MediaMedia
An Interview with Jazz Drummer Eric Harland
- Written by Jason Victor Serinus
- Published on 15 March 2011
Drummer and composer Eric Du’sean Harland, 34, was all of 17 when Wynton Marsalis heard him perform and encouraged him to study in New York City. After graduating from the Manhattan School of Music, and pursuing ministerial studies at Houston Baptist University, Harland launched a drumming career that has now spawned over 80 recordings with the likes of Terence Blanchard, Stefon Harris, McCoy Tynor, Charles Lloyd, Dave Holland, and Ravi Coltrane. Currently active in four major ensembles, he has received 1st Place in the last three DownBeat “Rising Star Drums†polls.
A Collection of New Vinyl Releases for the Audiophile - March, 2011
- Written by Jason Crawford
- Published on 08 March 2011
Folks who know these things'll tell you about how the Drive-By Truckers can black out your night in a distorted ocean of guitars and whiskey-soaked rock and roll attitude. They're right. On their latest, "Go-Go Boots," they take a different tact. This is a cleaner affair, but that's all relative, of course. A barroom bathroom is typically cleaner than a music festival portable toilet, but you still wouldn't want to lie down there.
Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - February, 2011
- Written by SECRETS Movie Review Team
- Published on 01 February 2011
Buried (Blu-ray), Saw The Final Chapter (Blu-ray), Alpha and Omega (Blu-ray), Amazing Alphabet (DVD), Numbers Ahoy (DVD), Virus X (DVD), Soul Kitten's Cabaret (DVD), Ray (Blu-ray), Piranha (Blu-ray), "My Soul to Take" (Blu-ray), Almost Famous (Blu-ray), Out of Sight (Blu-ray), Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (Blu-ray), Alice in Wonderland 3D (Blu-ray), RED (Blu-ray), Merlin: Season Two (DVD), You Again (Blu-ray), It's Kind of a Funny Story (Blu-ray), Death Race 2 (Blu-ray), Let Me In (Blu-ray)
Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - March, 2011
- Written by SECRETS Movie Review Team
- Published on 01 March 2011
Sword of War (DVD), The Last Unicorn (Blu-ray), Bambi (Blu-ray), Memento (Blu-ray), Dances with Wolves (Blu-ray), For Colored Girls (Blu-ray), Thelma & Louise (Blu-ray), Raging Bull (Blu-ray), Skyline (Blu-ray), Les Miserables: The 25th Anniversary Concert (Blu-ray), The Miracle Maker (Blu-ray), Rainman (Blu-ray), The Switch (Blu-ray), Last Tango In Paris (Blu-ray), Moonstruck (Blu-ray)
CD Reviews for the Audiophile - January, 2011
- Written by Jason Victor Serinus
- Published on 18 January 2011
Bi-coastal jazz saxophonist Jason Robinson, 35, an Assistant Professor of Music at Amherst College and former musician with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, seems to be blowing non-stop these days. No less that three albums that showcase the seemingly limitless range of his versatile musicianship hit the literal and virtual shelves in the fall of 2010. Each album shows Robinson on the cusp between tradition and experimentalism, with a strong emphasis on the latter.
An Interview with Conductor Alondra De La Parra
- Written by Jason Victor Serinus
- Published on 22 February 2011
Less than nine months after her dynamic 2009 San Francisco Symphony debut conducting the symphony’s annual Day of the Dead concert, conductor Alondra de la Parra, 29, returned to lead four consecutive concerts with the orchestra. Her wide-ranging repertoire – two nights of American and America-associated music, one all-Russian eve, and a refreshing Dolores Park afternoon that mixed Dvorak’s New World Symphony with some of Mexico’s finest compositions – was as diverse as her roster of top-flight soloists.
A Collection of New Vinyl Releases for the Audiophile - January, 2011
- Written by Jason Crawford
- Published on 11 January 2011
Pat Sansone is Wilco's Swiss Army knife. He handles percussion, guitar work, vocals, and keyboards with equal dexterity. He and John Stirratt, Wilco's bassist and longest tenured member along with Jeff Tweedy, have also been doing their thing together as the Autumn Defense for a few years now.
CD Reviews for the Audiophile - February 2011
- Written by Jason Victor Serinus
- Published on 15 February 2011
The term “jazz†begins to lose meaning when applied to creations as brilliant as this. Iyer’s music transcends genres as it takes us on an oft-mesmerizing journey into the heart and mind of an extremely gifted musician. In “Autoscopy,†chords churn in ways that seem more connected to new music than jazz. The jazz element may be more recognizable in the relentless riffs of “Patterns,†but elements constantly change and shift in the 11 excursions on Solo in ways that transcend categories and labels. No wonder Iyer has also received commissions from the American Composers Orchestra, wind quintet Imani Winds, and new music quartet Ethel.
Home Theater Movie Renter's Guide - January, 2011
- Written by SECRETS Movie Review Team
- Published on 01 January 2011
Strictly Ballroom (DVD), House (Blu-ray), Battlestar Galactica: Razor (Blu-ray), Cronos (Blu-ray), The American (Blu-ray), Salt (Blu-ray), Yogi Bear's All Star Comedy: Christmas Caper (DVD) , Backdraft (Blu-ray), Swat Kats The Complete Series (DVD), Catfish (Blu-ray), Battlestar Galactica: Season Four (Blu-ray), Samantha: An American Girl Holiday (DVD), The Films of Rita Hayworth (DVD), Yojimbo & Sanjuro (Blu-ray), Death Race 2 (Blu-ray), Secretariat (Blu-ray), Gone Madigan (Blu-ray), Triggerman (DVD)Â
A Collection of New Vinyl Releases for the Audiophile - February, 2011
- Written by Jason Crawford
- Published on 08 February 2011
On December 8, 2010, I made a mistake. I suppose there really is a first time for everything. Anyone who pays attention to these things will know that I gave "Best New Vinyl Recording 2010" to the great Hacienda from San Antonio, Texas. That wasn't the mistake. I caught their opening set on the previously mentioned date at the Independent in San Francisco and loved it. Why wouldn't I? The problem is, and this is where the error occurred, that I left before the main event. It was a "school night."
A Collection of New Vinyl Releases for the Audiophile - December, 2010
- Written by Jason Crawford
- Published on 14 December 2010
I've often lamented the lack of a real rock and roll scene in San Francisco. If it's happening, I don't know where. It seems like you could go out every night for three straight months and watch a different Afro-Cuban jam band though.
