The Arts Fuse Newsletter, August 14
Bob Dylan -- American Bard, The Boston's MFA serves Salvador Dalí on a Quirky Platter, An Old-School Advocate of Free Jazz Comes to Town,
From The Editor's Desk:

On occasion, a comment pulls me up short. CJ Kelly’s (now deleted) Facebook response to Jon Garelick’s fine review of Andrew Lamb’s performance at the Inman Square club Lilypad stunned me for a moment: “This review of another NY artist is wonderful, but it would be really swell if more writers would review resident jazz artists. It's amazing how many are producing exciting work.” Of course, she is right, and she points to a failure in our media that connects with last week’s critique of The Boston Globe’s shrinking commitment to reviews of non-mainstream films. The local jazz community has been hit hard — by COVID and its aftermath, dwindling spaces for live performance, and the debilitating economics of streaming -- and it has been struggling. Given this crisis, Boston’s arts journalists (those who are left, after years of meltdown) should be hard at work, posting expert reviews, commentaries, features, interviews, etc. But CJ Kelly has a point: WBUR, GBH, The Boston Globe, and yes, I am ashamed to say, this august magazine, are neglecting Boston-area jazz musicians and clubs.
On occasion, our major media offers jazz coverage. But it is rare. Reviews are a thing of the past. Cushy interviews are customary, often of “big names” (usually from out-of-town), headliners at festivals, or musicians cocooned in a political agenda. Jazz-related pickings at GBH’s The Culture Show over the past 2 1/2 months were typically slim: Ivanna Cuesta, a Dominican jazz drummer/composer; NALEDI, a vocalist/composer/ educator from Johannesburg; Vijay Iyer, saxophonist and Harvard prof on the debut of a composition of his for orchestra; saxophonist Ken Field, leader of the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble; and Will Dailey, an ‘artist-in-residence’ at the Omni Boston Hotel in the Seaport. Dailey “curates a soundscape for the hotel, orchestrating a lineup of local artists who perform throughout the space.” Great, but why does The Culture Show ignore the not-so-Omni places where Boston jazz musicians ply their besieged trade, The Mad Monkfish, Wally’s, Scullers, the Regattabar, and Arrow Street Arts among others.
The Boston Globe prefers recommendation listicles over critical coverage. As for WBUR, a report last April about threats to local jazz venues commended the start up of Thursday night jazz performances at the Long Live Roxbury brewery. Features on recordings released by two local musicians followed. There were no reviews of live shows. And there should be, particularly from local media that has the resources but, for some reason, lacks the editorial will. The Arts Fuse hasn’t deep pockets, but it has the will. If you are knowledgeable about jazz, and would like to write about it, contact me. I have some clubs to send you to.
—Bill Marx, Editor-in-Chief
Note: From the Editor's Desk -- By Popular Demand.
Readers have asked that I post these weekly opinion pieces in the magazine — request granted.
Author Interview: In Praise of an American Bard, “Bob Dylan in Performance — Song, Stage, and Screen”
By David Daniel
“This book let me find out for myself why I’ve been obsessed with Dylan since my teens, and I presented what I learned in a way that I hoped others would at least see that I’m not crazy.”
Visual Arts Review: Salvador Dalí Touches Down on Huntington Avenue – Quirky and Proud of It

For decades the MFA gave Dalí the cold shoulder, so it’s great that this maiden voyage is non-puritanical and open to the artist’s less than wholesome instincts to provoke.
Jazz Concert Review: Multi-Instrumentalist Andrew Lamb — Old-School Free Jazz, Done Right
By Jon Garelick

Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Lamb, with his spiritual imperative, is clearly seeking, and achieving, incantatory power.
Book Review: Neoliberal Soup for the Fledgling Capitalist Soul — “The Algebra of Wealth”
By Justin Grosslight
Serious individuals of all stripes seeking candid yet pragmatic life, career, and financial guidance will find much to savor in popular ‘thought leader’ Scott Galloway's book.
Jazz Album Reviews: Jazz Composers’ Omnibus 2024
By Steve Elman
Each of these four projects requires deep attention from a listener. Only two of them repay that attention with the musical rewards that bring a listener (this listener, at least) back for rehearings.
Rock Concert Review: Chameleons — Reviving Greatness
By Paul Robicheau
The band’s performance at the Sinclair proved that the Chameleons are back in vintage form.
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Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marx
wmarx103@gmail.com