Long before we debated what real punk-rock was, what true hip-hop was, or what made indie-rock authentic, jazz heads grappled with what is and isn’t jazz music. Now, the debate is whether jazz is dying off or not. America’s jazz audience is not only shrinking, it’s aging. Attendance at jazz performances has dropped 30%...
At a recent show at London’s 100 Club, a crowd of about 60 people huddled right in front of the stage and danced almost in unison as Ponytail drove aggressively through each song. Molly Siegel, the lead singer, bounced her way through the set, more fitness instructor than punk star. (Before the show a...
The band Banjo or Freakout sounds like a slow-cooking soup at a constant simmer. Alessio Natalizia, the hand behind these Mac-generated songs, takes the melodic, echoey drone of Panda Bear, mixes in the urgent, Afro-pop rhythms synonymous with Vampire Weekend and Abe Vigoda, and seals it together with Sonic Youth-inspired tension and repetition that...