Results for "Anthony Davis"

Anthony Davis

Born: February 20, 1951

The music of pianist, improvisor and composer Anthony Davis eludes easy categorization. Active in a variety of media, including operatic, symphonic, choral, chamber, dance, theater, and improvised musics, Davis has focused upon the integration of improvised and notated expressive resources. His work embodies an intercultural approach, drawing not only upon traditional and current African-American sources, but upon the Javanese gamelan, American Minimalism, and the European and Euro-American avant-garde.

His fourth and most recent opera, AMISTAD, based on the slave ship uprising of 1839 and the subsequent trial, premiered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in November of 1997, with libretto by Thulani Davis and direction by New York Public Theater artistic director George C. Wolfe. His first and best-known opera, X: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MALCOLM X, with libretto by Thulani Davis, premiered at the New York City Opera in 1986.

Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a Musical Visionary

by Dave Kaufman
September 20, 2026

Julius Hemphill, a brilliant alto saxophonist and extraordinary composer, was a towering figure in avant-garde jazz and creative music. Yet his body of work remains surprisingly little known, even among aficionados of this sort of adventurous music. Hemphill's music demonstrated a deep feeling for the blues and other African American traditions. His creative vision extended well ...

James Newton Quartet: Live in Willisau

by Giuseppe Segala
April 13, 2026

Ecco una pubblicazione molto opportuna, a favore di un musicista il cui lavoro è assai poco documentato. Ne fotografa un momento iniziale, immerso nel campo del jazz, dentro un percorso che, nell'arco di oltre cinquant'anni, ha successivamente toccato tappe di molteplice orientamento, sviluppandosi nella musica accademica contemporanea, per orchestra e da camera, per balletto e danza ...

David Murray: Hope Scope

by Fran Kursztejn
November 2, 2025

There should be no doubt of David Murray's position. Since the death of Eddie Harris, he is the finest tenor saxophonist in jazz, arguably one of the most prolific bandleaders in the modern age. He stands among a rare few reedmen working to redefine the sonic quality of their instrument. Looking back at any of Murray's ...

Kronos Festival 2025 at SFJAZZ Center

by Harry S. Pariser
May 18, 2025

Kronos Quartet Kronos Festival 2025 SFJAZZ Center San Francisco, CA April 25-27, 2025 In August of 1973, Seattle-based violinist David Harrington listened to composer George Crumb's Black Angels for the first time on a radio program, This initial encounter with an amplified string quartet inspired him to found ...

Marilyn Crispell: Fearless, Deeply Sensitive and Shaping the Moment

by Dean Nardi
April 30, 2025

As Marilyn Crispell talked about her multitude of recent recordings, either solo or with this trio or that quartet, she mentioned needing to pack her bags before going out on tour. She has lived in Woodstock, New York since 1977 and is comfortable there. “When I'm at home, not out recording, I look out in the ...

Marco Pennisi: la Red Records di oggi

by Libero Farnè
December 9, 2024

La foto riportata qui sopra, scattata da Curti Parini, è emblematica perché rappresenta il passato e il presente della Red Records, storica casa discografica milanese che dal 2021 ha ripreso quota, incrementando le sue mirate edizioni. Da sinistra possiamo distinguere Tommaso Belletti (digitale e promozione), Cem Cansu (store manager), l'attuale produttore e responsabile Marco Pennisi, Sergio ...

Daniel Carter, Chicago Edge Ensemble, & Charlotte Keeffe

by Maurice Hogue
October 25, 2023

Music on the edge prevails in this episode, highlighted by the ubiquitous multi-instrumentalist Daniel Carter, Chicago guitarist Dan Phillips and his Chicago Edge Ensemble, and a Polish/Spanish quintet that features guitarist Grzegorz Lesiak, trumpeter Piotr Damasiewicz and the members of the Liba Villavecchia Trio. James Baldwin's works are the subject of a baldwin en transit, French ...

Matthew Shipp & Mark Helias: The New Syntax

by John Sharpe
October 14, 2023

Pianist Matthew Shipp particularly favors the duo format. Among a discography of more than 300 entries are winning combinations with partners as varied as trumpeter Nate Wooley, violist Mat Maneri, and saxophonists Darius Jones, Rob Brown and Evan Parker. But he retains a special fondness for the bass/piano twosome, accounting for multiple meetings with longtime comrade ...

JD Parran and Mark Deutsch, Daniel Carter, & Irreversible Entanglements

by Maurice Hogue
October 2, 2023

California Street Sessions, a new duo recording by reed master JD Parran and bassist Mark Deutsch, is intriguing, particularly when consider the instrumentation: Parran plays a seldom-heard contralto clarinet while Deutsch plays the bazantar, a hybrid bass that he invented himself. The music's excellent too. Other new albums sampled this week come from Daniel Carter and ...