The streets of eighteenth-century Madrid; a contaminated test-bombing site in Australia and a song from El Salvador provide some of the subject matter for this album by the United Strings of Europe (USE). Formed in 2012 by students at London’s Royal Academy of Music, the ensemble brings together outstanding players from across Europe. Artistic director is the Anglo-Lebanese violinist Julian Azkoul, who leads from the violin, curates programmes and arranges music for the ensemble. For In Motion, USE’s début recording, Azkoul has arranged Boccherini’s celebrated and atmospheric evocation of the Nocturnal Music of the Streets of Madrid, in a version that updates the original’s flirt with popular music. Far removed both geographically and in mood is Maralinga, Australian composer Matthew Hindson’s powerful and haunting work featuring guest soloist Amalia Hall. The programme opens and closes with works for string quartet, composed some 180 years apart in Vienna and New Zealand respectively and heard in bespoke arrangements by Azkoul. Reflecting the ensemble’s distinctive voice and multi-national heritage and the wide-ranging interests and stylistic versatility of its members, In Motion is a roller-coaster ride of an album.
In the fall of 2021, Simeon ten Holt's "Canto Ostinato" was reborn in a 'solo version for seven keyboards'. During the weeks leading up to the birth of his son Lark, Erik Hall moved methodically among the instruments in his recording studio, conducting a multi-track conversation with himself and the piece's score. Ten Holt composed "Canto Ostinato" between 1976 and 1979. The rhythmic motif (ostinato) repeated over it's entire length has a limited number of printed notes. It is up to the performers how to play them, for how long, where to place accents, etc. In the score, the composer calls on musicians to interact and evaluate, to fuse sounds and colors into one cohesive musical universe. Then a cosmos is created. You can get lost in that. You want to get lost in that, like in the original live recording with four pianos. "That performance is deeply compelling, almost otherworldly," says Hall. He has always been drawn to music that is based on repetition, harmonically rich, and tonal. He previously added a groundbreaking dimension to Steve Reich's 1976 minimal masterpiece "Music for 18 Musicians", and- as again now with 'Canto'- his motivation is the love of the music itself. "When I first heard the piece, I was captivated." Then the plan emerged to undergo the same focused practice as before. He stacked seven total layers of his 1962 Hammond M-101 organ, a 1910 Steinway grand piano, and a 1978 Rhodes electric piano, each performance informed by those that preceded it. Erik Hall's "Canto Ostinato" lasts for one hour, and from the sheer joy of playing this wondrous composition emerges an elegantly meandering journey. In it, music rises above itself, higher and higher, like a lark jubilating freedom in the sky.
The slyly absorbing new volume from Michigan-based musician Erik Hall understands the contemplative joy in repetition. Solo Three is the culmination of what Hall describes as a loose trilogy, following his radical reinterpretation of Steve Reich's minimalist masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians, and his subsequent rendition of Simeon ten Holt's Canto Ostinato, a winding work of Dutch minimalism. This time, Hall boldly reimagines works by four distinct contemporary classical composers: Glenn Branca, Charlemagne Palestine, Laurie Spiegel, and, again, Steve Reich. It is a particular grouping that exists through Hall's singular lens for magnetic repetition and harmonic resonance. The resulting program unravels subtly but masterfully, each piece a kind of contrapuntal bliss a touch livelier than the last, all building to the Reich-ian reprise-an apt bookend to the series. Altogether, Hall has crafted a richly varied homage to four pillars of American minimalism, an elegant mix of accessibility and discovery. As ever, he performed and multitrack-recorded all the parts himself without loops, programming, or sequenced instruments, his solitary method still arguably novel to the classical canon. Meanwhile, within the context of modern production, this analog approach works as a gentle rebellion against a culture of faceless automation, instilling these recordings with a flesh-and-blood human touch. "It's just so much more interesting to actually play every note," Hall says. "You then get them directly juxtaposed, and as they repeat, all of those micro-differences between them create a sort of living, breathing magic." That living, breathing magic imbues every crevice of Solo Three, making it not just a stirring tribute to four giants of 20th-century minimalism, but a reflection of how their influence continues to reverberate today.
Jim Hall - The Early Albums Collection - Born in Buffalo, New York in 1930, James Stanley Hall was an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Hall moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, during his childhood. Hall's mother played the piano, his grandfather the violin, and his uncle the guitar. Jim began playing the guitar at the age of 10, when his mother gave him an instrument as a Christmas present. At 13 he heard Charlie Christian play on a Benny Goodman record, which he called his "spiritual awakening". As a teenager in Cleveland, he performed professionally, and also took up the double bass. Hall's major influences since childhood were tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. While he copied out solos by Charlie Christian, and later Barney Kessel, it was horn players from whom he took the lead. In 1955, Hall attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he majored in composition, studying piano and bass in addition to theory. Jim Hall was a true original on the jazz spectrum, always experimenting and pushing ahead, and the albums featured on this new collection illustrate his musical prowess, innovative practices and acute talents perfectly. All originally released between 1959 and 1965, the eight records featured here in astounding re-mastered versions remain a pure delight, and this set works equally well for those new to Jim Hall's music and those already somewhat familiar. - Featuring 8 records released between 1959 and 1965, this 4CD set works equally well for those new to Jim Hall's music and those already familiar.
