Mary Halvorson - Cloudward / The album features eight new compositions by Halvorson, performed with her sextet Amaryllis; the improvisatory band that performed on her critically praised 2022 albums Amaryllis and Belladonna comprises Halvorson, Patricia Brennan (vibraphone), Nick Dunston (bass), Tomas Fujiwara (drums), Jacob Garchik (trombone), and Adam O'Farrill (trumpet). Labelmate Laurie Anderson also is featured on the album track "Incarnadine."All the music on Cloudward was written in 2022, mostly in the fall and winter, when things started moving forward. Life felt like a creaky machine starting up again," she continues. "Air travel, however chaotic, had resumed, and we were once again cloudward. Performances and tours and recordings were happening after a long hiatus and with a renewed sense of gratitude. This band, for me, was quite simply working, both musically and personally, and the main thing I felt while writing the music was optimism."

MINIATURES

Lang Lang presents with this album a treasure trove of musical discoveries. Saint-Sa�ns's Piano Concerto No. 2 was recorded with a stellar cast, the Gewandhausorchester and Andris Nelsons and is for Lang Lang a true romantic masterpiece that rivals the greats like Rachmaninoff or Tchaikovsky.

BUTTERFLY EFFECT

Over 35 years after his legendary first recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's famous Christmas Oratorio in 1987, Sir John Eliot Gardiner performed this piece live with his ensembles, English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir, at the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in London on two evenings in December 2022. Available as a 2 CD/Blu-ray disc set

WORDS UNSPOKEN

The most popular Christmas songs of all-time from King's College Choir.

Leif Ove Andsnes is a leading pianist of his time, known for his exceptional musicianship and subtil touch, his considerable technical flair being unfailingly put at the service of his interpretations. He was a pioneer for being the first home-trained superstar pianist to have emerged from Norway. This box is the story of a 20-year partnership that has yielded a rich seam of recorded treasures, first for Virgin and then for EMI. Running through this cornucopia of 34 albums (36 CDs), we find recurring themes: Grieg (Andsnes even recorded some Lyric Pieces on the composer's own piano at Troldhaugen), Nordic music in general, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Schubert.

Arditti Quartet & Alberto Rosado - Jos� Manuel L�pez L�pez: Infinita Domenica - For Jos� Manuel L�pez L�pez it is essential to approach the works on this album with an open mind and to explore other forms of instrumental expressivity and sonic emotionality. He draws significant conclusions from these seemingly fragile figures, gestures and minimal elements, which evolve and multiply to achieve a great expressive and formal perspective. All this affirms a hallmark that reveals a great continuity and coherence among the works included on this album.

COCTEAU TRILOGY

Today! Is Skip James' second album, originally released in 1966. The album features James solo on all but one track, "How Long," which includes Russ Savakus on bass. AllMusic asserts, "wonderful vocals, superb guitar and a couple of tunes with tasty piano make this essential."

BEETHOVEN: TRIPLE CONCERTO OP. 56

For this album, Sun Ra collected an arsenal of exotic string instruments and handed them out to his Arkestra on the precept that "strings could touch people in a special way." That the Arkestrans didn't know how to play or tune these instruments was not beside the point-it was the point. Ra framed it "a study in ignorance." The result was primitive, yet sophisticated; brutal, yet highly sensitive.In his essay for this expanded edition of the 1967 Saturn LP, musician-curator David Toop calls Strange Strings "saturated in mystery."

Fans of Sun Ra's Space Bop and genre-bending jazz were in for a shock with Strange Strings. Even in the eclectic and sometimes baffling Sun Ra catalog, Strange Strings is an outlier. It's primitive, it's sophisticated, but it's not a gradient of either. It's brutal, yet highly sensitive. Is it music, or just noise? Or noise as music? John Cage could not be reached for comment.

The original 1967 Saturn LP version of Strange Strings was monophonic, contained three tracks, and suffered distortion in the mastering (perhaps due to the high-decibel studio performance and excessive reverb). Yet some sessions were captured in stereo. A dozen strange-string works have been located, five of which are included on this remastered edition. (The others have been released on other labels; see discography inside gatefold.) No track titles appeared on the original Saturn LP verso, but the three works issued were later identified as "World's Approaching," the LP title track, and an inversion of the title, "Strings Strange." A belatedly discovered tape box listed the third recording as "Strange Strange," a title which has been used in this edition.

