Text By Dawoud Kringle
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Despite his personal dislike of the term “Southern Rock,” Gregg Allman built a successful career and left behind an impressive body of work that not only defined the genre, but transcended it.
Text by Dawoud Kringle
The world of improvised music was shocked to learn of the passing of master guitarist Bern Nix.
Born in 1950, Nix moved to New York City, and made a living for a while as a guitar teacher. He succeeded James Blood Ulmer in Ornette Coleman’s Prime Time band, and in 1985 formed his own band. In 1993, the band released the album Alarms and Excursions. Nix released solo recordings such as Low Barometer (an acoustic recording), Less is More, and Negative Capability. Nix also performed with Jayne Cortez, John Zorn, Marc Ribot, Elliot Sharp, Jemeel Moondoc, James Chance, Kip Hanrahan, and Roland Shannon Jackson. In recent years, Nix performed regularly at the Vision Festival, and at smaller local venues. He worked with his quartet The Bern Nix Quartet (featuring Matt Lavelle, François Grillot and Reggie Sylvester), Cheryl Pyle’s Beyond Group, and with ensembles led by Ras Moshe Burnett.
Photo by Lindsey Wilson
Date: May 13, 2017
Venue: Symphony Space (NY)
It’s a rainy Saturday night. I skirt into Symphony Hall where I sit amongst a sea of appreciative audience members. Suddenly, I am surrounded by a cacophony of confectionery sound just five rows away from a bombastic event of horns, drums and percussive delight inviting us to move along with its Afro-Latin sway. This musical collaboration was laced with sacred moments dipped in cane sugar as the rhythms proudly strutted between the beats of Bahia and the Caribbean. Powerful! Last year, I had the pleasure of seeing four-time Grammy winner and Musicians For Musicians (MFM) Board Member, Arturo O’Farrill perform at Symphony Space and I’m happy to say that his brilliance still stands.
Book review by Dawoud Kringle
How does one go about writing an autobiography? Such a task is much easier said than done, and there are almost limitless pitfalls one must avoid in undertaking such a project. Of course the first question one must ask is this: why should I write an autobiography? What justifies committing the history of my life to the literary form?
Clive Stevens has answered that question.
An Editorial and Commentary on Musical Professionalism By Dawoud KringleLook, I get it, OK? This is a hard life we chose. We are trying to cultivate our skills and build a career and a reputation for ourselves. And somehow, through it all, we have to pay the bills, keep a roof over our heads, and put food on the table.
As we all know, there is some sort of mythological historical model that musicians must pay their dues. And despite the vague details surrounding this idea, there is certainly some truth to it. A musician must prove him or herself, must cultivate his or her skills, and build one’s business from the foundation up.
