Classical Music

Bo Diddley was probably the most original rhythm & blues musician of the Fifties and Sixties. He was a remarkable singer, a prolific composer who left his mark in everyone’s songbook, an (often very funny) stage-personality... not to mention a revolutionary rhythm-guitarist whose innovations were both stylistic and technical. A visionary who defied all attempts to classify him, he became a spiritual father to many artists, from soul-singers to rappers, blues, rock and roll and even punk-rock figures, who all seemed to recognise themselves in Bo’s unbridled genius. This selection of his recordings compiled by Bruno Blum proves his status as a genuine monument in 20th century popular music. Patrick FReMEAUX

“A veritable driving power behind small swinging jazz bands, piano boogie would make a lasting mark on rhythm and blues before, in turn, being taken up by rock ‘n’ roll. Jean Buzelin allows us to discover this story with a 42 tracks boxset featuring a 32 pages booklet in both French and English.”

In the early Sixties Les McCann was a pioneer of “soul jazz”. Critics called it commercial, but the music drew efficient melodies from blues, gospel and rhythm & blues. The young pianist McCann signed with Pacific Jazz in 1960 and toured Europe with his Trio on ‘61 and ‘62, opening for the orchestras of Ray Charles and Count Basie. The “Live in Paris” collection gives us the opportunity to listen to these great concerts again, and also hear rare recordings like this one, recorded in July ‘61 at the Chameleon club in Paris, a legendary Left Bank nightspot. The inspired McCann also growls characteristically, kindly admonishing his audience when they whistle along with the melody, and everyone has a good time. The jazz is soulful in this set, and you can almost see the club’s damp walls beneath wreaths of smoke. A rare document that transports the listener, thanks to a generous, swinging pianist. Patrick FReMEAUX

Thanks to Be-Bop-a-Lula, Gene Vincent and his group The Blue Caps became rock’s champions. Their first recordings featuring the dazzling guitarist Cliff Gallup can be found here in a jumping blues, rock ‘n’ roll and hillbilly anthology which communicates all their incomparable energy and magic. These raw, uncompromising titles represent the very essence of pure rockabilly, the genre they largely contributed to create. Patrick FReMEAUX

Recorded in April 1937, the saxophone quartet led by Coleman Hawkins was to be the first record released on the Swing label of Charles Delaunay (the son of the painters Sonia and Robert Delaunay). Taking advantage of the presence American jazzmen in town for the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris, Charles Delaunay was a catalyst for all kinds of encounters and mixtures between jazz on the Old and New continents, and he captured them on disc for posterity, making them references in the French recording-industry. The launching of one of the greatest success-stories in pre-war French recording- history is presented by Pierre Lafargue in a 3CD anthology with a detailed 36-page booklet. Benjamin GOLDENSTEIN & Daniel NEVERS

In combining gospel’s emotion and melodies with the sensuality and arrangements of rhythm and blues, Afro- American musicians created a universal language which shook the world. Soul was inseparable from the Civil Rights struggle and it spread like wildfire in intense performances from the fabulous artists who adopted this style. With the tremendous songs included in this magnificent album, Bruno Blum tells the story of Soul’s origins, from Negro spirituals to R&B, in retracing the work of its precursors, from Ray Charles to Sam Cooke — and including the first masterpieces from Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin or Marvin Gaye. Patrick FReMEAUX

Dead at 21 in an accident after a few records which came like flashes, the creator of Three Steps to Heaven, Twenty Flight Rock, C’mon Every body, Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie, Somethin’ Else and Summertime Blues remains of one rock’s greatest legends. A brilliant and sober guitarist, he was also an entertainer who had irresistible charm. Eddie Cochran’s original style epitomized the best sounds of late Fifties’ America; he substantially influenced the pop music of the Sixties and beyond. In this definitive 3CD set Bruno Blum details the brief career of this incredibly gifted figure. Patrick FReMEAUX

