Hiromi's latest album, Silver Lining Suite pairs her virtuosic and emotive piano with a string quartet assembled by violinist Tatsuo Nishie, concertmaster of the New Japan Philharmonic. Devised for a series of live-streamed concerts at the Blue Note Tokyo during the Covid pandemic, the results blur the lines between classical music and jazz, crafting a vibrant hybrid possessed of the fervent, rock-inspired energy and cinematic beauty that Hiromi has always instilled in her music.
With Earle Brown - A Life in Music - Volume 5, WERGO has again dug up treasures of contemporary music from the 1960s and 1970s: The set with 3 CDs not only contains one of the first recordings of Charles Ives' "Concord Sonata" by Aloys Kontarsky but also is a testimony to the virtuosity of Severino Gazzelloni who is, without doubt, one of the greatest flutists of the 20th century. In addition, it contains music of the group Sonic Arts Union with the four pioneers of electronic music David Behrman, Robert Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and Gordon Mumma. The 18 LPs of Earle Brown's (1926-2002) legendary Contemporary Sound Series, recorded between 1960 and 1973, have become a rarity in great demand since the series was discontinued in 1978. These rare and historically important recordings have been carefully digitized and remastered by the Earle Brown Music Foundation. Until the end of 2011, WERGO is going to release six 3-CD sets of these recordings, covering the extraordinary world of contemporary and avant-garde music which flourished in Europe, the USA, Latin America and Japan in the 1960s and the early 1970s.
Limited box containing 54 CDs plus DVD. Samson Francois was a true poet of the piano. A brilliant, inspired pianist especially identified with the music of Chopin, Debussy and Ravel, he played with both the proverbial clarity of the French school and a visceral immediacy and spontaneity. Charismatic, sometimes provocative, and numbering jazz among his passions, he achieved celebrity status - notably in France and Japan. The works of Chopin are prominent in this collection - melodic contours were always a priority for Francois - but the complete list of composers is richly diverse. Three major new bonuses are the long-awaited world premiere release of Francois' penultimate live recital, recorded at the Nohant Festival in France in June 1970, just four months before his death at the age of 46; a recital recorded in Tokyo in 1969, and a DVD documentary, written by his son, Maximilien Francois. This new edition places all recordings in the context of their original couplings and the CD wallets carry the original artwork.
Japanese television captures Herbert Von Karajan as he leads the Berlin Philharmonic in his first Japanese concert performed at the NHK Hall, Tokyo on November 3rd 1957. In November 1957, while the Berliner Philharmoniker were on tour in Japan, Karajan proposed some of the best works in his repertoire, starting with the Prelude to Die Meistersinger by Wagner and continuing with Richard Strauss' Don Juan and Beethoven's Fifth Symphony - the "symphony" par excellence which he had on November 1954 for EMI with the Philharmonia Orchestra. The pieces include: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Act I: Prelude, Don Juan, Op. 20, TrV 156 and Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67. Starring Herbert von Karajan. Language: English
Throughout the years, Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble have had the opportunity to work and tour in a number of countries and continents, among them the United States, China, Australia, Spain, Germany, France, and Japan. Many esteemed artists and musical directors have chosen to collaborate with the ensemble. In Sweden, concerts have been arranged together with Eric Ericsons Kammarkör and Bachkören. Among international names may be mentioned the directors Christopher Hogwood, Andrew Parrott, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Sigiswald Kuijken, Emmanuelle Haïm, and Alfredo Bernardini, as well as soloists such as Anne Sofie von Otter, Malena Ernman, and Emma Kirkby.
Previously Japan-only 7" featuring two tracks originally released on Shepp's 1972 classic soul-jazz LP, 'Attica Blues'. Official Mr Bongo reissue. Licensed courtesy of Universal Music Group Limited. A powerful mix of psychedelic soul & jazz that retains Shepp's political sentiment of his earlier works. 'Attic Blues' is a huge funk-soul composition, referring to a mass shooting of inmates at Attica Prison. Henry Hull's vocal sits on top of bass, layered percussion, wah-wah guitars, plus large horn and string sections to create a massive sound. The big band, almost soundtrack-esque, 'Quiet Dawn', is sung by the composer's 7-year old daughter. She floats on top of piano, strings, drums and rich layers of percussion.
Rhino explores this prolific period from the godfathers of heavy metal in a new collection that brings four albums back into print after an extended absence. ANNO DOMINI 1989-1995 will be available from Rhino on May 10 in 4-LP and 4-CD configurations. The set contains newly remastered versions of Headless Cross (1989), Tyr (1990), and Cross Purposes (1994), plus a new version of Forbidden (1995) that guitarist Tony Iommi remixed specially for the collection. - Several albums make their vinyl debut in the LP version of ANNO DOMINI, while the CD version contains three exclusive bonus tracks: the B-side "Cloak & Dagger" and the Japan-only releases "What's The Use" and "Loser Gets It All." A booklet comes with the set featuring photos, artwork, and liner notes by Hugh Gilmour. The collection also contains a Headless Cross poster and a replica concert book from the "Headless Cross Tour." - ANNO DOMINI picks up Black Sabbath's story in 1989, two decades and multiple lineup changes into the band's groundbreaking career as metal originators. At the time, membership had solidified around riffmaster and founding member Tony Iommi, legendary drummer Cozy Powell (Jeff Beck, Rainbow, Whitesnake), singer Tony Martin, and longtime Black Sabbath collaborator and keyboardist Geoff Nicholls (Quartz, Bandy Legs).
