To paraphrase the old stock brokerage commercial: "When Anthony Braxton plays, people listen". And they have been doing so for decades, through dozens of recordings spanning an evolution that is remarkable for it's independence and virtuosity. Braxton's first two albums, "Three Compositions of New Jazz" (1968, DMK #415) and "For Alto" (1969, DMK #420) were released on Delmark, and it's only fitting that the present rare quartet version of his self-described "Ghost Trance Music" be released more than thirty years later on the same label. Features Anthony Braxton on woodwinds, Kevin Uehlinger on piano/melodica, Keith Witty on bass, and Noam Schatz on percussion.
Not only was Thornhill's distinctive instrumentation deeply influential on later bandleaders, but so were the trailblazing Gerry Mulligan and Gil Evans arrangements you'll hear on these 17 tracks. Behold Snowfall; a Sunday Kind of Love; Rustle of Spring; the Things I Love; Early Autumn; Traumerie; Le Papillon, and more!
2017 release. Hush Point, the quartet of trumpeter John McNeil, saxophonist Jeremy Udden, bassist Aryeh Kobrinsky and drummer Anthony Pinciotti have used rehearsal techniques to broaden their expression and develop a sort of group ESP. This work has produced brilliant compositions that require a high level of musicianship and group interplay. Hush Point's evolution can be heard on their innovative third recording, Hush Point III.
180-Gram Vinyl - Limited Edition. *(*) AllMusic. During the mid-'50s, Sarah Vaughan spent most of her time recording songbook standards backed by a large orchestra in florid arrangements, with only the occasional breath of fresh air like her masterpiece, 1954's Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. Four years after that m ilestone, another landed with the live album At Mister Kelly's, which captures Vaughan at her best and most relaxed, stretching out on a set of late-night torch songs and ballads. Featuring Jimmy Jones on piano, Richard Davis on bass, and Roy Haynes on drums. ««««½ AllMusic - THE COMPLETE ALBUM + 5 BONUS TRACKS - 180-GRAM VIRGIN VINYL - LIMITED EDITION
Son of an impoverished violinist, Englishman Billy Mayerl grew up playing piano for silent movies and became one of the most famous novelty rag performers in the world. This album presents sixteen of his complex yet playful compositions, including several pieces from his celebrated piano suites.
The first volume of the much acclaimed “Swiss Nights” series celebrated the first 50th release of SteepleChase label which after two years in business had firmly established itself to be one of the major independent jazz labels.
“The Zürich Jazz Festival last year (1975) evidently found Dexter Gordon in a relaxed and mellow mood. He has made many good records ...but this set is one of the best...” (Jazz Journal) 180g Audiophile Vinyl
In this new production of the Arena di Verona, Giacomo Puccini's masterpiece La Boheme emerges as an intimate drama. Director Alfonso Signorini contrasts the summer setting of the amphitheatre with a snow-covered vision of 19th-century Paris, placing the tragic love story of Mimì and Rodolfo within a striking visual frame. Audience favourite Vittorio Grigòlo gives a charismatic interpretation of Rodolfo, alongside soprano Juliana Grigoryan, who presents Mimì in her Arena d ebut. Luca Micheletti and Eleonora Bellocci complete the central quartet as Marcello and Musetta. Under the musical direction of Daniel Oren, the orchestra and chorus of the Arena di Verona bring Puccini's score to life. 'An evening of great occasions, with a cheering audience well in excess of ten thousand' (L'Adige).
Best-known today as the librettist of Verdi’s final Shakespearean masterpieces, Otello and Falstaff, the multitalented Arrigo Boito was also a fine composer in his own right. Hugely ambitious in scope, and some 20 years in the making, his first (and only completed) opera, Mefistofele, sets out to encompass nothing less than the whole of Goethe’s vast poetic drama Faust (parts I and II), and is considered the very central work of his phase between Verdi and Puccini. Making his debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper, director Roland Schwab (a protégé of the legendary Ruth Berghaus) plays devil’s advocate by setting the opera in a nightmarish atmosphere. The exceptional cast features Rene Pape, Joseph Calleja, Kristine Opolais, and Karine Babajanyan. “[Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais’s Margherita] shines with understated Grace Kelly elegance” (Opera Today). “[Conductor Omer Meir Wellber “holds all the musical textures together with admirable control” (BR Klassik).
