Aspen Times, June 16, 2006

From The Elvis Costello Wiki
Revision as of 20:19, 20 September 2021 by Nick Ratcliffe (talk | contribs) (add detail)
(diff) ← Older revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Jump to navigationJump to search
... Bibliography ...
727677787980818283
848586878889909192
939495969798990001
020304050607080910
111213141516171819
202122232425 26 27 28


Aspen Times

Colorado publications

US publications by state
  • ALAKARAZCA
  • COCTDCDEFL
  • GAHI   IA      ID      IL
  • IN   KSKYLA   MA
  • MDME   MIMNMO
  • MSMTNC  ND  NE
  • NHNJNMNVNY
  • OHOKORPARI
  • SCSDTNTXUT
  • VAVTWAWIWY

-

Once-angry Costello is now wildly eclectic


Stewart Oksenhorn

extract

Early in his career, in his days as an angry English punk, Elvis Costello seemed to reserve his strongest venom for music journalists. The mutual disrespect between Costello and the press came to a head in early spring 1979, in New York, when Costello was pushed into a press conference to explain away some rude comments he had made about Ray Charles, James Brown and other gods of American music to rocker Stephen Stills. Costello, 24 and already at odds with the media and under the spotlight for his remarks, instead of apologizing, turned on the press and let loose with the sort of rage evident in his music at the time. ”The press were looking for something to crucify me with, and I fed myself to the lions,” Costello told Rolling Stone. Some years later, Costello would provide another perfect means for the press to vilify him. This time it was artistic.

Costello had shown experimental tendencies from the beginning, but in the early ’90s he came fully unmoored from the sneering brand of New Wave/punk that had established his name. The straying started with 1993’s “The Juliet Letters,” a cycle inspired by “Romeo and Juliet” and recorded with the classical group, the Brodsky Quartet. Any rock musician can expect a torrent of criticism when venturing into such serious waters, and Costello was probably bracing for more than his share. Instead, he earned mostly praise: Spin ranked “The Juliet Letters” with Costello’s best; Newsweek called him “a songwriter beyond genre. ”Costello probably didn’t need such positive reinforcement to proceed down the non-pop music path. But showing the contrarian, devil-may-care spirit that marked his early albums, he boldly claimed a broader terrain than any musician who comes to mind. Perhaps inspired by his father, a big-band singer who had to absorb a variety of styles, Costello tackled it all. ”Kojak Variety” covered Bob Dylan, the Supremes and the Great American Songbook. “Painted From Memory” was a duets album with Burt Bacharach. On “For the Stars,” a collaboration with Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, and “North,” Costello emerged as an honest jazz balladeer. Not all reviewers loved all the work, though each album drew a good amount of critical applause. But Costello was at least taken seriously in his efforts.In recent years, Costello has returned now and then to his roots, most successfully on 2002’s “When I Was Cruel.” His most notable work, however, has come from outside the pop realm, and sometimes way outside. “Il Sogno,” a 2004 ballet score after “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and earned respect in the classical world. That same year, he co-wrote much of the material on “The Girl in the Other Room,” an exquisite jazz recording by Mrs. Elvis Costello, Grammy-winning singer-pianist Diana Krall. Last year’s “The Delivery Man” was a brilliant take on alt-country, featuring guest singers Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams.Topping it all was last year’s “My Flame Burns Blue,” a live recording of Costello with the Metropole Orkest that ingeniously reimagines a jazz orchestra as an avant-rock instrument. Fans of the “old” Elvis should get a kick out of radically reworked versions of “Watching the Detectives” and “Clubland.” Costello’s latest, “The River in Reverse,” finds him wandering again, this time to the damaged music capital of New Orleans. He has stretched in this direction before; 1989’s “Spike” was recorded partly there and featured the city’s Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Costello has also worked with Rebirth Brass Band. On “The River in Reverse,” released earlier this month, Costello teams again with New Orleans’ Allen Toussaint, who had added a memorable piano part to “Spike.” The album – which represents another new twist, Costello as the socially conscious artist – will be the focus of the Jazz Aspen June Festival concert, which features Costello’s band, the Imposters, and Toussaint as a special guest.(Much of the above came from the highly recommended 2004 biography “Complicated Shadows,” by Graeme Thomson.)

Other new touches at the June Festival: British singer-keyboardist Jamie Cullum makes his local debut to kick off the festival. Opening for Cullum is vocalist Lizz Wright, who was scheduled to appear at the June Festival two years ago, but had to cancel and is only now making her Aspen debut. Diana Krall, who performs Friday, June 23, is a Jazz Aspen veteran. But this marks the first time she appears on a festival bill with her husband of two-and-a-half years, Costello. Who knows what onstage sparks might fly, with the two scheduled for back-to-back days?Opening for Anastasio on the final day is funk saxophonist Maceo Parker, a Jazz Aspen favorite who has been absent from local stages for several years. Rounding out the bill is honky-tonker Delbert McClinton, making his second Jazz Aspen appearance opening for Costello.


Tags: Ray CharlesJames BrownStephen StillsRolling StoneThe Juliet LettersThe Brodsky QuartetKojak VarietyBob DylanThe SupremesPainted From MemoryBurt BacharachFor The StarsAnne Sofie von OtterNorthWhen I Was CruelIl SognoA Midsummer Night's DreamLondon Symphony OrchestraMichael Tilson ThomasThe Girl In The Other RoomDiana KrallThe Delivery ManEmmylou HarrisLucinda WilliamsMy Flame Burns BlueMetropole OrkestWatching The DetectivesClublandThe River In ReverseNew OrleansSpikeDirty Dozen Brass BandRebirth Brass BandAllen ToussaintSpikeJazz Aspen SnowmassThe ImpostersComplicated ShadowsGraeme ThomsonJamie CullumDelbert McClinton

-

The Aspen Times, June 16, 2006


Stewart Oksenhorn previews Elvis Costello & The Imposters with Allen Toussaint and The Crescent City Horns on Saturday, June 24, 2006, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Aspen, Colorado.

Images

2006-06-21 Vail Daily News photo 01 jk.jpg
Photo credit: Jimmy Katz

-



Back to top

External links