wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

On Demand

Program Schedule

Topics

Soundcheck / June 20, 2008 / CD Picks of the Week

CD Picks of the Week

Friday, June 20, 2008

"String Poetic," Jennifer Koh, violin; Reiko Uchida, piano (Cedille)

The New York violinist Jennifer Koh and her frequent piano collaborator Reiko Uchida shape a century’s worth of American contemporary music on the new album "String Poetic." The disc features rare and unusual works by Carl Ruggles, Lou Harrison and John Adams. But the biggest draw is the title piece, Jennifer Higdon’s "String Poetic." This five-movement suite is one of the freshest and most appealing new works for violin that we’ve heard in a long while. It spans a range of moods – from the slow, ethereal "Nocturne," to the breathless movement called "Jagged Climb," in which the violinist seems to be scampering up a mountain peak at full throttle. --picked by Brian Wise

Laura Marling, "Alas, I Cannot Swim" (Astralwerks)

Our next CD pick of the week comes from -- you guessed it -- another incredibly talented young woman from the UK! Eighteen-year-old folkie Laura Marling aims to join a successful, transatlantic crowd that includes Lily Allen, piano-pop star Kate Nash, Welsh neo-soul diva Duffy, the brassy upstart Adele, and and a certain troublemaker whose name rhymes with "Schmamy Vinemouse." On a full-length debut called "Alas, I Cannot Swim," Laura Marling does more than keep her head above water, buoyed by rapid-fire confessional lyrics and a voice that can hang with any of her British sisters. Or brothers. The album is available on iTunes and gets a CD release in August. --picked by Joel Meyer

Etenesh & Le Tigre, "Enaf", (Buda Records)

Our final pick this week is an album of Ethiopian pop played by a French jazz band. Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, was known as “Swinging Addis” in the late 60s/early 70s, when a strange and potent brew of European brass band music, Indian film music, James Brown funk, and Ethiopian folk took hold. Now, Le Tigre des Platanes, a French jazz quintet, and the Ethiopian singer Etenesh, have recorded contemporary arrangements of some classic Ethiopop. The album is called “Zeraf!”--picked by John Schaefer


Comments

  • [1] George Curran from Boston, MA June 20, 2008 - 02:46PM

    Boston based Either/Orchestra have been playing updated arrangements of Ethiopop-jazz for many years. They have the unique distinction of having been invited to Ethiopia to play their arrangements. They have recorded this music and you should give a listen if you enjoy Etenesh & Le Tigre.
  • [2] adam c. from nyc June 20, 2008 - 02:50PM

    both your picks sound awesome! i've been listening to the new sigur ros, the gas re-masters & the new okay record.

This thread is closed.


Back to Episode