Iris DeMent Sings the Delta By JOHN DEMETRY During the last decade, Iris DeMent’s New York concerts featured an expanding repertoire of new folk songs uncannily attuned to the needs of the audience. This fall, she releases many of these songs on the studio album Sing the Delta. Earlier in the decade, DeMent expressed the sublimation of 
Pet Shop Boys find Elysium on new CD With an ear bent toward eternity, British pop-duo Pet Shop Boys and L.A. producer Andrew Dawson find the sublime sound (minimalist yet California-warm) befitting Elysium–the mythical resting place of fallen heroes in classical Greek philosophy (a pre-Christian concept of Heaven). Closing the first half of the album titled Elysium, “Breathing 
Our Town’s Karaoke Idol is searching for Manhattan’s best singers By Alex Mikoulianitch Aspiring singers who want to unleash their inner crooner or rock star will soon have a chance to do it, for the opportunity at cash and performing in front of a large crowd. Our Town is hosting Karaoke Idol this October after 
When Whitney Houston sings “His Eye is on the Sparrow” in Sparkle, her performance is unexpectedly good, stirring gospel. Playing the mother of three talented daughters who have formed a singing group that unravels the family, Houston’s heartbroken recitation also seems to be meta-cinematic. Drawing on her character’s professional disappointment, she testifies to something beyond the 
Manhattan’s own Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, produced by the City Parks Foundation, celebrates its 20th anniversary with free concerts in Marcus Garvey Park — on Friday, Aug. 24, “Bird with Strings,” revisiting saxophonist Parker’s project of 1949 and ’50, and Saturday, Aug. 25, four acts including Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth band and Rene Marie’s 
In a recent issue, I referred to the International Keyboard Institute & Festival as a “piano-palooza.” Every July, there are some 25 recitals presented at Mannes College, on West 85th Street. The festival is directed by a distinguished pianist and Mannes teacher, Jerome Rose, and his better half, Julie Kedersha. I have often quoted a 
By Ben Kessler London-based musician Rod Thomas makes pop music under the name Bright Light Bright Light, which is, of course, the exclamation with which gentle mogwai Gizmo expresses his sensitivity to harsh illumination in the movie Gremlins. The name encapsulates the strengths of BLBL’s debut album Make Me Believe in Hope, which displays a very special 
By Elena Oumano BAM’s ‘Do the Reggae’ series explores music on screen Jamaican music came into its own in the early ’60s, thanks to the advent of cheap transistor radios and the country’s 1962 release from British rule. The island’s 2.7 million descendants of African captives could now tune in more easily to Miami, New 
Melillo enables artists and audiences By Elena Oumano Responsive and initiating in just the right proportions, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), at 38 Lafayette Ave. in Fort Greene, seems inextricably linked to its home borough, with BAM’s offerings—all the performing arts, cinema, a café, even hosting Memorial Day weekend’s sprawling outdoor African bazaar—radiating and 
