Tubular Bells, performed by Mike Oldfield and his band, is a masterpiece of progressive rock. Here is it in a live context.
[Music] Rodriguez – Sugar Man
Sixto Rodriguez’s story is a pretty incredible one. A Mexican-American folk singer from Detroit who didn’t sell too many albums, but did manage to have a good tour of Australia, and then fell into obscurity, or so he thought. He ended up outselling Elvis Presley in South Africa, and fans from there hunted him down. The movie Searching For Sugar Man documents his rise, fall, and rise back to popularity.
[Art] Abraham Mignon – Vase of Flowers
A thing of beauty from Dutch Golden Age painter Abraham Mignon.
[Music] McCoy Tyner – Passion Dance
McCoy Tyner here, featuring Elvin Jones on drums, Ron Carter on bass and Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone.
The song is from The Real McCoy on Blue Note Records.
[Music] Can – Geheim (Half Past One) [Peel Sessions]
[Music] Emilio de Gogorza – Chanson de la Touraine (1919)
Emilio de Gogorza was a Spanish-American baritone who was at his peak during the early part of the 20th Century. Here he is performing a song from Panurge by Jules Massenet.
[Music] Duško Gojković & Sarajevo Big Band – Mujo Kuje (Doboy)
Duško Gojković made his name in the former Yugoslavia. He collaborates here with the Sarajevo Big Band out of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
[Music] War – Slippin’ Into Darkness
My friend Owen made the pick of the night. War’s classic is a meaty, visceral tune which, if memory serves me right, would influence Bob Marley in making Get Up, Stand Up.
[Music] Pelageya – Ptashechka (Live)
I’m quite new to the work of Russian pop singer Pelageya. From Novosibirsk, Siberia, this songbird comes from a classical music background, having once been invited by legendary Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich to perform in France along with other luminaries, including Ravi Shankar and B. B. King.
Though I find the live version wonderfully sparse, I’m including the studio version for the sake of comparison below:
[Music] Carla Bley & Charlie Haden – The Ballad of The Fallen
Pianist Carla Bley continues to make gorgeous music. We lost Charlie Haden not too long ago. The album, bearing the same name, was named the Best Album in Down Beat Magazine’s Critic’s Poll.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 