Emma Peters Fous

These little pieces for saxophone, largely unknown even to saxophonists since their composition in 1929, may be viewed in several ways. The composer, the mostly Leipzig-based Sigfrid Karg-Elert, termed them "in primary respects higher studies for the development of new paths in technique and expressive means" for the saxophone. But saxophonist Christian Peters argues for their wider expressive significance. He himself wrote the booklet notes, which include a good deal of interesting biographical information (he was born simply Sigfrid, or Siegfried, Karg, but was urged by teachers to append his mother's maiden name to his surname to deflect "Semitic suspicions").

Gretchen Peters - Blackbirds (2015) {Scarlet Letter Records}
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Americana / Folk / World / Country

Songwriter Gretchen Peters is a go-to for artists seeking material whose lyric depth matches its hooks. She continually goes into the marrow, revealing secrets that result in defining decisions and cathartic actions. This is especially true of her own recordings and Blackbirds takes these to an entirely new level, one shared with peers like Mickey Newbury (It Looks Like Rain) and Bruce Springsteen (Nebraska). Here she explores mortality with an unflinching gaze through a variety of unique character perspectives and musical styles. The album was co-produced by the artist with keyboardist Barry Walsh and guitarist Doug Lancio (bassist Dave Roe and drummer Nick Buda round out the band's core). The title is a murder ballad onbe of three tunes co-written with Ben Glover.

The "Office of Fools" was a popular festival featuring theatre, games and dressing-up, a pagan rite whose abuses and excesses the Church tried to control until its disappearance in the 16th century. The vocal and instrumental ensemble Obsidienne, using a manuscript in the library at Sens as its basis, performs a variety of medieval repertoires inspired by this jubilant traditional feast with its disorderliness and inversion of values.