These tributes raise big questions: How do we honor those who are important to us after they’re gone? How do we carry on their lessons and ideas?
Dan Ruccia
Durham-Based Quartet Dreamroot Embraces the Possibilities of Studio Production on ‘Leaf’
Everything is built in layers, something that Lynn Grissett in particular takes full advantage of.
Tragic Assembly’s ‘Instability’ Brims with Transparency and Clarity
Most thrilling is the more understated flavor of free jazz, the kind that foregrounds melody and texture and the full range of instrumental timbres. Tragic Assembly makes that kind of free jazz on its debut album.
For Artists at Three Lobed Recordings, Its Durham Festival Is Another Family Reunion
The Three Lobed Recordings 21st Anniversary Festival sprawls out like a side-long track on one of the label’s LPs.
A North Carolina Opera Production Tells the Story of William Still, a Major Leader of the Underground Railroad
The story serves as the foundation of composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell’s opera/oratorio, ‘Sanctuary Road,’ which will premiere this weekend at Fletcher Opera Theatre in Raleigh.
Phil Cook Dedicated His 40th Year to the Piano—and Manifested ‘All These Years.’
“When I discovered piano, I found a balance. I am still hanging in that balance all these years later.”
With Its Final Album, Cochonne Brings an Era of Deranged Playfulness to a Close
The life-sucking force of consumption never sounded so appealing.
On ‘Half Mirror,’ Chorusing Revels in Capacious Folk and Fragments of Memories
O’Connell uses his reedy tenor to recall fragments of his past: a curative escape to the mountains, a moment on the banks of the Ohio River, the feeling of stepping into cold water.
Trippers & Askers’ New Album, ‘Acorn,’ Invokes Octavia E. Butler’s Prophetic Vision of the Future
Throughout the empathetic album’s observations, Jay Hammond is seeking community. It’s safe to say he finds it.
Magic Tuber Stringband’s New Album Shows How Much Life Two Instruments Can Contain
“When Sorrows Encompass Me ‘Round” releases June 25.

