Music

barry harris jazz piano

The Greatest Teacher of America’s Great Art Form The Greatest Teacher of America’s Great Art Form

The pianist Barry Harris, who died last week, dedicated his life to continuing the oral tradition of jazz improvisation.

Dec 15, 2021 / Ethan Iverson

Stephen Sondheim’s Art

Stephen Sondheim’s Art Stephen Sondheim’s Art

Despite beginning his career at the end of musical theater’s golden age, Sondheim helped bring the form to its artistic zenith.

Dec 1, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Shuja Haider

Stephen Sondheim At Michigan State University

Judy Collins Remembers Stephen Sondheim Judy Collins Remembers Stephen Sondheim

The singer and activist writes about discovering the “amazing, creative, thunderous force” of Sondheim’s music.

Nov 30, 2021 / Judy Collins

The Coolest Member of the Senate Is Retiring

The Coolest Member of the Senate Is Retiring The Coolest Member of the Senate Is Retiring

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy has used comic books to fight for a ban on land mines and brought the Grateful Dead to the Senate Dining Room.

Nov 16, 2021 / John Nichols

John Coltrane

Which Version of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” Reigns Supreme? Which Version of Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” Reigns Supreme?

Is the latest posthumous addition to his canon released today the Holy Grail?

Oct 22, 2021 / Column / Ethan Iverson

Jessica Johnson and Albert Oldcrow, two of the three hosts of Beyond Bows and Arrows

“Beyond Bows and Arrows”: Indigenous Radio in Texas “Beyond Bows and Arrows”: Indigenous Radio in Texas

Two hours of escape and connection.

Oct 18, 2021 / Pauly Denetclaw

What the Harlem Cultural Festival Represented

What the Harlem Cultural Festival Represented What the Harlem Cultural Festival Represented

Questlove’s debut as a director, the documentary Summer of Soul, revisits a musical event that encapsulated the energies of Harlem in the 1960s.

Jul 29, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

St. Vincent, 2020.

St. Vincent’s Journey Into Musical Memory St. Vincent’s Journey Into Musical Memory

An exploration of her father’s past and the rock music of the 1970s is a new challenge for the artist.

Jul 7, 2021 / Books & the Arts / David Hajdu

Britney Spears posters

#FreeBritney Is Damn Right #FreeBritney Is Damn Right

The law has failed Britney Spears and likely many others—young, old, often female. Now it’s time to change it.

Jun 25, 2021 / Elie Mystal

Aretha Fanklin

The Unwritten History of Black Performance The Unwritten History of Black Performance

Poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib’s new book undertakes an ambitious task: contextualizing the scope and scale of a people’s cultural expression.

Jun 10, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Kelton Ellis

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