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FEBrUArY
ICON
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW JOSHUA BELL | 20 Everything is on its way to somehow, 2012. Moe Brooker. Oil and mixed media on canvas. Courtesy of the artist, 2017. Delaware Art Museum.
Bell typically isn’t bothered by applause between movements (traditionally considered to be a no-no), but he admits to getting miffed when premature clapping interrupts or overshadows the emotional impact of a quiet, meditative ending. With certain pieces, he sometimes even asks audiences ahead of time to hold their applause and allow for a moment of silence. — Kyle MacMillan, Chicago Symphony Orchestra (2014)
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FILM
ART 5 |
Just You Wait
24 | REEL NEWS Marshall
6 | EXHIBITIONS I
The Ballad of Lefty Brown
2nd Annual Juried Show: Printmakers Bethlehem House Gallery An American Kid in Saigon: The Ignorance of Bliss’ New Hope Arts Center
In The Right Direction (detail), by Brandon Williams. Bethlehem House Gallery.
Point, Counter-Point: Alan Soffer, Brian Dickerson, Moe Brooker Delaware Art Museum
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8 | EXHIBITIONS II
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Goksung (The Wailing)
26 | DOCUMENTARY The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden
MUSIC 32 | SINGER / SONGWRITER Chris Thile Dan Penn Caroline Cotter
Lalla Essaydi Wiliams Center Gallery
34
Katya Grokhovsky: System Failure Martin Art Gallery
FOODIE FILE 10 |
J.D. Wilkes Chris Hillman
33 | POP Noise & Beauty
34 | JAZZ, ROCK, CLASSICAL, ALT
Love is in the Air
Dorothy Hindman H.C. McEntire
ENTERTAINMENT
Gary Peacock.
Gary Peacock Trio
12 |
Valley Theater
Sylvie Courvoisier Trio
12 |
City Theater
J.S. Bach/Toke Møldrup
14 |
The List
39 |
Agenda
Ed Palermo Big Band
36 | JAZZ LIBRARY
FILM 16 |
In the Fade
18 |
Phantom Thread
Wynton Kelly
ETCETERA 28 | ABOUT LIFE It’s Never Too Late to Have a Happy Childhood
22 | FILM ROUNDUP
ON THE COVER: Joshua Bell. Photo: Richard Ascroft. Page 20.
24 Frames The Commuter The Insult The Strange Ones
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26 | FOREIGN
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PRODUCTION
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Impressions in Ink: Prints from the Arthur Ross Collection Arthur Ross Gallery
The intersection of art, entertainment, culture, opinion and mad genius
37 |
Harper’s Findings & Index
38 |
L. A. Times Crossword
Susan O’Neill
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
A. D. Amorosi / divaland@aol.com
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ESSAY AND PAINTING BY ROBERT BECK
art
JUST YOU WAIT
WAITING FOR THE FIRST flakes to fall. That sounds like a country song: My baby won’t be coming back She told me that she’d go The only thing that’s left of her Is truck tracks in the snow Waitin’ for the first flakes to fall
There’s a special kind of quiet before a big snowstorm. None of that distant summer thunder, hurriedly followed by a bunch of sound and fury. Instead the gray creeps into the sky, the critters go for a quick forage before they duck and cover, then it all is still for a few hours. The drop in barometric pressure plays with your head, as if you have leapt from a springboard and are suspended at the top of your arc in weightless equilibrium, wondering when the snow will start, how long will it last, and how much we will get. Computer modeling told us this latest storm was coming when it was just a gleam in the Atlantic’s eye. I’m one of the diminishing pool of people who can compare firsthand those capabilities to the forecasting of fifty years ago, which was an order or two of magnitude less precise. Those who feel inconvenienced by anything other than bullseye predictions don’t understand the immensity of the task and how remarkably right the weather people usually are. In certain parts of major cities, preparation for a snowstorm consists of asking the doorman when he thinks it’s going to start as you walk out onto the sidewalk pulling gloves onto your hands and smoothing your scarf. Here on my hill just north of New Hope I’ve done as much as I can do to be prepared for this one. The woodpile has been restocked. The electric shovel—sort of a small rotary blower that works pretty well if it’s not too deep or too heavy— is at the ready inside the back porch, with the extension cord smartly coiled. Conventional snow shovels have been placed outside the doors. Once the snowfall starts I’ll work in small bites, going out every couple of hours to remove a few inches, which at my age is a good idea. But right now I wait, observing the light, the smells, and the critter behavior in the run up to the
storm. I’ve noticed the birds behaving oddly. While I was walking Jack yesterday I passed a tree that was full of robins. Hundreds of them in just that one tree. They were hopping around from branch to branch to branch, gleefully chirping it up. This, in January. In case you are wondering, a group of robins is called a “round.” That was the most popular name selected in a British survey. Before you put your nationalist indignation in gear, it’s the British National Bird so they have a right to choose the word. Besides, who else would you trust nowadays? The second most popular suggestion was “breast.” See? Love those Brits. A Breast of Robins. There’s one that would give them the vapors in Oklahoma City. The robins weren’t the only extraordinary aviary display around here. Two days ago a huge murmuration of starlings swept across my property. I’ve seen them before in open spaces—thousands of birds that move as one, shifting shape and direction, back and forth in huge, dark swirls—but never in the woods. They came up the hill making so much noise that
I turned from my easel and looked out the studio window to see what the racket was. I saw a black cloud down near the creek rising through the oak and beech, filling the trees up into the canopy. It was concerning, and not much less so once I saw it was birds. The cloud moved forward in a rolling fashion, with the forward birds landing on the ground and the rearmost ones lifting off and flying over the rest until they were in front and would themselves drop down. The mass moved slowly, although the individual birds were zipping all over the place. It looked as if a tornado had fallen on its side and the birds were absconding up the hill with it. They went right past the studio and over the ridge in back. I’ve lived around here for a long time without ever seeing this happen before. Add to that, I spotted two moth species on my front door in the last few years that had never been identified in Pennsylvania before. And where are the bats that Doreen and I used to watch every night? I’m telling you, it’s an odd feeling, this waiting for the first flakes to fall. n
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Sao Tome, by Jessica Bastidas
EXHIBITIONS I
Joyful (detail), 2017. Moe Brooker. Oil and mixed media on canvas, 48 x 80 inches. Courtesy of the artist.
Point, Counter-Point: Alan Soffer, Brian Dickerson, Moe Brooker
2nd Annual Juried Show: Printmakers Bethlehem House Gallery, 459 Main St., Bethlehem 610-419-6262 Bethlehemhousegallery.com February 9-April 7 Opening reception 2/9, 6-9 PM
C.A.N. Set Two Ways, by Anthony Smith
Printmakers invites submissions from artists of all ages residing in Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. During this show, the gallery will highlight printmaking techniques in contemporary art, including engraving, etching, intaglio, stencil, screen, lithography, monoprints, and much more. The winner of the exhibit will be showcased as a featured artist in one show during the 2018 Season.
The Spy
‘An American Kid in Saigon: The Ignorance of Bliss’ New Hope Arts Center, 2 Stockton Ave., 2nd Floor New Hope, PA 215-862-9696 newhopearts.org Reception February. 17, 5–8 Artist’s Talk 6:30 pm A unique art show and talk that complements the soon-to-be published book by Lambertville resident Sandy Hanna. The Ignorance of Bliss: An American Kid in Saigon displays 20 paintings depicting her life as a ten-year-old military dependent from 1960 to 1962. It is of a time when she and her family found themselves in an exotic land living a life of French decadence prior to the horrific experiences that would unfold for both the American and Vietnamese people. This “Paris of the Orient,” Saigon, so aptly named by the French, was a magical place in those early years, especially for the first-born daughter of an American military officer, a colonel, and her siblings. It was also a place of underlying unrest and political intrigue. Ms. Hanna uses text and images on canvas to provide a visual interpretation to stories, characters, and a world as little understood then as it is today. In the ever-changing life of military kids in Saigon, the ability to adapt to the changing world around them is at the core of her story. Ms. Hanna will give a talk about this transitional time before it became the Vietnam War, accompanied by images documented by her father.
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Delaware Art Museum 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE 302-571-9590 delart.org February 10 – April 29 This community-curated exhibition brings together three painters—Alan Soffer, Brian Dickerson, and Moe Brooker—who are attuned to harmonies and contrasts in abstract forms. Each artist explores the boundaries of the creative process through mixed media, color, form, and texture.
Lotus XXI (Bridges), not dated. Alan Soffer. Ink, charcoal, and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches. Courtesy of the artist, 2017
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EXHIBITIONS II
Lalla Essaydi Wiliams Center Gallery, Lafayette College Art Galleries 317 Hamilton St., Easton, PA 610-330-5361 Galleries.lafayette.edu February 3-April 7
Henri Matisse, Nadia in Sharp Profile, 1948 Yale University Art Gallery, The Arthur Ross Collection
Impressions in Ink: Prints from the Arthur Ross Collection Arthur Ross Gallery at the University of Pennsylvania 220 South 34th Street, Philadelphia Between Walnut and Spruce Streets Housed in the Fisher Fine Arts Library building 215-898-2083 arthurrossgallery.org Through March 25 Impressions in Ink presents thirty exceptional prints by French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists including Cézanne, Daumier, Degas, Gauguin, Manet, Matisse, Pissarro, and ToulouseLautrec, drawn from the superb collection of the Gallery’s founder, Arthur Ross. The exhibition inaugurates the Arthur Ross Gallery’s 35th Anniversary year, which includes a national symposium and interdisciplinary programs. Organized with Yale University Art Gallery, all works are lent from the Arthur Ross Collection.
Robert Capa, Henri Matisse in his studio, 1949, Magnum Photos [For illustration purposes; NOT IN THE SHOW]
The Trout Gallery The Art Museum of Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA Troutgallery.org February 9-May 12 Central to photographer Lalla Essaydi’s artistic vision is a synthesis of personal and historical catalysts. As a Muslim woman who grew up in Morocco, raised her family in Saudi Arabia, and relocated to the United States, she has firsthand perspectives into crosscultural identity politics. Essaydi weaves together the odalisque form, Arabic calligraphy, henna, textiles, and bullets to illuminate narratives associated with Muslim women throughout time and across cultures. By placing Orientalist fantasies of Arab women and Western stereotypes in dialogue with lived realities, Essaydi presents identity as the culmination of these legacies, yet something that also expands beyond culture, iconography, and stereotypes. The Williams Center Gallery at Lafayette College and The Trout Gallery at Dickinson College present a survey of Essaydi’s signature series in concurrent exhibitions.
Photo credits, copyright, Lalla Essaydi/Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York
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(Detail)
Katya Grokhovsky: System Failure Martin Art Gallery, Baker Center for the Arts Muhlenberg College 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA 484-664-3467 Muhlenberg.edu/gallery February 14-April 10 Opening reception February. 14, 5-6:30 System Failure is a solo exhibition by resident artist Katya Grokhovsky. The exhibition explores the complexities of failing patriarchal regime through immersive site-specific sculptural installation, video and performance. Against a backdrop of post-industrial debris, the invisible, absurd, grotesque and difficult aspects of contemporary female experience are explored in an exhibition that acts as a lens to examine social norms and the politics of protest. System Failure will include two public performances on March 14 and April 10 at 5pm, and a public lecture on March 21 5-6pm in the Recital Hall. MAG is free and open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 12 – 8pm.
