Silver Apples of the Moon

Subotnick, Lillevan, Unsound make Lincoln Center an electric circus

April 7, 2011 by Howard Mandel

Morton Subotnick re-mixes original materials of his prophetic and unprecedented late '60s electronic music classic "Silver Apples of the Moon" with kinetic imagery by video artist Lillevan tonight (April 7) at the Rubenstein atrium of Lincoln Center -- as detailed in my column in City Arts - New York. It's free as part of the 11-day Unsound Festival, an extraordinary schedule of new and unusual multi-media works presented by the Fundcja Tone of Krakow with the Polish Cultural … [Read more...]

Toxic Gowanus, Brooklyn neighb of new music lofts

February 24, 2011 by Howard Mandel

Gowanus, a Brooklyn neighborhood so unlovely it's been named an EPA superfund site, is Ground Zero now for music lofts, as reported in my new City Arts-New York column. In a half dozen or so artist-run spaces -- including IBeam, Douglas Street Collective, Littlefield, the Brooklyn Lyceum and Issue Project Room -- available for presentation and rehearsal of hard-core experimental sounds, dance, video and performance art, the programming is typically spiky, ambitious and unsentimental. … [Read more...]

I'm a Chicago-born (and after 32 years in NYC, recently repatriated) writer, editor, author, arts reporter for National Public Radio, consultant and nascent videographer -- a veteran freelance journalist working on newspapers, magazines and websites, appearing on tv and radio, teaching at New York University and elsewhere, consulting on media, publishing and jazz-related issues. I'm president of the Jazz Journalists Association, a non-profit membership organization devoted to using all media to disseminate news and views about all kinds of jazz.
My books are Future Jazz (Oxford U Press, 1999) and Miles Ornette Cecil - Jazz Beyond Jazz (Routledge, 2008). I was general editor of the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz and Blues (Flame Tree 2005/Billboard Books 2006). Of course I'm working on something new. . . Read More…

Kevin E Lynch on International Jazz RIPs, 2017: “re: previous comment” Jan 8, 12:59
Kevin E Lynch on International Jazz RIPs, 2017: “What a profoundly moving and thought-provoking list. Who knew so many, gone. And these few precious days...I'll spend with…” Jan 8, 12:57
Howard Mandel on Hyde Park Jazz Fest, summer’s last dance (photos): “thanks Bob -- Andrew is playing at his peak, should be heard!” Oct 1, 17:05
Bob Gluck on Hyde Park Jazz Fest, summer’s last dance (photos): “Thanks for the report on what sounds like a vibrant festival mixing generations and approaches. I particularly appreciate the space…” Oct 1, 14:57
Howard Mandel on The Jazz & Blues Art Box — instant collection, rare data trove: “I dont know about the publicfunding for the Bern jazz festival OR the videos; the Box itself seems to be…” Jul 31, 00:13

ESP Disks — origins of jazz beyond jazz

Reviewing a sleeping giant, ESP Disks before its early '00s revival Howard Mandel c 1997, published in issue 157, The Wire It was a time before psychedelics. Following the seismic cultural disruptions of the mid '50s, rock 'n' roll had hit a … [Read More...]

William Parker, my DownBeat feature from 1998

Howard Mandel c 1998/published by DownBeat, July 1998, under headline Beneath the Underdog (the editor's reference to Charles Mingus's autobiography): There's an anchor for New York's downtown free jazz and improv "wild bunch": his name is William … [Read More...]

Matthew Shipp, my feature for The Wire, 1998

[contextly_auto_sidebar id="IFeXJPobvykRyuU4dU68FilRPv0EE8oC"] This is a complete version of the feature on pianist Matthew Shipp I wrote for The Wire, published in February, 1998 Is this the face of New York's jazz avant now? Pianist Matt … [Read More...]

Rashied Ali (1935 – 2009), multi-directional drummer, speaks

A 1990 interview with drummer Rashied Ali, about his relationship with John Coltrane. … [Read More...]

On The Corner program notes, Merkin Hall concert 5/25/09

Miles Davis intended On The Corner to be a personal statement, an esthetic breakthrough and a social provocation upon its release in fall of 1972. He could hardly have been more successful: the album was all that, though it has taken decades for its … [Read More...]