Van Morrison

The songs of Mose Allison are a fusion of rustic blues and jazz, embellished with profound and often humorous lyrics. As a pianist, while admiring jazz masters Bud Powell and Lenny Tristano, he also learned from composers such as Bartok, Ives, Hindemith and Ruggles. The fusing of these diverse elements into a cohesive performance continues today.  

Michael Buble recently received a cassette tape of his first performance ever, but it didn't bring back pleasant memories.  

FEW artists can lay claim to a CV that includes Van Morrison and Pete Doherty alongside a fanbase that features the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  

My friend Jeff is usually about three years ahead of me when it comes to listening to music that was recorded more than ten years ago.  

It was 1971, the height of the Troubles.  

For Chloe Agnew, an Irish music production has long been home.  

Anyone who queued up to slap down the $350 single ticket cost to get up close to the quirky yet sublime Van Morrison at Waterbury's Palace Theater last Saturday thinking they would be singing along to his many radio-friendly tunes was probably venomous by the end of the show.  

If you're a high-roller shelling out $350 for a fine ticket, hoping to hear one of your favorite stars sing nothing but his hits, then Van Morrison might not be your guy.  

Morrison spent most of the Meyerhoff gig directing his crack nine-piece ensemble (with strings) through simmering vamps and R&B shuffles, stoically cuing a keyboardist to lay out here, inviting a guitarist to bend a few more bluesy licks there. You heard stop-time percussion solos, long, true notes played on soprano sax and flute, corner-bar organ and muted, Miles Davis-esque trumpet. For many in the audience, it very well may have been the most they'd ever listened to improvised music.