Fresh and spontaneously joyful, this is a delightful version of what is probably the most over-duplicated work in the catalogue. Throughout the performances one welcomes the fiery magnetism of Chung. Editor's Choice of Gramophone Magazine when the Four Seasons album was originally released in 2001. Kyung-Wha Chung, an artist of passionate intensity and probing intellect, who communicates a vivid sense of spontaneity in her playing. Is one of the great violinists of the last 50 years.
The German-born conductor Otto Klemperer, a towering figure in the musical history of the 20th century, died at the age of 88 on July 8th 1973, so 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of his death. His complete recordings on Warner Classics catalogue are being made available for the first time in 2 huge separate boxes; the first volume with the Symphonic Works, Concertos & Lieder (95CD) will be released in June 2023. All recordings are remastered in HD 192/24 from original sources. By the mid-1960s, the 80-year-old Otto Klemperer had recorded the nine symphonies, the Violin Concerto, Fidelio and the Missa solemnis, but not the piano concertos, which he had performed with such legendary figures as Schnabel, Claudio Arrau, Edwin Fischer, Wilhelm Backhaus and, in Moscow in 1936, the young Emil Gilels. In 1967, he recorded Mozart's Concerto K503 with the 24-year-old Daniel Barenboim, the prodigiously talented pianist and conductor, whose recordings of the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas were already taking the world by the ears. There was an immediate rapport between the two musicians, out of which came a Beethoven concerto cycle like no other the gramophone had yet given us. Barenboim has said of Klemperer: 'He approached the essence of what he wanted directly and without hesitation. He was not interested in sound as such but in correctness of execution of tempo, dynamics, and orchestral balances, over which he took immense care.' He was, says Barenboim, an uncompromising musician and human being. No orchestra ever doubted the inner strength that emanated from him. At the time the recordings of the piano concertos were made, Backhaus was still alive, as was Arrau, but neither could have challenged, provoked, and delighted the Grand Old Man - or offset his vivid but essentially monumental approach to the concertos - quite as Barenboim did. It was an inspired pairing in which distinct styles of music-making confront one another, yet are movingly and joyously linked in what appears to be (and to some extent was) an improvised act of live music-making.
Maria Callas remains the epitome of the operatic diva and is recognized as one of the 20th century's most legendary and enduring icons. She was both a glamorous diva and a global superstar who captivated audiences worldwide with her vivid and passionate performances. This Record Store Day special-edition LP features Callas in a glittering selection of opera favorites that showcases her unique voice and her heartbreaking portrayal of tragic heroines. Maria Callas is very much alive in the hearts of opera lovers - her official Facebook page has over 600,000 'likes' now. Recordings remastered from original tapes in 2014 by Abbey Road Studios.
The variety and fluidity of bodies of water has always fascinated guitarist/composer Scott DuBois and inspires his first solo guitar recording, Summer Water. The view of Lake Michigan from his window was a daily reminder of the range of water's expressive forces. During the bone-chilling Chicago winter of 2019, he wrote pieces for solo guitar that would not only utilize his symphonic compositional voice but would emulate the sound without the use of overdubs, loops or layering. DuBois has captured the textures and colors of an orchestra and has maintained a bold sound, not just in terms of volume, but in the intensity, much as one hears from an orchestra, whether loud or soft. He has also created great variety within the sound and the compositions, an important aspect of his work. All of this was accomplished with the barest of essentials: a solo guitar. // This double LP set is the vinyl version of the CD album released in the spring of 2021.
A heavyweight entry in the Rollins catalog, East Broadway Run Down was recorded in 1966 and released the following year by Impulse Records. It was his last album before industry pressures led him to take a six-year hiatus. - Seeking to offer definitive audiophile grade versions of some of the most historic and best jazz records ever recorded, Verve's Acoustic Sounds vinyl reissue series utilizes the skills of top mastering engineers and the unsurpassed production craft of Quality Record Pressings. Vinyl LP pressing.