(Detail)
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FOODIE FILE
A.d. AMorosi
Beef Short Rib for Two with Lettuce, Rice and Miso. Double Knot, Phila. Photo ©Reese Amorosi
Corn Flour Fettuccine with Duck Sausage Ragu, Parmigiano-Reggiano Harp & Crown, Phila. Photo ©Reese Amorosi
Pizza with Spicy Soppressata, Shishito, Honey, Provolone - Harp & Crown, Phila. Photo ©Reese Amorosi
FEBRUARY IS THE MONTH that hangs food writers up the most, focusing as they must on Valentine’s plans and pre-arranged menus. What I would dig most is liberating February’s meals and culinary treats from the hum-drummery of a single phony day, and instead wooing it into becoming a long, languid romantic month. So if we’re discussing romance as a restaurant option, we must discuss darkness and intimacy, and if we’re chatting darkness and intimacy, we must consider the most recent of chef-owner Michael Schulson’s Collective—Sansom Street’s Harp & Crown, 13th Street’s Double Knot—and their newest, surprise acquisition, Osteria, itself a palace of dusky l’amour. For the uninformed, the towering North Broad Street Osteria was one of Marc Vetri’s first purchases after he opened his eponymous flagship spot. Osteria mean so much to Vetri that this location was where the initial Alex’s Lemonade Great Chefs events were held, both inside and outside the Italian eatery. Though Vetri sold most of his enterprises to URBN, culinary directors/chefs Jeff Michaud and Brad Spence stayed with Osteria as part of the overall deal. Until now. Schulson is now the owner of Osteria and is holding onto Chef Michaud at its helm. And so the question remains: is the Schulson/Michaud team going to maintain its Italian-ness and slide some of the former’s Roman dishes into the equation (such as Corn Flour Fettuccine with Duck Sausage Ragu, Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pizza with Spicy Soppressata, Shishito, Honey, Provolone from Harp & Crown; perhaps something more esoteric such as a Beef Short Rib for Two with Lettuce, Rice and Miso from Double Knot), or will they forge forward into another cuisine entirely as Schuslon & Co. is planning a semi-Italian eatery with Isgro’s Pastries for Sansom Street? Stay tuned.
Lobster Claw Robatayaki. Double Knot, Phila. Photo ©Reese Amorosi
Halibut with Crab, Zucchini, Chickpeas, Fennel Broth. Harp & Crown, Phila. Photo ©Reese Amorosi
As we go to press, an old friend and wildly popular restaurateur is selling off most of her property wares and will instead concern herself with raising her family: Audrey Taichman, a queen of Rittenhouse who opened Audrey Claire 22 years ago, and Twenty Manning Grill 20 years ago, is handing her businesses to Rob Wasserman (Rouge) and living a life away from the culinary scene. A big wow especially considering that she is one of the good guys. Hey, she also developed the charity-driven Feastival with Stephen Starr, Michael Solomonov and Nick Stuccio for all things Fringe Arts, so this good guy is as good as she is civically minded. Wasserman will maintain her level of
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quality at both of her restaurants—and Taichman will still hold onto her neighborhood’s COOK—an event space and a classroom—because that concept maintains itself in its own educational fashion, and surely she won’t stay away from Philly food forever. In our quest to discover more about Allentown’s famed West End, friend of the Foodie File Bruce Thomas—a habitué of the Lehigh Valley’s Sullivan Trail (and who recommends Forks Deli for its Lebanese garlicky fava bean salad)—turned me onto Café Frais, a recent addition to the Muhlenberg College dining scene. The crew behind the Trè Locally Sourced food truck is running Café Frais with food stuff from fellow Pennsylvania farm folks such as the Nesting Box of Kempton and Valley Milkhouse of Oley. Along with spotlighting an entirely new dining area with its tony lunch and brunch menu, Café Frais—a counter deli space—is soon going the dinner route with a poke bowl, and shrimp with edamame and wild rice, among other dishes, as part of its all-fresh, gluten-free vibe. The address 824 S. Eighth Street in Bella Vista (my neighborhood) has been the home of several restaurants within the last ten years. You Google it—it’s way too painful for me to recall. So then I was skeptical to hear that a man named Sean Nevins was going to try his luck with Acadia, a Creole-Cajun space influenced by Canadian settlers in New Orleans. No, I have not yet sampled the menu, but I shall and will report home. I can tell you the rumor going around the area is that Nevins will serve a mean Sazerac. Well, sir, you have my full attention. I normally don’t rave about a place that has been on the map for a minute, but with all the chat of England (all things Harry and Megan, Netflix’s The Crown) and the British Isles (e.g. the Philadelphia Orchestra’s latest excursion), I had to spend time with a Pimms Cup, a sneaky apple cider, some Sticky Toffee Pudding (with flapjack ice cream) and a decadent, hearty Bank Holiday Sunday Roast with carrots and parsnips at The Dandelion on the corner of 18th and Sansom. As London pub-esque as you are going to get in this area, The Dandelion, one of Stephen Starr’s creations, simply “gets” what it is to feel and dine English now without losing its traditions and giving itself over to any of the clichés of British gastronomy to weigh its food down. Good show, old chap. n
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theater VALLEY
CITY
Beyond Sacred: Voices of Muslim Identity. Five young American Muslims, including a Kuwait-born human-rights champion and a Queens “Arab-Rican,” describe about how their religious/cultural heritage has affected them and others since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This piece of theatrical chamber music was created by Ping Chong + Company, a vaunted communal ensemble led by a multimedia scientist raised in Manhattan’s Chinatown. It will be presented at Lafayette College, which has hosted five Chong works concerning everything from the often unsettling exchange between China and the West to a vampire unsettling yuppie-inflicted, AIDSafflicted ’80s Manhattan. “Every artist observes the world as if it were new,” Chong told me in 1989. “It all comes down to seeing the human experience as a wonder, with a kind of astonishment, while looking at people objectively, as rather droll and peculiar creatures.” (Feb. 9, Williams Center for the Arts)
Les Miserables. Victor Hugo’s classic of the same name was lambasted by critics when it was published in 1832. But what do critics know when it comes to commercial success? The 2012 Hollywood musical starring Ann Hathaway was satirized as “Les Insufferables.” Gawker panned the film for its “phony happy ending,” while film critic Anthony Lane destroyed the movie, saying, “I screamed a scream as time went by.” Cameron Mackintosh’s production at the Academy of Music was conceived in 2009. With breathtaking stage sets, French Revolution battle scenes, and its cast of dozens, the play was a cornucopia of song masquerading as dialogue. Why? Because rapid fire dialogue that is sung only occasionally makes sense, although the Academy audience seemed indifferent to this. Broadway musicals traditionally obfuscate the English language. The Mackintosh production even had a ten-year-old revolutionary who gave the government enemy fighters the finger as his adult male compatriots fell over dead. The audience howled at the boy’s manly verve, although I registered it as a contrived Stephen Spielberg moment. The brilliant second act had a smaller number of characters onstage, and because of this every uttered word, sung or otherwise, flooded the Academy with absolute clarity.
Rock of Ages. Civic Theatre of Allentown stages this musical, set in the 1980s on the Sunset Strip, charting the seismic shifts of an aspiring rocker, his waitress/actress-wannabe girlfriend and a disarmingly charming big-time, big-haired rocker named Stacee Jaxx. The plot zags and zigs through such ’80s anthems as “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” and “Oh Sherrie,” which is addressed to a character named Sherrie. (Feb. 9-11, 16-18, 23-25, Cedar Crest College) Ubu Roi. Alfred Jarry’s avant-garde avatar stars an infantile, insane tyrant who kills a Polish king, defeats the Tsar’s army, and protects himself with a bear he murdered. The bear comes from Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale, the ghost from Hamlet, the haunted revenge from Macbeth. Paul McCartney borrowed “pataphysical” for “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer,” a ditty about a sassy assassin. (Feb. 21-25, Muhlenberg College) The Devil’s Disciple. George Bernard Shaw made his bones with this polemical dramedy about a Revolutionary War rebel who allows himself to be arrested while being mistaken for a minister and is saved from hanging by the rebellious clergyman, who blows up a British ammunition dump with a torched coat. The 1959 movie starred Kirk Douglas as Dick Dudgeon and Burt Lancaster as the Rev. Anthony Anderson. (Feb. 21-25, Feb. 27-March 4, Act 1 Productions, DeSales University) [Title of Show]. Two friends struggling to create a piece for a festival of new musicals end up writing about their struggle. The real struggle begins after the show becomes a Broadway-bound hit and cast members fight over stage time, a publicity photo and potential profit sharing. The Off-Broadway and Broadway productions included phone messages left by Idina Menzel, Patti LuPone and other neon names rejecting roles. (Feb. 22-25, Moravian College) Orlando. Sarah Ruhl adapted Virginia Woolf ’s 1928 parody novel about a rakish duke in 17th-century England who romances a Russian princess, flirts with Queen Elizabeth, wakes up a duchess after a week-long sleep shepherded by a gypsy, and confronts Victorian sexism. Ruhl time-tripped through gender traps in the plays How to Transcend a Happy Marriage and For Peter Pan on Her 70th Birthday. (Feb. 23-25, Feb. 28-March 3, Lehigh University) Disgraced. Avad Ahktar received the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for drama for this explosive dinner-table debate over ethnic, racial and class differences between Pakistanborn and African-American lawyers and their significant others, a Jewish curator and an Anglo artist who uses Islamic elements. Raised in Milwaukee, Ahktar wrote and starred in the 2005 film The War Within, which follows a Muslim engineering student who becomes a terrorist. (Feb. 23-25, March 1-3, Lafayette College) n — geoff gehMAn 12 n I C O N n F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 n I C O N d v . C O m n F A C E B O O k . C O m / I C O N d v
Lydie Breeze Trilogy. EgoPo classic theater stages Oscar nominee and Obie Awardwinner John Guare’s magic realism epic in three parts. The author of Six Degrees of Separation and Atlantic City (the film) opens Part One with the startling spectacle of 700 men rushing into the jaws of death just because General Ulysses S. Grant told them they had to do it. After the massacre, a few survivors band together and try to stop the war. This is their story. Come and see how the survivors’ world becomes a surrealist escalator to an even more bizarre reality. Until February 11. Parts 2 and 3 will be presented in March and April. Christ Church Neighborhood House. A Doll’s House. Arden Theatre Company hits pay dirt with this spectacular Isben classic. The play premiered in 1879, but this epic story is still contemporary and relevant. Nora (Katharine Powell), who is married to Torvald (Cody Nickell), has an obsessive love for money that spirals out of control until it threatens the well-being of her family. Under Terry Nolen’s apt direction, Powell captures Nora’s childlike instability which is really the cornerstone of her relationship with the fatherly Torvald. Nora is an adult-child and more of a sister than mother to her two young sons. Written before the age of women’s emancipation, much of the interaction between Nora and Torvald reflects the radical inequality of the sexes in the 19th century. When Nora’s world eventually falls through, Toryald has a reactive breakdown. Nickell portrays Torvald’s mental anguish with convincing realism. The disturbing last scene of the play has Nora walking out on her husband and children in a rash feminist-style protest. Nora’s radical meltdown reflects a twisted narcissism commonly seen in misbehaving children. Until February 25. Copenhagen. Tony Award-winner Michael Frayn’s re-imagining of Nazi-funded nuclear physicist Werner Heisenberg’s meeting with his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr, in 1941 comes across more as a student thesis split up into speaking parts rather than a drama that compels. Charles McMahon is excellent as the verbose Heisenberg. Sally Mercer as Margrethe Norlund Bohr, wife of Niels Bohr (Paul L. Nolan), spends most of her time listening and nodding her head—though as one reviewer wrote, she gives the characters an excuse to express themselves in layman’s terms— as the two men critique their actions during WWII from the afterlife. Lantern Theater Company. Extended to February 18. n — thoM nickels
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the list
FEBRUARY
6 JAY ELECTRONICA Rap’s most mysterious fellow may or may not have new music to display (that’s part of the mystery) but whatever he does it will intrigue and delight. (Union Transit) 6 JOHN OATES The folkier half of Philly’s most soulful duo after Gamble & Huff returns with new music from Arkansas—that’s a roughshod rambling album of his and not the rural state. (World Café Live)
cUrAted by A.d. AMorosi
8 GEORGE CLINTON + FUNKADELIC Free your mind and your ass will follow: that was Clinton’s mantra then and it still holds true. (Keswick Theater) 8 YUNG LEAN The iciest MC of the Netherlands hits the Fillmore’s top salon for some chillwave hip hop and existential hip hop. (Foundry) 9 KASIM SULTON Todd Rundgren’s longtime bassist and co-vocalist does a handsome soulful solo show without the wizard and the true star. (Sellersville Theater) 9 SYLEENA JOHNSON Her new album Rebirth of Soul finds the R&B diva paired with her blues singing dad Syl Johnson for their first recording together in 20+ years and an honest powerhouse of emotion. (World Café Live)
WHERE TO DINE AND STAY IN JIM THORPE
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film
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IAM NEESON HAS FOUND a second wind playing stony loners who spring into action after various members of his family are killed, kidnapped, or face other grave misfortunes. The popularity of his movies, specifically the Taken series, is obvious: We would do the same if our loved ones were in peril. Life isn’t like that and In the Fade, this year’s Golden Globe winner for best foreign language film, offers a somber, riveting antidote. When a German woman’s Kurdish husband (Numan Acar) and young son (Rafael Santana) are killed in a bombing, Katja is paralyzed with grief. It’s only after all the options of legal vengeance are exercised that she exacts her revenge, but it’s done haltingly and with uncertainty. Being a bad-ass is not an item most of us put in our planners. Director Fatih Akin reveals the jagged contours of a woman mourning, and that real justice only exists for some people. Katja is a pretty, white blonde lady. Her husband, Nuri—Katja’s drug dealer in college— is an ex-con who has gone straight as a tax adviser and translator. Nuri had life insurance. In the movie’s second scene, we’re introduced to Katja’s son, who is carrying
