A place to exercise ideas before writing about them with greater discipline.
I have now advanced to the third of the four new videos released by Omni on-Location at the middle of last week. This one is even shorter than the duo performance I wrote about this past Thursday . Guitarist Jack Hancher performs his own arrangement of “La fille aux cheveux de lin” (the girl with the flaxen hair). This is the eighth of the twelve pieces (all but one less than five minutes in…
Cover of the album being discussed (from its Bandcamp Web page ) Readers may recall that yesterday’s account of the seventh album in clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s 8 Albums on August 8 releases consisted of quartet performances. This morning began with listening to the last of those eight albums, entitled Rock Band . This is another tongue-in-cheek title introducing a quintet led by Goldberg. He is…
Yesterday, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP) announced plans for its 2026–27 Concert Season . The title of the season will be Luminous Refractions . Each of the four programs to be presented during this 56th concert season will have a title of its own take on “luminous.” Once again, the schedule will be a “movable feast” involving the alternation between the two venues for the…
Cover of the album being discussed (from its Bandcamp Web page ) The title of the seventh album in clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s 8 Albums on August 8 releases departs from single words and brief phrases: Just What You Thought You Wanted . This is a quartet album with Goldberg accompanied by a rhythm trio consisting of Matt Hollenberg on electric guitar, bassist John Hébert, and Hamir Atwal on drums.…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/13/opinion/kansas-anti-trans-laws-drivers-license.html
Eliot Fisk playing Luciano Berio’s music on the altar of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (screenshot from the YouTube video of the performance) As Fridays go, this morning was a relatively quiet one. As a result, I had ample time this morning to continue my traversal of the four new videos released by the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts. Some readers may recall that yesterday’s video , the…
Cover of the album being discussed (from its Bandcamp Web page ) The title of the sixth album in clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s 8 Albums on August 8 releases is Optical . I am not sure what he had in mind in assigning this title. My current conjecture is that it involves a visual account of the track listing: Material Materialize Dematerialize Rematerialize Materialization Dematerialization…
Yesterday evening Omni on-Location released four new videos. These involved engagingly varied pieces of music, and the videos were recorded at different venues. However, because of the diversity of the music itself, I felt it preferable to deal with these videos one at a time. My only guide for ordering was the dates on which the performances were recorded. Screen shot of Mark Leighton and Johanna…
Violinist Hilary Hahn (from the SFS Web page for this event) Having accounted for the two “pre-Gala” concerts taking place in Davies Symphony Hall (the first Orchestral Series performance with Garrick Ohlsson playing Johannes Brahms’ Opus 15, his first piano concerto, and the first Chamber Series program), this site can now turn to the specifics for the music to be performed at the Gala itself.…
Those that follow the news from the District of Columbia have probably begun to realize that the current Executive Branch neither knows nor cares very much about the Constitution of the United States. While the Legislative Branch usually involves arguments between Democrats and Republicans, every now and then these would-be opponents will acknowledge that they are on the same side. That was the…
Donald Trump, apparently enjoying the “good life” of the Presidency (photograph by Eric Lee, courtesy of Getty Images, from an article posed to The Guardian this morning) What has happened to “government of the people, by the people, and for the people” these days? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/trump-presidency-revenue-wealth
Heidi Beirich, the latest target of our government’s Executive Branch My wife and I have been making moderately significant donations to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for many years (probably as long as we were aware of them). As a result, the following headline on an Al Jazeera Web page drew my attention almost immediately: Trump administration arrests Southern Poverty Law Center expert…
Cover of the album being discussed (from its Bandcamp Web page ) The fifth album in clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s 8 Albums on August 8 releases is a duo performance with percussionist William Winant. The title of the album is Dreaming Upon Waking , and four of the eleven tracks are identified with three-digit numbers between 699 and 747. That last of those pieces did not invoke any thoughts about jet…
Some readers may recall that yesterday I wrote that the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) would precede the Opening Gala for about a week. Instead, the season would begin with the first Orchestral Series program, whose guest artist will be pianist Garrick Ohlsson performing Johannes Brahms’ Opus 15, his first piano concerto, composed in the key of D minor. That program will be given two evening…
Recently, I have discovered that it is more difficult to extract a single tissue from its packaging. This is particularly frustrating for those of us with sneezing fits due to allergies or other sources. The problem seems to be particularly evident it what might be called “bargain brands,” which tend to have unfamiliar names. Given what our economy is like, I suspect that there are many customers…
Cover of the album being discussed (from its Bandcamp Web page ) Once again, I began my morning by listening to the fourth album in clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s 8 Albums on August 8 releases. The title of the album is Trouble Trouble , and it consists of twelve tracks. The last of these is “Troubles,” composed by Steve Lacy; and it basically serves as a postscript for the entire album. All of the…
Garrick Ohlsson at the keyboard (from the SFS Web page for his performance) As was the case in 2024, the San Francisco Symphony (SFS) will give its first Orchestral Series performance about a week prior to the so-called “Season-Opening Festivities,” which begin with the Opening Gala. The title of this first program will be Garrick Ohlsson Plays Brahms ; but, to be fair, that will account only for…
Reporter Hoda Sherif (from her Al Jazeera Web page ) For several decades Al Jazeera has been one of my most informative and trusted news sources. It has a very well-managed Web site ; and, while it has not (yet?) found a home on my xfinity television channel, I can still view the programs through a YouTube app which can easily be directed to the Al Jazeera English | Live Web page . That said, the…
This morning I found myself reading an article in the DealBook Newsletter of The New York Times . This was one of those times when the “sub-headline” was more important to me than the headline. There were only two sentences; but it was the first that drew my attention: “Investors including BlackRock have committed an eye-popping amount to lend to the artificial intelligence industry.” This…
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/8/11/aje-onl-nf_trump-orders-fewer-child-vaccines-and-splitting-mmr-100826
Would you go for a walk in the park patrolled by the National Guard? (photograph by Holden Lombardo, from an Al Jazeera Web page ) Apparently, United States President Donald Trump thinks that it is not safe to live in Washington, DC. This morning the Al Jazeera Web site included an article by Holden Lombardo, stating that Trump had deployed the National Guard “to address crime concerns.” Now, to…
This morning began with my listening to the third album in clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s 8 Albums on August 8 releases. The title of the album is Dog Hypnotic , and Goldberg plays a diversity of different instruments in the clarinet family. Kenny Wollesen accompanies on percussion, including pitched instruments such as bass marimba and vibraphone. My last encounter with him goes all the way back to…
Hunter Biden explaining his defense of Tucker Carlson (from an Al Jazeera NewsFeed Web page ) This morning I encountered the following single-sentence “NewsFeed” on an Al Jazeera Web page : Hunter Biden has defended US journalist Tucker Carlson against anti-Semitism allegations, arguing that if calling Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “evil incarnate” is considered anti-Semitic, then he…
This week will be decidedly busier than last week. For the most part, this will be due to events with multiple performances. However, there will also be a fair share of “one time only” presentations. Specifics are as follows: Amy X Neuberg with her electronic gear (photograph by Joker Nies, from the BayImproviser Web page for tomorrow’s performance) Tuesday, August 11, 5:30 p.m., San Francisco…
Some readers may recall that yesterday I wrote about an SFGATE article entitled “'Epidemic levels': California's e-bike war explodes in Orange County.” Today saw a “response” to this “call” in an article by Luke Spray, identified as a freelance contributor. This time the headline was “ The e-bike is quietly reshaping life in SF .” Spray never makes any mention of yesterday’s article, but it is…