Bach triumphs over bite


Our outside thermometer here in Norfolk, UK plunged to minus 10.9 degrees Celsius last night. But with Jordi Savall's heart-warming new recording of the B minor Mass on the stereo who cares?

Also on Facebook and Twitter. No review samples were involved in the preparation of this post. Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk

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Some music should be as boring as posible

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In the 1950s a number of prominent jazz musicians converted to Islam, including - to use their adopted names - Ahmad Jamal , and Sahib Shihab , Yusef Lateef . One of the most notable converts was the drummer Art Blakey , while the very personal heterodox cosmology of the most celebrated jazz musician of that period John Coltrane was influenced by the beliefs of his first wife Naima, who was a Muslim convert . Many of the musicians who converted were African Americans endeavouring to escape from the shadow of Western colonialism ; they saw Islam as an attractive alternative to Christianity within the Abrahamic tradition, and jazz at that time was heavily influenced by music from cultures beyond the Judeo-Christian world. These circumstances were unique to the 1950s, and fewer jazz musicians have taken the path to Islam since. But those who have include the bass player Danny Thompson who converted in 1990; he has played with many great musicians, including Nick Drake on the legendary...
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