With HOMETOWN, trumpeter and composer Jared Hall brings listeners into a musically rich reflection on place, purpose, and artistic growth. Born in Spokane and seasoned by vibrant creative communities from Bloomington to Miami and Seattle, Hall returns to his roots with a lyrical voice shaped by decades of performance and collaboration. Here, he celebrates the grounding power of family, shared history, and the joy of reconnecting with the people and experiences that shaped him. From the clever nods to jazz lineage in "Step by Step" and "Echoes and Origins," to the wistful inspiration behind "Room 111," this recording maps Hall's journey with clarity, heart, and unwavering musical intention. Supported by a stellar quintet - including saxophonist Troy Roberts, pianist Ben Markley, bassist Michael Glynn and drummer Kyle Swan - HOMETOWN unfolds with both rooted tradition and forward-looking spirit. The result is resonant and compelling. "There is truth here, unabashed, direct to the listener." - All About Jazz. "... Hall's expressive, probing trumpet style, offers a masterful, wide ranging sound, and varied emotional landscape." All About Jazz
Falling in Love With Paul Desmond is part of RCA's mid-line Falling in Love With series, which focuses on romantic highlights from classic big-band, swing, and jazz artists. There aren't any risky choices on Desmond's volume, but that's fine, since each of the title's 11 cuts -- including "When Joanna Loved Me," "Body and Soul," "My Funny Valentine," "Embarcadero," and "Then I'll Be Tired of You" -- sustains a mellow, romantic mood. This record may not really be necessary, but for anyone looking for lovely, romantic music from Desmond, it's not a bad choice at all.
-- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic.com
Personnel includes: Paul Desmond (alto saxophone); Albert Richman (French horn); Gene Bianco, Gloria Agostini (harp); Jim Hall (guitar); Eugene Wright, Gene Cherico, Milt Hinton (bass); Robert Thomas (drums, percussion); Connie Kay (drums).
Recorded at Webster Hall and RCA Studio A in New York, New York between 1962 and 1964. Includes liner notes by Joshua Sherman.
Digitally remastered by James Nichols (BMG Studios, New York, New York).
This is part of RCA Victor's Falling In Love With series.
Personnel: Paul Desmond (alto saxophone); Jim Hall (guitar); Gene Bianco, Gloria Agostini (harp); Al Richman (French horn); Robert Thomas (snare drum, percussion); Connie Kay (snare drum).
Liner Note Author: Joshua Sherman.
Recording information: RCA Studio A, New York, NY (1962-1964); Webster Hall, New York, NY (1962-1964).
Jadassohn: Orchestral Works / Malta Philharmonic, Belarussian National Philharmonic
Cameo Classics
CD
$20.99Jun 01, 2018
To have been a composer in late 19th century Germany must have been a mixed blessing. The pantheon of greats featured the refined Brahms, the revolutionary Wagner, and the romantic Reinecke. This left little room, therefore, for composers of less renown, especially those whom the musical and political establishment would have chosen to keep out of the limelight. Salomon Jadassohn found little support for his work as a composer. Although Jadassohn was a distinguished teacher and wrote several important books on composition and music theory, he considered himself primarily a composer. He was acknowledged to be a master of counterpoint and harmony, but he was also a gifted melodist in the tradition of Mendelssohn. His works show too the influence of Wagner and Liszt, whose music deeply impressed him. This double release includes Jadassohn’s Symphony No. 1, a light and attractive work, four Serenades, which are equally as charming, and a Piano Concerto.
Haydn scholar H.C. Robbins Landon described Haydn’s D major cello concerto as one of the composer’s “weakest compositions”, an “uncomfortable” work, displaying “misjudgments of dramatic timing”, its concluding rondo “staid and melodically short-winded”. Whatever the theoretical, and to some degree subjective basis for that assessment, for most listeners, hearing this concerto will provoke nothing short of pure delight and appreciation for Haydn’s clever and catchy—and often virtuosic—thematic writing, buoyant rhythms, and thoroughly entertaining interplay between soloist and orchestra. There’s a reason why the work is represented on more than 100 recordings in the current CD catalog. And Wendy Warner’s addition to that number is a stellar confirmation of its popularity to audiences and particular appeal to performers.
