Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

3 CDS 1 DVD.

Heine Hansen’s piano is playful, even bubbling and almost singing, like an early bird in the first days of spring. On his long awaited debut album, Hansen unfolds his signature sound on eleven new compositions of his own. Until now, he was best known as a sideman – modest, but highly respected as an elegant accompanist. In all probability Denmark’s most ethereal, swinging jazz pianist. A signature is something so personal it can’t be replicated; Heine Hansen plays the piano with a unique sense for applying rhythm and melody. With Thomas Fonnesbæk on bass and Alex Riel on drums, a truly beautiful symbiosis of eloquent melodies and precise playfulness emerges like rays of sunshine finding their way through green leaves. Music critic Christan Munch-Hansen writes: “Grooves in shades of green. Fresh and light-hearted – yet with the melancholy of autumn and winter beneath the surface, encoded in the weave. Small bittersweet melodies and impressionistic touches. Brief references to jazz history as well as the tonality of Scandinavian and European music.” Heine Hansen is a talent in his own league: This spring, he was awarded the Ben Webster Award of 2016. Heine Hansen will be performing with Riel and Fonnesbæk during Copenhagen Jazz Festival 2016. Signature underscores Hansen’s merits and connects Scandinavian simplicity with graceful warmth.

Through the last years Danish bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek has evolved to one of the best and in demand bass playeres in the world playing and recording with other top artistssuch as Enrico Pieranunzi, Justin Kauflin, Lars Jansson, Sinne Eeg, Monty Alexander, Arron Parks and many others. Fonnesbaek has synesthesia (the ability to "see" music as colors in his mind). Combined with equillibristic skills on his instrument this make him a remarkable musician. There are no weaknesses in Thomas Fonnesbæk's playing. A strong melodic, harmonic and rhythmic sense makes him a complete musician. As a composer he is influenced by both the Scandinavian melancholy and the American jazz tradition. Thomas Fonnesbæk and Justin Kauflin are ready to follow up on the critically acclaimed album Synethesia from 2017. This time they are joined by Billy Williams on drums, making this a trio record. The result is 'Sharing,' and it is nothing short of extraordinary.

Here are more precious wartime broadcasts that Duke made for the U.S. Treasury Department, these dating from October 13 and 20, 1945. You don't have to buy the war bonds, but you will treasure these: Take the 'A' Train; Autumn Serenade; I'll Buy That Dream; Mood Indigo; After All; C-Jam Blues; Perdido; Caravan; If I Loved You; Ko-Ko 51 tracks on 2 CDs!

Classical Music

Classical Music

LP Jacket.

Classical Music

The Marine Band of the Royal Netherlands Navy, founded in 1945, is made up of 53 professional musicians. With characteristic "sound & drive," the band has won the hearts of the public and has substantially contributed to the development and appreciation of military music in the Netherlands.

Classical Music

The Boswell Sisters inauspiciously launched their recording career in New Orleans, their hometown, on March 22, 1925. Early local appearances featured Connie, the eldest, on cello, Helvetia (Vet) on violin, and Martha at the piano, but the city's Jazz environment made Connie and Vet switch to saxophone and banjo, respectively. At first, the singing was almost incidental, but it became their ticket to national attention five years later when they moved to New York and became a fixture on radio shows. The Boswell Sisters were notable for their tight harmony as well as their unique ability to modulate pitch and give familiar songs a new melodic twist. They were the cutting edge that inspired future groups, including the Andrews Sisters, who began their own career by emulating them, even down to their Southern accent. The exuberant sisters recorded a string of hits in the 1930s, sometimes teaming up with fellow vocalists, such as Bing Crosby and the Mills Brothers. Instrumental accompaniments are by some of the days most popular musicians and bands, including the Dorsey Brothers, Don Redman, Red Nichols, and Benny Goodman. Considering their popularity and impact, the sisters had a relatively brief run, disbanding in 1936 when Martha and Vet married outside of the music industry and decided to give priority to family life. Connie, however, continued and enjoyed a successful solo career. This boxed set contains the entire Boswell Sisters output of commercially released recordings- a remarkable set of performances that paved the way for the vocal trio genre. It also includes a bonus DVD featuring more extraordinary performances.