All In Good Time is the latest step in Monika Herzig's ongoing mission to elevate women composers, players and bandleaders. This fourth outing under the banner Sheroes, an all-female band spearheaded by pianist, prolific composer and arranger Herzig, is simultaneously a celebration of the group's 10th anniversary and a salute to their perseverance. "This group has pushed quite a few boundaries and inspired similar formations and initiatives," said Herzig. "However, change takes time and we're seeing small steps forward in those 10 years, but we remain patient." - Back in 2014, her idea was to bring together fellow women jazz musicians with the goal of presenting powerful role models on stage as a way of breaking some lingering stereotypes; a path initially paved by Sherri Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra in the '90s. That groups like Artemis and others have followed the trail that Sheroes helped blaze is proof of efforts paying off. On All In Good Time, Herzig is once again joined by Sheroes charter members Jamie Baum on flute, Reut Regev on trombone and Leni Stern on guitar. Drummer Rosa Avila returns from her appearances on 2018's Sheroes and 2020's Eternal Dance, while newcomers Camille Thurman on tenor sax and vocals (a former member of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) and bassist-composer Gina Schwarz fill out this current potent lineup. Together their chemistry is undeniable, as they skillfully navigate the demanding originals by Herzig and Schwarz - and one surprising cover - while delivering impassioned improvisations along the way. They open with the elaborate title track, full of intricate counterpoint between flute and trombone and fueled by drummer Avila's grooving backbeat and indelible hookup with Schwarz's deep, syncopated bass lines. Composed by Herzig shortly after Chick Corea's passing in February 2021, it finds the leader outlining the moving harmony on Fender Rhodes electric piano.

MUSINGS OF A BAHAMIAN SON: POEMS & OTHER WORDS

The album is inspired by the poetry of William Butler Yeats, in particular his work Sailing to Byzantium. The main composition, which features five recorder sizes from tenor to garklein, explores themes of time and transcendence, depicting a journey to an imaginary Byzantium where the poet is transformed into a golden bird. The four movements correspond to stanzas in Yeats' poem, with recurring elements such as a lyrical refrain and a gyre reflecting the poet's themes. The trajectory of the piece rises, mirroring the poetic theme, and integrates both old and new forms, incorporating extended techniques and exploring microtones. The �tudes de concert, written separately but complementary, serve as a sonic precursor to the Byzantium piece, showcasing conventional and extended recorder techniques within various musical forms. The two electronic pieces act as interludes between the main works, offering a diverse musical experience that blends ancient traditions with modern sensibilities. Created in collaboration with experimental musician Scott Taylor, the album reflects a fusion of musical styles and approaches.

STEALING MOMENTS

FOUR CLASSIC ALBUMS PLUS

ZIGMAN: EMIGRE

FOREST FOR THE TREES

Passacaglia is a multi-colored musical dialogue between two unique characters who are leading figures in European jazz and contemporary music, Adam Baldych and Leszek Mozdzer. The repertoire ranges from free improvisations over works co-written by the musicians themselves to their very personal interpretations of themes by Erik Satie, Josquin des Prez and others. - The album features a highly unusual combination of instruments: a Renaissance violin, two grand pianos - one tuned to 442 Hz and the other 432 Hz - and a prepared upright piano. This setup allows an infinitely varied palette of musical expression, which defies styles, genres and even tonal and harmonic convention. - The world that Baldych and Mozdzer create is one of well-balanced beauty, expressed in the noble form of chamber music, but it is also one of turbulent and intensely emotional improvisation. Like all great art, it draws you in and leaves you intrigued at the same time - and also makes you want to come back and explore it all over again.

I LOVE SAMBA

WOLFGANG SAWALLISH COLLECTION

The nine Beethoven Symphonies are considered to be one of the greatest musical testaments of all time and are a key staple in every conductor's repertoire. Simon Rattle performed the complete cycle with the Wiener Philharmoniker in live concerts, recorded for EMI between 29 April and 17 May 2002 at the historic Musikverein in Vienna. 'These are not interpretations set in stone, deeply as Rattle has obviously thought them through; and his encouragement of the brilliant VPO woodwind and horn soloists to challenge each other in imagination and individuality adds to the impression of joyful discovery.' - GRAMOPHONE

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