By Gregg Shapiro
OutSmart Magazine original link to full article

It's a Queer Year

"Zaka," a 2003 composition by 2005 Outmusic-winning composer Jennifer Higdon, receives its world premiere recording on Strange Imaginary Animals (Cedille) by contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird (which performed here last month in a Houston Friends of Music concert). In fact, the CD also features the world premiere recordings of "Violence" and "Evanescence" by Gordon Fitzell, "Friction Systems" by David M. Gordon, and "Strange Imaginary Remix" by Dennis DeSantis, on which eighth blackbird gets downright funky. All of this is to say that this is a splendid opportunity for listeners to greatly expand their musical horizons.

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