Recording information: St Mary's Church, Walthamstow, London, UK (01/03/2008-01/05/2008); St Mary's Church, Walthamstow, London, UK (01/08/2008-01/10/2008).

Classical Music

Bass-baritone Jacob Will made his New York Philharmonic debut as a soloist in the American premiere of the “Messa per Rossini,” a performance televised live nationwide. An experienced concert artist, Mr. Will has appeared with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Vladamir Ashkenazy and with the Cabrillo Festival under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies. He has sung with the San Francisco Symphony in the “St. Matthew Passion,” with the international Bach Festival of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, in the “St. John Passion,” and with the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra in Frank Martin’s “Le mystere de la Nativite.” A native of Harstville, South Carolina, Mr. Will attended Furman University and graduated from the University of South Carolina and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He participated in the Merola and Adler Fellowship Programs of the San Francisco Opera and has been a prizewinner in various international singing competitions including the Munich Competition and the Queen Elizabeth Competition of Brussels. On this release, Mr. Will sings the poems of Edgar Allan Poe, as set to music by composers Judith Cloud, N. Lincoln Hanks, John Valerio, and Tayloe Harding.

As Rameau wrote in his treatise on harmony, “A good musician should surrender himself to all the characters he wishes to portray, and like a skillful actor, put himself in the speaker’s shoes.” Regardless of the means used to achieve this, the composer uses music and the interplay of harmony to convey feeling. This album on the Analekta label features bass-baritone Philippe Sly and soprano Hélène Guimette accompanied by musicians from Clavecin en concert under the direction of Luc Beauséjour.

Classical Music

Trumpeter Billy Butterfield could play pretty ballads and heated Traditional Jazz with equal skill. Butterfield's career goes back to the 30s; he became famous while playing with Bob Crosby's Orchestra (37-40) taking the main solo on the original "What's New". He also worked with Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, World's Greatest Jazz Band and had his own big band. Butterfield did extensive studio work in the 50s and 60s, occasionally emerging for trad dates with Eddie Condon and this exciting live album with Andy Bartha's band. Take Me to the Land of Jazz is 68 minutes of pure joy.