Double vinyl LP pressing. In 1999, the same year that Jason Moran released his debut recording Soundtrack To Human Motion, the pianist and composer also joined New Directions, a band made up of young stars from the Blue Note roster. At the core of New Directions was the genesis of a rhythm section-with Moran, bassist Tarus Mateen, and drummer Nasheet Waits-that would go on to become one of the most enduringly creative and acclaimed piano trios in jazz. The Bandwagon made their first recording as a trio with Facing Left in 2000 and has been the foundation of the majority of Moran's artistic statements since. On his 2010 album Ten, Moran celebrated the 10th anniversary of The Bandwagon with an assured album that was a snapshot of a mature band with a decade of shared musical experience from which to draw. In addition to provocative originals the album presented singular interpretations of pieces by Thelonious Monk, Jaki Byard, Leonard Bernstein, and Conlon Nancarrow. This first-time vinyl release includes the bonus track "Thelonious" previously only available in Japan.
Clifford Brown - "Memorial Album" / The incomparable trumpeter Clifford Brown recorded two leader sessions for Blue Note in 1953 (a co-led quintet date with Lou Donaldson and his own sextet date) that were compiled on the Memorial Album shortly after his tragic death in 1956. Brownie's star burns bright from the blistering "Cherokee" to the stunning ballad "Easy Living." Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is all-analog, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original master tapes, and pressed on 180gram vinyl at Optimal : [Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series] [LP]
Recorded in NYC in the midst of Dexter’s great come back to the USA Biting The Apple was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque Diamant of 1978 by the Montreux Jazz Festival.
“Biting The Apple being recorded around the same time as his “Homecoming” (CBS) album sounds much better with strong backing by pianist Barry Harris, bassist Sam Jones and drummer Al Foster.” (Oakland Tribune) 180g Audiophile Vinyl
Pianist and Professor Emeritus of Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Arizona State University Chuck Marohnic (b. 1941) has an impressive background having played with Ira Sullivan, Eddie Jefferson & Richie Cole, Bill Hardman, Junior Cook, Chet Baker, Buddy Rich to mention a few. Marohnic was in Denmark in the summer of 1981 in European tour. He recorded this intriguing solo album in Copenhagen.
“The eight performances here are bright and absorbing examples of what Marohnic means when he says that awareness of the harmonic permutations of a tune gives a musician great freedom....” (Chris Sheridan)
Vinyl LP pressing. The second installment of the Batiste Piano Series sees multi-Grammy and Oscar winner Jon Batiste reinterpret Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most beloved melodies as Black American classical music, infused with influences from jazz, rags, stride, blues and stomps. The result is a vibrant conversation without words - not about genre, but pure expression.
Friendship Survival Guide brings together the evocative talents of Adam Wiltzie and the late Johann Johannsson in a deeply atmospheric and emotionally resonant collaboration. Combining ambient drones, cinematic textures, and minimalist beauty, the album creates an immersive listening experience that reflects both artists' shared gift for crafting expansive and moving soundscapes.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. An undisputed yet underrated architect of what we now know as modern rock and roll, 1956's Gospel Train was an innovative release for Sister Rosetta Tharpe in more ways than one. For starters, her first release on the Mercury Records label was also her first available from any label on the then-new 12" long-playing format, still the industry standard for vinyl albums today. Most importantly, Gospel Train took Sister Tharpe's distinctive blend of primordial electric guitar-driven blues and traditional gospel and harnessed it's power in a polished studio setting, backed by first-call session musicians including the vocal quartet the Harmonizing Four. The Verve Vault series is all-analog, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. The Velvet Fog meets The Great White Way! Mel Torme was at the height of his powers on 1960's Swings Shubert Alley, a collection of Broadway standards backed by the renowned Marty Paich Orchestra. This stunning union of musical theatre and jazz is regarded as one of the jewels of Torme's work for Verve Records, and his unforgettable vocal delivery elevates familiar chestnuts from the songbooks of Lerner and Loewe ("On the Street Where You Live"), Rodgers and Hammerstein ("Hello, Young Lovers," "The Surrey with the Fringe on Top") and Cole Porter ("Too Darn Hot"). The Verve Vault series is all-analog, cut from the original master tapes by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and pressed on 180-gram vinyl.