Julius Berger presents Bach's eternal ciphers - a source of inspiration for all time! Included in the full-colour booklet are works by the painter Linda Schwarz. Her "Notenbilder" [Score Images] are based on Bach's first cello suite and inspired by Berger's great technical brilliance and spiritual joy in interpretation. Julius Berger: violoncello.
In 2004, Romane and Stochelo Rosenberg recorded Elegance, an album that sealed their friendship and musical partnership. Four years later, they went back into the studio with a quartet to record Double Jeu. Featuring Stephane Huchard on drums and bassist Marc-Michel Le Bevillon, the result is more than just a tribute to the music of Django, but also pays homage to his innovative spirit. This is a must-have album for all guitar fans from one of the premier independent labels of gypsy jazz.
Giovanni Battista Candotti was born in 1809 and died in 1876. Self-taught musician and refined sacred music expert, he was Chapel Master at the Cathedral of Cividale del Friuli (Udine, Northeast Italy). He was still a child when he was sent to study in a seminary by his family, whose poor economic conditions would not have allowed him to pursue an advanced literary education. The great diligence shown from the earliest stages of his schooling, together with the swift progress he made both in theology and in literary subjects earned him a number of prizes and acknowledgements, also enabling him to complete his studies ahead of time. He stood out in Italian, Latin, Greek and Jewish literature. From his vast production, mainly of a sacred and liturgical genre, Gerwin Hoekstra, winner of the First Prize at the "International Organ Competition for Historical Organs of the Basso Friuli", VI edition, 2018, offers to us a significant anthology of typical pieces of the Italian Risorgimento style, at the 1850 Valentino Zanin organ from the church of Talmassons (Udine - Italy).
The quintet of Zurich tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger presents it's fifth album on Intakt Records on the occasion of the band's 10th anniversary. Over the years, the band has created a distinct ensemble identity and has matured into one of the most exciting ensembles of young European jazz. As a well-rehearsed unit, the band on Ghost Cat fulfills all the expectations that are nowadays placed on modern and innovative jazz based on an internal band democracy. "There is both clarity and maturity in the improvisational process plus a greater awareness of what each other is doing - at both an interpersonal level and how everyone fits into the overall architecture of the performance. Each player clearly understands the material at hand and constructs their improvisation around the mood of the composition and the collective endeavour, rather than launching out on their own personal muse", writes Stuart Nicholson in the liner notes.
In this release, Orli Shaham comes to the end of her monumental survey of Mozart's complete Piano Sonatas. With this achievement, the pianist puts a double bar line on an exhilarating journey through music she has known most of her life. Shaham's affinity for Mozart is evident in each sonata, to which she applies tonal beauty, technical fluency, textural lucidity, and interpretive flair. Revered as a "thrillingly expressive" interpreter of Mozart's works, Orli Shaham brings "technical virtuosity and deftness" to performances that "connect directly with an audience".
The first half of the 18th century can be described as the last revival of the traverso flute before it fell into a slumber, from which it awakened again decades later named as "Bohmflote" (transverse flute). In this time a variety of magnificent, virtuosic chamber music by Diabelli, Carulli or Giuliani originated. On this record the works are impressively interpreted by Ensemble Consolazione. Ensemble Consolazione has existed in the current formation since 1995, and originally played twentieth-century literature for flute and guitar on modern isntruments. The two Czech musicians discovered their common interest in early music and historical instruments, and so the duo began with the historical performance of virtuoso "duo concertanti" from the early nineteenth century already during their studies at the Prague Conservatory. Since 2002, Ensemble Consolazione has played exclusively on original instruments or copies thereof, dedicated itself intensively to research on historical interpretation techniques, and resurrected forgotten repertoire for this formation from archives and library collections.
Strauss Family Waltzes / Arthur Fiedler, Boston Pops
RCA
CD · 1 disc
$17.99Jun 29, 2012
The timeless romance and lilting melodies of Strauss waltzes and polkas are legendary; here, in classic performances by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, the charming music of Old Vienna comes joyously to life. This Living Stereo jewel will transport you to the innocence and grace of a bygone era.
Recordings made May 1956, May 1957, November 1958, August 1959, Septemeber 1959 in Symphony Hall, Boston.