They called her Lady Patachou and, in fifties’ Montmartre, her cabaret was a “must” where she used to gather all the great names whose songs she sang, from Georges Brassens and Guy Beart to Charles Aznavour and Leo Ferre. This anthology compiled by Dany Lallemand brings to light a selection of recordings made by Patachou as an icon of Parisian music-halls, a major figure combining the popular accents of Paris with the elegance of Montmartre. Claude COLOMBINI FReMEAUX

In this selection, the Cuban Habanera is presented with similar Brazilian dances little known in our cultures: Choro, Frevo, Baião, Maxixe… This CD belongs to the “Dance Master Classics” anthology, a collection of 20 discs compiled by specialists in each of dancing’s domains. Gathered here in almost exhaustive fashion for the very first time, this a panorama of the best titles in dancehistory, grouped by aesthetic form, follow one special guiding principle: to magnify the relationship between dancers and music. Noël HERVe & Patrick FReMEAUX

Rockabilly derives from bluegrass, country boogie and the African-American rock ‘n’ roll genre, borrowing much from the latter. Its rise coincided with rock’s early popularity with a mass audience. Intense, incomparable and spirited, rockabilly is a style apart, defined by an aesthetic of great purity that is both simple and efficient. It was an emblem in 1950s America and the legendary recordings forming its foundations had exceptional quality. They were so influential that they led to several resurrections. Compiled and annotated by Bruno Blum, this set’s recordings represent the cream of original rockabilly in an essential anthology. Patrick FReMEAUX

"1955. The Brasserie de la Cigale was the Parisian Harlem. Influenced by Dixieland, Middle Jazz and Rhythm ‘n Blues, the sextet led by the Guadeloupian trombonist Al Lirvat presents a pyrotechnic display of groove and swing. A rare performance by the American saxist Benny Waters, on excellent form. An exceptional and historic document in every way." Jean-Pierre Meunier

A changing American youth expresses its conquest of freedom by dancing with vehemence to Rock ‘n Roll. This CD belongs to the “Dance Master Classics” anthology, a collection of 20 discs compiled by specialists in each of dancing’s domains. Gathered here in almost exhaustive fashion for the very first time, this a panorama of the best titles in dancehistory, grouped by aesthetic form, follow one special guiding principle: to magnify the relationship between dancers and music. Noël Herve & Patrick Fremeaux

Throughout the ages, people have danced to the rhythms of music, and dancers have always expected musicians to perform at their artistic best. In their exchanges, dancing – music’s authentic physical representation – has today developed into an entirely separate art-form. Jazz, rock, tango – and many other major forms of musical expression now familiar in concerts, shows or films – would doubtless have never existed if dancing hadn’t been music’s primary function. To reach the body, heart and soul at the same time, music composed and played for dancing fully requires all of music’s qualities. This collection of dances from around the world – an anthology selected by specialists in each one of these styles – proves how true this is, thanks to the best titles in dance-history. The selections here, sorted by aesthetic form, were chosen with one thing in mind: to show the relationship between dancing and music. Noël HERVe & Patrick FReMEAUX

“Selected from the catalogue of the São Paulo independent label CPC UMES, this anthology features the best of contemporary Brazilian North-East music, from Coma dre Florzinha to Cesar do Acordeon, from Gereba to Mafuá. An overall view of a living music that still retains echoes of its historical roots. Whether through Saturday night forros or nostalgic ballads it continues to provide a link between North-Easterners who have never left their birthplace and those who have migrated to Southern Brazil.” Teca Calazans & Patrick Fremeaux

In the land of Bermuda shorts, music and dances with roots in Africa are called gombey. This mysterious British overseas territory, a favourite of American tourists, also adopted the calypso. Fabrice Uriac & BrunoBlum have unearthed some of the essential recordings of calypso’s Golden Age, made by such originals as Sidney Bean, the Talbot Brothers, Reuben McCoy, Hubert Smith, Al Harris or jazzman Lance Hayward… A unique anthology that reveals the best artists in The Bermudas, finally rediscovered. Patrick FReMEAUX

