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Wednesday, January 05, 2005
  • Collage with Duke Ellington and Bob Holman

    The Year 2004 in Jazz, Poetry & Spoken Word

    The jazz world experienced many highs and lows in 2004. The biggest news was the long-awaited opening of Jazz at Lincoln Center's new $128 million complex on Columbus Circle. The most ambitious and expensive jazz venue in history, it opened in October to rave reviews. But not all the best music happened in big halls or on big labels. Artists like trumpeter Don Byron and pianist Vijay Iyer were busy pushing the art form's boundaries. Joining us today with a look back at the year in jazz is Gene Santoro, critic and author of Highway 61 revisited: The Tangled Roots of American Jazz, Roots, Rock and Country Music. Also on the show: Bob Holman, WNYC poet in residence and proprietor of the performance space Bowery Poetry Club. He joins us here to offer a roundup of the best in spoken word and poetry from this past year, from Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, to late greats Allen Ginsburg and Lenny Bruce.

Best Live Performances of 2008

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We revisit memorable in-studio performances from Toumani Diabaté, Cat Power, Regina Spektor, and others.

The Year in Music and Branding

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Pop music and advertising go together like peanut butter and jelly. Grey Group music director Josh Rabinowitz shares his picks for the best song picks and ad campaigns of 2008.

Critics Week

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Music writers look back at the year's best pop, rock, hip hop, classical, jazz, Latin and world albums. Plus: the worst music of the year and the best online music. Read our critics' lists here. And don't forget to cast your vote in our best-albums poll.

Noteworthy New York

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We have invited musicians and artists to help us select their favorite cultural destination in the neighborhood where they live. From parks and coffee shops to bowling alleys and museums, the options are as diverse as our group of contributors.