Last week Marc Rossi, professor of piano at Berklee College of Music, graced IUE with a number of music presentations.  In just 3 days Rossi, a classical music composer; jazz pianist-composer; and practitioner of Indian music, lectured on Indian music; led a jazz workshop; performed at the Gennett Mansion; and led a composition master class. Whew! During the lecture on Indian music Rossi played tracks from Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar while clapping out the time and discussing their individual styles as well as the influences of North and South Indian culture.  Rossi also gave listeners a taste of his own tune “Jazz Impressions of a Kriti” available here while students thumbed thru the score and measured the meter … Continued

Not quite ready to come back to school?  Crescendo into it by checking out some of our music resources; cue up a playlist while you’re unpacking, re-packing, or just relaxing.  Every two weeks Alexander Street Press and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings are offering free downloads of world music  and classical music from their otherwise subscription based databases.  Recent selections include “You’re the One for Me,” performed by David “Honeyboy” Edwards and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 2.”  Need more music? Newsflash – Naxos isn’t just for Music Majors!  Naxos Music Library lists genres like Blues, Pop & Rock, Jazz, and the ever-classic, Classic.  Create playlists of crooners including Louis Armstrong, Johnny Cash, and Aretha Franklin, or a more contemporary list … Continued