Vinyl LP pressing. There's early work with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop, work with Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln, a stint in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, and also one with Miles. There's his groundbreaking and highly influential Ntu Troop albums of the early 70s and his jazz-funk work including two classic albums with the Mizell Brothers, one of which supplied A Tribe Called Quest with a sample that was smooth like butter. That's not to mention appearances on beloved albums by Pharoah Sanders, Donald Byrd, Norman Connors, Roy Ayers, Gene Ammons, Phyllis Hyman, Jackie McLean and many others. This is what Gary Bartz brings to the Jazz Is Dead project and as can be expected, his questing spirit fits the JID style like a glove and has produced an album that's a cutting-edge addition to his immense canon as he effortlessly interfaces with a new generation.
Gregory Hutchinson's "Kind of Now - The Pulse of Miles Davis" is a fascinating and highly rewarding album that breathes new life into some of the immortal classics from Miles Davis' repertoire, such as Charlie Parker's "Ah-Leu-Cha" or Miles' own "Seven Steps to Heaven", discounting the obvious while closing in on the deep cuts. The leader's excellent drum interludes tie this hour-long program tightly together, adding a futuristic newness that's all in Hutch's time. The overall quality and density of "Kind of Now" has everything to do with the musicians involved, a great group of young legends and lions carefully selected by the leader, just the way Miles used to do: Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Ron Blake (tenor saxophone, bass clarinet), Jakob Bro (guitar), Emmanuel Michael (guitar), Gerald Clayton (piano) Joe Sanders (double bass).
Vinyl LP pressing. Recorded live by Rudy Van Gelder, this is one of a pair of Eric Dolphy's albums documenting the 1961 historical residency at the Five Spot, New York's major temple of the early avant-garde. This is timeless music performed by one of the essential line-ups in modern jazz. A marvelous quintet featuring the great Booker Little on trumpet and the amazing rhythm section of Mal Waldron on piano, Richard Davis on double bass, and Ed Blackwell on drums plus, of course, master Eric Dolphy on alto saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute.
Recorded in the historic ambience of the Village Vanguard in New York, The Extra Something is not just another release by a prolific artist. Working with a first-class band, Pieranunzi combines core jazz values with a sense of structure and order that comes from classical music, but all of it animated by a strong sense of freedom. Pieranunzi has risen to the ranks of the most significant contemporary musicians, a name to be placed alongside some of the greatest we have seen and heard. The Extra Something contains approximately 60 minutes of original music composed by Enrico Pieranunzi.
Domenico Giuseppe Scarlatti (1685-1757) devoted himself to a single form like no other composer before him. The more than 550 mostly single-movement sonatas for the harpsichord influenced numerous composers throughout the ages, from his contemporary Johann Sebastian Bach and Frederic Chopin to 21st-century artists such as Georg Katzer. The four selected sonatas K 27, K 213, K 247 and K 268 represent only a small selection of his immensely varied oeuvre and yet they illuminate all the different aspects of his extraordinarily creative composing. Scarlatti himself modestly described many of his sonatas as "Essercizi per gravicembalo". His sonata works contain every conceivable technical challenge, as he himself was one of the most sought-after and virtuoso harpsichordists of his time. Georg Katzer (1935-2019) composed the Five Miniatures in 1971. They are primarily to be understood as gestural music. Although the playing technique is traditional with a few exceptions (the use of the elbows or rolling hands), the miniatures reveal a wealth of ideas in musical forms of expression that evoke the most diverse sensations in a short space of time and space. The work Due to my admiration for D.S. was composed by Georg Katzer in 2001. The close relationship between Fanny Hensel (1805-1847) and her brother Felix Mendelssohn encouraged both siblings throughout their musical careers. And yet, throughout her life, Fanny Hensel fought for even remotely similar recognition of her extraordinary talent as a pianist, conductor and composer. The Four Songs for Pianoforte, Opus 2, are among the few works published by Bote & Bock in 1846 during Fanny Hensel's lifetime.
This is not a historical recording. Yet mysteriously the music is performed in an interpretation which is historically authentic down to the last detail. The key to this mystery is: The original performer was present at the recent recording session, but not physically: The music is heard on a modern Steinway. Never has music stored in the Welte-Mignon system sounded so "right" or so good. Thanks to TACET's much-praised recording technique, and because the Welte-Mignon memory system and sound production mechanism have now been newly adjusted for the first time by the leading expert in the field - and are thus able to meet TACET's requirements. (Welte-Mignon was invented in 1904.) the Welte-Mignon mystery can now speak to US without distortion.
