Bookending an extraordinary year that began with a Best Global Music Album Grammy nomination for his 2024 recording Paisajes, legendary Peruvian composer and guitar virtuoso  Ciro Hurtado’s artfully rendered, gracefully lyrical yet majestically symphonic single “Cantando en El Camino” earned a well-deserved nod for a 2026 Best Global Music Performance Grammy in a category that includes world music greats Bad Bunny, Angélique Kidjo and Anoushka Shankar. A lushly produced mast

Nearly 60 years after John Lennon wrote the immortal line “Picture yourself in a boat on a river” to start “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” acclaimed bassist/composer Walter Kittle creates the slammin’, seriously funked out contemporary jazz equivalent with “Lovin’ the Jam,” whose concept of gathering a high octane all-star ensemble on a boat came to Walter’s wife, flutist Robin Bleier, one night in a dream. Though she says she rarely remembers the events that occur in her dr

Once again, ‘tis the season…so, in the spirit of keeping the upcoming holidays merry and bright, don’t forget the perennial joys of Dr. Dave’s Christmas songs! Thanks to the commercial retail world, the Yuletide seems to be upon us earlier every year, pretty much starting the day after Halloween. The malls start blasting the same old tunes we’ve heard for decades, terrestrial radio stations gear up to switch their formats and listeners with more discerning, hipster tastes are

Originating from the 16 th -century Renaissance imitative counterpoint, the fugue’s main melody – or subject - is introduced by one voice and then imitated by other voices in succession to create an intricate and interwoven texturing. The term “fuga,” meaning “flight” in Latin, was used to describe the way one musical voices chases another that has already played the main theme. While the form reached a peak in the Baroque era via the refining and popularizing of greats like

Founded in 2013 by Grammy nominated pianist Aron Kallay, the non-profit Brightwork newmusic’s mission is to enliven and expand contemporary classical music with a focus on West Coast composers and performers. The members of its in-house band Brightwork Ensemble, including Kallay, percussionist Nick Terry, violinist Shalini Vajayan and most prominently soprano Stacey Fraser, are among the most treasured and impactful chamber musicians in the world. The group’s full length debu

Long celebrated for his bravura playing and facility for making complex music and fingering look effortless, world renowned classical saxophonist Timothy McAllister has long been celebrated as a powerful interpreter of works by Pulitzer Prize winning composers such as John Adams (“Saxophone Concerto”) and John Corigliano, whose “Triathlon” was showcased when McAllister made his NY Phil debut in March 2025. When he joined forces with famed collaborative pianist Liz Ames for Pr

In 2021, drawing on her ever-fascinating palette of sonic intricacies via an array of synths, guitars, South American and Native American drums, visionary new age ambient composer and multi-instrumentalist Deborah Martin conceived the perfect way to celebrate her 30th anniversary with Spotted Peccary Music. She invited longtime friend, veteran recording artist and oboe and English Horn virtuoso to her Dreaming Edge Studio in Washington, where the two launched the first of a f

In my recent glowing writeup on The Fifth Hammer , yet another epic collection by Martin Walker’s enigmatic musical alter ego Art Schop, I heaped praise on the singer/songwriter and philosophy and fiction writer’s obtuse poetic lyrics, dark, moody and spaciously atmospheric aesthetic and sublimely haunting Leonard Cohenish voice while also noting how “with every turn of phrase, he inspires us to Google frantically to expand our knowledge of history, philosophy and historical

The story behind the creation of Richard Dillon’s latest heartfelt, rhythmically eclectic and deeply soulful solo piano based album Fernweh: The Need to Travel  reflects the fascinating and intuitive camaraderie between the artist and another masterful new age piano veteran, Neil Patton.    The two first met some years ago at a Whisperings Solo Piano gathering in L.A. and quickly became great fans and supporters of each other’s music and individual careers. In 2016, Patton tr

The inspiring and empowering culmination of over 50-plus years exploring the wondrous possibilities of his cherished instrument, Derek Wille’s latest solo piano album The Weight of the Sky  is more than simply another melodically compelling, free-flowing and rhythmically eclectic work from a masterful new age artist and composer. From the graceful, dreamily romantic opening piece “Eyes Across a Room” – inspired by the transcendent moment when he first met his wife – through t

Before we immerse in the fascinating mercurial splendors of the Jay D’Amico Trio’s richly expressive, infectiously lyrical album Ginevra: a portrait of little girl blue  – a classically-tinged collection inspired by Da Vinci’s late 1470’s painting Ginevra de' Benci - it makes sense to mention the lavish musical outpouring given over the years to the painter’s most famous work. Everyone knows Nat King Cole’s 1950 classic “Mona Lisa,” but in the current millennium, she’s inspir

While prolific pianist and composer Ed Bazel had released several previous albums and enjoyed a lengthy, multi-faceted career as a performer and entrepreneur, nothing prepared the new age/ambient genre for his emergence to true stardom in the genre when he dropped The London Sessions: Reflections from Studio 2  in 2022. Beyond the dreamlike, feel-good story of a lifelong Beatles fan – who watched them transform the cultural landscape on The Ed Sullivan Show as a wide-eyed sev