In the Fade a violin case and wearing glasses. Without the cloud of the past, the only thing that would arouse mild suspicion is Nuri’s full beard and Katja’s (well-placed) tattoos. They did everything right and they’re still wrong. The present is deemed invalid. Katja believes Nazis committed the bombing, because the alleged suspect looked like her and the agenda appears ethnicitybased. No one agrees. There must be an underworld angle or a sordid motivation, so the police investigator grills her. Your husband made 50,000 Euros, so how did you afford that nice house? We got a loan from my father-in-law, Katja responds. What does he do? He’s a landowner. What does he grow? Houses, she says, knowing full well what’s implied. Your husband was talking to criminals. That was his clientele. Even Katja’s parents and in-laws heap blame: the former for marrying someone of Nuri’s perceived character; the latter for failing to keep their grandson safe. She’s attacked at every turn. The courts, of course, will let her down. The defense stretches reasonable doubt to an absurd length, which is its job, but why is there such debate? The concept of a second chance or fresh start is limited to a certain number of people: usually white, rich, or both. For everyone else, the second act is suspended the
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minute a trace of doubt or fear emerges. Katja’s reputation by association is on trial. She knows it, which is why she asks her faithful lawyer (Denis Moschitto) if the defendants—an attractive young married couple straight from Hitler’s dreams—will be punished. Kruger (Inglourious Basterds, the National Treasure movies) is magnificent, shrinking into Katja’s crushing grief. Akin has the camera focus on her face, where you can see the hurt accumulate with each interminable day, with each preposterous stunt in court. She submits to the character’s emotions, and doesn’t attempt to accelerate anything. You can’t stop watching her. She’s aided by Akin, who throws in accents to accompany Katja’s horror. During her grief-stricken exile, it pisses rain. We see pieces of the life that left the house: a toy, some of the kid’s artwork just out of frame. Katja lives in darkness, so when Akin cuts to the antiseptic, blinding white of the courtroom, we know her trouble has not ended. Her wobbly faith in justice is exposed. Katja does face her enemies. She doesn’t run away. She gets her vengeance, because no one else will do it for her. When the wronged aren’t heard, the damage lasts beyond the initial crime. In the Fade imparts that lesson to our growing horror—and edification. [R] n
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THE WORD IS THAT The Phantom Thread may be Daniel Day Lewis’ final film performance. If you’re going to go out, go out at the top of your game—The Beatles, with Abbey Road and Let It Be, gave the collective we a hell of a swansong. Daniel Day-Lewis portrays Reynolds Woodcock, a designer of couture women’s fashions in 1950s London. He lovingly crafts dresses for the Who’s Who of Europe, achieving almost superstar status. Saying Woodcock is an intense guy is like saying Jimmy Stewart’s character in Vertigo was a little preoccupied. There are two ways of doing things in his home—things as he wants them done and things as his devoted sister Cyril (Lesley Manville) wants them done, both usually aligned. Woodcock leads an orderly, regimented life, defined almost entirely by his work—although he dresses with fastidious attention. Things change when Woodcock takes a fancy to Alma (Vicky Krieps, who evokes a young Meryl Streep), a waitress at a restaurant in which he’s dining. Before long, Alma moves into the
Phantom Thread Woodcock mansion as his muse, for his convenience, for when he doesn’t want to be alone. Signs of physical affection between the two are rare, and when Alma decides to cook a romantic dinner for him—just the two of them—he reacts with icy disdain. This movie is dedicated to the power struggle between these three, but is virtually a dominance/submission story. Daniel Day-Lewis is…well, is. Like De Niro and a select few others, he immerses himself completely into the role. At times it’s hard to watch him as his character often behaves like a dick—yet Day-Lewis can melt into a role of many dimensions—There Will be Blood, Lincoln, In the Name of the Father. The direction by Paul Thomas Anderson brings the audience into this time period of classy English aristocracy. The only people that work for a living we learn are the seamstresses working on Woodcock designs and they are as anonymous as workers in an anthill. It’s a world that’s as much lined with velvet as it is claustrophobic.
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The direction is Masterpiece Theatre-like and the soundtrack is fantastic—Jonny Greenwood, of Radiohead, refuses to be background music at all. It’s lush and strongly influenced by 19th and early 20th century classical music—swirling strings, harmonious, dramatic, very little dissonance. The soundtrack is so strong and apt, it’s almost a character. One can virtually hear the tension when Alma’s breakfast-eating is too disruptive (noisy) for Woodcock—the scraping of toast is like road construction. Alma is not exactly a well-rounded character, and perhaps that’s part of the point: Woody is his work and Alma exists for Woody. Despite this, Krieps imbues her with presence, in her own way she’s as compelling as Day-Lewis. The Phantom Thread is indeed a movie experience, and not always an easy one, that should be experienced on the big screen. In some very subtle ways, Thread is a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock (think Marnie and Vertigo)—is it a coincidence that Hitch’s wife was named Alma? n
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JOSHUA BELL
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A. d. AMorosi
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MPOSSIBLY AT AGE 50, violinist Joshua Bell appears much the same as he was when he made his orchestral debut as a teenager with the Philadelphia Orchestra, becoming the orchestra's youngest-ever soloist. Sure, his skill at playing the violin as he did then, first at home in Bloomington, Indiana, has matured—and has, as with a precious metal, been burnished to perfection. Speaking about the program he will play on February 15-18 at the Kimmel Center with the Philadelphia Orchestra and its conductor, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bell reminds me that he first played this program—Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22—for his second album in 1988 with Vladimir Ashkenazy. He still muses about the music of his youth and how it and he has evolved. We chatted on the phone about such musings as he was making his way to London
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IF YOU’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN AND HAVE STRONG IDEAS OF WHAT YOU WANT—YOU WILL GET THAT RESPECT. WHEN THEY HATE YOU IT’S BECAUSE YOU HAVE WEIRD GIMMICKS, OR WHAT YOU’RE DOING FEELS DISHONEST. OR YOU’RE BEING A JERK OR AN EGOTIST. THAT’S WHEN PEOPLE HATE YOU. IF YOU’RE CONVINCED AND CONFIDENT ABOUT WHAT YOU’RE DOING, AND CAN PROVE THAT YOU’LL WORK HARDER THAN ANYONE ELSE—THEN YOU GET THAT RESPECT.
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So at age 14 you were the grand prize winner in the first annual Seventeen magazine/General Motors National Concerto Competition in Rochester, NY. From there you collected your prize and appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti in 1982 —the youngest person ever to appear with the orchestra as a soloist on a subscription concert. Two-part question: Seventeen Magazine, yeah? I mean that is pretty fascinating when you consider classical music is not, say, teeny bop pop. The Seventeen magazine thing doesn’t exist anymore, which is a shame, but it was a competition for high school students around the country. It wasn’t about my reading the magazine, even though my sister did regularly—it was just a cool competition with great prize money for 1982, $5,000 for each of the instrumental categories. And the winner of the grand prize got to go to Philadelphia and play with the orchestra! That was a big thing—still is, playing with the Philly Orchestra. Teens entered from around the country. I was the youngest one at 14 to enter and when I won and I was granted that opportunity I went to Philadelphia and auditioned for Muti. That had to be quite intimidating. Definitely—probably because I was 14 and probably because he was Ricardo Muti. I played Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn concertos for him, and afterward I was hoping he would put me on a card with something major and make a real splash. He put me on the subscription series and that was special as I got to play three times but I played a Mozart concerto. Not that I wasn’t grateful. I was. But as a 14-year-old boy, I wanted to play something flashier. Cocky. [Laughs] In hindsight, it was a good move on his part as it’s a piece that shows more musicianship than technique. I was honored. I never played with a full orchestra before let alone the Philadelphia one who was renowned for their sound. And no doubt why, as your orchestra’s sound is so full. The Philly concert master at the time, Norman Carol, who retired many years ago, had heard I was a coin collector, so he gave me a rare coin from his collection to mark my debut. That was a really cool gesture. Muti, too, was very nice to me though it was not as if we hung out and went to dinner. That’s something we only wound up doing some 25 years later when we were on tour with one of the London orchestras. Philly was a pivotal moment and place for you. Oh, yeah. I always refer to the orchestra as being my start and feel as if I owe them a great debt. A lot of things came out of those first concerts in Philly including me getting my manager. You’ve played with the Philly Orchestra many times since. How have you grown together and what do you think of Yannick? The orchestra will always have a special place—yes, it’s history for me—[because of] that special occasion. But I’m grown up now and I see them as colleagues rather than mentors. I’m actually older than most of its players now, as I don’t believe there are many of the same musicians in that orchestra as when I made my debut there. That’s sad…a weird thing, especially as I was always “the kid”—depressing, right? [Laughs]
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keith Uhlich
24 Frames
film roundup
24 Frames (Dir. Abbas Kiarostami). Documentary. Poetry in motion. The late, great Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami didn’t intend this sublime experimental feature to be his swan song. But what movie could stand as a final testament in his towering body of work, which is possessed of a will to live and endure, even when, as in the Palme d’Or-winning Taste of Cherry (1997), the subject is death itself? We might say that 24 Frames is about bringing life to things, specifically a series of 24 still images (23 of which were photographed by Kiarostami over the course of his long career) that are digitally animated/composited with footage of animals, snow, ocean waves and, very sparingly, people. Each “frame” runs for about four-anda-half minutes, and makes no effort to seem genuinely realistic. As is often the case in Kiarostami’s work, he uses the falsifying tools of cinema to get, simply yet profoundly, at deeper truths about the world that each of us inhabits, while also gently reminding us that our time here is, all told, but the blink of an eye or the click of a lens shutter. [N/R] HHHHH
The Commuter (Dir. Jaume ColletSerra). Starring: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson. The go-to genre specialist for a large number of cinephiles, Catalan director Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) strikes this reviewer as an artist of sporadic talent whose good ideas are frontloaded into films that quickly derail. Derail—there’s a good word for the latest Liam Neeson booty-kicker, in which the former Oskar Schindler plays a just-fired middle-class insurance salesman who impulsively takes a lucrative offer to identify and mark a passenger, for what turns out to be assassination, on his daily commuter train. The opening sequence detailing a mundane year in the character’s work life is inspired in the ways that Collet-Serra joints usually are at their start. Then the idiot plot kicks in, as does some dodgy CGI (another Collet-Serra staple), and the trashiness overwhelms any artistry, not to mention spotlights the waste of a stellar cast that, besides Neeson, includes Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Sam Neill and Elizabeth McGovern. [PG-13] HH
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The Insult (Dir. Ziad Doueiri). Starring: Adel Karam, Kamel El Basha, Camille Salameh. Ziad Doueiri’s FrenchLebanese drama was shortlisted for this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, and it’s easy to see why. It takes a complicated situation— the historically ingrained tensions between Beirut’s Lebanese Christian and Palestinian refugee population—and turns it into a allegory that’s simple at best, simplistic at worst. You can’t fault the two stars, Adel Karam and Kamel El Basha, who commit themselves fully to their roles as, respectively, hotheaded Lebanese auto mechanic Tony Hanna (Al Pacino-like in temperament) and older, illegally hired Palestinian contractor Yasser Abdallah Salameh, who verbally insults Hanna after a minor altercation. Things slowly get major as the duo takes their case to court and inflame the passions of the nation. (The opposing councils are even a bickering father and daughter!) It’s never less than compelling, but way too dramatically expedient, adopting a can’t-we-alljust-get-along ethos that seems less a sincerely held philosophy than a trite, sentimental pose. [R] HH1/2
The Strange Ones (Dirs. Christopher Radcliffe and Lauren Wolkstein). Starring: Alex Pettyfer, James FreedsonJackson. Writer-directors Radcliffe and Wolkstein expand their 2011 short film of the same name into a feature that resembles Robert Altman’s Images if the lead were an emotionally damaged boy as opposed to a paranoid woman. Jeremiah (Freedson-Jackson)—not his real name we soon discover—is on a road trip with Nick (Alex Pettyfer), a man claiming to be his brother, but in reality someone nefarious. I say “reality” as if the film ever fully settles on whether the events we’re seeing are actually happening. An early moment in which Nick seemingly makes a coffee cup vanish hints at the malleability of reality and truth. Jeremiah is the unreliable narrator of his own story and he never comes out of that haze, nor does the movie. There’s pleasure in that, as there are in the performances of Pettyfer and Freedson-Jackson, both actors exploring some knotty realities about love and desire. But the mysterious qualities of the narrative ultimately dissipate rather than resonate in the mind. [R] HHH n
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dvds revieWed by george oxford Miller
The Ballad of Lefty Brown.
