Big Bands and Minimal Musings
Soundcheck | May 3, 2010
2005 marks the centennial of the birth of the legendary trombonist and bandleader Tommy Dorsey. Peter J. Levinson, author of the new biography Tommy Dorsey: Livin' in a Great Big Way, discusses the life of arguably one of the hardest-working men of the swing era. This year also marks the centennial of the birth of Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi, an eccentric whose attraction in the 1940s to minimalism, Eastern yoga and mysticism, and other ideas made him far ahead of his time. Today, George Steel, executive director of Miller Theater at Columbia University, discusses the composers' life and music, in advance of an all-Scelsi concert tomorrow night. Also, after video operas and sampling, Steve Reich is going back to his roots on his new CD. The master of minimalism joins us with a preview.
