What better source for the ethereal strains of orchestral music than an institution of higher learning? And with the recent death of the commercial classical format at the former WTMI-FM (93.1), but for the grace of University of Miami administrators there went any classical music on the Miami-Dade dial. Now…
In a pop world where satisfaction is measured by how long a song sticks in listeners’ brains, nothing is stickier than a Shufly hook. That’s due to the songwriting duo of Scott Smith, whose short, sharp lyrics always seem truthful without every word being troublingly profound, and lead guitarist Mike…
People sometimes wonder just how New Times selects “Best of Miami” winners. It is a highly scientific process devised long ago by a select committee of experts and requires the participation of more than 100 judges from around the world who take up residence in the Magic City for the…
Think of sound as a galaxy, a shimmering play of lights. Think of guitars, horns, and keyboards as so many sparkling arrows, so many zodiac signs, pointing to the glowing nebula of Rocky Ordoñez’s and Erica Boynton’s angelic voices. That is how you would see the sound that Christopher Moll,…
Heartily pounding out the rousing “St. Louis Blues” or gently improvising on the tranquil bossa nova melodies of Antonio Carlos Jobim, eminent pianist Eddie Higgins always puts his indelible stamp on the keys. The Massachusetts-born and raised musician gravitated to Chicago to study at Northwestern University and stayed twenty years…
Okay, so it’s not an album, it’s a three-song EP, but then, as they say, it’s not the length that matters, it’s what you do with it. And this little disc is more an act of protest than a digital artifact. Dismayed by the faux-phenomenon surrounding Brit crit darlings the…
Most of Miami’s rap hopefuls dream of the day their big break arrives in the form of a major-label record contract. Once they’ve signed on the dotted line, so their thinking goes, everything else is automatic: fame and fortune, groupies and gold teeth. Right? Not always. Take local emcee X-Con,…
You’ll have to provide your own sweat, smoke, and spilled mojitos, but this live document of the Allstars residency at Hoy Como Ayer’s Fuácata party (edited and spliced together in dizzying Miles Davis Bitches Brew fashion) is still one of the slinkiest set of grooves around. DJ Le Spam (that’s…
A newcomer arrived in Miami. He drove from the airport through the jungle breeze and sharp metallic colors. He switched the radio on and heard: “Lift up your leg! You must!” in a froggy, urgent roar from an artist he’d never heard. The station, he discovered, was WAVS-AM (“The Heartbeat…
Critics have been proclaiming the death of rock and roll for so long now, the genre’s aesthetic demise is almost taken as a given. Buzzsaw guitars? Crashing drums? A lovesick singer whipping his microphone through the air? Uh, what else ya got, grandpa? So why the Strokes were able to…
Whatever alternate moniker he’s going by at the moment — Hova, Jiggaman, or simply Shawn Carter — New York City’s Jay-Z remains one of hip-hop’s most talented rappers. And while his paeans to all that glitters (preferably if it’s wrapped around somebody that glitters) aren’t going to win too many…
If there’s one thing you want coursing through a rock band, besides electricity, it’s moxie. Singer Catty Tasso hit upon the name in Maine. She saw a bottle of Moxie, the weird old gentian-root soft drink that still has a cult-like following. “That’s us!” she exclaimed, according to husband-guitarist Josh…
If Latin alternative music never triumphs in South Florida, don’t blame Kike Posada. This tireless crusader for la causa is determined to get the word and rock out by any means necessary: promoting events, publishing ¡Boom! magazine, and in July 2001 convincing the Anglo owners of AM station Radio Uno…
A reformed journalist who wisely joined our NPR affiliate in 1995, Fields takes the honor this year not because she’s done something different but rather because she’s been consistent — consistently good. Her playlist spans decades but is selective and smart. No pop jazz or smooth jazz or acid jazz…
(c)(r)~E(c)(r)~EG1/2?(r)g/~C&!:ê¯(c)(r)~E??y??????????O????f?????f(c)(r)~E(c)(r)~E(c)&!:ê¯?y????(c)&!:ê¯?y??f(c)(r)?????(c)(r)(r)g?f(c)(r)~??(c)&!:ê¯(c)(r)~E??y??????????O????f?????f(c)(r)~E(c)(r)~E(c)&!:ê¯?y????(c)&!:ê¯?y??fE(c)(r)????O????f?????f(c)(r)~E(c)(r)~E(c)&!:ê¯?y????(c)&!:ê¯?y??fE(c)(r)~EG1/2?(r)g/~C&!:ê — most Thursdays at Churchill’s…
Ever since Chocolate Industries pulled out of town a year or so ago we’ve been jonesing for a new sonic substance. Luckily local DJ turned entrepreneur Greg Chin, a.k.a. Stryke, has been happy to oblige with his ambitious new Substance Recordings. In addition to his own delicately textured take on…
New York City had Simon and Garfunkel, so it’s only fitting that Miami’s most dynamic songwriting duo should have come together in a tribute to our city. Before September 11 Elsten Torres and Juan Carlos Perez Soto had been writing songs separately for years. They had even been writing songs…
Who knew Desi Arnaz would come back as a Brit-pop-loving hipster with a penchant for vintage clothes? Only a kid who grew up in Miami could bring such left-field treatment to classics “Babalú” and “Como Fue.” Moreno may have a face that teenyboppers love, but his voice is for the…
Love, like everything else, has imitations, but Dean Fields is the real deal. We just hope we can keep him here, at least for a little while. The curly-topped Virginian has stopped off in Miami for a little booklearnin’, but his heart is in his music and it shows. Fields…
R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to these three. R-E-S-P-E-C-T so rare for women in the compas industry. Saima, sisters Sabine, Yves, and Martine Francoeur, got tired of serving as back-up singers to a slew of male stars, so they struck out in search of their own spotlight. You’ll still…
DJs Oscar G (Space) and Ralph Falcon (Billboardlive) first hit the scene in 1997 with the club classic “Fired Up.” In 1999 they avoided the sophomore slump by releasing “Body,” a smash hit that swept across dance floors worldwide. Now the duo, along with singer Tamara, have scored again with…
Frankly, Jake ain’t that little, but given the scarcity of old-fashioned bass-slappin’ rock and roll outfits in these parts, we’re not going to nit-pick. And when this slickly coifed, tattooed, and sideburned band gets a good head of steam going, there’s no time for semantics; best to just grab your…
