Monthly Archive: November 2014
Mostly Other People Do the Killing – Blue – Hot Cup
Miles Davis’ A Kind of Blue as you’ve probably always heard it before.
The Legal Matters – The Legal Matters [TrackList follows] –Futureman/ Blunk Street Music
Indie pop trio the Legal Matters preside over honeyed harmonies, ringing guitars and memorable melodies.
Bill Frisell – Guitar in the Space Age! [TrackList follows] – Okeh/Sony Music
Guitarist Bill Frisell takes a side trip down memory lane with superb results.
16 Christmas CDs & SACDs Reviewed – 2014
16 new Christmas CDs & SACDs for your yuletide music.
D. SCARLATTI: 18 Sonatas – Igor Kamenz, piano – Naive
Pianist Igor Kamenz shines a warm and plastic light on eighteen sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, here conceived as a suite.
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3, “Scottish”; Hebrides Overture; SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in a – Maria Joao Pires, p./ London Sym. Orch./ John Eliot Gardiner – LSO Live Pure Audio Blu-ray & SACD
Quite an impressive package, though the performances are uneven.
DEVIENNE: Flute Concertos, Vol. I = Flute Concerto No. 1 in D Major; Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major; Flute Concerto No. 3 in G Major; Flute Concerto No. 4 in G Major – Patrick Gallois, flute/ Swedish Ch. Orch. – Naxos
Flute virtuoso Patrick Gallois convinces us that Devienne’s first four concertos warrant our continued interest.
The Dog, Blu-ray (2014)
Documentary on the true story behind the feature film Dog Day Afternoon.
Audio News for November 28, 2014
New Zappiti “4K” Player; New Insteon Home Automation Hub Only $39; Technics Starts Music Download Service; TVs On One-Third of Shopping Lists
Ferenc Fricsay: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophone, Vol. I [TrackList follows] = DGG, 45 CDs
The 45-CD Fricsay Edition celebrates the complete mastery of a conductor over his chosen ensembles, in repertory of vast proportions.
Keith Jarrett, piano; Charlie Haden, doublebass – Last Dance [TrackList follows] – ECM (2 vinyls)
The audiophile double-LP version of the recent Last Dance CD from ECM.
Yes – Relayer [TrackList follows] – Panegyric 5.1 & 2.0 audio-only Blu-ray + CD
An audiophile reissue of another former Yes LP, with an unbelieveable amount of extras.
MENDELSSOHN: The Complete Piano Music, Vol. II [TrackList follows] = Howard Shelley, piano – Hyperion
For his second traversal of the Mendelssohn oeuvre, Howard Shelley explores the feminine side of his creative output.
Audio News for November 25, 2014
CEA Initiatives To Kick Off UHD TV Promotion; Dr. Dre Adds Bluetooth to Headphones; Next-Generation Networked Soundbar; Obama Calls for Strict Regulation of Consumer Broadband Internet
BACH: Six Brandenburg Concertos – Stuttgart Ch. Orch. – Tacet (audio-only Blu-ray)
Superb in every way, except the 5.1 isn’t really here…
SCHUMANN: Variations on a Theme by Clara Wieck; Kreisleriana – Vladimir Horowitz, p. – Columbia/ Speakers Corner vinyl
A welcome re-issue of a classic recording with superb sound!
Bill Evans – The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 [TrackList follows] – Riverside (4 LP set)
Bill Evans Trio command performance on a single day…
Wadada Leo Smith – The Great Lakes Suites [TrackList follows] – TUM (2 discs)
Avant-garde titan assembles all-star creative force for a free jazz double-CD.
Oscar Peterson – Exclusively for My Friends [Album list & covers follows] – MPS-Jazz (6 vinyls box set)
Oscar Peterson in an audiophile vinyl box set to treasure…
RACHMANINOFF: Prelude in C-sharp Minor; Piano Concerto No. 2; Symphony No. 3 – Cyril Smith, p./ London Sym. Orch. (Prelude)/ Liverpool Philharmonic Orch. (Concerto)/ BBC Sym. Orch./ Sir Malcolm Sargent – Guild
Sir Malcolm Sargent’s renditions of Rachmaninoff hold up well, given the generous spirit of his commitment.
Julian von Karolyi, piano, in works of LISZT, DEBUSSY & RAVEL – Grosses Berliner Rundfunkorchester = MeloClassic
Hungarian virtuoso Julian von Karolyi has his hour of fame in this dazzling restoration from MeloClassic.
Adrian Cunningham – Ain’t That Right! – The Music Of Neal Hefti – Arbors Jazz
Cunningham shows he is more than capable of a breakthrough in this release.