial of the outspoken author and activist James Baldwin—the release concert for Meshell Ndegeocello’s No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (CD, LP, download from Blue Note Records) in the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! concert series was rescheduled for August 14. As it happens, that night was […]
Every year, the Vision Festival opens with a concert dedicated to one musician who is honored with a Lifetime Achievement award. That’s an evening of three or four sets, each one featuring this figure. In 2023, that was French bassist Joëlle Léandre, one night at Roulette with four sets in four different grouping around her playing and artistry. That, June […]
There’s an alternate universe where, after the 1973 release of The Spook Who Sat By the Door, director Ivan Dixon would have worked regularly in studio movies rather than be relegated to episodic TV journeyman. But that’s a universe where The Spook Who Sat By the Door — a singular movie about the CIA’s first Black operative, hired as token […]
A dozen summer songs. I don’t know why London’s Los Bitchos are waiting until the end of August to release the perfect summer soundtrack, but there’ll still be a good three weeks left to fill with their new Talkie Talkie (CD, LP and download out August 30 from City Slang), and more if you allow for the changing seasons of […]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (6th edition), introduces vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson by pointing out that if he “were a saxophonist, trumpeter, or pianist, he would be regarded as a major figure in modern jazz.” That’s no exaggeration, Hutcherson (who died in 2016) was one of the greatest of all jazz musicians of the post-1959 era. He was an […]
The genesis for many of director Susan Seidelman’s movies starts with scribbled notes on subway rides, capturing the essence of strangers who fascinate her. After observing people’s behavior, sketching their outfits and jotting down their words, she tucks these notes in a drawer, waiting for the right moment to use them. Out of this jumble, she crafts many fine films. […]
There are some movies that are such dumb fun they’re impervious to criticism. In fact, scratching too hard at them — tugging on this loose end or poking at that plot hole — does yourself a disservice more than it does the film. Why break the spell? Batman: The Movie (1966) is one such flick, in all of its “Some […]
Review of “For All We Know,” by Mike Fiorito Review by Michael Quinn Do you believe in UFOs? For some, the existence of aliens is a given, based on statistical probability or the (limited) evidence from photos and videos. Others swear they’ve had firsthand encounters, often shrouded in mystery. Years ago, I had a boyfriend who once, with terror in […]
Heirs to the Court of the Crimson King. Pardon my imprudence but I fail to get excited about one or two former members peddling again what a band they were in did 20 or 30 years ago. As crucial to my young listening as Talking Heads and XTC were, the Remain in Light and EXTC revival bands mean little to […]
On June 5, at 7:30 pm, Carroll Park was filled, as usual, with children playing and parents catching up, but on the eastern side of the park, twinkly lights were strung from the back of the Park House and a stage, painted to look like a pool deck, was surrounded by folding chairs. It was Smith Street Stage’s first preview […]