A Young Woman Reflects, Sorrow as Treasured Gold: Adele at 21

There are few artists with the skill or substance to bring people together; and Adele is one of the special ones.  Her album 21 is full of good songs, particularly “Rolling in the Deep,” “Rumour Has It,” “Don’t You Remember,”  “Set Fire to the Rain,” and “He Won’t Go.”  May time and grace be on her side.

Nostalgia for the Impossible: All Our Reasons by the Billy Hart Quartet

Billy Hart, a musician and a teacher, the kind of talented and developing journeyman without which jazz could not exist, periodically works with saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, double-bassist Ben Street as part of a quartet, beginning almost a decade ago.  The quartet’s saxophonist Mark Turner also works with a trio called Fly, and pianist Ethan Iverson with The Bad Plus, and bassist Ben Street with Danilo Perez, Sam Rivers, and James Moody; and with Billy Hart they get to play with someone whose history is deep in jazz.

Source and Resource (Papa Don’t Take No Mess): James Brown’s 20 All Time Greatest Hits!

James Brown is said to have added something unique to a popular music tradition that includes musicians and performers such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, John Coltrane, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Smokey, Marvin, Diana, and Stevie, Curtis Mayfield, Sly Stone, Roberta Flack, Donna Summer, Minnie Riperton, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Beyonce Knowles.  Yet, Brown’s work was not always popular; it was done first for a minority of people and its appeal gained force and range. 

A review of Thru the Fire by Vincent Ware

In Thru the Fire Vincent Ware has written poetry that is erotic and hypnotic with vivid imagery. The author’s absolutely sensual descriptions can make you blush and smile in understanding. The pulse quickens and the pupils widen as you read Thru the Fire. I felt as though I stepped into a portion of Mr. Ware’s world – the past and the present.

A review of One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner

One Moment, One Morning gives readers the chance to do something few novels do—take a step back and really think of how delicate life is, and how quickly it can change from moment to moment. Rayner writes realistic, relatable characters who are simply trying to deal with the overwhelming feelings sudden change can bring, and she writes them well.

Sounds, Fragmented and Whole: Elastic Aspects by the Matthew Shipp Trio

On Elastic Aspects by the Matthew Shipp Trio, featuring bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Whit Dickey, the composition “Mute Voice” is a pretty piece, although its notes seem half-articulated, clipped before they are allowed to achieve fullness or resonance. Banging, rumbling, sounding more like experimental music than traditional jazz is “Explosive Aspects.”

A review of Charles Dickens: A Life by Jane Smiley

The biography is drawn around Dickens’ novels, which become the timeline for his life. This makes for fascinating reading, coupling literary criticism with a deep analysis of the relationship between life and art. In particular, the book explores the maturation of Dickens’ vision and maps the development of his work to the events in his life, attempting to find answers to the question of who Dickens was, through the material he left us.