reel news
Marshall HHHH Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad Genre: Drama; Rated PG-13 This classic courtroom drama immerses viewers in the era when AfricanAmericans lived all too often on the fear side of justice. In 1941, the NAACP dispatched a young black attorney, Thurgood Marshall (Boseman), to Connecticut to defend a black man (Brown) accused of raping a white socialite. The conflict begins when the judge refuses to let Marshall speak to the court because he doesn’t have a state license. Marshall solicits the aid of an inexperienced Jewish insurance lawyer Sam Friedman (Gad). Even though the two men are respected leaders in their communities, they’re dirt underfoot in white America. By the time the judge and town ruffians work them over, they realize just how deep underwater they are. Only by astute strategizing and witness questioning can the team have a chance of swaying the all-white jury. Even though Marshall went on to win Brown v. Board of Education, and in 1967 became the first black Supreme Court justice, this was a landmark civil rights trial. It exposed that rabid racism existed not just in the
South, but in the North as well. The Ballad of Lefty Brown HHHH Cast: Bill Pullman, Diego Josef Genre: Western; Rated R By 1889, time was running out for frontier Montana. Statehood had arrived and the railroad and the rule of law were soon on the way. Rancher and diehard vigilante Edward Johnson (Peter Fonda) has been elected U. S. senator and is about to head to Washington and leave his ranch in care of his long-time sidekick, the mumbling, bumbling Lefty Brown (Pullman). Then a nefarious villain ambushes the pair and kills Johnson. Lefty vows revenge. This classic story has had many iterations and this version hits all the plot points and clichés. Yet it infuses a freshness with Lefty as the idiosyncratic, incompetent hero and his newfound partner, a wannabe gunslinger, Jeremiah (Josef). As with all traditional Westerns, the magnificent grandeur of the western landscape plays a front-andcenter role. Before the last sunset, the pair find the killer, but not without battling the collusion, corruption, and betrayal that inevitably arrive with the first train from “civilization.”
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Roman J. Israel, Esq. HHH Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell Genre: Drama; Rated PG-13 Besides being an autistic savant, activist attorney Roman Israel (Washington) has a problem. He’s an idealist stuck in a pre-digital world where the civil rights revolution was all the rage When his partner, a charismatic lawyer and face of their two-person firm, suddenly dies, Israel proves inept in court. Out of desperation, he takes a position with a slick attorney (Farrell), which requires moral-numbing compromises of his most sacred convictions. Surviving the convoluted legal system of plea bargains and billable hours requires ethical decisions he never dreamed possible. But money and power seductively call, and if humans are good at anything it’s rationalization. Washington’s superb characterization gives life to the story’s otherwise problematic plotting and conclusion. Lucky HHHH Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, Ed Begley Jr. Genre: Drama; Not rated. This swan song was written specifically for Stanton, age 89, one of the
most respected character actors for over three-quarters of a century. It includes an ensemble of his best friends and colleagues, all renowned actors and directors themselves. Stanton protrays himself as the weathered, no-nonsense Lucky, an idiosyncratic loner isolated by age, as he faces his last days in a small desert town. His life centers around a set routine with daily visits to the diner, convenience store, and bar. The events and spirited conservations circle around the nature of life in general and the specific fate rapidly approaching Lucky, with many sides and hints to the events and movies in Stanton’s illustrious history. The compelling attraction of the character-driven story is the unfolding of a personality, of an experienced life not yet willing to give up. It’s not just a celebration of Stanton’s long life, but as Lucky, the value of life itself even if it centers around watching daytime TV and smoking cigarettes. Lucky may not have anything to contribute to society at large, but in his confined, small-town universe, he matters. Stanton, who died two weeks before the movie was released, leaves us a heart-felt testimonial to the verve of a life full lived. n
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Goksung (The Wailing)
The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came To Eden
THERE ARE ONLY SO many stories in this universe, but it’s how one tells the stories…or, “combines” the stories. The South Korean horror film The Wailing (2016) combines—and mildly subverts—a few genres: Small-town cop in over his head; enigmatic stranger brings chaos; demonic possession of children (remember The Exorcist, considered to be cutting-edge horror of the ’70s); mystery contagion turns otherwise normal folk into cannibalistic, mindless savages—all these are on display here. Yet director Na Hong-jin doesn’t just crib from better movies, he slices and dices them all (along with some of the characters herein) until he’s got a fascinating, compelling, and frustrating movie. The setting is a mostly rural South Korean village in which a few inhabitants go murderously berserk. One of the local cops investigating is Jong-gu (Kwak Do-won), a pudgy putz not unlike Barney Fife. Jong-gu is in over his head even before he gets on the scene, which is not only baffling but stomach-churningly gory. It gets personal when his child, the impishly cute Hyo-jin (Kim Hwan-hee) runs a fever, breaks out in a scary rash, eats anything that doesn’t crawl off the plate, and begins swearing like a drunken sailor. Some of the police look for a biological cause, but Hyo-jin’s grandma decides to deal with it old-school: She calls in a shaman. A clue (or red herring) could be the presence of a reclusive old Japanese fellow (Jun Kunimura, Kill Bill Part 1) living in the woods, whom villagers refer to as “the Jap.” Some horror clichés are trotted out: Local police are as about effective as the Three Stooges (one cop even bops a fellow officer on the head with a plastic bottle); it rains a lot; an ethereal-looking woman is questioned by Jong-gu, and when he turns away for a moment, she has vanished. There are some sudden scares, but Na prefers to do a Hitchcock and let atmosphere do the work. This is a long movie, over two and a half hours, but it never gets tedious. Na Hong-jin has an unusual eye for detail, and uses the lush, rainy, rural setting to set and maintain a sense of profound dread. His camera lens artfully lingers on muddy streets, dense woods, worried faces, slaughtered animals, clothes drying on clotheslines, etc. He also offers, via his characters’ words and actions, a few vague causes for this Hell-on-Earth come to the village: whether natural or spiritual, never is any definitive explanation offered, making this movie frustrating yet all the creepier. The acting is good, especially by Kim Hwan-hee, who believably transitions from cute kid to mini-demon. Biblical scripture is contrasted with ancient Korean spirituality and seem somehow similar. Horror fans should seek this out, but art-house crowd be warned—it’s violent and portrays plenty of gore. n
THE CONCEPT OF “GETTING away from it all” precedes back-to-nature hippies. In the harrowing years leading up to World War II, German intellectuals Friedrich Ritter and Dora Strauch got the notion to leave society behind to start anew on one of the Galapagos Islands, an unspoiled (in the Western sense) natural paradise. But then other people “discovered” this utopia, and brought their own ideas of what utopia should be. As so often happens in a mixed society, ideological collisions occur, emotions are inflamed, and sometimes mysteries arise. The historic words of the residents (excerpted from their journals and letters) are read by actors Diane Kruger, Cate Blanchett, Josh Radnor, and Connie Nielsen, and accompany still photographs and home movies. Friedrich and Dora, frustrated with German society in the 1930s, leave the Fatherland for island life, primitive as can be, sort of Gilligan’s Island meets Discovery Channel and Nietzsche (of whom Friedrich was a fan). We’re shown how they create their version of utopia—the operative phrase being “their version” as Friedrich seems the type of person who would have felt right at home with the new super-disciplined German Reich, then on Europe’s horizon. A few more residents, including an entrepreneurial baroness and her two boyfriends, arrive on the island. Soon, their frisky, bohemian ways get under the skin of Friedrich and Dora. Tensions rise, and eventually people disappear. Murdered? Lost at sea? Therein lies the tale…or does it? Some of The Galapagos Affair (2014) is fascinating—how a few European urbanites go about reinventing society in their own image, leaving corrupt, decadent, materialistic Western life behind. The actors’ trained voices lend a measure of dramatic and emotional resonance to the participants’ words while home movie film footage shows some of the lovely flora and fauna of paradise, displaying the lure of the primal setting. But there are downsides of getting away from it all—no place to pick up a newspaper, no opportunity for culture such as live music or film, and when one feels ill, there’s no doctor. There is too much detail here—superfluous interviews with folks who have only tangential relevance to the story, such as current residents talking about the islands’ remoteness—and an achingly slow pace. There seems to be a build up to a climax that does not really happen. Further, and perhaps this is belaboring the obvious, the self-styled exiles aren’t really all that likeable. If a story is compelling enough, likeability is seldom an issue. n
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JAMES P. DELPINO, MSS, MLSP, LCSW, BCD
ABOUT LIFE
I It’s never too late to have a happy childhood
T’S MORE COMMON THAN not to hear of pain, suffering and struggles experienced and endured during childhood. With undeveloped egos and lack of experience, children are likely to suffer more deeply the pangs of emotional pain. So much more vulnerable than adults, children can experience suffering from words and actions throughout the course of their adult lives. These emotional scars are mostly hidden from the outside world, yet actions, thoughts and behaviors manifested later in life harken back to these early childhood wounds. Parenting is a sacred task, but so often parents do unspeakable damage to their offspring. While no one is perfect and no one has a perfect childhood, there are those who grew up with the advantage of having a childhood that was more loving and sweet than others. Childhood is like the foundation of a home: If the foundation is solid, what is built on top of it is more likely to be solid and able to handle stresses and storms over time. The foundations for human growth and happiness are laid during what are known as the formative years. During the formative years perceptions, behaviors, emotional and thoughts are sculpted by the immediate environment. As time progresses the environment outside of the home becomes another significant force in the formation of the self. Like the body, the psyche develops over time in reaction to the variables introduced into it. If a child has a diet poor in nutrition the body will reflect that deprivation over time. When the emotional diet lacks basic nutrients the mind and emotions will suffer over time as well. Countless people in adult bodies carry within them a wounded child. Sometimes issues of basic trust are the manifestation of a poor emotional diet. Sometimes the wounds manifest in fears, misperceptions, acting out behaviors and self-absorbtion— often referred to as a narcissistic complex. Many of these issues can be resolved and improved in adulthood provided the wounded person receives the proper emotional inputs. These sorts of wounds are known as relational wounds because they occur within the context of relationships. These relationships involve people from family, friends and colleagues. If we assume, like Harry Guntrup, an object relations theorist, that the damage is caused by unhealthy rela-
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tionships in the formative years, then it stands to reason that healthy relations contain the curative elixir. As life moves forward, taking stock of fears, sadness, anger, and self-absorbtion is the first most important step for healing and fixing what is wounded and broken inside. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” The awareness that proceeds from self-examination yields the fruits of knowledge required to understand and know what interpersonal inputs will help each person to move forward in the direction of happiness. Taking this knowledge into each and every relationship allows one to know which people have what is needed for growth. The problem that arises for some is that they don’t trust anyone would truly be there for them, since their own families and friends were not available emotionally when they were younger. For those who suffer from basic mistrust there must be a willingness to take a chance to let someone in. Because we project all sorts of qualities onto others with the hope that they actually have those qualities, hurt and disappointment are frequent. For example, it’s common to trust someone before they have proven themselves trustworthy. Having the perseverance to try again is how folks can learn to adjust their perceptions and take their time in getting to know someone and allow them into their inner circle. Self-awareness in the area of one’s own projections helps to guard against hurt and disappointment. When someone is clear about what they need to have that happy childhood inside there becomes a clear path to understanding if another has those qualities. One basic input is nurturance, which comes in many forms. Some forms of nurturance include recognition, kindness, listening, communication, feedback, thoughtfulness, praising and prizing. These examples of nurturance are the basic building blocks of all relationships. Without these basics a healthy relationship will not emerge. Another basic input is discipline. Discipline involves setting boundaries and limits with another. Not allowing another person to speak or act abusively, for example, is one way that discipline plays an important role in any relationship. Too much intimacy too soon can fragment a relationship. This is where the factor of taking time to get close to another person plays a significant role in a positive outcome. n Jim Delpino is a psychotherapist in private practice for over 38 years. jdelpino@aol.com (215) 364-0139.
