The first book under my editorship has recently been published by an international academic publishing house, Peter Lang AG. Unfortunately, the publication slipped several months because of technical problem with illustrations submitted in a wrong format. We are sorry about the delay. As the editor-in-chief I recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone looking for up-to-date information on the use of ICT in linguistics. The volume is divided into three parts: corpora in empirical language studies, cognitive linguistics and e-learning. It contains my paper on ‘Monitoring e-learners’ feedback with blogs.’ and another one co-authored with Piotr Pęzik on ‘Web access interface to the PELCRA referential corpus of Polish’.

Synopsis quotation:

Information and communication technology (ICT) has dramatically altered the world’s social and economic landscape and is now gaining momentum in the realm of language studies. Corpora and ICT in Language Studies attempts to signal and document this phenomenon by bringing together twenty-nine contributions authored by both seasoned researchers and newcomers to the field. The contributions range from more traditional corpus-based or corpus-driven studies to those incorporating ICT as an integral part of their methodology.

Corpora and ICT in Language Studies
PALC 2005
Walinski, Jacek / Kredens, Krzysztof / Gozdz-Roszkowski, Stanislaw (eds.)
Peter Lang Frankfurt 2007
ISBN 978-3-631-56099-0 / US-ISBN 978-0-8204-8783
Click here for more info on the publisher’s website.

The front cover looks cheap and trashy. That’s a fact. Actually, the whole booklet strikes me as excessively popular in the sense of being uninformative and superficial. Add arrangements for strings (LSO), guest vocalists (Sting and Paula Cole) and you have yet another pseudo-jazz CD for pretentious egotists who delight in showing off their “excellent taste” for music… But appearances are deceptive!

ContemporaryJazz.com

This is not Smooth Jazz like you hear on the radio. Botti has one of the softest tones of any trumpet player I have heard in a long time. He is also, genuinely one of the biggest Mile Davis influenced players that I have also heard in a long time. A good number of songs on When I Fall In Love have that big band/orchestral feel to it. Some of it reminds me of the albums that Davis did with Gil Evans back in the early 1960’s. (…) ~Jeff Charney

Therefore, don’t judge this CD by the cover. The marketing gimmicks used to boost the level of sales have nothing in common with the music itself. Of course, this is the so-called Smooth Jazz. But this one is truly smooth - lush, delicate and soothing.

Who is Chris Botti?

Botti’s association with Sting — who sings with Botti on When I Fall In Love — dates back to 1999, when the trumpeter joined the pop legend’s band as featured soloist on the “Brand New Day” tour, which lasted two-and-a-half years. Veteran of both the contemporary jazz world and mainstream pop studio scene, Botti has worked with Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant, and renowned film composer John Barry, among others. Film critic Rex Reed has called him “the sexiest trumpeter since Chet Baker.” Botti joined Paul Simon’s band in 1990, where he remained for the next five years, and, in 1995, he recorded his solo debut, First Wish.
Chris Botti Bio

The music is easily accessible but not dull or unimaginative. It wears very well after repeated listening. I am not sure if comparisons with Miles Davies or Chet Baker are appropriate in this case. Neither categorizations like “pop” or “jazz” are required. This is simply a beautiful playing.

I first heard Alison Krauss in 1998 on a soundtrack to ‘Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil’, where she sings a beautiful ballad ‘This Time the Dream’s on Me’. Then in 2004 her name was often mentioned on PR3 after her performance of “You Will Be My Ain True Love” from ‘Cold Mountain’ soundtrack had been nominated for the Academy Award.

When I decided to explore her recordings I discovered that she was a ‘bluegrass star’. This made me somehow reluctant, because I had never been a fan of bluegrass or any other genre associated with country music. Furthermore, I was disappointed to discover that her CDs were unavailable in Poland (not even in MediaMarkt or Merlin.pl). Strange as it seems, she is virtually unknown in Poland. Fortunately, her CDs are available at a very moderate price from Amazon so when I finally put this record on (and got hooked) I was eager to explore more about this fantastic performer.

Who is Alison Krauss?

Alison Krauss, at the age of 33, has achieved more career milestones than most people do in their lifetime. She has released ten studio albums, all on Rounder Records, with her long time band of highly acclaimed musicians, Union Station. (…) To date, she has earned 17 Grammy Awards and multiple Country Music Association Awards, International Bluegrass Music Awards and countless others. Her album releases have been critical and commercial successes, with multiple RIAA platinum and gold certified records and more than a combined 7 million albums sold.
AKUS Website

AKUS is a bluegrass band with its own style which sounds like a combination of country, jazz and pop. But regardless of any classification attempts the resulting sound is just interesting and fresh. The whole CD is filled with superbly written and performed pieces of music. From the perspective of modern overproduced and formulaic releases this record gives the impression of careful arrangement made to sound naturally, without excessive production focused on commercial success. This record was produced for the music’s sake not for breaking another sales record.

The album consists in a sense of two distinct genres: introspective ballads and traditional upbeat bluegrass songs, which are sequenced one after another. But the end result is more than just a medley of 13 songs - it is a cohesive whole with every tune deserving its place. Even the more traditional bluegrass tunes sung by Dan Tyminski make a fresh and interesting listening experience. For me the standout track is definitely “New Favorite”, which simply shines with restrained, melancholic beauty. But the record includes a wide range of songs from sad and slow to fast and upbeat, so it is difficult to tell which is best - my opinion depends on the mood of a day.

This is acoustic music with no electronically sequenced samples, which results in just beautifully crisp detailed sound. The recording is absolutely outstanding, with SACD edition qualifying for true audiophile quality. Please be sure to visit the official AKUS website, especially the ‘extras’ section which generously offers some video clips in QuickTime for a preview of what this record is like. What is more, the title ‘New Favorite’ clip is also available.

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