Playlist: Things We Like (That We Didn’t Do)

Fabulous recording and performance, explosive virtuosity, and a program that presents the orchestra extremely effectively.

“Concerto Duo: 1. The Great American Scream Machine” (Joel Puckett)

The first recording of George Gershwin’s personal Steinway piano since its restoration, powered by Lee’s lush-yet-crisp sound. I’ve always enjoyed Zwilich’s work, and her “Fantasy” on this release is a sparkler (apologies to Bob Ross).

“Fantasy for Solo Violin” (Ellen Taaffe Zwilich), “3 Preludes: No. 3” (George Gershwin)

Crack band ripping through ambitiously executed and realized material. The album-closing “Next To Silence” blossoms across a marvelous arc, from the breezy, chill opening to the internalized unwinding of all that came before.

“Next To Silence”

I remember hearing his Vivaldi for the first time in the office and saying, OH MAN WHY DIDN’T WE DO THAT. Always the greatest/worst feeling. In some ways this soundtrack is less of a unified statement than much of his other work, but the variety of texture and expression here is, to me, potent.

“On the Nature of Daylight”

A prime example of how classical music, new music, and electronic techniques can be interpreted, contextualized, and presented in a novel, enjoyable way. An excellent front-to-back listening experience.

“Interlude: Palmas in the Corridor,” “Blues”

Amram is a national treasure, with a 70-year catalog of work that reaches into – and indeed expands the territory of – virtually every corner of American musical art.

“Shiray Neshama (Songs of the Soul): Incantation”

Emotional manipulation from a master technician. Brain tingles. The empire never ended.

“Melt”

A gripping, protracted Rorschach test of our current state/states of reality and perception.

“American Dream: III. MM. 219-392”

The first volume in a colossal compendium of compositions curated by Lin. Go big or go home, they say, and this is huge.

“Knuckles” (Jonathan Russ), “Lilac (Flower Catalog)” (Stephanie Ann Boyd)

40 world premieres on one album! That’s the way that you do it.

“Mala Strana” (Sean Hickey)

So much music, so little time. I wasn’t aware of Wiren’s work until this record was released, but I’m glad to know it now. Excellent sound and production.

“Divertimento, Op. 29: II. Allegro moderato”

Where would we be without prog-rock? Actually, I probably shouldn’t ask that. Forget the capes, never mind the curries, Gentle Giant was one of the few groups who played both hard and smart. A secret favorite of many PARMA composers and artists over the years, but I won’t name names. Ahem.

“Acquiring the Taste”

I met Harold in Havana back in 2015, and his playing and sound knocked me out from the first measure. Nobody better out there, if you are ever within a country mile of Harold then do not hesitate, do not delay, just go!

“Conga Total / El Cumbanchero”

Mode Records has been capturing the sound of modern American music for decades, and this Reich release is one of our favorites.

“Sextet: IV. Moderate”

Quintessential music played in quintessentially Frisellian fashion. One of my favorite records since the day I heard it, and every time a new Frisell album drops (such as last year’s excellent HARMONY on Blue Note) I’m reminded of when I fell for that fine sound in the first place.

“The ‘Saint-Gaudens’ in Boston Common, ‘Col. Shaw and his colored regiment’ (excerpt no. 2)” (Charles Ives)

I adore how wonderfully unclear things have become musically since the days of cassette tapes and MTV.

“Lead Sister”

By the time this album came out, Ellis had foregone any sense of trying to temper his urge to fuse his artistic and commercial senses. I’m sure collaborators from his early years in Boston and on the East Coast heard this and shook their heads, but Ellis didn’t give a damn. He was blasting off into the cosmos.

“House in the Country” from THE NEW DON ELLIS BAND GOES UNDERGROUND, because it should have been on SHOCK TREATMENT, dammit.

I’ve been going through Vieaux’s work in reverse order, as I first heard his 2019 release DANCE and then found my way back to this one. Smoking program.

“Danza Caracteristica: Danza caracteristica” (Leo Brouwer)

The expansive, glacial, tectonic structure of this record, with its peaks and valleys of instrumentation and content, at each moment sounding completely singular yet resonating across the whole, is one of the most striking I’ve heard in recent memory. “String Quartet No. 1” makes me feel like the guy in the Maxell tape ad.

“String Quartet No. 1,” if I could put it 4 times in a row I would

Play the Eiffel Tower, record it, and use it as the instrument to make an album. That’s the concept, and this release is every bit as creative and interesting as you could hope.

“The Elephant on the Tower (L’elephant sur la Tour)”

Never gets old.

“Ping Island/Lightning Strike Rescue Op” (Mark Mothersbaugh)

These guys continually defy expectations, and that’s why we go to the party.

“And That, Too”

A piece everyone should wish to have written. Bewitching from the start, resolute to the end.

“At the Speed of Stillness”