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14 | THE LIST
10 CHRIS TUCKER Hard to trust this stand-up routine will be humorous as his last movie (that I remember) as Silver Linings Playbook. Then again that shows that he has local ties so that could be a nice start to a fun evening. (Sugarhouse Casino) 11 STEVE AOKI + DESIGNER The electronic music king and scion of the Benihana fortune brings America’s swankiest rapper to Philly. (Fillmore) 11 MARCIA BALL A queen of the fevered blues since the 80s Ball’s newest release, “The Tattooed Lady and the Alligator Man,” sounds like a carney’s dream. (Sellersville Theater) 11 CELEBRATING DAVID BOWIE W/ MIKE GARSON An interesting proposition is this: a floating array of different Bowie sidemen from all eras of his recording and touring career gather together to play his hits. Philly gets longtime pianist Garson and Let’s Dance era bassist Carmine Rojas so far. (Keswick Theater) 13 ZZ WARD The one-time area native has got a thing for the blues if her 2017 album “The Storm” has any credence and she’s finally heading to town to show off her wares. (Theater of Living Arts) 14 THE NORTHS: PHILLY VOCALIST MEG CLIFTON NORTH AND SAXOPHONIST VICTOR NORTH Philly’s jazziest performing couple grab a bottle of good champagne and hit up Valentine’s Day on North broad Street. (South Jazz Parlor) 20 URIAH HEEP These guys were lords of big Stonehenge-y monster rock once upon a time. See this. (Steelstacks) 22 THE JAMES HUNTER SIX The white honeyed ANglo soul singer was nothing with just five guys. (Steelstacks) 23 ANDREW BIRD He dresses well. He plays a mean mandolin and a meaner fiddle. He writes earnest jazzy pop tunes. What‘s not to love? (Grand Opera House in Wilmington DE) 25 JONATHAN RICHMAN / TOMMY LARKINS The two Modern Lovers most recognizable from Ben Stiller and the Farrely Brothers’ There’s Something About Mary return for smiling sarcastic pop. (Union Transfer) 25 MACEO PARKER Not all of James Brown’s sidemen have had as dazzling a career as this saxophonist. Why Maceo? H’s got soul power. (Ardmore Music Hall) n 30 n I C O N n F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 n I C O N d v . C O m n F A C E B O O k . C O m / I C O N d v
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21 | JOSHUA BELL
I have to say that their choice of Yannick is incredible, informed and inventive, as he’s one of the great conductors of today. As a soloist playing with him, he’s a truly sensitive artist and a great spirit. You get picky in your old age [laughs]and I direct my own orchestra, so in many cases, I choose not to deal with a conductor. I’m enjoying that a lot, but doing something with him is a master coup. It’s nice for him, too, in Philly, so it’s a nice marriage. This orchestra actually digs its music director. That’s rarer than you’d imagine. Tell me about the Russian program that you two will perform. We’re doing another piece that has sentimental value to my heart: Wieniawski's romantic and Paganini-like Violin Concerto No. 2 premiered while the composer and violinist was living and teaching in St. Petersburg and it’s a little bit of a flashy showpiece of the 19th century. He was “the Chopin of the violin.” From Poland. Very sentimental. I haven’t played this piece in a thousand years. It’s a change from the usual Beethoven-Bach-Mozart thing, which is really refreshing as I’ve waited to bring Wieniawski back into my repertoire. Music such as this used to be played all the time. This was Jascha Heifetz’s bread and butter. He made his Carnegie Hall debut with that. I even recorded it when I was 20 years old. I see and hear more meaning in it now, and fun new ways to play it. When you play music beyond classical— whether it’s your bluegrass work with Edgar Meyer, soundtrack gigs with Hans Zimmer and Ryuichi Sakamoto, or music you’ve made with Chick Corea, James Taylor, Gloria Estefan, or Regina Spektor— what are you hoping for beyond the rush of aesthetic collaboration? I don’t always know what I’ll get out of new experiences and that’s the point. Other than that I want those experiences. You always hope that you can get some of their “star shine,” or that someone will hear you on something like a Josh Groban record and then get some of those fans to come to you. I had a conversation last month with Rufus Wainwright. He said that classical orchestras don’t always “get” him. How do you handle such things? I have a great relationship with my own academy in that they might not agree with everything I say— and vice versa—but we respect each other. If you’re passionate about what you believe in and have strong ideas of what you want—you will get that respect. When they hate you it’s because you have weird gimmicks, or what you’re doing feels dishonest. Or you’re being a jerk or an egotist. That’s when people hate you. If you’re convinced and confident about what you’re doing, and can prove that you’ll work harder than anyone else—then you get that respect. I try not to worry if they might think there are better violinists to work with. I won’t go down that road the same way I won’t read YouTube comments on what I do. You can’t please everyone. n
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music SINGER / SONGWRITER Chris Thile HHHH Thanks For Listening Nonesuch Records Thanks For Listening serves as a concept album from Chris Thile, who took over as host of the radio show A Prairie Home Companion in 2016. He wrote
songs designed to be performed on the show, now known as Live from Here with Chris Thile, and has reworked them for the CD. Thile’s songs are focused on the importance of communication and keeping an open mind and open ears in these contentious times. “Elephant in the Room” utilizes a touch of humor in sidestepping the pitfalls of political discussion around the Thanksgiving table. On “I Made This For You,” Thile’s mandolin propels the song as he declares: “I don’t wanna fight fire with fire/And I don’t wanna preach to the choir/Giving just as much hell as I get/To people I’d probably like if I met.” On “Feedback Loop,” Thile mixes electric and acoustic instruments in a song of avoiding unwanted opinions on social media sites. Thile switches gears for the pianoand-voice ballad “Stanley Ann,” in which he envisions Barack Obama discussing the end of his presidency with his deceased mother. The aptly titled “Falsetto” gives Thile a chance to show his vocal range with a song aimed at the Trump presidency and fake news. “Don’t tell it like it is/Don’t tell it like it was/Just tell it like I want it to be, “ Thile sings. (10 songs, 43 minutes) Dan Penn HHH1/2 Something About The Night
Dandy Records From Conway Twitty (“Is a Bluebird Blue?”) to Aretha Franklin (“Do Right Woman – Do Right Man”) and the Box Tops (“Cry Like a Baby”), artists across the musical spectrum have turned Dan Penn’s songs into hits. For much of the first four decades of his career, Penn largely operated behind the scenes as a writer and producer. Since 1994, he has stepped up as a performer to show he’s a fine interpreter of his songs. The title track of Something About The Night captures the enduring appeal of romance and music in the evening. “There’s something about the night that invites a serenade,” he sings in a tone of hushed intimacy. As a vocalist, Penn is adept in a variety of genres. “My Heart’s in Memphis” incorporates a jazzy backdrop that celebrates the city of his biggest musical successes, while “It’s Your Dream” utilizes Latin overtones. The folk-tinged “Headin’ Home,” co-written with Gary Nicholson and Donnie Fritts, showcases Penn’s warm, expressive vocals. The uptempo “Let’s Boogie Tonight” is a nod to his rhythm-and-blues roots that’s enhanced by the Cajun-flavored accordion work of Jo-el Sonnier. “Time to Get Over You” features a double-tracked Penn vocal that recalls a long-lost Sam and Dave track. Penn brings and honesty and purity of emotion to his newer songs that stand with his best work. (13 songs, 54 minutes) Caroline Cotter HHH Home on The River Self-released Home on The River, the second solo album from New England native Caroline Cotter, finds her reflecting on the people and places that shaped her life and her place in the world. Her wellconstructed songs call to mind the early work of Mary Chapin Carpenter. “Peace of Mind,” a country/folk hybrid, starts off the album on a philosophical note. “I don’t want to keep up with fashion/I don’t want to pick a fight,” she sings in a voice that recalls Nanci Griffith. “I don’t want to love you/Just to make this feel alright.” “1 4 3” serves as a tribute to her grandpar-
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ents and the passing of a generation. The title refers to the number of letters in each word of “I love you.” On the country-tinged title track, Cotter acknowledges the importance on family ties. “I’ve got roots that go deep and drew deeper the more I leave my home.” On “When I Think of You” and
“Hey Mama,” she sings of her parents and their roles in her life and how they shift with the passage of time. “Eternal Light” and “Can’t Stop the Waves” are reflections on the power of nature with the latter’s title chanted like a mantra. (10 songs, 31 minutes) J.D. Wilkes HHH1/2 Fire Dream Big Legal Mess/Fat Possum Records To borrow a phrase from Henry David Thoreau, J.D. Wilkes marches to the beat of his own drummer on Fire Dream, his first solo album. The longtime leader of the Legendary Shack Shakers creates an intoxicating sonic brew that draws on the music of his native Kentucky and American South. The title track blends an old-time feel and hypnotic rhythm that sounds like a soundtrack for a silent film. “Down in the Hidey Hole” is a lively tale of romance on the eve of the apocalypse. “I need me a girl for the end of the world,” Wilkes sings in a desperate voice that recalls the latter-day Tom Waits. “Hobos Are My Heroes” captures the sense of being an outsider on a song that would be at home on a Hank Williams Sr. album. “They’re just old souls roamin’/Dreamin’ of the Promised Land,” Wilkes declares. “Bible, Candle
and a Skull,” which Wilkes describes as a “hellfire comedy,” offers an acidic look at U.S. politics. “Wild Bill Jones” features a fiddle and string band arrangement that puts the listener in mind of a left-ofcenter square dance, while “Moonbottle” conjures up an exotic otherworldliness. Wilkes’ exploration in sounds is reminiscent of what Los Lobos did on Kiko in 1992 and Paul Simon’ work on Stranger to Stranger in 2016. (10 songs, 32 minutes) Chris Hillman HHH1/2 The Asylum Years Omnivore Recordings 3.5 stars After the critical success of Chris Hillman’s Bidin’ My Time CD in 2017, the release of The Asylum Years comes at a fortuitous time. The reissue of Hillman’s first two solo albums—Slippin’ Away in 1976 and Clear Sailin’ in 1977—shows his talents as a bandleader, songwriter, and performer. A charter member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Hillman brought an eclectic mix of country, rock and other genres to his initial solo efforts. The aptly titled “Step on Out” finds him settling into a percolating groove and fitting in nicely as a front man. The soulful title track of Slippin’ Away is enriched by the backing vocals of Tim Schmit and Herb Pedersen. “Falling Again” marks one of the first uses of synthesizer on a country record, while Hillman injects a reggae flavor on “Down in the Churchyard,” which he cowrote with Gram Parsons during their time in the Flying Burrito Brothers. The melodic “Love is the Sweetest Amnesty” shows Hillman’s ability as a balladeer. “(Take Me in Your) Lifeboat” finds Hillman revisiting his bluegrass roots with vocal help from Pedersen, fiddler Byron Berline, ex-Eagle Bernie Leadon. Clear Sailin’ isn’t quite a strong an album as its predecessor, but has its moments. The nautical feel of the title track features a spiritual quest in the lyrics. Hillman adds a touch of rock to his version of Marvin Gaye’s “Aint That Peculiar” and delivers a heartfelt version of Danny O’Keefe’s “Quits.” (20 songs, 75 minutes) n
