To the editors: Brava to Ms. Morehead for her comments in “The Care and Funding of Chamber Music” [January 17]. Her insights into the obstacles which the music of today faces were illuminated further by Ms. Miller’s painfully typical opinions. One who would blanket “most” of the music written in this century as “egregiously cacaphonous” […]
Tag: Vol. 21 No. 22
Issue of Mar. 12 – 18, 1992
Posted inArts & Culture
Roosevelt “Booba” Barnes
When Booba Barnes fires off his raucous guitar leads and growls the blues in a voice reminiscent of Howlin’s Wolf, the amenities of modern urban life seem to dissolve and you’re transported to some backwoods Delta juke joint with sawdust on the floor, bottle-in-bond whiskey being sold under the table, and dancers boogying away until […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Nosy People
To the editors: In the February 7 issue of the Reader, in the article about Michael Jackson, Bill Wyman justifies his asking “uncomfortable, prying questions” because “we all have a stake in the survival of our artists” and Jackson’s lack of a “discernible sex life is one that begs to be examined . . . […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Young Man Seeks Pig
Lewie was out of work and lonely. He really wanted one of those little Vietnamese potbellies to curl up and watch TV with. But something wasn’t kosher in the pig market.
Posted inArts & Culture
Brian Lynch
I can name no better trumpeter in the modem jazz mainstream than Brian Lynch. (There, I’ve said it.) Who? (There. You’ve said it.) A veteran of the classic hard-bop classrooms directed by Horace Silver and Art Blakey, Lynch is a true successor to the trumpet tradition established by fellow Blakey alumni Lee Morgan and Freddie […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Desried Affects: Three One-Act Plays
DESIRED AFFECTS: THREE ONE-ACT PLAYS Theatre of the Reconstruction Our sense of gratitude for what we have is easily overwhelmed by our chronic craving for more. Yet that craving tends to breed unhappiness and a perverse notion that we are entitled to whatever we desire. The humility of a grateful man clashes brutally with the […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Space Available
To the editors: Congratulations and thanks to the Reader and Charlie Custer for the fascinating cover story on Swedenborg [January 24]. The Reader once again distinguishes itself for giving space to a most unlikely yet surprisingly relevant subject. And Mr. Custer is to be commended for enlivening a seemingly dry story with his extensive and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Whatever Man & Plop
WHATEVER MAN & PLOP at the Elbo Room Love is–you know, intoxicating. When you’re reveling in it, everything is delightful and fun. You lose all perspective. Everything becomes self-referential. And that, I think, is what happened with Susan Messing and Matt Besser’s Whatever Man & Plop, their two-person show at the Elbo Room. These two […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Little Milton
There’s an elegance to almost everything Little Milton does–the rich timbre of his vocals, the bluesy sophistication of his guitar leads, the classy professionalism with which he runs his show. Milton’s career has spanned nearly four decades: he first recorded for Sam Phillips’s Sun label in Memphis in the early 50s, and although he’s sometimes […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Bailiwick Directors Festival
The 60-some one-acts (three per night) in this six-week program, produced by Cecilie Keenan for Bailiwick Repertory, range from plays and musicals to performance art and monologues; some are well-established classic and contemporary selections, while others are brand-new pieces. They’re mounted by a slew of directors, most of them little known, who are looking for […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Slow-Pitch Journalism
To the editors: Regarding your Al Hofeld “interview” [February 21] I haven’t seen so many softballs lobbed since being in Grant Park last summer. You call those questions? Hofeld said he voted in only three of the past nine primaries because he didn’t think there were real choices. No real choices? The 1988 Illinois Democratic […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Art Facts: a place for printmakers
When asked about printing, Deborah Maris Lader believes, most people envision imposing high-tech machines that spit out thousands of copies of just about anything in seconds. “One of my goals,” says Lader, founder and director of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, “is to educate the public about the differences between commercial and fine-art printmaking. I get […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Maurizio Pollini
There are plenty of pianists who impress us with their technical prowess, and there are two dozen or so who enlighten us with their wisdom. But there are only a handful who impress and enlighten us, and Maurizio Pollini belongs in this category. Noted for his crystalline interpretations of modern masterpieces,the Italian pianist can also […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Restaurant Tours: joie de Germans?
When I can’t look at another plate of pasta, there’s nothing like a real ethnic neighborhood place (Italian restaurants having become too mainstream to qualify), especially one with singing and dancing, to refresh my palate. Invariably, they’re Eastern European, Greek, or German. I’m stymied as to the common denominator. Greeks and Eastern Europeans have a […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The End of an Issue
To the editors: Pardon the unconventional stationery; sitting in a neighborhood coffeeshop reading the Letters to the Editor I reached for the nearest paper to write in response to Maryanne Burgess’ passionate outpouring of support to you, and denigration of the D. Tillman (remember Aaron Freeman and Rob Kolson once calling her “Aldermouth Tillman” on […]