Word: soloings
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Hour” (the second single) and “Turn My Way” with guest vocals by New Order admirer (and former Smashing Pumpkins frontman) Billy Corgan are forthright rock songs with snarling basslines from Hook, quixotic and affected lyrics from Sumner and even a guitar solo thrown in. Of course the synthesizers and synthetic drum beats haven’t been abandoned, but they aren’t the album’s showpiece. Instead, these elements become integrated parts of the whole sound as illustrated on “Vicious Streak?...
...Stroman, is currently being pummeled by the critics), his heritage infuses a lively Mardi Gras flavor to his newest two albums. The first of these simultaneously released albums is Songs I Heard, a heartfelt celebration of the movies that influenced him as a child. Whether simply singing or playing solo on the piano, he innovatively covers childhood favorites from The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Annie and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with an effervescent twist. He opens with a swinging Big Band arrangement of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” and culminates in an enthralling jam session...
...display Connick’s smooth vocalizing backed solely by his own adroit self-accompaniment. As usual, the singer-pianist invites several guests to perform with him, and 30 is no exception; one of the album’s highlights is trumpeter Wynton Marsalis’ tasty solo and obligato on “I’ll Only Miss Her (When I Think of Her”). With his characteristic second-line rhythms and playful melodies adding a little vibe on the classics, Connick is in full swing with both 30 and Songs I Heard...
Despite the brilliance of Kissin’s playing later in the evening, the recital got off to a somewhat shaky start with Bach’s Toccata in C Major, BWV 564, originally for organ but transcribed for solo piano by Ferrucio Busoni. This is perhaps the closest we will ever get to hearing Kissin play Bach, and one could hear why he has not made unadulterated Bach a part of his performing repertoire. He is clearly most at home with the romantics, and even this romanticized version of Bach felt awkward and rigid. The opening prelude is marked...
...piano appeared amid flashing beams, and Amos, clad in shoulder-padded white, hurtled onstage, straddled the piano and laid her fingers on the keys. Recent tours had seen her experimenting with a full band, whose bluster was in sharp contrast to the fiery solo piano that had been Amos’ trademark. The “Strange Little Tour,” as it was called, marked a return to the girl-with-a-piano paradigm. In that vein, only three of the songs Amos played that night were from Strange Little Girls, opting instead to grant a grateful audience...