Praised for it's versatility and keen interest in new music, the Eric Ericson Chamber Choir and it's chief conductor Fredrik Malmberg present a programme devoted to a cappella works in a modern yet accessible style by American or American-born composers. The album opens with a triptych based of adaptations of ancient Gaelic poems, Reincarnations by Samuel Barber, known for his opulent, post-romantic language as expressed in his famous Adagio for Strings. Jeff Beal, one of Hollywood's most prolific and respected composers, wrote The Salvage Men, based on texts by Oscar Wilde and contemporary Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Kay Ryan. This cycle, according to Beal, offers 'a wholly fresh, contemporary view on the themes of transformation and our chosen response to pain'. Daniel Nelson's The New Colossus, based on a text by the 19th-century writer Emma Lazarus inspired by the Statue of Liberty, aims to convey musically the majesty and beauty inherent in the idea of inclusion. Finally, two works by Eric Whitacre, a composer whose works have become popular with vocal ensembles across America: A Boy and a Girl, a delicate piece based on a poem by Octavio Paz, and Three Songs of Faith, on texts by E.E. Cummings, a cycle that presents Whitacre's personal faith and his reflections on the spiritual and the unknowable.

This live album brings together two legendary Parisian concerts, recorded in 1956 and 1961, that capture all the explosive energy and contagious enthusiasm of a "Lion" at the peak of his glory. These dynamite performances are a testament to the boundless generosity of one of the most formidable entertainers in jazz history, an artist capable of transforming a simple concert into a true show. The listener is carried away by Hampton's infectious enthusiasm and the powerful swing of his big band. It's dance jazz at it's zenith. - Patrick Frémeaux The Live in Paris collection by Michel Brillié allows listeners to hear previously unreleased recordings (made at concerts, private-, or radio-sessions) by the great 20th century stars in jazz, rock & roll and song. These "live" takes, and the artists' rapport with their audiences, give these performances an additional soul and sensibility in counterpoint to the rigorous demands of studio recordings. Particular care was taken when restoring the sound of these tapes in order to meet CD standards while preserving the original colours of the period. - Patrick Frémeaux & Gilles Pétard

Under the title ODYSSEY, the French-Dutch violinist Cosima Soulez Lariviere and the Austrian pianist Philipp Scheucher lead us through a legendary world, as it were, beginning with Karol Szymanowski's "Myths" op. 30. The three movements "Arethusa", "Narcissus", "Dryads and Pan", which are strongly influenced by Impressionism, refer to motifs from Greek mythology and are considered a milestone in the duo repertoire for violin and piano due to their various innovative playing techniques. The following two-movement Sonata in E-flat major op. 11 No. 1 by Paul Hindemith is also influenced by Impressionism, although Hindemith's very specific, simple and "classical" musical language clearly shines through at all times. The Sonata for Violin and Piano by the American composer John Corigliano from 1962/63 captivates with it's diverse moods, which are underlined by impressively virtuoso as well as lyrical or complex rhythmic elements. The final piece is the breathtaking "Aria" by his compatriot Kevin Puts, described as a "master of polystyle", who has enjoyed great success in recent years with his latest opera "The Hours".

This album is all about Tadd Dameron (1917 - 65), one of the most important American jazz composer/musicians. The master baritone saxophonist and perennial pole winner Gary Smulyan conceived the brilliant idea of recording Dameron compositions with lyrics. The vocal part is phenomenally rendered by the young talent Anaïs Reno. Three songs including the lovely This Night Of Stars have hitherto never been recorded. “While Smulyan solos brilliantly throughout, Reno is the real treat here.” (Bill Milkowski – DownBeat on SCCD 31936). “Smulyan here brings to light Dameron’s heretofore unknown Library of Congress trove of standard-quality off-Broadway gems.” (Fred Bouchard – NYCJR on SCCD 31936) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Hjalmar Borgstrom has been well on the way to being rediscovered since the beginning of the new millennium. Several of his most important works were performed in his native Norway until the Second World War, after which his name long disappeared from public consciousness. Until his death in 1925, he had also played an important role as a critic. With the premiere of his two operas and above all the rediscovery of his extraordinarily picturesque symphonic tone poems, a new page has turned. This contemporary of Richard Strauss who studied with Johan Severin Svendsen and Carl Reinecke among others, proves to be a legitimate descendant of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner; it is difficult to escape the captivating boldness of his programmatic concepts and their unconventionally beautiful realisation.