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I RECENTLY ATTENDED AN event in Manhattan dedicated to the artistry of Alan Vega, the one-time singer and writer for the minimalist experimental electronic duo Suicide, as well as a solo artist in his own right. Renowned for his aggressive way with song—as a primal gut-shot howler and apocalyptic lyricist—Vega died in 2016, with his legend intact as an avatar of the proto-punk scene that birthed Talking Heads and Television. Vega was the saint of a sound that was noise and beauty, a terroristic, tremulous tone that continued to be his life’s work up through his last solo album, IT, which came out posthumously last year. If Lou Reed was NYC’s saint of the lyrically streetwise, then Vega was its soul. Vega and Suicide are on my mind when considering Marc Almond, the onetime member of his own (albeit somewhat less experimental) electronic duo, Soft Cell, and a deliciously dramatic set of solo albums topped off by Shadows and Light (2018), an album of stirringly stagey new Almond songs and rare covers, all with a cosmopolitan sheen and arching melodicism that fans of Bacharach, Brel, Webb and Hazlewood would adore. He, too, has long bathed in the waters of noise and beauty and come up trashed—willingly. Be it his epic, cabaret-pop solo albums or his wonky electro-wave Soft Cell, Almond has proved himself (and his duo) to hold their own street urchin cred. Whether he belies or deifies his influences—Lotte Lenye, Gene Pitney, David Bowie—Almond has remade the image of the nu-pop singer with a tortured theatricality that would make Judy Garland seem tame. And, he hasn’t released music—U.K.-only work gorgeously collected in 2016’s Trials of Eyeliner box—in the U.S. since the ’90s. “I don’t believe in fate because, in some way, that requires we believe in something predetermined by supernatural powers, and that doesn’t interest me,” he said of his empty decade away from the music scene after the results of a stroke. Remind him that he has had great health and lousy health, Almond teases, “Great health is something you take for granted until you lose it. I suppose if I thought I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.” Coming off a recently-released 10-LP box set of his past (Trails of Eyeliner), Almond is cool connecting with his older material—”I no longer have a problem with going back since there’s more behind me than ahead”—but is much happier when discussing the lusher elements of Shadow and Light penned either by him or masters of the coolly cosmopolitan such as Bacharach with whom he’s dueted and recorded his “Blue on Blue.” Almond says “It was great to work with Burt. He, of course, writes principally with women in mind, the simplicity of his storytelling always masks a subtext. He was thrilled I chose this song.” Several other songs on the new album penned by Almond himself (“The Overture,” “Interval,” “No One to Say Goodnight To”) set and frame the album’s mood. “They’re transformative and transport you to another world,” he said with a smile. One of the places that he digs traveling to is the ’60s—the particular 1960s that are a little bit Mod, a little Carnaby Street London. “I mean, where do I begin?” he asked. “It’s the roots and new shoots of so much of the family tree of all modern music, so much potential, so many possibilities, so much to say and hope for in that decade of music. It just felt like such a natural thing to do, and such a joy to explore so many great, relatively unknown songs. I wanted the songs to hang together to form a narrative, arranged around the opening and closing tracks. In many ways, it’s an homage to the films of the late ’50s and ’60s directed by Douglas Sirk. Once again, it’s the subtexts that I’m fascinated by, the language of what is not said, and the bleakness of pursuing cap-
italist, soulless dreams. It’s also about the emptiness of things, a lack of spirituality as a warning.” Thinking back to the Soft Cell crowd of our youth and when Almond first came to New York City—the home of Alan Vega’s soulless dreams—we mention the British singer’s love and loathing of the city that never sleeps. “I did love it,” he said. “You have relationships with cities and places, you fall in love, and then they change and madden you, or leave you behind, or become something other than that thing you fell in love with. Or maybe we change. I loved New York, and then didn’t. I was in love with New York and then wasn’t. But infuriatingly I still love it in some hope that we can rekindle something.” n
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MUSIC JAZZ / ROCK / CLASSICAL / ALT Dorothy Hindman HHHH Tightly Wound: Music for Strings Innova Born in 1966, Floridian Dorothy Hindman is among the generation of classical composers that have been impacted by the European/American classical tradition and post-1960s rock (including punk and grunge). She composes for “regular” instrumentation (piano, strings, sax, choirs, etc.) and electronic media (soundfiles, mobile phones, etc.) This two-CD set presents a fascinating cross-section of her music written for stringed instruments (violin, acoustic bass, guitar, etc.) and piano. Her music is mostly tonal (as opposed to atonal, which drives some people to the exits) and she employs dissonance judiciously. Hindman employs the structures and dynamics of old-school composers—Brahms, Copeland, Barber—and employs them in the language(s) of this century. Much of “Jerusalem Windows” is just as rapturous as the chamber music of Brahms or Dvorak, while “Monumenti” (for violin and cello) has some of the cyclic, insistent minimalist tension of Glass and Adams dusted with East European folk flavors. “Time Management” could be subtitled “Voyage to the Bottom of the Bass,” as it shows just how much sound and emotion can be deeply, eerily coaxed from a single acoustic bass. Without any overt fusion moves, Hindman’s music weds technique and syntax of classical music with the directness and impudence of rock. Highly recommended for rockers wishing to get their proverbial feet wet in post-20th century classical music and classical fans who think much postLeonard Bernstein music sounds like stuff falling down a stairwell. (15 tracks, 135 min.) innova.mu H.C. McEntire HHHHH Lionheart Merge North Carolinian Heather “H.C.” McEntire established her presence in the world of music in the bands Bellafea (punk rock) and Mount Moriah (Americana). Lionheart is her solo debut and it’s as fine a piece of country music this writer’s heard in the past year. That is, country music as not defined by the watered-down Nash Vegas product these days— Lionheart is closer to the un-glitzy styles of Rosanne Cash, Gillian Welch, Emmylou Harris, and pre-“9-to5”-era Dolly Parton. In point of fact, McEntire’s singing is like Parton’s, albeit slightly deeper, huskier. There are few rock overtones but there are a lot of Southern gospel influences in the background vocals and a bit of gospel fervor in HCM’s voice, too (without sacrificing restraint). Accompaniment is basically guitars, keys, drums, prominent pedal steel guitar,
and a Spartan, almost baroque-like string section. Moreover, HCM has a way with a melody—note “Yellow Roses,” a hook that won’t quit, and “Dress in the Dark” is regal and stately as a great Robbie Robertson song with a plaintive “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” feel. Excellent throughout. (9 songs, 35 min.) mergerecords.com Gary Peacock Trio HHH1/2 Tangents ECM Sylvie Courvoisier Trio HHH1/2 D’Agala Intakt While hardly the proverbial household name, acoustic bassist Gary Peacock (b. 1935) is indeed a jazz legend—how many can say they’ve recorded
of Evans with the sparseness—but not the style—of Thelonious Monk. Idyllic listening for late-night reverie/wind-down modes. (11 tracks, 53 min.) ecmrecords.com Another fine, albeit dissimilar, piano trio set is Sylvie Courvoisier’s D’Agala. This Swiss miss (b. 1968) plays with a couple of Americans, bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen, and this program consists of originals dedicated to such swells as Ornette Coleman and Geri Allen. This writer has found some of Courvoisier’s previous albums to be somber, but here her classical undertones are enlivened by an engaging, persuasive, ambiguously blues-tinged forcefulness, even when the proceedings get a bit abstract, free. Gress and Wollesen balance subtlety with whomp. (9 tracks, 54 min.) intaktrec.ch J.S. Bach/Toke Møldrup HHHHH The Six Cello Suites Revisited Bridge What can one say (or type) about this collection of solo cello pieces by J. S. Bach, who is to baroque and/or classical music what Chuck Berry is to rock & roll or Charlie Parker is to post-1945 jazz. Bach’s cello
Gary Peacock. Photo: Caterina di Perri / ECM Records
and/or performed with Miles Davis, Keith Jarrett, Ravi Shankar, Bill Evans, and Albert Ayler? Here Peacock takes the lead in a program of mostly originals with an ace combo of Marc Copeland, piano, and Joey Baron, drums. The spirit of Evans is felt here, in terms of understated, tensile lyricism, and to a degree the spirit of Ayler, in that this music has a restless, wide-open feel throughout. Peacock’s playing is pliant and poetic; Copeland combines the technique
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sonatas are notoriously difficult to play—for one thing, some of the surviving sheet music has been a bit sketchy, technical demands for another—are some of the most beautiful music from the swingin’ 1717-1723 years, and can sound both complex and di-
MArk keresMAn
rect, cerebral and engagingly heart-swelling. Danish young-fellow cellist Toke Møldrup (born 1980) does a swell job here—while some cellists (Pablo Casals or Yo-Yo Ma, to name two of the most famous cellistsinterpreters) go for the poetic qualities in these suites, Toke M goes for drama and rhythmic gusto. Not to imply there isn’t soulful and elegant playing here (there’s plenty) but he gives these immortal cello works a gutsy, heavily rhythmic interpretation. It’s easy to see/hear why lots of JSB’s music is so accessible and appealing to rock-weened ears and Revisited gives both novices and longtime classical fans plenty to chew on. As a bonus there’s a nifty Bachinspired composition by fellow Dane Viggo Mangor. (42 tracks, 2 hrs. 17 min.) bridgerecords.com Ed Palermo Big Band HHHH The Adventures of Zodd Zundgren Cuneiform Sometime in the late ’60s, a seer postulated that “big bands are coming back.” Technically, big bands
Ed Palermo. Photo: Chris Drukker.