Classical Music

Duke Ellington & Orchestra: Duke Ellington (piano); Ray Nance (vocals, trumpet, violin); Kay Davis, Al Hibbler, Joya Sherrill (vocals); Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick (alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Al Sears (tenor saxophone); Rex Stewart, Taft Jordan, Shelton Hemphill, Cat Anderson (trumpet); Joseph Nanton, Lawrence Brown, Claude Jones (trombone); Billy Strayhorn (piano); Fred Guy (guitar); Junior Raglin (bass); Sonny Greeer (drums). Recorded on July 14 & September 21, 1945. During 1945 and 1946, Duke Ellington recorded a number of broadcast transcriptions for use by the U. S. Treasury Department to promote the sale of war bonds. This eighth volume, issued by Storyville, is yet another two-disc set that compiles three different broadcasts. While the sound quality is decent for the soloists and only so-so for the whole band, the occasional rarity like "Let the Zoomers Drool" or "Ultra Violet, " as well as superb renditions of favorites like "C Jam Blues, " "Ko-Ko, " and "Main Stem" will be of interest to Ellington collectors. A surprise inclusion is Ellington's nearly 12-minute tone poem from 1935, "Reminiscing in Tempo, " though it was no favorite of star soloists like Johnny Hodges, who preferred opportunities to blow. But this volume falls a little bit short in value compared to earlier sets in the series, because of inconsistent sound quality and overall programs that are not as interesting as a typical Ellington concert, though at least the long medleys of hits always featured in his later years are not present. - Ken Dryden.

Classical Music

This album is made up of selected live and radio broadcasts with the Danish Radio Big Band and Swedish, British and Danish/American small groups during 1964-71. As the title indicates only ballads are included on the album, and, for the first time on a Ben Webster ballad album, there is no string-section accompaniment. Three of the ten numbers were previously unreleased before the original issue of this album. The art of ballad-playing was all-important to Ben Webster. He once said "Remember, there are only three tempi in jazz - slow, medium and slow!" While all the tunes are ballads, the wide variety and constellations give a wonderful, multi-faceted sound-picture of Ben Webster.

The story behind this recording began in the summer of 2018 when Enrico Pieranunzi played with Ulysses Owens, Jr. for the first time: two awesome concerts during the Copenhagen Jazz Festival that cast a breathtaking spell over the audience. Enrico Pieranunzi was encouraged to study music from a young age. His father was a jazz guitarist. He studied classical music until 1973 when he became a Professor of Music, and maintained that post for two years. In 1975 he left his teaching practice and played in trios and small ensembles. He has recorded over 60 albums. He has also been prolific as a session musician. Heralded as a powerhouse of a showman (Glide Magazine), a legitimate jazz triple threat (Critical Jazz) and a drummer who take[s] a back seat to no one (The New York Times), performer, producer and educator Ulysses Owens Jr. goes the limit in the jazz world and beyond. The Trio is rounded out by bassist Thomas Fonnesbaek, who has performed with and recorded alongside some of the finest musicians in the industry.

Classical Music

Classical Music

This release from the “Storyville Vinyl Remasters” series focuses on a classic late-career recording from pianist Bud Powell. Recorded at the Jazzhus Montmartre in 1962, Bouncing with Bud proved that Powell was still capable of giving performances as brilliantly fluid as his finest from the 1940s. Updated notes have been added to the inner sleeve and a free download of the album is included.​

This compilation features Billie Holiday singing many classic standards including Strange Fruit, Lover Man, The Man I Love, All of Me, I Loves You Porgy, I Love My Man, Them There Eyes and Do Nothing ‘Til You Hear From Me. Her musicians on these sessions, recorded between 1944-1951 include Roy Eldridge, Hot Lips Page, Coleman Hawkins, Jack Teagarden, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Jimmy Rowles, Oscar Pettiford and “Big” Sid Catlett.

Classical Music

Storyville Records presents Volume 25 in the Duke Ellington Treasury Shows series, the final volume of this collectors’ special broadcast series. In April 1945 to promote the sale of war bonds, the US Treasury Department contacted Duke Ellington to do a series of 55 minute public broadcasts. These sessions would give Ellington a wide choice of material to perform including his older work, new instrumentals and pop tunes, and his extended works as well. And now it is 2018 and we have made the home run: This volume is the final one of this series of 25 albums altogether, with all the known Treasury shows from 1945 to 1953, and new, hitherto mostly unreleased bonus broadcast material from the 1940s. The release begins with the last known Treasury broadcast. It is from the Blue Note in Chicago, recorded in June 1953, and broadcast on August 1st 1953 as part of the series “All Star Parade of Bands,” launched by NBC to promote bond sales. The second half of the release contains broadcasts from April 22nd 1944 and from May 5th 1944 at the Hurricane Club in New York City.