Artist: Time Is Fire
Title: Stories Untold
Label: Electric Cowbell Rec
Genre: alternative rock/nu world trash
Download and buy here: https://electriccowbellrecords.bandcamp.com/album/stories-untold
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
Artist: New York Free Quartet
Title: Free Play
Label: self produced
Genre: jazz/contemporary
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
What happens when you combine four master musicians who believe in the redemptive healing power of music, have devoted their lives to perfecting their craft, and to bringing it to the public? You get the New York Free Quartet.
Artist: Michael Moss and the Accidental Orchestra
Titel: Helix
Label: self produced
Genre: contemporary/jazz/modern world
Buy and listen to CD here: https://michaelmoss.bandcamp.com/album/helix
CD Review by Dawoud Kringle
Date: February 13, 2018
Venue: City Vineyard (NY)
Concert review by Dawoud Kringle Photos courtesy of Michelle Shocked
To say that Michelle Shocked is an iconoclast in the service of fairness and righteousness is an understatement. Her music and artistic vision was born of a constant struggle to remain true to herself and her vision. From the beginning of her musical career in 1984, she has explored a great variety of styles, and has been difficult to pin down. Her music has explored folk, rock, big band, and Latin. Throughout, she has remained true to a core belief in fairness, justice, and balance in a world either subtly or directly opposed to this. She has released 13 albums as a leader, was awarded Folk Album of the Year at the CMJ New Music Awards ceremony in 1989, and is a current member of Musicians for Musicians (MFM).
Artist: Mehmet Polat
Title: Ageless Garden
Label: Aftab Rec
Genre: oriental music/oud music
Review by Dawoud Kringle
The word “Hasret”is an Urdu word (derived from the Arabic word “Hasrah”) meaning “unfulfilled wish,” and a popular term for Urdu poets in India and Pakistan. “Hasret,” is also the first track on Mehmet Polat’s new CD Ageless Garden. The opening notes of Polat’s oud speak in a quiet yet authoritative voice against a subtle percussion background. As the piece progresses, unusual melodies and startling harmonies create an emotional intensity that eloquently expresses the longing within an unfulfilled desire. It ends with a return to the introductory melodies, except with a sad resignation.
