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MUSIC
HUFFINGTON
03.16-23.14
Dog Ears: Born in March
In which we spotlight music from a diversity of genres and
decades, lending an insider’s ear to what deserves to be heard.
BY THE EVERLASTING PHIL RAMONE AND DANIELLE EVIN
SONYA KITCHELL
FINLEY QUAYE
BÉLA BARTÓK
Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter Sonya
Kitchell was born at the close of the ’80s
in Western Massachusetts. Raised in
an artistic household, she started singing in early girlhood and soon after went
on to songwriting. Sonya released her
freshman set in 1996, just weeks after
turning 17. Collaborations/shared stages
include Angelique Kidjo, Ben Harper,
Jackson Brown, Jamie Cullum, India.
Arie, Los Lonely Boys, Madeleine Peyroux, Garth Stevenson, Wayne Shorter,
Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, Quincy
Jones, and The Slip. Among her highlights: Carnegie Hall, the Hollywood
Bowl, The Late Show with David Letterman, feature film The Perfect Stranger,
TV’s Private Practice and The Unit, along
with a handful of releases to date. Download “Walk Away,” from Sonya Kitchell’s
2008 This Storm (Bonus Track Version).
Pop reggae hero Finley Quaye was
born in Scotland in 1974. The youngest of seven from Ghanaian-Celtic
roots, Finley grew up fast and hails
from a rich musical bloodline: jazzist
father Cab Quaye and guitarist brother Caleb Quaye. His accolades include
MOBO’s 1997 award for Best Reggae
Act and 1998’s Brit Award for Best
British Male Artist. Collaborations
feature William Orbit, Beth Orton
and A Guy Called Gerald. Bandmates
have been Chris Campbell (guitar),
Hamlet Luton (bass), Matthew Phillip
(drums), David Connally (keys) and
Lord Eric and Winston Lewis (percussion). Revisit “Sunday Shining,”
Quaye’s refresh of Bob Marley’s “Sun
Is Shining,” from the 2008 release
The Best of the Epic Years.
Composer and pianist Béla Bartók
was born in the Austro-Hungarian
Empire in 1881, one of two children
in a devoutly Catholic home. Much
of his childhood was cloistered due
to health problems, and he spent his
formative years listening to his mother play the piano. By the age of 9,
he started showing signs of genius.
Bartók went on to attend the Academy of Music in Vienna and the Royal
Academy of Music in Budapest. He
had a lifelong interest in Gypsy folk
music, which greatly influenced his
revolutionary works. Bartók, horrified
by the growth of fascism in Hungary,
fled to New York with his family in
1940. He passed away in 1945 and
leaves behind a monumental body of
work. Most beautiful is “Sonatina,”
from Bartók at the Piano.
TAP HERE TO BUY: iTunes
GENRE: Singer/Songwriter
ARTIST: Sonya Kitchell
SONG: Walk Away
ALBUM: This Storm
(Bonus Track Version)
TAP HERE TO BUY: iTunes
GENRE: Pop
ARTIST: Finley Quaye
SONG: Sunday Shining
ALBUM: The Best of the Epic Years
TAP HERE TO BUY: iTunes
GENRE: Classical
ARTIST: Béla Bartók
SONG: Sonatina
ALBUM: Bartók at the Piano