The Last Breath - Four Scherzos, Barcarole, Nocturnes, Op. 6
Challenge Classics
CD · 1 disc
$12.99$16.99Save 25%Apr 18, 2025
First disc by Alessandro Deljavan on Challenge Classics. Pupil of, among others, Nabore, Berman and Bashkirov, Deljavan chose some masterpieces of Chopin repertoire which have been recorded hundred of times. But, as usual with him, the listener has the impression to hear them anew, afresh: Deljavan has a thoroughly individual if not idiosyncratic approach to this music. Some may nor like it, but some will find and will hear surprising, revelatory things they never heard before. Pizzicato wrote: Technically brilliant and with an exceptional imagination, Alessandro Deljavan brings finesse and spontaneity to Chopin's Etudes.
Haydn: Music for Prince Esterházy and the King of Naples
BIS
CD · 6 discs
$59.99Jan 01, 2009
In connection with the 2009 bicentenary of the death of Joseph Haydn, BIS Records and the Haydn Sinfonietta Wien have entered into a collaboration which will bear fruit in several recordings. The repertoire will mainly consist of rare works from Haydn’s œuvre, including music written for the stage, concert arias and orchestral works. Also included will be rereleases of the highly acclaimed recordings by Haydn Sinfonietta Wien and its conductor Manfred Huss of Haydn’s overtures, divertimenti etc. Providing an opportunity to explore less familiar aspects of the great composer, this six-disc set contains works written for the house of Esterházy, Haydn’s long-time employers, and for the King of Naples: from the Six Scherzandi, a set of ‘miniature symphonies’ probably composed in 1761, to the Eight Notturni for the King of Naples, composed around 1790.
Up until the late 18th century, almost all music was written for a specific person or institution, and often with a specific occasion in mind. But the works featured here are associated with their maker’s employer to an unusual degree: the Baryton Octets (and the Quintet Hob.X:10) were written for the private use of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy I, for performances that may have been heard by nobody but the musicians themselves. At such occasions, the part of the baryton, an instrument of the gamba family which was outmoded already at the time of composition, would be played by the Prince himself, while his favourite horn-player performed the highly virtuosic horn parts. Similarly, the ‘Concerti a Due Lire’ and the Notturni were commissioned by Ferdinand IV of Naples for his own consumption: a great lover of the ‘lira organizzata’ – a development of the hurdy-gurdy – he contacted a number of composers in order to expand the very limited repertoire of this highly unusual instrument. In fact, so unusual was the lira that Haydn, fearing that his music would never be played outside of the court in Naples, soon made versions in which the lira parts were replaced by other instruments. The result is to be heard here – glorious chamber music for various combinations of instruments, including flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass. Haydn Sinfonietta Wien’s acclaimed recordings of these works were originally produced and released by the Koch/Schwann label, with the exception of Notturni Nos 2, 4, 5 & 8, which, although recorded during the same period, were never released. For this collection the original recordings have been remastered by BIS Records.
Japanese vocalist May Okita recently departed Los Angeles where she spent several years developing her musical voice with some of the finest mentors and musical partners in jazz. Before moving back to Tokyo, she recorded this deeply personal album with two particularly inspirational and empathetic musicians: pianist Josh Nelson and guitarist Larry Koonse. Together, they explore many of the subtleties of the human heart - pleasure, sorrow, passion, calmness - her sonorous and poignant voice floating effortlessly over the Bernstein/Comden gem "Some Other Time," the Joni Mitchell classic "Both Sides Now," the Lou Carter, Herb Ellis, Johnny Frigo beauty "Detour Ahead," or May and Josh's own title song. "Art of Life" is a heartfelt debut for a promising new voice."May's delivery is at times so genuine and kind, it is really a pleasure to listen to her..." - Michele Weir.
Gerald Finley and Julius Drake return to Schumann, following a magisterially intense Dichterliebe which won them a third Gramophone award. Here they focus on the two contrasting Liederkreis (song-circle) cycles based upon texts by Heine and Eichendorff. Heine's poetry in Schumann's Op.24 contains extremes of elation and despair that call all of Finley's considerable dramatic powers into play. Eichendorff's seductive, crepuscular 'night-songs' of Op.39 require the velvety tone for which this singer is equally revered. Separating these two great works are the Sechs Gedichte aus dem Liederbuch eines Malers, which find Schumann in more homespun, folksong-influenced vein.