Avant de devenir le maestro des bandes originales cultes comme Mission: Impossible ou Bullitt, Lalo Schifrin etait un virtuose du piano et un grand innovateur du jazz et de la bossa nova. Avec un sens de l'arrangement dejà exceptionnel, il arrange et compose pour Dizzy Gillespie ou Quincy Jones. Ce coffret 3 CD, realise par Olivier Julien reunit les premiers enregistrements publies sous son nom et nous plonge dans les debuts eclatants d'un jeune pianiste de jazz argentin lumineux, en passe de devenir l'un des plus grands compositeurs d'Hollywood. Patrick FReMEAUX Before he became the maestro of iconic film scores like Mission: Impossible or Bullitt, Lalo Schifrin was already a piano virtuoso and a major innovator in jazz and bossa nova. With an already exceptional knack for arrangement, he arranged and composed for Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. Curated by Olivier Julien, this 3-CD box set brings together the first recordings released under Schifrin's name, offering a captivating glimpse into the brilliant early days of a young, luminous Argentine jazz pianist on the cusp of becoming one of Hollywood's greatest composers. Patrick FReMEAUX CD1 : RENDEZ-VOUS DANSANT À COPACABANA AVEC LALO SCHIFRIN, SON PIANO ET SES RYTHMES - MOULIN ROUGE - LES OIGNONS - FASCINATION - CABELLO ROJO - MON HOMME - MAMBOP - PIGALLE - SeReNADE MeDITERRANeENNE. SPECTRUM - RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET - AZURE - THE MOON WAS YELLOW - RUBY - BLACK BEAUTY - WHEN THE WIND WAS GREEN - BROWN PRELUDE - WHITE ORCHIDS - BLUE IS THE NIGHT - SCARLET RIBBONS (FOR HER HAIR) - PURPLE PASTEL. CD2 : PIANO ESPAÑOL - FRENESI - THE BREEZE AND I - CAPRICHO ESPAÑOL - MY SHAWL - CARAVAN - MALAGUENA - CHA CHA CHA FLAMENCO - WARSAW CONCERTO - HULABLUES - JUNGLE FANTASY - ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE - EL CUMBANCHERO. LALO = BRILLIANCE (THE PIANO OF LALO SCHIFRIN) - THE SNAKE'S DANCE - AN EVENING IN SAO PAULO - DESAFINADO - KUSH - RHYTHM-A-NING - MOUNT OLIVE - CUBANO BE - SPHAYROS. CD3 : BOSSA NOVA, NEW BRASILIAN JAZZ - BOATO - CHORA TUA TRISTEZA - POEMA DO ADEUS - APITO NO SAMBA - CHEGA DE SAUDADE - BOSSA EM NOVA YORK - O AMOR E A ROSA - O MENINO DESCE O MORRO - MENINA FEIA - OUcA - SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO - PATINHO FEIO (UGLY DUCKLING). PIANO, STRINGS AND BOSSA NOVA - THE WAVE - INSENSATEZ - YOU AND ME (VOCE E EU) - LALO'S BOSSA NOVA (SAMBA PARA DOS) - SILVIA - MURMURIO (MURMUR) - MARIA - RAPAZ DE BEM - SAMBA NO PERROQUET (PARROT SAMBA) - RIO AFTER DARK - TIME FOR LOVE - I'm LOOKING OVER A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER. BONUS CD3 : QUINCY JONES ET LALO SCHIFRIN - SOUL BOSSA NOVA - LALO BOSSA NOVA. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

This 1998 recording of Paul Bley is here as 180g audiophile LP for the first time. It wholly dedicated to the music of Ornette Coleman, with whom Paul was the major participant of that exciting musical experimentation some 60 years ago. “…here is an intriguing and most stimulating date that does full justice to the writing of Ornette while showcasing the vitality and virtuosity of the creative Paul Bley in full flow with two top notch companions with him all the way…” (Mark Gardner) “…anyone who has ever enjoyed the pianist should seek out Notes on Ornette. Bley still enjoys throwing seemingly unrelated bits of improvised melody together, but here he often goes to the other extreme, spinning out lines that seem endless in which a few simple ideas continually transmogrify.” (Baker, D. – JazzTimes) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

