|
| | | 'A full-force trinity': the glory and tragedy of reggae group the Mighty Diamonds | | by David Katz Mar 31, 2022 | | The death in a drive-by shooting of singer Donald ‘Tabby Diamond’ Shaw this week brings to an end a group whose gorgeous harmonies made them genre greats The death of Donald “Tabby Diamond” Shaw aged 67 in a drive-by shooting brings a terribly tragic end to one of reggae’s most enduring and revered harmony trios. No word has yet emerged about who was behind the attack that killed Shaw and another man on the night of 29 March on McKinley Crescent, Waterhouse, an area of Jamaica’s capital, Kingston, long riven by factional violence. Equally adept at songs of social commentary and odes of broken-hearted romance, the Mighty Diamonds’ exceptional command of vocal harmony made their sound stand out during the mid-1970s, yielding a contract with Virgin Records and numerous international tours. Tabby’s powerful tenor was always given pride of place, a guiding beacon answered by the choruses of Fitzroy “Bunny” Simpson and Lloyd “Judge” Ferguson, the latter the group’s chief lyricist. Continue reading... | | | | | Diary of a Somebody review – stunning drama from Joe Orton's journal | | by Ryan Gilbey Mar 31, 2022 | | Seven Dials Playhouse, London
The playwright’s relationship with Kenneth Halliwell is given new clarity in a play that is both hilarious and chilling ‘I’ve high hopes of dying young,” announces Joe Orton cheerfully in Diary of a Somebody. He got his wish: the author of barbed, subversive comedies such as Entertaining Mr Sloane and Loot was murdered in 1967 at the age of 34 by his lover Kenneth Halliwell. This play, pieced together by John Lahr from Orton’s journal as well as from correspondence and interviews, has often been overshadowed by the diaries themselves and by Stephen Frears’ 1987 film Prick Up Your Ears, adapted by Alan Bennett from Lahr’s biography of the same name. Seen here in Nico Rao Pimparé’s punchy new staging, its own merits and insights are inarguable. Distance helps: with Aids dominating gay life in the 1980s, and Clause 28 on the horizon, Orton’s priapic endeavours made him seem then like a purely heroic sexual swashbuckler. Now his callousness, along with Halliwell’s suffering, emerge with greater clarity and force. At Seven Dials Playhouse, London, until 30 April Continue reading... | | | | | SoundState: LPO/Edward Gardner review – a compelling musical journey | | by Andrew Clements Mar 31, 2022 | | Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London
Rebecca Saunders’ concerto was the highlight of an opening night that also included Missy Mazzoli and the last major work by George Walker SoundState, the Southbank Centre’s five-day celebration of contemporary composers, is the nearest thing London now has to a new-music festival. Stylistically, its programme is a broad church, and that was reflected in the opening concert, which was given by the London Philharmonic, conducted by Edward Gardner. All four works were being heard for the first time in Britain, though only one of them could really be described as new. That was Rebecca Saunders’ To An Utterance, the piano concerto she composed in 2020 for Nicolas Hodges, who played it here too. Saunders gives the soloist only a few bars rest in the entire 28-minute score, as they are taken on a compelling musical journey. She describes the piano part as an “incessant, compulsive soliloquy”; it’s a barrage of glissandos and clusters played with palms and forearms but one that, despite its insistence, is condemned to end in failure, as the orchestra (which includes an accordion, a second piano and an array of exotic percussion) only adds commentary rather than support. SoundState continues at the Southbank Centre, London, until 3 April. Continue reading... | | | | | |
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment