Released in 2011 on the ECM record label, If Grief Could Wait is a remarkable cross-genre recording featuring indie pop and jazz Norwegian singer Susanna Wallumrød, Swiss Baroque harp player Giovanna Pessi, Italian nyckelharpa (the Swedish keyed … [Read more...] about Susanna Wallumrød: Who by fire
Folk
Dave Brubeck: Piano Blues
Dave Brubeck (1920-2012) will of course be remembered as a brilliant musical explorer, a virtuoso improviser, a prolific composer with a fondness for odd time signatures and a great ambassador for jazz music in general. Yet, Dave Brubeck … [Read more...] about Dave Brubeck: Piano Blues
Sufjan Stevens: Coventry Carol
On the back of 42 songs over the five volumes of [amazon text=Songs for Christmas&asin=B000K9L3IO] (2006), Indie Folk singer Sufjan Stevens released last month [amazon text=Silver and Gold: Songs for Christmas - Vol. … [Read more...] about Sufjan Stevens: Coventry Carol
Brad Mehldau: River Man
Any version of Nick Drake’s River man will always stop me in my tracks. The unusual time signature and the eerie contemporary classical arrangements to the original song make it such a rich ground for covers. If Norma Waterson’s version introduced … [Read more...] about Brad Mehldau: River Man
About Spellbinding Music
Why is it that a particular piece of music, a tune or a song will move us in such a way that it will stop us in our tracks, send shivers up our spine or give us goose bumps? Spiritual or secular musical traditions such as Sufi music, Gnawa music, … [Read more...] about About Spellbinding Music