One of the most original musicians of our time pianist Paul Bley passed away in 2016 at the age of 83. He left immeasurable influence on the generations of piano players behind him. He was married to Swedish-American pianist/composer Carla Bley in the 50s. Carla’s compositions occupied larger part of his repertoire then. “ …(This CD) features ten pieces by Carla Bley, his former wife, that he has been playing for thirty years but he’s still finding new things in them. Some of these tunes are surprisingly frisky given Bley’s austere reputation…this is another 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Métier presents a landmark 4-disc box set from pianist Ian Pace in commanding performances of music by composer Michael Finnissy (b. 1946). Finnissy is widely regarded as one of Britain's most important living composers. Pace, one of the leading interpreters of Finnissy's work, presents an album focused around Finnissy's epic cycle for piano, The Verdi Transcriptions, alongside the second complete recording (after the composer's own) of the iconic English Country-Tunes, and works inspired by music of the late-18th and 19th centuries. The result is a broad view of Finnissy's extensive output of piano music in relation to Romantic aesthetics. The album is released in anticipation of the Métier label's upcoming celebrations of Michael Finnissy's 80th birthday in 2026. Finnissy's four-book cycle of Verdi Transcriptions reimagines Verdi's operas through a modern lens. As Finnissy states in his liner notes: "Transcribing sound into a written form (notation) involves making significant choices. The choices can color the ongoing exploration of that sound as 'composition.'" The result of those choices is a monumental, late-Romantic epic. Finnissy's English Country-Tunes has long been considered one of his signature and most technically demanding cycles. There is a similar line of composition through transcription as The Verdi Transcriptions, only in these works the source material is English folk music. Written in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, the work can also be seen as a commentary on the spirit of British patriotism at the time. Ian Pace's readings reflect decades of study: he first performed English Country-Tunes in the 1990s and has played Finnissy's complete piano oeuvre in cycles (1996 and 2016). The set includes extensive liner notes by both Pace and Finnissy, offering rare insight into the compositional ideas and performance choices behind these demanding works. In Pace's recording of Michael Finnissy's other epic piano cycle, The History of Photography in Sound (MSV 77501), BBC Music raved: "Pace's intimate acquaintance with the totality of History is apparent in his commanding performance... this is a magnificent achievement for both composer and performer," and Gramophone hailed Pace as "Finnissy's David Bailey, each note shaded to perfection, structures translucently and sharply lit, defining sonic images of our time." Incomparable virtuoso, called the Paganini of the harp, Félix Godefroid was also a composer and teacher. This recording, performed by Sophie Hallynck, highlights the composer's studies in high virtuosity. Designed for his own use and that of professionals, they partake of both "absolute music" - as with the deservedly famous Étude in B-Flat Minor, Op. 193 - and the character piece, picturesque or sentimental. These musical miniatures are pieces overflowing with musicality in a refined style, but they express a pedagogical program first and foremost. Godefroid conceived of his études as a true school for harpists. Each technical problem becomes the medium for a musical expression - an approach that gives these études exceptional richness and relevance. Often based on one of those melodies for which Godefroid had such a knack, each one is set apart by a strongly marked expressive character, ranging from laughter to tears, as well as by it's structure, rhythm, novel sonorities, and harmonic surprises not lacking in audacity. Sophie Hallynck has risen to the technical challenges specific to each étude while staying faithful to the spirit of the era, with the aspiration to achieve a subtle balance between virtuosity and expression. Her essential objective has always been to make technique live through music, without ever obscuring that emotion that emanates from it. Shostakovich composed music for film throughout his life, from his teenage years as a pianist accompanying silent films in Leningrad until the early 1970s. New Babylon provoked a political and artistic storm upon it's release in 1929 but remains one of Shostakovich's finest film scores, performed here complete and uncut. Popular favorites The Gadfly and Hamlet are heard in premiere recordings of the complete scores. Also included is the music for Alone, The Girlfriends, Love and Hate, and The Fall of Berlin in premiere recordings that have garnered international critical acclaim. "This composer of the New Complexity movement admires avant-jazz. He also digs 19th-century classics. So, when adapting Verdi, he does it via the spirit of Cecil Taylor. Near the midpoint of Finnissy's "La Traviata" potpourri, you'll find dense fireworks as well as tenderness deriving from a motif Verdi once assigned to Violetta." - Seth Colter Walls, NYT

Apres ses debuts remarques dans le jazz, Alexandre Sacha Distel, neveu du celebre chef d'orchestre Ray Ventura, s'oriente vers la chanson. Son charme et sa voix seduisent rapidement le public. en 1958, son tube Scoubidou le propulse au sommet des charts. de 1959 a 1962, Distel enchaine les succes. Il remporte le Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros en 1959, chante avec Maurice Chevalier, compose pour le grand ecran et devient une icône de la chanson francaise, alliant talent musical et elegance naturelle. Patrick FReMEAUX After a stunning debut as a jazz guitarist, Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, the nephew of famous French bandleader Ray Ventura, turned to the world of songs, where his voice and good looks quickly attracted a large audience. In 1958 he had an enormous hit with the song "Scoubidou" that catapulted him to the top of the charts. In 1959 he won the "Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros", and for the next three years he enjoyed one hit after another. He would sing with Maurice Chevalier and compose songs for films before becoming an icon in popular music with a unique combination of musical talent and natural elegance. Patrick FReMEAUX CD1 (1957-1959) : Sacha Distel CHANTE : TOUT BAS (SPEAK LOW) - CHEVEUX DANS LE VENT - QUAND J'Y PENSE - LA FIN D'UN ROMAN D'AMOUR - MA CHeRIE SI JOLIE (TAMMY) - MALADIE D'AMOUR - INSENSIBLEMENT - FASCINATION - ROSE D'OR - LE TOUR DU MONDE (AROUND THE WORLD) - QUAND TU VIENS CHEZ MOI... MON COEUR - QUELQUE CHOSE EN TOI - L'eTANG - TIENS ! TIENS ! TIENS ! - UN AMOUR COMME LE NÔTRE - QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? - PARLEZ-MOI D'AMOUR - SI PETITE O MON AMOUR - GARDE cA POUR TOI (CATCH A FALLING STAR) - LE MUR - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - DORS MON AMOUR - BRIGITTE - a JAMAIS - BONJOUR CHeRIE. BANDE ORIGINALE DU FILM GIGI : C'EST LA BARBE (AVEC MAURICE CHEVALIER) - TOUT cA N'EST PAS POUR MOI - CEUX QUI INVENTeRENT LE CHAMPAGNE (AVEC MARIE FRANCE GIGI ET JANE MARKEN) - GIGI. CD2 (1959-1961) : Sacha Distel EN PERSONNE : SCOUBIDOU - POMMES ET POIRES - OH ! QUELLE NUIT (LONESOME ME) - QUAND ON S'EST CONNU - CE SERAIT DOMMAGE... (IMPATIENT LOVER) - OUI, OUI, OUI, OUI (GRAND PRIX DE LA CHANSON R.T.F. 1959) - DIS ! O DIS ! (EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER) - ET QUE cA DURE - JE N'AVAIS PAS COMPRIS. COQ D'OR DE LA CHANSON 1959 : SOPHIE. Sacha Distel N°2 : MON BEAU CHAPEAU - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - LES CeLIBATAIRES - OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! - PERSONNALITeS - ELLE A LE... ELLE A LA... ELLE A LES... - DITES a L'ORCHESTRE (LA... LA... LA...) - MONSIEUR L'BARON - TOUT cA DEVAIT ARRIVER (EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME) - DRÔLE DE ReVE (THE PREACHER) - ALLEZ ! VA ! (MY HEART IS AN OPEN BOOK). Sacha Distel N°3 : 20 MADAM' MADAM' - CALIN CALINETTE - LES CARIOCAS, ELLES SONT SI BELLES LES CARIOCAS - OUI, DEVANT DIEU (LA NOVIA) - LE BOOGIE DU BeBe (BABY SITTIN' BOOGIE) - ON DIT, ON DIT, ON DIT - cA C'EST DU POULET - a CAUSE DE TOI (I DON't KNOW WHY) - BYE BYE BABY (BYE BYE BLACKBIRD) - TROIS FOIS LA FRANCE. CD3 (1961-1962) : OUI ET NON - C'EST TOUT, C'EST TOUT (THAT'S ALL) - CATERINA - C'eTAIT PLUS FORT QUE TOUT (I CAN't STOP LOVING YOU) - J'AI UN RENDEZ-VOUS (I WANNA THANK YOU) - SANS TOI - QUE C'EST BON (WELCOME HOME TO MY HEART) - CHANSON SUR UNE SEULE NOTE (SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO) - GUITARE ET COPAINS (A STEEL GUITAR AND A GLASS OF WINE) - DIS-MOI BARMAN - LES FILLES... MOI J'AIME cA - BON VENT MA JOLIE - PAILLASSE - RIEN DANS LA NUIT. SACHA BOSSA NOVA : ESO BESO - DESAFINADO - VIENS DANSER LA BOSSA NOVA (TING TOUNG) - LOIN DE TOI (RECADO). EVERYBODY LOVES THE LOVER : LET ME LOVE YOU - WHY DON't WE DO THIS MORE OFTEN - MY HEART STOOD STILL - ONCE IN EVERY LIFETIME - I'm IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - SPEAK TO ME OF LOVE - THE LOVER - IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME - EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER - YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME - I CAN't GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE - ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

Magnificently iconic tenor player to come out of the post-Swing Era Eddie Lockjaw Davis (1922-1986) cut two albums for SteepleChase during his late years. This album was recorded in 1983 in Copenhagen, which earned superlative reviews all over the world. “Tenorman Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis had already been a potent force in jazz for 35 years when he recorded this set but as it turned out his SteepleChase date (his next-to-last session) was one of the strongest of his career. Accompanied by a trio led by pianist Kenny Drew, Lockjaw really tears into these standards which are highlighted by "I Only Have Eyes for You," "There Is No Greater Love" (the alternate version was released for the first time on its CD reissue), "Four" and the title cut. Davis was at the peak of his powers during this recording, making this SteepleChase outing one of his very best.” (Scott Yanow – AllMusic) “Nothing valedictory about this date. No signs of decline. It’s hard to believe it was Jaw’s last album as a leader. Just the thing if you didn’t miss your water until your well went dry.” (Cadence) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

En reaction aux resonnances neo-classiques qui dominaient le paysage musical francais de l'apres Seconde Guerre mondiale, quelques compositeurs - emboitant le pas au groupe Jeune France (Messiaen, Jolivet...) - ambitionnerent de mettre en lumiere les grandes figures de la tradition moderne, Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berio et quelques autres. Pierre Boulez fut sans aucun doute le plus celebre representant de cette nouvelle orientation. Compositeur mondialement reconnu, pedagogue, initiateur et directeur de nombreuses institutions (Ircam), il fut egalement l'un des plus respectes meneurs d'orchestre, mettant sa baguette au service du repertoire de son temps. Christophe LOINTIER & Patrick FReMEAUX. In reaction to the neoclassical resonances that dominated the French musical landscape post-World War II, a few composers - following in the footsteps of the 'Jeune France' movement that included Messiaen and Jolivet - made efforts to throw light on the great figures of the modern tradition, namely Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berio and a few others. Pierre Boulez was no doubt the most famous of this new orientation's representatives, a world-renowned composer and teacher who initiated and directed numerous institutions such as the Ircam for example. He was also one of the most respected conductors to wield a baton over the repertoire of his day. Christophe LOINTIER & Patrick FReMEAUX

« Je me souviens de l'epoque où Sacha Distel etait guitariste de jazz. » Georges PEREC, Je me souviens, Hachette, Paris, 1978. Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, neveu du celebre chef d'orchestre Ray Ventura, emerge comme une figure cle du jazz dans les annees 1950. Influence par son oncle et les musiciens qu'il cotoie, il apprend la guitare avec Henri Salvador. Considere comme l'un des meilleurs guitaristes francais des 1956, il collabore avec des geants du jazz tels que Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz et Lionel Hampton avant de connaitre le succes dans la chanson. Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, the nephew of famous French bandleader Ray Ventura, emerged as a key figure on the jazz scene in the early fifties. Under the influence of his uncle and the musicians alongside him, he learned to play the guitar with Henri Salvador and by 1956 he was considered one of the best guitarists in France. Before going on to become a successful singer, Sacha played with such jazz giants as Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz and Lionel Hampton.