The Day Shostakovich Went to a Cannonball Adderley Gig — and Didn’t Get the Music | By Ralph J. Gleason

Early this year a group of U.S. longhair composers, including Ulysses Kaye, a nephew of King Oliver, visited Russia as part of a cultural exchange deal.

This, fall, a group of five Russian composers, headed by Dmitri Shostakovich and including Dmitri Kabalevsky, Tikhon Khrennikov, Konstantin Dankevich and Firket Amirov, visited the United States.

They were flown around the country, and included in their itinerary a three-day visit to the San Francisco area.

At their San Francisco press conference, the Russians were asked what they thought of jazz. It was obvious from their answers that they knew nothing of it (despite the fact that Kaye and his companions reported they were constantly asked about jazz by Soviet composers when they were in Russia). Jazz, to the visiting Russians, seemed to mean nothing more than hotel dance music.

The October Suite (Steve Kuhn & Gary McFarland, 1966) | Original liner notes by Nat Hentoff

So far Steve Kuhn has primarily been heard in two contexts—as a sideman and as leader of a trio. This album, however, focuses on him as solo pianist in settings written specifically for him by Gary McFarland. For Gary the assignment was stimulating because, as he observed, he didn’t have to restrict himself to any particular idiom. Knowing the broad scope of Kuhn’s capacities, Gary felt free to try any approach he wanted in the confidence that Kuhn would respond resourcefully—and with individuality.

Cecil Taylor in Paris (1968)

The brand-new restoration of Cecil Taylor à Paris, courtesy of INA, will be premiered at the 2025 edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato. – EK

“He doesn’t come from my community,” replies avant-garde jazz pianist Cecil Taylor, hidden deep behind dark glasses, when asked by the interviewer about Stockhausen. The same response follows for questions about Bach and John Cage. In a style characteristic of 1968, the African-American musician, filmed for Cecil Taylor à Paris in an old French palace with oversized chimneys, dismisses European traditions in favour of “across the track” culture – the lived experiences of African-Americans.

Bob Dylan and The Band – The 1974 Live Recordings | My Picks

I delved into the 27-CD set between September 2024 and April 2025, and these tracks — roughly amounting to a double LP — are my picks among the 431 tracks. I took the following factors into consideration:

• Quality of recording (some of the shows had poor sound quality)
• Newness of the song to Dylan's live repertoire (as in 1974)
• My love for Planet Waves and my desire to sample some live versions of it — though, as you'll see, not everything made the cut
• Aiming to highlight tracks that showcase strong features of the Band's accompaniment, particularly Robbie Robertson’s guitar, Rick Danko’s bass, and Garth Hudson’s legendary blanket organ sound
• Original and daring interpretations of oft-played tunes
• The energy of the performance, even if it meant picking some tracks that feature the shouting style I know puts some people off
• Ray Padgett’s remarkably detailed analysis and his sound advice

So, in the order of recording, here is my list:

Date, Venue, Location

Disc number of 27 | Song's name | Duration