never went away, but they stopped being a commercial force by 1950. Fortunately, that never stopped great big bands doing what they do—the Ed Palermo Big Band is one. Saxophonist/arranger Palermo grew up loving the music of rock icons Frank Zappa and Todd Rundgren and The Adventures of Zodd Zundgren is a tribute to both. While this might seem incongruous, Todd has a snarky, thorny side and Zappa could pen some sweet ‘n’ pretty melodies—note the cheer-personified “Peaches En Regalia” for the latter and “Kiddie Boy” (done up as a bluesy swinger) for the former. Todd’s megahit “Hello It’s Me” gets a yearningly pretty rendition that’s got just a touch of Zappa’s parody of Las Vegas squaresville song-craft. Ed Palermo’s band turns the quirk factor up to 11 with sardonic vocals, busy, zigzagging arrangements, and abrupt rhythmic and melodic shifts, but hey, it’s Zappa, am I right? Additionally, if you’re a fan of creative, eclectic, and swinging big band jazz (Carla Bley, Gil Evans, etc.), these Adventures will likely hit the spot. (24 tracks, 74 min.) cuneiformrecords.com n
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BOB PERKINS
WYNTON KELLY
jazz library
Wynton Kelly plays the piano during the recording session for Sonny Red's Out of the Blue album.1959
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VEN THOUGH THE MUSICIANS playing on the popular Miles Davis album Kind of Blue were well known artists, the news that the album had become the largest selling album in the history of jazz music, must have seemed even sweeter to those involved in its production. This piece has to do with one of the musicians featured on the album, Wynton Kelly. Kelly was only featured on one selection on the disc, nevertheless he was there. Although Red Garland was Miles Davis’ regular pianist in the middle and later 1950s, Red was often late for gigs, and Miles was pressed to find a replacement. On one occasion when Garland showed up late, Kelly was already at the piano, and Miles let him complete the date. According to Davis sideman John Coltrane, Davis liked Kelly’s ability to swing and the way he anchored the group. Coltrane also commented that when Miles left the bandstand he’d stand and watch Kelly with admiration.
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Miles was not alone in his admiration of Kelly—McCoy Tyner was also a fan, as were Cannonball Adderley, Wes Montgomery, Dizzy Gillespie, “Philly” Joe Jones and Bill Evans, to name a few. Vocalists the caliber of Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln and Billie Holiday, added words of praise. One of the things that may be in doubt about Kelly is his birthplace. Some accounts say he was born in Jamaica, and his parents migrated to New York City shortly after he was born, while other accounts say he was born in the U.S. All, however, agree on his date of birth as December 2, 1931. Perhaps some people are born with talent to do certain things well, and Kelly may have been one of them, because even though he received little formal instruction on the piano at the school for the arts he attended, he became an excellent pianist and sight reader without any additional help. He could run through new compositions the first time around without effort, and include his personal input along the way. Kelly was developing his art in several ways during his teen years, first by listening to the likes of pianists Bud Powell and Teddy Wilson, by working in a number of small bands, and by contributing his compositions to those bands. Prior to being called to serve in the military, Kelly worked in the bands of Lester Young and Dizzy Gillespie. While in the military he headed a band, and before his release two years later, Private First Class Wynton Kelly organized a concert at which 10,000 souls were in attendance. Back in civilian life, he rejoined Dizzy Gillespie’s band, and in between the band’s concerts and recording dates, he did lots of moonlighting, becoming the choice of small bandleaders and singers in need of a helping hand. Kelly was a very busy man during the latter 1950s and into the next decade. Kelly formed his own small band in 1963, taking with him from Miles Davis’ group bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. The band had its highs and lows before combining forces with guitarist Wes Montgomery. Though the quartet started out well, it began in the mid-1960s, about the same time the Beatles and other rock groups from the UK began to reconstruct the faces of several genres of established music—and jazz was one of them. Even great standard pop music artists Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett found it difficult to sell records and get airplay during this period. Meanwhile, the talented Wynton Kelly never seemed to live down the notion by some that he was more a gifted accompanist and sideman, than a soloist and bandleader. And finally, another issue pictured Kelly as being plagued by epilepsy most of his life, which did lead to a heart attack induced by a seizure in a Toronto hotel, on April 12, 1971. He and his group were scheduled to perform in Toronto that night. Kelly was only 39. n Bob Perkins is a writer and host of an all-jazz radio program that airs on WRTI-FM 90.1 Monday through Thursday night from 6 to 9 and Sunday, 9 to 1.
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INDEX
Psychopathy may be an evolutionary complement to altruism in that it allows one group member to sacrifice another for the greater good. People who feel they are disadvantaged are likelier to support populism and to exhibit national narcissism. Narcissism among US college students was found to have declined between the 1990s and the 2010s. The returns of hedge fund managers who exhibit psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism are 1 percent lower than their peers’. In Italy, for every 1 percent increase in the number of unmarried female immigrants, an additional 5 percent of marriages fail. Heterosexual bromances may threaten straight marriage. Nearly half of American young adults act conspicuously heterosexual to counteract perceived doubts about their being straight. Scientists suggested that mass whole-genome sequencing may reveal humans who were created by parthenogenesis. Breastfeeding increases maternal attachment later in childhood, even when maternal neuroticism is controlled for. The placenta is not a superfood.
Percentage by which a marijuana user is likelier than others to eat fast food five or more times in a given week: 75 Amount the US pharmaceutical industry spent in 2016 on ads for prescription drugs: $6,400,000,000 Number of countries in which direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical ads are legal: 2 % of moisturizers sold in the United States as “fragrance-free” that contain a fragrance: 45 Of moisturizers sold as “hypoallergenic” that contain a common allergen: 83 Estimated chance that a white woman in Washington, D.C., has a tanning-salon addiction: 1 in 5 % change 2005–2014 in the number of French people undergoing weight-loss surgery: +269 Factor by which an obese woman is less likely than other candidates in France to be offered a job interview: 6 Percentage of applicants for dog-walking jobs through the app Wag! who are successful: 5 Of recently graduated applicants for jobs at Goldman Sachs who are: 4 % by which white job applicants in the US were preferred over black applicants in 1989: 36 In 2015: 36 Percentage of black Americans earning less than $25,000 a year who say they have been called a racial slur: 40 Of black Americans earning more than $75,000: 65 % of US Latinos who would support a law criminalizing offensive speech about white people: 47 Of US whites: 26 Percentage of US whites who believe white Americans are discriminated against: 55 Who say they’ve experienced discrimination themselves: 21 Amount white supremacist Richard Spencer paid the University of Florida to give a speech last October: $10,564 Estimated amount the university paid for security: $600,000 Percentage of Asian-American doctors who have had a patient request a different physician because of their ethnicity: 22 Percentages of Democrats and Republicans who say workplace sexual harassment is a very serious problem in Hollywood: 55,58 In the rest of the country: 45,22 % of news stories about Donald Trump during his first 60 days in office that were positive: 5 Percentage of 2016 Clinton voters who think it’s hard to be friends with Trump voters: 61 Of Trump voters who think it’s hard to be friends with Clinton voters: 34 Factor by which George W. Bush’s popularity among Democrats has increased since 2009: 4 Average number of days the NRA waits to tweet after a major mass shooting: 6.3 Number of Texas inmates who donated money for Hurricane Harvey relief: 6,663 Number of days after the hurricane for which Texas prisoners lacked adequate food & water: 33 Portion of voting-age Floridians who’ve been disenfranchised because of felonies: 1/10 Percentage of youth library cards in New York City that were suspended due to overdue books before an October amnesty: 17 Total amount of debt that was forgiven: $2,250,000 Largest single fine: $1,422.69 Date New York City repealed a law requiring bars to have a license to allow dancing: 10/31/2017 Estimated percentage of bars that had such a license: 0.4 Amount a Canadian man was fined for singing “Everybody Dance Now” too loudly in his car: $117 No. of animated Jackie Chan Adventures episodes found on Osama bin Laden’s computer: 33 Of crocheting videos: 29
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Researchers investigated Taiwanese nurses’ taboo against eating pineapple, and the Jolly Fat hypothesis was found to hold true among middle-aged Korean women. Psychological, plant, and noetic scientists claimed that seeds hydrated with commercially bottled water on which Buddhist monks had focused their intentions became more sensitive to blue light. Chanel scientists concluded that a woman whose lips contrast with her face will appear younger. Men who were allowed unlimited time to sniff odor samples from women’s left armpits did not find the smells more or less attractive in correlation with their HLA genes. Neuroscientists reported success in stabilizing the heads of women being stimulated to orgasm by their partners while in MRI scanners. Dr. Knut Drewing explained why unseen holes feel larger when probed with a tongue than with a finger. Chinese-Canadian children trained to differentiate black people’s faces exhibit less racial bias. German researchers hypothesized that psychogenic autobiographical amnesia protects subjects by “offering the mechanism to exit a life situation which appears to them unmanageable or adverse.” Descriptions of children being sexually abused elicit lower moral-outrage activation in the brains of pedophiles. Autistic boys are likelier than non-autistic boys to enjoy Schoenberg and Albinoni. Modern life may be withering the hippocampus.
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A new city of gloomy octopuses was discovered off the coast of Australia, and octopuses were walking out of the sea and dying in Wales. Captive orcas’ teeth are poorly cared for and are often ground down when the whales chew steel and concrete out of boredom and anxiety. Corals eat plastic not because it looks like prey but because it is delicious. Pumping the stomachs of hundreds of live and alert Southern alligators revealed a diet rich in sharks. Woods Hole biologists using unmanned hexacopters analyzed the microbiome of humpback whale blow. Swedish farmers worried that wild boar, who have become increasingly radioactive since Chernobyl, will stop being hunted by humans and become too populous. Anthrax was suspected in a massive hippo die-off in Namibia. Rescued circus lions were being poached in South Africa. All but two of the chicks in a colony of 36,000 Adélie penguins at Dumont d’Urville died. Entomologists warned of an “ecological Armageddon” after summer populations of flying insects were found to have fallen by more than 80 percent in the past quarter century. Humans are killing all the oldest fish in the sea.
