About ‘New Music Buff’

I am a registered nurse and a long time listener with a fervent interest in all music new and old.  Anything that sounds good to me is the basic criterion for me to determine that a given piece of music is ‘good’ and deserving of my attention. And while I admit a preference for new music I may at times write about any music that moves me.  I am mostly self-taught in music and music history and this is a hobby which gives me a great deal of satisfaction.

For the daring, I invite you to hear some of my dalliances with being a composer with the “My Soundcloud” link on the blog.

Much of the photography on my blog is my own work. Those interested in that aspect of my efforts can click the link for my Flickr account.

My posts here are intended only to express my opinions for better or worse.  I selected the title ‘New Music Buff’ to connote the informed but casual enthusiast/consumer.  I consider myself to be an educated listener.  I am open to making corrections and comments so that I can properly represent artists and so I can fill in any knowledge gaps I may have. I attend concerts and performances whenever schedule and finances permit and wish to share my impressions for the sake of public exposure and discussion.  I hope I can provide a useful perspective and maybe some useful information.

PLEASE NOTE CONTACT INFORMATION BELOW 

Please use my Gmail account to contact me (allan.cronin@gmail.com) and please send any promotional materials to:

Allan J. Cronin

P.O. Box 23609

Santa Barbara, CA 93121

I would prefer a query letter first but no reasonable request will be ignored.  Keep in mind that, as of 2019 this venture is entirely self-funded and I do have a “day job” so I try to keep up but not everything that makes it to my desk may get reviewed.  The advantage of self funding is that I am not beholden to anyone but the downside is that my time is limited.  

The blog is automatically posted to Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and LinkedIn as well.  As much as possible I try to publish the text of my CD reviews on Amazon under my reviewer alias, “canticle” as well.  I admit to getting a kick out of being the first (and frequently only) reviewer most of the time.

All text and photos are licensed under Creative Commons License unless otherwise indicated. I will remove any disputed licensed material upon specific request.

Thank you for reading.  I look forward to the discussions.

15 comments on “About ‘New Music Buff’”

  1. Staag says:
    September 3, 2014 at 09:06

    Doom Salad, instrumental quartet from Savannah, GA seeks review of second album, “Fast Food Japanese Delivery Car Service.” Thanks!

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  2. Jeannie Guerrero, PhD says:
    July 25, 2014 at 18:12

    I’m a professor in theory at the Eastman School of Music, PhD from Harvard (theory and musicology minor). I am thoroughly impressed by your 1964-related posts and am amazed that you are self-taught. Keep up the great work!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • perkustooth says:
      July 25, 2014 at 20:03

      Wow, Thank you so much both for reading and for your kind comment. I get that sort of reaction sometimes (How o you know this stuff?) and actually have a blog post in preparation which addresses that very issue in part. I guess my knowledge is born of an interest raised almost to the level of an obsession. On some level I can’t understand why more people aren’t interested in new and experimental classical music. Comments from professional musicians and academics (Eastman no less) especially mean a great deal to me.

      I started the Black History posts in part due to my interest and also as a rather obvious way to use a calendar event to try to enhance readership and an easy excuse for writing on this topic. They are some of my most read articles.

      Happy reading (and listening), Allan

      Allan J. Cronin Alameda, CA United States newmusicbuff.wordpress.com

      On Fri, Jul 25, 2014 at 6:12 PM, New Music Buff wrote:

      >

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Neave Trio says:
    June 9, 2014 at 15:21

    I found your blog and really admire your dedication to the classical music community. We in the Neave Trio (www.neavetrio.com) are hoping you could help us promote our crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to help us put classical music in front of more people that might not ordinarily take a second look (or first lesson in our case…) to our beloved artform. The focus of our project is a series of four short films centered on the Nuevo Tango Music of Astor Piazzolla and his composition, “Estaciones Porteñas” (“Four Seasons”)

    “Four Seasons” is a fiscally sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the purposes of “Four Seasons” must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.

    We hope to invite a wider audience into the rich world of Classical Music and help more people to see its relevance in their daily lives. Our vision includes: exposing students to this music through their current curriculum, and educational outreach performances. Part of achieving our goal is reaching out to educators that could help make this happen. We also hope to bring the films and the incredible music of Piazzolla to a much wider audience via the wide release of the films and submitting them into film festivals.

