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A Little Mbira Music
A couple of weeks ago, The Guardian published an article on thumb pianos – mbira, kalimba, etc. It’s a good introduction, and you can find the full article here. Most percussionists at one point or...
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Under the Influence
A couple of weeks ago I picked the debut album by Mumford & Sons. I hadn’t read much about them, missed their performance at the Grammys, and hadn’t heard any of their songs. I put the CD on for...
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Music Monday: Royal Wood
For the past couple of years I’ve been listening primarily to musicians from the Prairies. Fortunately Manitoba and Saskatchewan have produced an incredible number of great bands and solo artists, so...
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The Violin
Deep in the recesses of my brain are bits and pieces of the thousands of hours of television and movies I watched as a kid. Brief clips of David & Goliath, that staple of Sunday morning cartoons,...
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Music Monday – Rose Cousins
I spent a fair amount of time this weekend in my office trying to decide whether “astonishing” or “riveting” was a better adjective to use in a report. With only the sound of the air conditioning to...
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Music Monday – The Lumineers
I know it’s Wednesday, but Music Wednesday just sounds wrong. I’ll try better next week. In any case, this week’s earworm is Submarines by The Lumineers. They were supposed to play the final night of...
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Music Monday – JP Hoe
I’m a big fan of JP Hoe, a talented singer-songwriter from Winnipeg. I first met him at the WCMA’s in Brandon a few years ago, and was immediately impressed – he’s got a great voice, sings in tune...
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Music Monday – Jay Gilday
One of the best parts of my jobs is meeting incredibly talented people. Whether they are musicians, actors, dancers, writers, visual artists or chefs, I regularly get to meet artists who have vast...
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Century of Progress Marimba No. 78
Back in 1933, the famous (at least in percussion circles) Clair Omar Musser created a unique orchestra for the Chicago World’s Fair (aka Century of Progress International Exposition). Musser was an...
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Century of Progress Marimba Ad
In doing a bit of research in the Deagan Century of Progress marimba, I came across this fantastic photo, which I imagine came from a brochure in 1933 or 1934. This is the 4.5 octave model (C to F) –...
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