Some stories about people, music and technology inspired by a mediocre record.
Read moreAlan Lomax, Bing Crosby and Me
The only evidence of my strange day working for Alan Lomax - the Cantometrics training tape he gave me.
"Two-Headed Doctor" in the NYRB
My latest essay for the New York Review of Books, about Two-Headed Doctor, David Toop’s book about Dr. John’s 1968 album “Gris-Gris,” is available here.
Tricentric Educations
James Fei, Anna Webber, Frank Carlberg, Anthony Braxton, Ted Reichman and Joe Morris in Jordan Hall. Photo by Stephen Malagodi
35 years of history with Anthony Braxton - and our reunion.
Read moreHorn Culture - In The Shed With Sonny Rollins
The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins - edited by Sam V.H. Reese
a book review
Read more2023, a year
Sunrise, October 24
Short reviews of some 2023 records and books and some notes on things to come in 2024.
Read moreMedna Roso in the NYRB
New review of a haunting record of Balkan song and improvisations for pipe organ and woodwinds by Kit Downes, Hayden Chisholm and PJEV.
Charles Stepney in the NYRB
A review of Charles Stepney’s “Step On Step” in The New York Review of Books.
After The End of AMM
AMM in Madrid, 1995
Thoughts on AMM and the past, present and future of experimental music.
Read moreThis Cold War With You
Schoenberg’s day on Twitter, and a random walk through Kyle Gann’s archive.
Read moreDreaming Of Hal
Listening to Hal Willner…
Read moreWednesdays With Laurie - On Laurie Anderson's Norton Lectures
Listening to a zoom masterpiece in 2021.
Read moreFrom The Archives - Guy Klucevsek Interview, 1996
The lost interview with avant-garde accordion legend Guy Klucevsek. Originally published in the British journal Musical Performance in 2001.
Read moreLet's Call This - On Waldron, Lacy, Cherry and Blackwell
“Lets Call This” an essay about listening to Jazz in late 2020.
Read moreEssay in New York Review Daily "My Quarantine" Series
The New York Review of Books Daily just posted my essay about my thrift store violin, a Facebook post by Kim Kashkashian and the music of Eliane Radigue.
"Lessons" - a poem in Can We Have Our Ball Back
In late February 2020, I bought the violin pictured above in a thrift store. This poem grew out of the process of starting to learn to play it.
"For Steve Dalachinsky" - a poem in The Brooklyn Rail
Photo by Peter Gannushkin
Steve Dalachinsky listened deeply. He was a constant presence at the concerts I attended and played during my New York period. A few nights after his surprise passing, I wrote this poem while listening to the insects around my house. I was very glad that it found a home at The Brooklyn Rail, where Steve wrote for many years.
Ted Reichman in the New York Review of Books Daily
Photo by Julia Dratel/Drag City
I started contributing to the New York Review of Books Daily in the summer of 2018. My first article, on “Salome,” a live silent film performance by Haley Fohr (aka Circuit des Yeux), is available here.