It’s been hard letting Aretha go, but this expression of love by Stevie Wonder at her funeral service on Friday helps a bit.
(He preceded this tribute rendition of “I‘ll Be Lovin‘ You Always” with an expressive and moving harmonica performance. To also listen to the harmonica work, at the end of the video click the replay icon and the video should replay from the beginning.)   [Read more…]

One More Aretha. At the end of Digby’s Thursday column on Aretha, she notes an unusual incident in Aretha’s career, which highlights her versatility, courage and heart. As reported in Classic FM. during the 1998 Grammy’s, Pavarotti was scheduled to perform one of his signature pieces: Nessun Dorma, but after he fell ill, Aretha, with twenty minutes notice, agreed to go on and perform the work. Here’s a version of that work which was recorded a few years later at a September 26, 2015 World Meeting of Families event with Pope Francis in Philadelphia.   [Read more…]

With the passing of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, we look back over her legacy and remind ourselves of her incredibly rich and powerful history. Digby’s Hullabaloo has the fascinating story (with additional video) of how her iconic interpretation of “Respect” came to be.   [Read more…]

Here’s to the wonderful world of Fusion. I love Salsa. I love Celtic. Here’s Salsa Celtica with a live version of El Sol de la Noche from the Helsinki Festival, August 2014.   [Read more…]

From the NASA Goddard YouTube web page:

The visualization was created to accompany a performance of Clair de Lune by the National Symphony Orchestra Pops, led by conductor Emil de Cou, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, on June 1 and 2, 2018, as part of a celebration of NASA’s 60th anniversary.

The visualization uses a digital 3D model of the Moon built from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter global elevation maps and image mosaics. The lighting is derived from actual Sun angles during lunar days in 2018.

And for another take on this classic Debussy work, here’s an arrangement by saxaphonist Kamasi Washington.   [Read more…]

All this news lately about taped conversations and secret meetings makes me wonder if the walls could talk, what stories would they tell? Well, we may never hear from the Trump Tower walls, but here’s some Talking Walls from slide guitarist Roy Rogers that’ll do just nicely.   [Read more…]

Time for some industrial strength body percussion. Here’s Grupo Pacuprá, the youth ensemble of the Colombian group Cantoalegre.   [Read more…]

The weather has me in full summertime mode lately. Here’s something by Joni Mitchell that’s also in a summertime theme: The Hissing of Summer Lawns. (h/t to AGD)   [Read more…]

‘Pa’lante’ Is an Ode to Puerto Rico’s Future

For eight sobering minutes, a new Hurray for the Riff Raff music video follows a working-class Puerto Rican family as they try to rebuild physically and emotionally in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Filmed on the island and starring The Florida Project’s Mela Murder, the video — a vibrant backdrop to the band’s new song “Pa’lante,” sung by Riff Raff’s Nuyorican lead singer Alynda Segarra — captures in brilliant colors the pain and strength of the Puerto Rican people.   [Read more…]