    We invite you to our Indiegogo crowdfunding project page and explore it with the hope you’ll share the news of what we’re doing on your blog. That link is here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/four-seasons–2/x/7098842

    We thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

    Anna
    The Neave Trio

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  4. James Hegarty says:
    February 8, 2014 at 10:58

    Dear Allan,

    Thanks for hosting this great site for experimental music. The Hegarty, Steinbeck + Robles Trio has released a new experimental jazz CD on Kvist Records. “Spontaneous creative improvisations exploring the potentials of collaborative Time and Space. HS+R trio goes from exciting driving intensity to quiet moments of lyrical counterpoint. Three highly skilled musicians expressing one unified vision.”

    It is available free on CD baby at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jameshegarty

    I can also send you a download link if you’d prefer. I’d love to hear what you think of it!

    Sincerely,
    James Hegarty

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  5. Bill Doggett says:
    February 6, 2014 at 11:20

    GREAT POST on the status of African American Composers 50 years after the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Cordially, Bill Doggett

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  6. Gregory Kyle Klug says:
    January 16, 2014 at 11:45

    Greetings, Allan!
    I too would like to share with you my recently released album, “Diapason.” It is the fruit of a recent Kickstarter campaign, and is available on CD Baby: cdbaby.com/cd/gregorykyle.
    I’ll happily email you a streaming link privately.
    A few more words from the press release:
    “Diapason” features contemporary classical music exploring the expressive range and power of the piano…From the concise “Pluit” to the eight-minute “Parcendo,” the album ranges from simple to complex, delicate to vociferous, meek to forceful. All pieces were performed by the composer.
    Thanks, Allan!
    Greg

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  7. Jason Stefaniak says:
    October 16, 2013 at 12:45

    Hello

    My name is Jason Stefaniak and I’m a thesis student in the NYU Grad Film program. I’m producing a feature film written and directed by my classmate and creative partner Ryan Carmichael called But Not For Me. The film is a philosophical hip hop musical love story that will employ a unique fusion of classical music and hip hop to tell the story of a trio of Millennials longing for financial stability, creative fulfillment, and love in New York City. It’s Once meets 8 Mile.

    The film will star renowned, Julliard-trained violinist Elena Urioste in her acting debut in the lead role of Hope. Elena will act in the film and perform the film’s music. Ryan has a passion for classical music, and one of his primary goals with this project is to introduce classical music to a whole generation of young people who have not connected with the genre. We believe our approach – fusing socially conscious hip hop lyrics with classical music loops – can do just that.

    I wanted to tell you about the film to see if you might be interested in writing about it and Elena’s involvement with it on your blog.

    We’re currently running a very ambitious $100,000 Kickstarter campaign to fund the film. We are at 24% funding with a little over two weeks to go. If we don’t reach our goal by November 2nd, we won’t receive any money. The money being raised will go towards the production of the film, particularly paying cast and crew a fair wage, providing quality meals, and enabling us to schedule the film in a professional, responsible, and safe way. $100,000 is a lot of money, but in the film business, it’s a drop in the bucket, especially when it comes to the budgets of feature films. But we’ve been trained to make quality films with little money, so we know we can make this film happen at this budget level.

    We’ve already held a number of events to fundraise for the film – including speaking to students at the University of Michigan and a successful fundraiser in a bar in New York – and have a number of exciting events upcoming, including a House Concert with Elena in NYC for donors and would-be donors.

    This is our first feature film and Elena’s first acting experience. We’re passionate, up and coming filmmakers with the skills and work ethic to make this project happen. We believe it’s a very unique project and approach to the film musical, the music we create will be something most people haven’t heard before, and lovers of classical music will want to experience our film.

    We’d be happy to speak with you further about the project. I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks.

    Jason
    JasonjStefaniak@gmail.com

    Links:
    Kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1157078283/but-not-for-me?ref=live
    Elena Urioste’s website: http://www.ElenaUrioste.com
    Ryan Carmichael’s website: http://www.RyanJCarmichael.com
    Jason Stefaniak’s website: http://www.JasonStefaniak.com

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  8. Eugene Guerra says:
    October 12, 2013 at 13:03

    To whom may it concert,

    We are pleased to announce the new album release by Cuban-American composer Yalil Guerra (Latin Grammy winner 2012) titled: “30th Career Anniversary Album”. We would like to send you a Digital copy of the project via Dropbox, as well a description of the record for your consideration to appear in your blog.

    Please, let us know if you are interested.

    Best Regards,
    Eugene G. P.
    RYCY Productions Inc.

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