“Harper’s Index” is a registered trademark. SOURCES: 1 Consumer Research Around Cannabis (Orlando, Fla.); 2 Kantar Media (NYC); 3 National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Md.); 4,5 Shuai Xu, Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.); 6 Darren Mays, Georgetown University (Washington); 7 Tarek Debs, Hôpital l’Archet 2 (Nice, France); 8 JeanFrancois Amadieu, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne; 9 Dini von Mueffling Communications (NYC); 10 Goldman Sachs (NYC); 11,12 Lincoln Quillian, Northwestern University; 13,14 Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health (Boston); 15,16 Cato Institute (Washington); 17,18 Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health; 19,20 University of Florida (Gainesville); 21 Medscape (NYC); 22,23 YouGov (Redwood City, Calif.); 24 Pew Research Center (Washington); 25,26 Cato Institute; 27 Gallup (Atlanta); 28 Harper’s research; 29 Texas Department of Criminal Justice (Huntsville); 30 National Lawyers Guild (NYC); 31 Sentencing Project (Washington); 32–34 New York Public Library; 35,36 Office of the Mayor of New York City; 37 Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal; 38,39 US Central Intelligence Agency/Harper’s research. F A C E B O O k . C O m / I C O N d v n I C O N d v . C O m n F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 n I C O N n 37
The Los Angeles Times SUNDAY CROSSWORD PUZZLE
SUBSTITUTE MEASURES By Ed Sessa
ACROSS 1 5 11 16 19 20 21 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 31 32 35 38 39 40 41 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 56 57 59 60 62 67 69 70 71 72 74 77 81 83 84 85 86 90 91 92 93 94 99
Hindu “sir” Beaucoup Engineer’s details Shortening letters Abba not known for singing From the top, to Tiberius “Yes __”: 2008 campaign slogan Boomer’s kid Measly treat for Polly? Marinade used in Spanish cooking __-Magnon Lizard-like amphibian Latin trio word Breakers in semis Ceremonies Work required to raise kids? Decked out Sextet in the Senate Levelheaded Math useful for cooks Advantage in kickboxing? Fragrant compound Ancient jewelry staples Be an incredible speaker? President Taft’s birthplace Not dressed for swimming, generally Small 27-Acrosses Snake oil hawker, say Wing They’re heard in herds Straight 2012 presidential candidate The buying power of cash? Like much folk music Face or race Mad king of the stage One in a golfer’s bag Certain winner Some ’Vette roofs Musical ending Divided sea Crowded-room atmosphere Longtime name in catalogs “The Exorcist” actor Max von __ Cub soda? Former mid-sized Chevy “A creel of __, all ripples”: Sylvia Plath Fruit pastry Reddened, perhaps Polished pearls? Barbecue brand
100 Popular type 101 Cleanup hitter’s stats 102 Milk choice 107 Non’s opposite 108 Popular type 110 Bad snippets of Miss Muffet’s memory? 111 Topper for Rumpole of the Bailey 112 Thicket of trees 113 Persevered in 114 Traveler from 76-Down 115 Sign before Virgo 116 Lugged 117 Treatment for some causes of backache 118 Puts to bed
DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 24 28 30 33 34 35 36 37 38 41 42 43 44 45 46 48 52
More than just asks Start of a magical chant Canaanite idol Certain singles bar frequenter, in theory Spot charges Showed bias How many boxed sets are recorded Blackjack table gratuity Puts too much in the fishtank On behalf of Hindu title Organ part Coral reef, e.g. Hailed wine? Cool, colorful treat Reign supreme Land at Orly? Dracula repellent Key with three flats Shells on Omaha Beach Good, in Guadalupe Painting and dancing Preserves holder Trojan War god Mrs. on a spice rack Germany’s von Bismarck Suckling’s milk source How many are chosen? Ground grain Muscle-bone connection Belgian treaty city 4-point F, for one Word with Ghost or Grail First lady before Mamie Tally-keeping cut
38 n I C O N n F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 n I C O N d v . C O m n F A C E B O O k . C O m / I C O N d v
53 54 55 58 59 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 73 74 75 76 78 79 80 82 84 85 87 88 89 90
Wine label word City NW of Marseille Pelican St. acronym Mayberry tippler Little one Marvin Gaye classic subtitled “The Ecology” Gluten source Texas Hold ’em declaration Mustang sally? Tokyo dough Hurdle for Hannibal “More than I can list” abbr. Actress Hatcher Ad-libbed Unwraps excitedly Political asset Home to 114-Across One-eyed Norse deity Ready to eat Lots (of), as cash ’90s daytime talk show Brief quarrel Unrivaled Bring to life, in a way From the past Ones affected by bad weather, briefly First word in France’s motto
93 Opposite of pass 94 One might elicit a nervous “Nice dog” 95 “Taxi” dispatcher 96 La Paz paisano 97 Belittle 98 Nettled
99 Single-minded about 103 Little snorts 104 Berkshire school 105 Socially awkward one 106 Sounds of disapproval 109 Jack, jill or joey 110 One of a pair on a rack
Answer to January’s puzzle, PLUSH MATERIAL
agenda CALL TO ARTISTS
Register for The Hunterdon Art Tour (THAT.) The open studios weekend will be May 4-6. THAT 2017 was a spectacular success. Two hundred people came to the exhibition; over 50 artists participated and a lot of art was sold. Registration: thehunterdonarttour.com. CALL FOR ENTRIES
7th Annual Juried Show, April 6–29. Deadline March 1. See prospectus: artistsofyardley.org FINE ART
2/3-4/7 Lalla Essaydi. Lafayette Art Galleries, Easton, PA. Galleries.lafayette.edu. 2/9-5/12 Lalla Essaydi. The Trout Gallery/The Art Museum of Dickenson College, Carlisle, PA. Troutgallery.org 2/14-4/10 Katya Grokhovsky: System Failure. Opening reception 2/14, 56:30pm, performances 3/14 & 4/10, 5-6pm, public artist talk 3/21, 5-6pm. Martin Art Gallery, Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, 2400 West Chew Street, Allentown, PA. muhlenberg.edu/gallery 2/14-5/20 The Particular Past. Opening reception 2/14, 5-6:30pm. Martin Art Gallery, Baker Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, 2400 West Chew Street, Allentown, PA. Muhlenberg.edu/gallery 2/17-2/28 Sandy Hanna, An American Kid in Saigon- The Ignorance of Bliss. Reception 2/17, 5-8PM, Artist Talk 6:30 PM. New Hope Arts Center, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope, PA. Newhopearts.org 3/4-31 Art of the Flower. Reception 3/11, 2–4. Philadelphia Sketch Club, 235 So. Camac St., Phila. 215-545-9298. sketchclub.org
DANCE
2/6-2/7 Riverdance, 20th Anniversary World Tour. 7:30 PM, State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton, PA. 1-800-999-STATE, 610252-3132. Statetheatre.org 2/8-2/10 Master Choreographers, world premiere dance works by acclaimed choreographers. Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA. 484664-3333. Muhlenberg.edu/dance 3/16-3/18 Dance Ensemble Concert. Act 1 Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Ave., Center Valley, PA. 610-282-3192. Desales.edu/act1 THEATER
2/1-2/4 BrouHaHa, performed by Happenstance Theater. Touchstone Theater, 321 E. 4th St., Bethlehem, PA. 610-867-1689. Touchstone.org 2/11 Tao Drum Heart, 4 PM. Free event parking attached to center. Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-758-2787. Zoellnerartscenter.org 2/16 & 2/17 Cinderella, State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton, PA. 610-252-3132. Statetheatre.org 2/21-3/4 The Devil’s Disciple, by George Bernard Shaw. Act 1 Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Ave., Center Valley, PA. 610-282-3192. Desales.edu/act1 2/21-2/25 Ubu Roi, by Alfred Jarry. Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance, 2400 Chew St., Allentown, PA. 484664-3333. Muhlenberg.edu/dance 2/25 Mr. Bach Comes to Call, with Touchstone Theatre, presented by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem,
Family Concert. Johann Sebastian Bach pops in on your piano lesson. What would you ask him? Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. 610-8664382. Bach.org. 3/29-3/31 Bedlam. Saint Joan. Hamlet. Stripped-down stagings by NYC’s exhilarating theater company. Williams Center, Lafayette College, Easton. Williams-center.org CONCERTS
2/9 Phil Orr & More. "Pardi Gras." Jazz with special guest Adam Weitz. 8 pm. 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ. 609-3926409. 1867sanctuary.org 2/11 Clipper Erickson, Pianist with Deborah Ford, Soprano and Gregory Hopkins, Tenor. Music of R. Nathaniel Dett. Classical and Spiritual. 7:30 pm. 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ. 609-3926409. 1867sanctuary.org 2/16 The Wailin’ Jennys, 8 PM. Free event parking attached to center. Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-758-2787. Zoellnerartscenter.org 2/17 All Beethoven, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, 4 PM. Free event parking attached to center. Zoellner Arts Center, Lehigh University, 420 E. Packer Ave., Bethlehem, PA. 610-758-2787. Zoellnerartscenter.org 2/23 The U.S. Air Force Singing Sergants, 7:30 PM. Free tickets are needed. Arts at St. John’s, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 37 So. Fifth St., Allentown, PA. Visit Stjohnsallentown.org/arts-at-stjohns or phone 610-435-1641. 2/24 Stephanie Chin and Friends. Con-
temporary. 8 pm. 1867 Sanctuary Arts and Culture Center, 101 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ. 609-3926409. 1867sanctuary.org 2/24 Essence of Joy, The Gospel Choir from Penn State. 7:30 PM, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, 321 Wyandotte St., Bethlehem, PA. 610-865-0727. Nativitycathedral.org 3/4 Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra, "An Afternoon with Mozart." Sinfonia Virtuosi with Simon Maurer, violin and Agnès Maurer, viola. Christ Lutheran Church, 1245 W. Hamilton St., Allentown, PA. AllMozart program. 610-434-7811. PASinfonia.org MUSIKFEST CAFÉ 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem 610-332-1300 Artsquest.org 8 20 22 24 28 3/3 3/4 3/6 3/8
FEBRUARY XPN Welcomes The Record Company Uriah Heep The James Hunter Six Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root MISSIO MARCH XPN Welcomes Low Cut Connie Lehigh Valley Music Awards XPN Welcomes Deer Tick Tab Benoit’s Whiskey Bayou Records Revue
MAUCH CHUNK OPERA HOUSE 14 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA mcohjt.com 570-325-0249 FEBRUARY Dead on Live (Radio City 1980 Show) 3 Hey Nineteen 8 Corky Laing Plays Mountain 9, 10 Tusk 15 Velvet Caravan 16 Nyke Van Wyk Band 17 The Frontiers (The Journey Tribute) 18 John Németh 23 Broken Arrow: (The Classic Neil Young Show) 24 Kashmir’ 2
1 2 3 9 10 16 17 24 29
(The Led Zeppelin Show) MARCH The Seamus Egan Project The Weeklings Albert Cummings Scott Sharrard Tartan Terrors Arjun Kilmaine Saints (Patty’s Day Celebration) Chicago Authority (The music of Chicago) Emi Sunshine
KESWICK THEATRE 291 N. Keswick Ave, Glenside, PA Keswicktheatre.com 888-929-7849 FEBRUARY Tommy Emmanuel CGP with guest Rodney Crowell 6 THE CAT IN THE HAT 8 George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic 9 Masters of Illusion 10 Who’s Bad: The World’s #1 Michael Jackson Tribute 11 Celebrating David Bowie 16 Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show 17 Tape Face 23 CHEFS: A Sizzling Kitchen Showdown 24 Demetri Martin MARCH 2 Jeanne Robertson 3 Eric Johnson 4 Rachelle Ferrell 8 ANDY BOROWITZ 9 Dave Mason 10 Real Diamond 11 The Righteous Brothers 16/17 The Musical Box 18 Jeffrey Osborne 3
EVENTS 2/25 Girl Scout Cookie Crunch. Musikfest Café, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA. Steelstacks.org 3/11 Lehigh Valley Arts Council presents Young at Art, a fun-filled day of arts exploration for kids and their families. Admission free, 10AM-2PM. Penn State Lehigh Valley, Center Valley, PA. lvartscouncil.org/young-at-art n
f a c e b o o k . c o m / i c o n d v n i c o n d v . c o m n f e b R U a R Y 2 0 1 8 n i c o n n 39