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Art on Trains: July Edition
In July, I went to Iowa via Aspen and took two train rides to make it work. Wednesday: Denver to Glenwood Springs 9 AM The train is about two hours late getting into Denver. The ... read more
AJBlog: The Bright RidePublished 2018-07-21
Reminder: Noal Cohen’s Jazz History Website
When you search for information about a wide variety of jazz subjects, chances are good that you will find it on Noal Cohen’s site. Experienced as a drummer, writer and researcher, Mr. ... read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-07-21
Make Them Fall, Help Them Stand
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui/Eastman performs at Jacob’s Pillow Fractus V. Patrick William Seebacher (TwoFace) supports (L to R) Johnny Lloyd, Sidi Larbi Cherkoui, and Dimitri Jourde; below: Fabian Thomé Duten. Photo: Christopher Duggan Ten years ago, ... read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2018-07-20
Jaw-Dropper from Wardropper: Expansion to Temporarily Expel Frick Collection’s Collection
It was bad enough when we learned that the Frick Collection might need to close its New York home for about two years to accommodate the construction for its latest (downsized) expansion plan, designed by ... read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2018-07-20
Everywoman in Ohio
In today’s Wall Street Journal I review the off-Broadway premiere of Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe. Here’s an excerpt. * * * Tracy Letts is one of this country’s foremost writers, a playwright who is ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-20
Hear me talking to you (cont’d)
Titus Techera, who hosts a podcast for the American Cinema Foundation on which he and his guests discuss important films of the past and present, invited me back to talk about Otto Preminger’s Laura on ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-20
Replay: Jascha Heifetz plays Paganini
Jascha Heifetz and Emanuel Bay perform Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 in A Minor. The added piano accompaniment was supplied by Robert Schumann. This performance is an excerpt from Of Men and Music, directed by Alexander ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-20
Almanac: William Hazlitt on perfectionism
“Those who aim at faultless regularity will only produce mediocrity, and no one ever approaches perfection except by stealth, and unknown to themselves.” William Hazlitt, “Thoughts on Taste” ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-20
Followup: Bechet By Liebman And Stowell
Following the June 28 Rifftides review of the Scenes trio’s Destinations album, its guitarist, John Stowell, sent this comment: “Your readers might also enjoy the recent duo CD I recorded with Dave Liebman. It was ... read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2018-07-19
So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-19
Almanac: H.W. Fowler on pedantry
“PEDANTRY may be defined, for the purpose of this book, as the saying of things in language so learned or so demonstratively accurate as to imply a slur upon the generality, who are not capable ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-19
On Community
Kate Balug, another Creative Community Fellows alum, writes powerfully about narrow definitions of “community” and how her work seeks to do the opposite by breaching walls to promote inclusiveness. After several years of working as ... read more
AJBlog: Field NotesPublished 2018-07-18
Loose Screws in Politics
Mike Ferguson’s permutation poem makes a whole lot of sense. It is also a reminder of the influence of Brion Gysin, who set the template for permutation poems back in the 1960s.By Mike Ferguson(from IT: ... read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2018-07-18
Snapshot: Ravi Shankar performs on The Dick Cavett Show
Ravi Shankar plays sitar on The Dick Cavett Show. This episode was originally telecast by ABC on November 23, 1971: (This is the latest in a series of arts- and history-related videos that appear ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-18
Almanac: John Updike on writers and their enemies
“Writers take words seriously—perhaps the last professional class that does—and they struggle to steer their own through the crosswinds of meddling editors and careless typesetters and obtuse and malevolent reviewers into the lap of the ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-18
How To Be a Great Museum Trustee
What kind of museum donor hosts a visit in her home with the museum’s director, as she is nearing death, and asks him to read aloud the list of artworks in her final bequest? What ... read more
AJBlog: Real Clear ArtsPublished 2018-07-17
Rethinking Communities
Justina Crawford is a Creative Community Fellows alum who works for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Her picture of community is impacted by current events and reflects creating more inclusive environments. After living ... read more
AJBlog: Field NotesPublished 2018-07-17
Second Thoughts: Two High-Profile Hires Depart Sotheby’s Advisory Service
In rapid succession, two ballyhooed recruits to Sotheby’s Fine Art Division (the firm’s art advisory service) have left their posts: —Eric Shiner, whose departure was reported today by Anny Shaw in The Art Newspaper, will ... read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2018-07-17
Lookback: a survey of (my) writing habits
From 2003: If absolutely necessary, I can manage 2,500 polished words between sunrise and bedtime. In the immortal words of James Burnham, “If there’s no alternative, there’s no problem.” But I try not to write ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-17
Almanac: Anthony Burgess on why writers write
“That so many writers have been prepared to accept a kind of martyrdom is the best tribute that flesh can pay to the living spirit of man as expressed in his literature. One cannot doubt ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2018-07-17

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