From the Concert Hall to the Couch

Music lovers may be keenly feeling the loss of live sounds; but as we all know, it’s the musicians who are suffering the full brunt of its absence from the city’s stages. They’ve joined the mass migration to the world-wide-web out of necessity, playing from home and broadcasting their performances via Facebook Live or another vehicle that supports the new “virtual” reality.  There are riches in that new world.  We suggest signing in and quenching your thirst for music as live as we can get it for now.  You’re also urged to toss as many dollars into the tip jar as reasonably possible.  You might even surprise yourself and end up buying a recording or a novel piece of merchandise.  It all works. 

Chicago’s jazz cabal over at WDCB (90.9 FM) lists virtual concerts daily at https://wdcb.org/events/virtual. From Brazilian guitar to blues to Ramsey Lewis enchanting the keys on Zoom, this week’s line-up boasts more than 40 exceptional local artists and is prime territory for adventure and discovery. Doing a little exploring on our own, we dare anyone refute that Samuel Mösching’s mastery of the guitar is not only sublime, but uniquely beautiful. 

And even though we can’t claim it as our own, NY’s Jazz at Lincoln Center’s orchestra (JLCO) has been serving up a smorgasbord of excellent archival performances along with wonderfully developed current projects.  This year’s re-imagined gala, Worldwide Concert for Our Culture is ravishing: https://www.jazz.org/gala2020/?_ga=2.263965897.470905534.1587750688-198460646.1586797001   Another musical delicacy has the fiercely delightful orchestra performing the work of Leonard Bernstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae7bT0ywEsA&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MKT20Aprilall-subscontentNewsletter%236&utm_content=version_A&promo=.