BY BRETT CAMPBELL
Stocking Stuffers
from Planet Eugene
World music, classical music and
other CDs with Eugene ties
W
ith onstage action abating for
some sort of pagan solstice cele-
bration, here are some recom-
mended recent CD releases
from musicians with local ties.
If you’re still into buying rather
than downloading, why not pick
them up at local stores like the
Musique Gourmet?
innovative new and recent American music at
http://nonpop.scottunrein.org
The Decemberists,
The Crane Wife (Capitol)
Portland’s literary
art rockers led a parade
of Pacific Northwest
artists (e.g. M. Ward,
Death Cab, Neko
Case, etc.) to the
Americanistan, Live at Luna
forefront of popular
Eugene’s favorite world
music this year, and
music collective scores again
it’s a relief to see that
with a scintillating survey of
dance music with roots in The Decemberists The Crane Wife major label success
hasn’t diffused Colin
Turkey, Israel, Egypt and
Meloy’s delicious weirdness or his band’s
nearby regions. It’s best encountered in close
proggish punch. Their wild November 2005
proximity to bouncing bellies, but the CD-
show at the McDonald still rings in my ears.
only experience is one of the most entrancing
I heard in 2006.
Craig Einhorn, Something Real (Unicorn)
The classically trained guitar virtuoso
Cosmas Magaya and Beauler Dyoko,
takes a brave leap into singer-songwriter ter-
Afamba Apota (Dandemutande)
ritory, mixing covers of Lennon, Young, the
Eugene is a second home to this
Zimbabwean mbira duo, whose album of shim-
Dead and more with his own laid-back origi-
nals, often regarding his Eugene home (“Zen
mering duets stands with any of the dozens of
world music albums I heard this year.
Man: Spencer Butte,” “Oregon Song”) and
recent Maui sojourn (“Warm Summer
Breeze,” “Island Style”). Einhorn’s singing
Marin Alsop, Naxos recordings
can’t match his guitartistry, but the aloha
The controversy over her appointment as
spirit that breezes through this Hawaiian in-
music director of the Baltimore Symphony
fluenced disk and solid contributions from a
this year may have overshadowed the
dozen local lights (Dave Burham, Shandi
Eugene Symphony’s conductor laureate’s in-
Sinnamon, Rebecca Oswald et al.) will warm
creasingly prominent recording career. But
up a chilly winter’s eve.
stirring releases of orchestral music by Toru
Takemitsu, Michael Hersch, Samuel Barber,
Here’s a couple of non-local CDs of spe-
her mentor Leonard Bernstein and other 20th
and 21st century composers (e.g. Philip
cial appeal:
Glass, John Adams, Michael Torke, Michael
Daugherty) with her U.K. ensembles, the
Eighth Blackbird, Strange Imaginary
Bournemouth Symphony and Royal Scottish
Animals (Cedille); The Time Gallery (Naxos)
National Orchestra, are showing the world
On still another Naxos disk, the daring
what we in Eugene knew a decade ago:
Chicago ensemble passionately performs
Contemporary classical music has no more
neo-Romantic music by 2004 Pulitzer Prize
persuasive advocate than Marin Alsop.
winning composer Paul Moravec while their
other new CD covers exciting, sometimes
Arnold and Victor Steinhardt,
outrageous contemporary chamber music by
Jennifer Higdon, Steve Mackey and other hot
American Journey (Naxos)
On another new Naxos CD, the emeritus
new composers.
UO piano prof and his famed violinist sibling
offer elegant renditions of music
Andy
Palacio, Watina
(Cumbancha)
by Bernstein, Copland, Foss and
more obscure but still worthy
This pulsating disk of music
from the disappearing Garifuna
American composers, including
Victor’s own tango.
culture of the Caribbean coast
makes a fine stocking stuffer for
Joseph Waters, Offshore
anyone who relishes the inter-
(Albany)
section of West African and
Latin American music. Cuba is
UO alum Waters, now teach-
the closest referent, but this
ing at San Diego State University,
music has a spice all its own.
runs the New West Electro
Acoustic Music Organization, which Victor Steinhardt
sponsors new music concerts there and in
Finally, let’s give a shout out to Cherry
Portland and New York and is about to go inter-
Eugene
Blossom
Productions,
Contemporary Chamber Ensemble and
national. But he’s also a skilled, provocative
DIVA, three new-ish upstart Eugene well-
composer of diverse music for acoustic and
electronic instruments, and his new disk ranges
springs of new sounds and visions that pro-
in influence from Debussy and Messiaen to
vided some wonderful musical moments over
the past year. They give us the great gift of
Cuban rhythms.
live music of our time and place, all year
long. I hope they’ll inspire our more estab-
Scott Unrein, NonPop (blog)
lished institutions to bring us more music of
Recent UO graduate and composer Scott
here and now.
ew
Unrein offers weekly samples of accessible,
NYE 2007
A
T
T
H
E
I N D I G O
with dj hoop dreams and guests
eighties | top 40 | electro | disco | dance rock
rap jams | dirty pop | early nineties | soul
two dollar champagne and wells until eleven pm
thirteenth and oak | twenty one and up
visit indigodistrict.com for more details.
DECEMBER 21, 2006 33