But Shenkute dominated most numbers she performed in — through vocal attack, stage presence (a one-of-a-kind shimmy), and star power. It was a running joke throughout the evening that she rarely appeared on stage until Gershon had called for her a couple of times. Gershon was comically frustrated, but Shenkute clearly wanted to make an entrance. For the opening suite of three folkish pieces representing three different Ethiopian cultural-ethnic groups, she changed costumes three times, from white flowing robes to a brown midriff-exposing sub-Saharan-style gown decorated with cowrie shells at the hem of the blouse. When she sang “Musicawi Silt,” deploying her expressive vibrato (tight and rhythmic one moment, broadly ululating the next), she restored the vocal passage to a piece the E/O had recorded as an instrumental in their 2000 “Ethiopian Suite.” Another happy return.
Related:
Skimming the cream, Do the math, All them 88s!, More 
- Skimming the cream
Some of my favorite things from among the people, CDs, and performances I wrote about this year.
- Do the math
There is plenty of free blowing in this band.
- All them 88s!
From free to funky, it sometimes seems like a golden age of jazz piano.
- Newport Jazz Festival 2009
Jazzy!
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Aside from the general aggressive, post-rock, post-jazz underground feel, there’s pretty tunes here.
- In all languages
For the past half decade or so, saxophonist Chris Potter has alternately traveled with two of the best bandleaders in jazz, Dave Holland and Dave Douglas.
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Despite a solid roster of Chicago underground vets, the Horse's Ha fail to show signs of life on what proves to be a sleepy album of wispy folk.
- Cooling it
It's good news that the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in conjunction with Berklee College of Music, is bringing back jazz as a regular part of its concert season.
- Concertizing
When I reach John Hollenbeck by phone, he's on a sojourn typical of the modern itinerant composer — a week-long teaching residency.
- Covering the bottom end - and the bottom line
The biggest news made by the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals the past two weekends was that they happened at all.
- Less
Topics:
Jazz
, Entertainment, Music, Bob Dylan, More
, Entertainment, Music, Bob Dylan, Jazz and Blues, Billie Joe, Serge Gainsbourg, Allan Chase, Bebop, Bobbie Gentry, Arthur Penn, Less
