Jazztrophysics

It is very short. Musically it leaves a lot to be desired. But this is a historic recording. The players are two real heavyweights, and this was their last-ever appearance after a long-time partnership. https://youtu.be/wCWgl7OzvUk?t=28 That insignificant-sounding chirp, almost lost in noise, is the death spiral of two neutron stars, each the size of a…

Barbara and Beatrice

Today I am going to compare two poignant instrumental tunes, each named after the composer's wife: Barbara by Horace Silver, and Beatrice by Sam Rivers. Both musicians were born in the 1920s, and lived well into this century. They wrote these pieces in mid-life, during the great flowering of jazz in the 1960s and 70s.…