San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Kahane shares songs he wrote during lockdown
The term “singer-songwriter” is an accurate enough description for Gabriel Kahane, but it doesn’t quite convey the complexity or stylistic range of his work. With their deep harmonic language and stretchy formal structures, Kahane’s creations draw as much from the Romantic and early modern tradition of the art song as they do from the world of pop.
Kahane’s latest release, “Magnificent Bird,” exemplifies that variety. They’re evocative, nervous and full of restless inventive energy, an urgent but sanded-down document of the past two terrible years.
Now that Kahane is free to leave his house, the songs of “Magnificent Bird” have acquired a new mobility, and perhaps a certain openness. He’ll perform them, along with other work, during a one-night performance at Stanford Live.
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 11. $15-$64. Bing Concert Hall, 327 Lasuen St., Stanford. 650-724-2464. live. stanford.edu