New Music

I've been listening to a fair amount of new, interesting music recently. I enjoy a wide variety of genres, from the latest in hip-hop, to the inimitable Quick Six, to the following artists:


Credit for this goes to Laura, who introduced me to Anat Cohen's music when we saw her perform about a month ago at the Regattabar at the Charles Hotel. A very cool, intimate venue, and Cohen put on a great show. Her sound is a smooth jazz that draws on a lot of different influences - her native Israel, American jazz greats, Brazilian music - and she's got great energy when performing live. She's extremely talented on both the saxophone and clarinet - she plays the latter with an incredible verve. I bought Poetica pretty much because of one song that struck me when she played it live - "Hofim (Beaches)", which is evidently an old Israeli song. Loved the melody. Her music has a chill vibe to it, and it's great to put on when you're in the mood to just sit back and relax at home.

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Walking on the World is Jake Armerding's 2007 album. Armerding is a young and very talented musician from the Boston area (or at least New England - not too sure about this). I've seen him play several times at the Cantab Lounge in Central Square, Cambridge, MA. They do bluegrass there on Tuesday nights. He grew up playing with his dad, Taylor Armerding, and was schooled in the traditional bluegrass style.

On Walking on the World, Jake mixes old school bluegrass with bits of pop, rock, and blues influences, creating a melodic, emotional lineup of tunes. His songwriting, musical talent and excellent voice are a pleasure to listen to.