This album features French piano prodigy Michel Petrucciani in a solo recording from Silkeborg Church, 1990. MP was one of the most popular pianists in the 1990’s due to his extraordinary technique, his astounding musical outlook and extremely dynamic playing style. His music is simply timeless and magical, seemingly coming straight from his soul. As he is often quoted: “I’m not playing to your head, but to your soul. When I play, I’m like a bird flying over the landscape, and I can land anywhere.”

Recorded on June 23, 1990 at the Silkeborg Riverboat Jazz Festival in Denmark, this album is a tour de force that leads the listener through a series of the most iconic motifs in jazz, all of which are deconstructed and transformed by an outstanding craftsman and embellished along the way by a true master. And he also allows himself to insert unexpected twists and turns that are guaranteed to make the listener smile. Pay special attention to his small rhythmic and melodic tags, little hints for the well-trained ear. They reveal a musician who never grows complacent or takes himself too seriously. Here, the totality of MP’s talents are exhibited in an intimate setting, where he stuns the crowd with his inventive and blindingly rapid playing. The music emanating from the man simply grabs everybody’s attention. Arrangements by jazz legends like Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis gets the cheeky Petrucciani treatment with his rather audacious approach to ‘established’ jazz standards. MP had the ability to effortlessly travel through the history of jazz on his piano, fascinating his audience in the process. This church concert clearly displays why MP quickly developed into a truly exceptional member of the international jazz scene.

REVIEW:

A concert by Petrucciani is a complete piano listening experience where the full range of the instrument comes into play. He worked best as a soloist as he throws in ‘Jean Pierre’ from Miles Davis, pulls in ‘St Thomas’ from Sonny Rollins edits in Juan Tizol’s ‘Caravan’. All the execution and the improvisation are carried out at the speed of thought with the relentless rhythm. The dynamics are every bit as effective as the Basie band. All the time his work is exuberant, joyful, rhythmically propulsive, spontaneous, and full of passion with an unrelenting drive. This is an album that is a wonderful memory of a lost genius who had a blistering talent.

-- Jazz Views

Classical Music

The eleventh double-CD in this special D.E.T.S. (Duke Ellington Treasury Series) program continues the reissue of all of Ellington.

Classical Music

Classical Music

A European tour with Miriam Makeba in 1970 had brought Parlan to Copenhagen, where four off-days gave him time to look around the city. He liked what he saw and two years later he settled down in Copenhagen. Horace Parlan enjoys playing solo piano – but haven’t had the chance to do it all that often. Parlan’s aim in making this CD was to give highly personal interpretations of compositions which he has cherished over the years but which have not been over-recorded. He says: "I am not a Tatum – I have to make the material fit my particular style and I spent quite a bit of time working on the arrangement. I wanted to do a reflective CD – no racehorse tempos, no pyrotechnics – and also make the harmonic structures as interesting as possible."

Classical Music

This box set includes a DVD and 7 CDs. Sidemen include Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Jack Teagarden, Coleman Hawkins, Earl Hines, and Barney Bigard.

Classical Music

The three sessions here were recorded in N.Y.C. in 1945 - 2 live sessions (Apollo Theatre and Zanzibar Club) plus one studio session (Radio City Music Hall). The 143 minutes (44 tunes) of music on this double-CD have never been released before. The repertoire is classic Ellington/Strayhorn material - including one Strayhorn medley and two suites ("Trio in Blue" and "Perfume Suite") - plus several tunes which were never recorded commercially. Recorded at the end of WWII, the purpose of these three programs - besides providing wonderful music - was to promote the sale of U.S. Treasury bonds to help the war effort. A major attribute of this double-CD is the inclusion of several tunes that Ellington never recorded commercially, like "Fickle Fling", "Hollywood Hangover" and "I'd Do It All Over Again". The great musicianship and enthusiasm of Ellington's orchestra includes countless fine solos - especially with Johnny Hodges and Rex Stewart - and features some great vocals by Al Hibbler, Kay Davis and Joya Sherrill.

The brief and dazzling life of MCM Records was a labor of love that captured many treasured live performances from the last flowering of the classic Chicago Blues age. With this 8 CD box set you get a front seat to shows in the vibrant blues clubs of Chicago in the 70's. These energetic and raw live recordings capture both to-be-legendary performers and others, and were recorded by french blues afficionado Marcelle Morgantini on reel-to-reel. When Morgantini came into some money on her 50th birthday, her only wish was to go to Chicago and record the blues. To that end, she made live recordings of many blues greats including Magic Slim, Big Mojo Elem, Jimmy Dawkins, John Littlejohn, Eddie Clearwater, Eddie Taylor, Bobby King, Jimmy Johnson, Luther Johnson and many more, remastered for this special box set.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Hear Wilson's trio with guest artists such as Dizzy Gillsepie, Coleman Hawkins, Kai Winding, and J.J. Johnson!

3 CDS 1 DVD.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

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.

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.

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!

LP Jacket.

Classical Music

Classical Music