Category: Features

Charles Mingus didn’t want to do it. This was ’62, and he had a major project of his own on the boil; didn’t have the time. Of course he loved Duke Ellington: the man, his composing and his piano playing. Who didn’t? But it was Duke who’d fired him nine…

When she composed Ceasefire, Zela Margossian didn’t have to imagine what it was like when the bombs stopped falling in a warzone. It was a vivid childhood memory from Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. The piece reflects the sheer joy of being able to leave the bunker to play…