a small joke

Who is tougher than

special agent Jack Bauer?

Colbyjack Bauer!

And who is his wife?

Colbyjack Bauer's wife is

Pepperjack Bauer.

This one needs a little background in order that you may more fully understand why I had some fun making these awful dad-joke level puns.

Atanas Ourkouzounov: Balkan Variations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dUkSoI56J0

This is a theme with five variations and a lament finale.  Regular readers know I've been an admirer of Atanas Ourkouzounov's music for years.  He has a new piece out and, of course, I want to share about it.  Variation sets tended to be the bread and butter of 19th century guitar literature and many of them alternately bore me and/or drive me up the wall.  That's not the case with Ourkouzounov's approach, I've liked his approach to variation technique and form over the years.  

Quiqui Sinesi's Cielo Abierto performed by Stephanie Jones

Seeing as Stephanie Jones put on a fun guitar recital last night at Benaroya Hall I am sharing her performance (not from last night, from one of her CDs) of Quiqui Sinesi's Cielo Abierto (which she did perform last night).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAoB87Ll6B0

If you have never heard contemporary classical guitar compositions by Australian composers and want to hear some Jones is someone you will want to check out.  She's a relative newcomer who I only began to hear about in the last few years but I saw her in concert last night and she played a fun concert.  There were, as she joked, some obligatory Bach pieces but she got those out at the front and devoted the rest of her recital to 20th and 21st century repertoire.  That's more my wheelhouse!  Not that I don't love me music by Johann Sebastian Bach but I'm way more excited by contemporary guitarists performing (and creating) contemporary guitar music.