Classical Music

The incomparable violinist Jascha Heifetz lends his prodigious talents to four performances of three famous film composers of the middle of the 20th century. Enjoy the work of Korngold, R�zsa and Waxman like never before in Heifetz's deft hands.

A wonderful release of B�la Bart�k's 1943 work, which to this day is the Hungarian's most recognizable works. Performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Fritz Reiner, this CD is a perfect introduction to the modernist classical movement, and a wonderful addition to any collection of the great classical composers.

WIND OF CHANGE

CHOPIN 3

This 2-CD set is a fantastic collection of his greatest recordings and includes his top hits "Moonlight Serenade," "In the Mood," and "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

Personnel: Gil Scott-Heron (vocals, flute, piano, bells); Horace Ott, Johnny Pate (conductor); Brian Jackson (vocals, flute, acoustic & electric pianos, bells); David Barnes (vocals, percussion); Hubert Laws (saxophone, piccolo, flute); David Spinozza, Burt Jones (guitar); Ron Carter (acoustic & electric basses); Gerry Jemmott (bass); Bernard Purdie (drums); Eddie Knowles, Charlie Saunders (congas, percussion).
Producer: Bob Thiele.
Compilation producer: John Snyder.
Engineers include: Bob Simpson, Ray Hall.
Recorded between 1970 and 1972. Includes liner notes by Tom Terrell.
Digitally remastered by Tom MacCluskey (1997, BMG Studios, New York, New York).

JAZZ SIGNATURES - COME ON-A MY HOUSE: VERY BEST OF

These recordings come from one of the high points in his career, a year spent in Italy in 1962. Included on CD for the first time will be four sin gles recorded by Chet Baker and legendary film com poser Ennio Morricone.

LOVE SONGS

This album is a stunning collection by a fearless innovator whose voice and vision, and valor and vulnerability, set a modern standard for unflinching honesty and integrity. Also includes liner notes by Alicia Keys.

This is one of two fantastic recording collaborations between Rosemary Clooney and Nelson Riddle, Illustrating their master of the Great American Songbook with tracks like "Angry," "Get Me to the Church on Time," and "Be Myself."

This 1971 album from the quintessential "street poet" laid a foundation way back in the early 1970s for rap music and hip hop artists as Gil performed his music tainted with a political and social commentary. He ultimately landed on charts for jazz and then R&B. This early look at the no-nonsense musician is as powerful today as when it was first released.

PLATINUM & GOLD COLLECTION

Argentinian saxophonist Gato Barbieri teamed up with his greatest contemporaries for these two albums, which bring in soul, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and other influences to make a truly remarkable set of jazz performances. Features the likes of John Abercrombie, Airto, Stanley Clarke, Bernard Purdie and many more.

The Far East Suite is an album by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, recorded in New York City on 19 December to 21 December 1966. The nine compositions on the original album were all composed by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn (except for one by Ellington).

WISE CHILDREN

JAZZ MOODS: HOT

Now with 4 bonus tracks, this remastered version highlights even more of the wonderful interplay between McRae and Shirley Horn, whose trio brings grace ans energy to every performance.

Benny Goodman's jazz clarinet was as finely-tuned and and expertly used as any instrument in the history of popular music, "The King Of Swing" brought the raucous stomp of big band jazz to the masses. "Sing Me A Song (And Let Me Dance)" is a perfect encapsulation of the Goodman ethos. Why sit when you could swing?

Without doubt, this French domestic release is the finest single disc of Poulenc concertos available, better even than the composer's recordings, and that's saying a lot. They have everything: style, spirit, a vivid sense of fun, a touch of sentiment that never turns maudlin, and that ability to change moods every few bars that Poulenc always requires. In the Concerto for Two Pianos Eric Le Sage and Frank Braley have a field day tossing phrases back and forth, or hauntingly recreating those gamelan sounds that infiltrate the work at critical moments (particularly at the end of the first movement). From the delicious, faux-Mozartian central Larghetto to the jazzy finale, the players relish every nuance. It's a blast.