Sunny Five with Tim Berne, David Torn, Marc Ducret, Devin Hoff and Ches Smith brings together five of the most prominent voices on the New York jazz scene. This group pursues a creative vision that explores the juxtaposition of pure acoustic sonic elements and the integration of electric/electronic sound-generation. "We hear Tim Berne's saxophone - rectilinear, concise, insistent - interacting/intoning with and through the deeply textural sound worlds of David Torn's electric/electronic guitar playing, coupled with or countered by guitarist Marc Ducret's incisive, essentialist virtuosity. There are tensions present that seem unresolvable and made more so by the fathoming sonorities of Devin Hoff's bass and the metric pliability of Ches Smith's approach to the drums and electronics... There are moments in the music where it may be impossible to tell who's doing what... and by what means" writes Brandon Ross in the liners, calling this record "Kinetic, mysterious, cinematic and heroic.
(2-CD) A double album presenting master percussionist Pierre Favre along with his student and lately partner in a unique percussion dialogue recorded in 1977 and in 2024 after a hiatus of 47 years. The energy and the spirit of this duo is always the same even after 47 years.
Lise Davidsen/Gerald Finley/Edward Gardner - "Wagner: Der fliegende Hollander" - Lise Davidsen has recorded Wagner's Der fliegende Hollander, her first full-length opera recording on Decca Classics, in a live performance at her home opera house in Oslo. These live performances were the only time she will ever perform the role of Senta, and this album forms an important part of her future legacy. Gerald Finley stars as The Dutchman, a role in which he has won international acclaim for his superb acting and lieder-like vocal finesse. 2 CD set.
Sandrine Piau admits that she has always been fascinated not only by Schubert's music but also by the genre of the string quartet. "The endless quest for the pure gesture in which we lose ourselves in order to become one with each other reminds me of the aquatic ballets in old-fashioned musicals, when female swimmers formed images of perfect flowers". Thanks to the Psophos Quartet, her dream has now been realised; together they present a magnificent programme of transcriptions. "Between the hair of the bows and the texture of the voice, our instruments blend and form an imaginary Schubert quintet".
Welcome to an island where gender roles are radically reversed! Here, Princess Cretidea reigns as a warrior sovereign over submissive men, condemned to vanity and superficial adornment. The unexpected arrival of Roberto and Giannino, castaways from a patriarchal world, upsets the established order in this opera buffa, setting the stage for a delightful clash in which identities collide and reveal themselves. More than a mere historical curiosity, this visionary satire by Baldassare Galuppi and Pietro Chiari offers us an unsettling mirror, urging us to decipher, between the notes, the instability of our own identities and the timeless quest for equality. Under the masterful baton of Vincent Dumestre, Le Poeme Harmonique breathes new life into this forgotten score, revealing it's baroque brilliance and it's astonishing modernity.
Vinyl LP pressing. An iconic recording of Sir John Barbirolli dedicated to Edward Elgar's masterpiece, the 'Enigma Variations', together with the 'Cockaigne Overture', all performed with passion by Barbirolli and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Remastered from original tapes in 24-bit/192kHz.
Racism and disdain for improvised music in the "motherland of jazz" drove more and more Americans to Europe in the 1950s and 1960s. Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke and Oskar Pettiford, who had already contributed to the development of bebop in the early 1940s, appear here on the occasion of the Jazztage in Essen in 1960, and the saxophonist Coleman Hawkins joined them in the second half of the concert.
Miles Davis - "Miles '55: The Prestige Recordings". Miles '55 offers a deeper look at 1955, the year in which jazz icon Miles Davis formed his first great quintet (John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones) and established his influential sound. This 3-LP set on 180g vinyl collects 16 tracks remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, with lacquers cut by Kevin Gray. Included are new liner notes by GRAMMY-winning music historian Ashley Kahn and session notes by Dan Morgenstern. Limited Edition.
This Tosca, made in 1953 with the forces of La Scala, is a landmark in recording history. Conducted with searing intensity by Victor de Sabata, it teams Callas with two of her closest colleagues, the tenor Giuseppe di Stefano and the baritone Tito Gobbi - a performer who could rival Callas in dramatic finesse and power. Tosca's aria 'Vissi d'arte' (I lived for art) has come to be seen as Callas's personal manifesto. / Abbey Road Studios engineers have returned to the original studio master tapes in 2014, bringing new clarity and brilliance to a classic interpretation: 'One of the great classics of the gramophone. Wonderful as Gobbi's and Di Stefano's performances are, and superbly dramatic as de Sabata's conducting is, it is the unique Callas in the title role who provides the greatest marvel. Callas is incomparable as Tosca'. (Gramophone) Triple vinyl LP pressing.