That same popularity applies to the C major concerto, written in the 1760s, some 20 years earlier than the D major, yet only re-discovered in 1961 and given its modern premiere in Prague a year later. This work features even more brilliant bursts of virtuosic writing for the soloist—and Warner really digs in: you can just picture the flashing bow strokes, the swift, fluid motion of fingers, and a resultant musical enunciation that seems so easily and effortlessly produced, so absolutely natural, and so articulate and artful that you wouldn’t care if the tune were “Twinkle, twinkle little star”, you’d be just as impressed and satisfied. In fact, in view of the grand heap of Haydn cello concerto recordings, Warner’s playing places this one at the very top.
Warner’s impressive command of style and technique also serve to convince us that the “other” concerto on the program—a little-known work by Czech composer, and friend of Mozart, Joseph Myslivecek—is a more than worthy companion to the Haydn pieces; in fact, if you’re not paying very close attention, you won’t notice the transition from the Haydn C major concerto to Myslivecek’s work in the same key—the style and quality of Myslivecek’s composition makes an easy, almost seamless flow from one piece to the next. Combining this work with the two Haydn concertos was a smart bit of programming that, along with the unquestioned virtuoso performances of Wendy Warner, gives this disc an extraordinary value not only for collectors but for those who have yet to acquire a recording of these essential Haydn works. Praise for the orchestra and its conductor Drostan Hall must not go without mention—they are outstanding collaborators whose appropriately styled, energetic playing and remarkably tight ensemble complement every note and expressive utterance from Warner’s Guarneri cello. The sound, from College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, is consistent with Cedille’s highest standard. Don’t miss this.
In addition to familiar seasonal music by Mendelssohn, Handel, Rutter, and others, Christmas at America’s First Cathedral features music from South Africa, Canada, and the United States, including the premiere recordings of seven new works by two of America’s most important African American composers, Dr. Rosephanye Powell and Dr. James Lee III. Dr. Lee’s motet, "A Clean Heart" is from a collection of four motets composed in 2009. The six selections by Dr. Powell comprise a suite called, Christmas Give, commissioned by Baltimore Choral Arts and given its world premiere December 1, 2009 at the Baltimore Basilica. - Gothic Records
Inner City: Songs by Helen Miller, lyrics by Eve Merriam, story by Lawrence Kasha, Joseph Kipness and Tom O'Horgan.
Linda Hopkins, Tony Award 1971 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Masterworks Broadway describes Inner City as "the musical that rocked Broadway with its distinctly untraditional take on modern urban life." The raucous 1971 show was conceived and staged by Hair director Tom O’Horgan the same season he directed the Broadway premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar. Based on Eve Merriam’s best-selling book The Inner City Mother Goose, it recounts children’s tales with a contemporary urban vibe and has a lively, R&B-influenced score by Helen Miller and lyricist Eve Merriam. Inner City introduced Linda Hopkins, who took home a Tony as Best Featured Actress in a Musical, along with Delores Hall, Larry Marshall, and Allan Nichols. Historic note: one of the production’s associate producers was Harvey Milk, before he left New York for San Francisco.
Featured songs: 1. Fee Fi Fo Fum/Now I Lay Me 2. Hushaby/My Mother Said 3. Nub of the Nation 4. Urban Mary/City Life/One Misty Moisty Morning 5. If Wishes Were Horses 6. Deep in the Night 7. Jeremiah Obadiah/Riddle Song 8. Shadow of the Sun 9. Boys and Girls Come Out to Play/Lucy Locket/Wisdom/The Hooker (“You Make It Your Way”) 10. Law and Order 11. The Dealer (“You Push It Your Way”) 12. Kindness/As I Went Over/Apartment House/There Was a Little Man/Who Killed Nobody? 13. It’s My Belief 14. Street Sermon 15. The Great If/On This Rock/The Great If (Reprise)
Note: The absence of audio in the left channel for eight seconds at the beginning of Track 10 ("Law and Order") has been retained from the original LP and cassette masters of this recording.
A member of a distinguished New Orleans musical family, Herb Hall was the youngest of 5 brothers. His brother Edmund became a world-renowned clarinetist. After time in San Antonio and Philadelphia, Hall moved to New York and joined the Eddie Condon band in 1957. He toured France and North America with Sammy price and generated much excitement on Louisiana Lament, a studio session for Vogue. In '67 Hall shared the stage in Toronto with Don Ewell and a year later with The Jazz Giants (issued as Wild Bill Davison, the Jazz Giants, Sackville 3002). This all-star band returned to Toronto several times and it was on one of these tours that Herb recorded this quartet date on January 10, 1969.
GHB JAZZ FOUNDATION - EDMOND HALL / ROMPIN' IN '44 - Recorded Jan 25, 1944 for World Transcription. This is the first commercial release of this music, including false starts, incomplete takes, unissued and issued takes. Transcriptions were used by radio stations to fill gaps in programming, they were not sold to the public. Bass - Johnny Williams / Clarinet - Edmond Hall / Piano - Ellis Larkins / Trombone - Henderson Chambers / Trumpet - Irving Randolph / Vibraphone - Red Norvo