Here, as in the other two works, conductor Stéphane Denève perfectly captures the wry, "sec" quality of Poulenc's orchestral writing with vivacious rhythmic underpinning and crystal clear textures. La Sage's interpretation of the Piano Concerto simply wipes the floor with the competition. He's one of the few artists who knows how to savor the music's salon ambience without wallowing, and the tempos he and Denève choose are ideal. Aubade, an odd ballet/concerto that has been frequently recorded, seldom satisfactorily, for once enjoys an accompaniment as characterful and involving as the piano part, with terrific contributions from the solo winds. The final couple of minutes are simply magical. Beautifully clean, well-balanced sonics round out this enticing picture. Let's hope RCA makes this release available internationally. It's unbeatable. [5/12/2005]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5

This is an excellent set, intelligently assembled, scrupulously prepared, lucidly recorded, played with a freshness and wit that serve these delightful pieces well.

Mendelssohn's extraordinary precocity is nowhere more comprehensively shown than in the 13 early string symphonies, and though it is extraordinary that these were unknown until 1960, it is scarcely less so that there are still works in Berlin awaiting editing and performance. The symphonies are exceptional, though, in that the range of their invention far exceeds what might be expected of even so prodigiously talented a boy. He had been rigorously schooled in Bach counterpoint, and in harmony partly by way of the chorale; and impressive examples of his diligence have been published in R. Larry Todd's Mendelssohn's Musical Education (Cambridge: 1983). But the inventiveness with which this schooling was put into effect remains dazzling, as with (to take only two examples) the chorale idea in the Minuet of the Sixth Symphony or the brilliant contrapuntal writing in the Eighth Symphony, in which the more immediate inspiration was Mozart, and in particular the Jupiter Symphony.

Roy Goodman makes use of the version with wind instruments for this symphony, which Mendelssohn made within three days of having written the original, and (with one reservation) accepts Mendelssohn's astonishingly fast tempo markings. He brings them off brilliantly, even the helter-skelter bass pizzicatos in the Trio of the Minuet. He also shows, with the use of period string techniques, how quick Mendelssohn's ear was for novel sonorities. An affection for the still underprivileged viola may have come from Mozart, but Mendelssohn would also have heard these sounds pioneered by Weber (who otherwise barely influenced him in these works). There are beautiful string sonorities even in the very earliest works, especially in the often darkly-hued slow movements; and the finales have all the pace and wit of the more mature Mendelssohn (that is to say, when he was in hisleens). Goodman judges tempo well, which is to say he has a shrewd sense of weight as well as of pace. He also directs from the keyboard, which it is certain Mendelssohn himself would have done at those famous Sunday morning concerts in his parents' Berlin house, and he permits himself the occasional contribution: both in theory and in practice, this is entirely in style.

This is an excellent set, intelligently assembled, scrupulously prepared, lucidly recorded, played with a freshness and wit that serve these delightful pieces well. It includes the Sinfoniesatz, an isolated piece of romantic baroque with a slow introduction and a quasi-fugal fast section, less attractive than the other works but worth including for curiosity value.

-- Gramophone [1/1996]

Track Listing
1. Song After Sundown - Stan Getz/Arthur Fiedler
2. Bridge, The - Sonny Rollins
3. Runnin' Wild - Benny Goodman Quartet
4. Evans - Art Blakey
5. Blood Count - Duke Ellington
6. Ill Wind - Paul Desmond
7. Salt Peanuts - Bud Powell
8. Figurine - Johnny Hodges
9. Swinging 'Till the Girls Come - Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan
10. Sweetheart of Sigmund Freud - Shorty Rogers
11. Stratusphunk - J.J. Johnson
12. As You Make Your Bed - The Sextet of Orchestra U.S.A.
13. Tijuana Gift Shop - Charles Mingus
14. Just a Mood - Red Norvo

A good cross-section of material, but only for those who wouldn't normally purchase any solo releases or boxed sets. ~ Ron Wynn

LIVE AT CARNEGIE HALL CLEO LA