After Be-Bop-a-Lula, in which Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps sent tremors through the world of rock’n’roll, the years 1958-1962 saw Gene varying his style with several remarkable albums of great influence. They were only really successful in England, where the public adopted Gene as Eddie Cochran’s equal (he recorded and toured with him). With a bonus of six titles taken from broadcasts by the BBC, this second volume completes the studio recordings made by Gene Vincent in the first part of his career. Patrick FReMEAUX

Lindy Hop, Boogie… The dazzling greatness of the latest Jazz dances in the peak of the Forties and Fifties! This CD belongs to the “Dance Master Classics” anthology, a collection of 20 discs compiled by specialists in each of dancing’s domains. Gathered here in almost exhaustive fashion for the very first time, this a panorama of the best titles in dancehistory, grouped by aesthetic form, follow one special guiding principle: to magnify the relationship between dancers and music. Noël Herve & Patrick Fremeaux

In 1955 France discovered the merengue, a new dance that was all the rage in America. Singer Gerard La Viny, who ran the famous West Indian cabaret ‘La Canne A Sucre’ in Paris, brought the dance back from Saint-Domingue… and two brothers from Martinique, Barel & Honore Coppet, adapted its rhythm into a Creole style to make it one of the most popular dances of the French Caribbean. Jean-Pierre MEUNIER

Throughout the ages, people have danced to the rhythms of music, and dancers have always expected musicians to perform at their artistic best. In their exchanges, dancing – music’s authentic physical representation – has today developed into an entirely separate art-form. Jazz, rock, tango – and many other major forms of musical expression now familiar in concerts, shows or films – would doubtless have never existed if dancing hadn’t been music’s primary function. To reach the body, heart and soul at the same time, music composed and played for dancing fully requires all of music’s qualities. This collection of dances from around the world – an anthology selected by specialists in each one of these styles – proves how true this is, thanks to the best titles in dance-history. The selections here, sorted by aesthetic form, were chosen with one thing in mind: to show the relationship between dancing and music. Noël HERVe & Patrick FReMEAUX

This set presents songs written between 1950 and 1962 by two of the most eminent figures in the Oulipo movement, Raymond Queneau and Paul Braffort. Queneau was one of the greatest poets and playwrights in 20th century France, the author of Exercices de style and Zazie dans le metro; he cofounded the movement called Oulipo in 1960, writing numerous songs for Juliette Greco, the Freres Jacques, Roland Petit and Zizi Jeanmaire. Paul Braffort, an author, composer, engineer, mathematician and researcher, joined the Oulipo in 1961, writing and composing for Barbara, Les Quatre Barbus, Catherine Sauvage and Mouloudji. This anthology was compiled by Olivier Julien, and contains some 40 unpublished songs which appear here for the first time on CD. Filled with an impish wry humour and often great tenderness, these titles, written mainly before the birth of the movement, are the precursors of the “Oulipian” wordplay in the French language. Patrick FReMEAUX

Classical Music

Ever since the memorable Václav Talich recording in the Fifties, Josef Suk's (1874-1935) Asraël symphony has never really benefited from a reference recording. Yet this symphony, of a dimension worthy of Mahler, written a century ago by a man crucified by pain, is slowly finding its way into the limelight. Walter Weller grew up between Vienna and Prague, at a time when Talich was still active, and has known Czech music since the cradle. With the Belgian National Orchestra, he leads us into an intimate comprehension of this partition, written after the death of Suk's father-in-law - Dvorák - and for part of the work, struck by the death of his young wife, Otilie. Asraël (Angel of Death) is a unique reflection upon death, where sadness, anger, resignation and the overcoming of pain form an extraordinary storyline, a combination of intimacy and remarkable fullness of sound. Extremely rare in discography, the complementary work will be of interest to all the amateurs of Czech music and of works inspired by the war: Legend of the Dead Victors is Suk's tribute to the Czech soldiers who died during World War I; an extraordinary short piece suggesting another vision of how to overcome death.

Classical Music

Three world premiere recordings of high-quality 19th century orchestral works: this alone will cause listeners to sit up and take notice. The Concertante for Violin and Cello, the Horn Concerto and the fully fledged Symphony were composed by three members of the same family, and is surely unique and a cause for jubilation amongst experts.