Gabrieli for Brass - Venetian Extravaganza / Friedrich, Royal Academy of Music & Julliard School Brass
Linn Records
CD
$20.99Mar 23, 2018
This fascinating transatlantic musical collaboration between the brass players of London’s Royal Academy of Music and New York’s Juilliard School presents enduring masterpieces by Giovanni Gabrieli and his Venetian contemporaries. Under the direction of Reinhold Friedrich, renowned trumpet soloist and Principal Trumpet of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the players blend modern instruments and intellect with 16th-century technique and tuning to excel in this profoundly challenging repertoire. The beautiful acoustic of St Jude’s, Hampstead results in a gloriously sonorous soundscape; burnished waves of rich, warm trombones alternate with the brilliant, crystalline articulation of trumpets. Academy Principal Jonathan Freeman-Attwood, who produced the recording, states: ‘We’re hoping it will show Gabrieli as the composer of great intimate music as well as wonderfully grandiloquent Venetian polyphony.’ This remarkable recording features some of the most compelling and attractive instrumental music of the late Renaissance era and boasts performances worthy of Gabrieli’s extraordinary legacy and the reputation of these two outstanding institutions.
The Cremonese composer Marc’Antonio Ingegneri (c. 1535/36–92) is chiefly remembered as the teacher of Claudio Monteverdi while, for well nigh 500 years, his own achievements were left to sit in the shadows. This third in a series of pioneering recordings from the Choir of Girton College, Cambridge, reveals Ingegneri to have been one of the masters of his age, writing music of breathtaking richness and beauty: the works heard here combine learned, intricate counterpoint with the kind of sheer sonic thrill that brings a shiver of physical excitement. It is, of course, religious music, but it is also extraordinarily passionate, to a degree not previously heard, nor for centuries to come, until the rise of the great Romantic choral works.
Cleopatra, Adelaide, Alcina, Laodice, Medea, Atalanta, Melissa & Morgana: Audacious fighters, indomitable queens, and evil witches: On their debut album, soprano Margriet Buchberger and the musicians of Il Giratempo put Handel’s strongest and most mesmerizing women center stage - where they rightfully belong. The “wild” women in Georg Friedrich Handel’s operas are truly queens of their own destiny. They rule over empires, fight in bloody battles, are courageous hunters and passionate lovers. Their adventures are gems in a sea of female characters bound to tradition and cliché. “Good girls” may go to heaven, but in baroque opera they do so either as victims or trophies. At best they come into their own when they sacrifice themselves virtuously to the mercy of fate and/or the men surrounding them. We have searched for strong, self-determined women – and found fascinating, modern characters, brought to life through beautiful music.
Exclusive Japanese reissue from Universal. During his brief 54-year life, Carl Richter made an indelible mark on the history of Bach performance, recording 76 of Bach's church cantatas and one secular cantata, along with monumental works such as the Matthew Passion and the John Passion. His extraordinary achievements remain a benchmark for excellence in interpreting Bach's music.
A. Scarlatti: La Santissima Trinita / Biondi, Gens, Composer: Alessandro Scarlatti, Performer: Roberto Abbondanza, Paul Agnew, Vivica Genaux, Roberta Invernizzi, Conductor: Fabio Biondi, Orchestra/Ensemble: Europa Galante, Number of Discs: 1. La Santissima Trinità is in fact an immensely rewarding work. Scarlatti, far from being inhibited by the subject matter, produced a score that extracts maximum effect from the conflict of views, articulating Faithlessness's mockery and sturdy skepticisms with a strength that demands all the resources of his opponents, who reply through a variety of means often employing metaphor. It is some of these mimetic arias-the depiction of the turtledove's freedom (enhanced by two solo violins) in Faith's "Vedrai la tortorella," or Theology's evocation of the "hapless little boat" on a stormy sea ("Povera navicello")-that provide just some of the highlights of a richly varied score that throughout shows Scarlatti at his most imaginative and inventive. Stylistically, numbers range from brief, old-fashioned continuo arias with a concluding instrumental postlude to more modern, fully accompanied arias that frequently include concertante solo-writing for the strings (there are no wind parts). Despite reservations about Biondi's direction, this is unquestionably a major addition to the Alessandro Scarlatti discography, yet further vitally increasing our understanding of a prolific major composer who was until relatively recently largely restricted to the more shadowy realms of the Baroque.
Pianist/composer Federico Bonifazi is considered one of the most outstanding talents of younger generation of Italy. After studying music in Paris and Turin Bonifazi embarked on professional career as a jazz musician in Europe. His trip to NYC in 2014 enabled him to establish a network of friends in New York jazz scene.
Bonifazi returned to NYC the following year with host of compositions of his own to record this SteepleChase Lookout debut album with New York’s leading artists including Eric Alexander and the legendary drummer Jimmy Cobbs.
