The Critic July 2024

Ben Goldberg is an American clarinet player and composer. In the early 1990s, Ben Goldberg performed alongside electric bassist Dan Seamans and percussionist Kenny Wollesen as the New Klezmer Trio. They went on to produce three albums and the free improvisation on "Masks and Faces" was described as having "kicked open the door for radical experiments with Ashkenazi roots music." Goldberg's musicality has influenced and inspired local musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Margo Guryan Died in 2021. Her Music Keeps Getting Rediscovered. “Words and Music,” a new anthology, shines light on a little-known but increasingly beloved master of pop and jazz songwriting. In the late summer of 1970, Elton John arrived at Los Angeles International Airport for his debut U.S. shows and was greeted by another wildly talented piano-playing singer-songwriter: Margo Guryan. Her husband, David Rosner, worked for the company that signed John, and together they helped him get sorted in the run-up to his legendary performances at the Troubadour, kicking off a long, spectacular career. Guryan’s career proved less of a spectacle. After modest success as a jazz-pop songwriter, she recorded one album of her own, with Rosner’s encouragement. “Take a Picture” was alive with dazzling melodies, lyrical wit, strikingly intimate vocals and marvelously florid arrangements — a small masterpiece of the microgenre known as sunshine pop. But Guryan was a reluctant performer who refused to tour, and her album, released in 1968, was a commercial flop, after her label barely promoted it. And yet, in a unique twist on a familiar story, the 11 songs of “Take a Picture” became a shared secret around the world; pirate pressings overseas earned her the sobriquet “The Soft Pop Queen of Japan.” In 2000 the LP was officially reissued, followed by others collecting her demo recordings — lean performances that could pass for 21st-century indie-pop.

Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones; July 2 1930, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — April 16, 2023, Sheffield[d], Massachusetts) was an American jazz pianist, composer and teacher. According to music critic Stanley Crouch, he is the second most important in the development of jazz after Charlie Parker. For five decades, he was one of the most successful small band leaders in jazz.

The organ concerto tradition goes back to the 17th century and the Baroque era, but composers have constantly adapted this age-old genre to their own expressive ends – this recording provides ample evidence of its appeal today.

From bestselling author Lucy Burdette, this collection of recipes from her Key West Food Critic mysteries serves up delectable desserts, tempting treats, and savory sides. It's out of the fire and into the frying pan!