Monthly Archive: September 2004
Index to All 143 Disc Reviews
Index to All 143 Discs Reviewed for September 2004: HI-RES REVIEWS, PT. 1 (Jazz) – Clair Martin – Too Darn Hot!; Diana Krall – Girl in the Other Room; Modern Jazz Quartet – Django; Will & Rainbow – Over Crystal Green; Deacon John’s Jump Blues; Jimmy Reed at Carnegie Hall; Carey Bell – Harpslinger; Jamie Cullum – Twentysomething; Pieces of a Dream – No Assembly Required; Henry Kaiser & Wadada Leo Smith – Yo Miles!; T. Monk Septet – Monk’s Music; Bill Evans Trio – Explorations; Vince Guaraldi Trio – A Boy Named Charlie Brown; the Grant Geissman Quintet – There and Back Again; Metaxas In Concert Screener DVD Sampler HI-RES REVIEWS, PT. 2 (Classical beg.) – MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH = MOZART: Requiem – Harnoncourt (HM); TALLIS: Spem In Alium – Philip Cave; PALESTRINA: Missarum Liber Primus – Polyphonic Choir (3 discs); The Powers of Heaven – Paul Hillier; SCHOENBERG: Jacob’s Ladder – Kent Nagano; BACH: Organ program on Silbermann Organ – Schneider; VORISEK: Chamber Music – Kocian Q.; BEETHOVEN: Q. No. 13 in B Flat Major with Grosse Fuge – Prazak Q.; BRAHMS: Violin Concerto – Joseph Swensen; SHOSTAKOVICH: Sym. No. 5 & 9 – Gergiev; MUSSORGSKY: […]
Home Page-September 2004
Our fourth Hi-Res Drawing features SACDs from Universal Music. A dozen lucky AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who Register Here (or have registered earlier) will receive their choice of one of the above three multichannel SACDs: Mahler’s Second Symphony conducted by Mahler expert Gilbert Kaplan, Pianist Lang Lang Live at Carnegie Hall, or Jazz vocalist-pianist Diana Krall’s latest album of songs with lyrics by new hubby Elvis Costello. Kaplan’s Mahler was our Multichannel Disc of the Month last issue and Krall’s SACD is reviewed in our Hi-Res section this issue. Drawing will be made Oct. 1, participants will remain eligible for future drawings, we’ll announce the winners in October, and we won’t sell or share your information. (July-Aug. winners announced below.) Check back with us frequently for new material! September 2004 Contents New Audio News! (see below) New Editorial! New 19 Jazz Reviews! 48 DVD-A, SACD & xrcd Reviews! (Pt. 1, Pt. 2 [incl. update], Pt. 3, Pt. 4); 19 Classical Reviews (Pt. 1, Pt. 2); Component Reviews: Bravo DVD Player, Bravo HDTV Tuner, Role Audio Speakers; 32 DVD Reviews incl. 14 Music Videos! (Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3); Interview with recording engineer Da-Hong Seetoo; 25 Classical Reissue Reviews (Pt. 1, […]
Jazz CD Reviews, Part 2 of 2
September 2004 Part 2 of 2 [Pt. 1] Part 2 of Jazz starts off with a pair of Gershwin albums… Clark Terry, with Jeff Lindberg and the Chicago Jazz Orchestra – Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess – A440 Music group (no #) *****: Well, here’s an answer to those absurdly long CD order numbers of some of the major labels – no number at all for this CD! It’s a pretty identifiable disc, and could only be confused with one other – the same music and even the same arrangements featuring Miles Davis. Evidently the magnificent Gil Evans arrangements were never published and arranger/conductor Jeff Lindberg had to transcribe all of them from the original classic Davis/Evans Porgy & Bess. Everything except the tune Gone is directly the opera Porgy & Bess. This is the first time in almost 50 years that a major figure in jazz has recorded the Gil Evans charts. What’s different and worthwhile here: Cleaner and richer orchestral sound from what sounds like a larger ensemble, but most of all an entirely different trumpet sound from Terry than Miles produced. Terry always had just as unique sound as Miles – more rich and warm, with more touches […]
Jazz CD Reviews, Part 1 of 2
Part 1 of our jazz reviews this issue covers ten piano discs: Sir Roland Hanna – Tributaries (Reflections on Tommy Flanagan) – IPO Recordings 104 *****: Pianist Flanagan died in 2001 and fellow Detroiter Hanna recorded this wonderful tribute to the great pianist. Sadly, almost a year to the day later Hanna also passed, so this is a double tribute album. In his album notes jazz pianist Dick Katz lists the several great pianists to come out of the Detroit scene, which also included Hank Jones and Barry Harris. He observes that a special sort of lyricism seemed to be part of the improv style of all of them. Hanna added to that a love of European classical music not unlike MJQ founder John Lewis. But he didn’t dis the blues in the process either. A Child Is Born is not one of my favorite jazz standards, but Hanna makes almost a Debussy Prelude out of it – yet without the overly obvious quotations of someone like Don Shirley. Never Let Me Go also receives a classical interp, getting jazzy only towards its conclusion. The opening and closing tunes are both by Flanagan, and a high point in the center […]
Classical Reissue Reviews, Part 2 of 2
September 2004, Pt. 2 of 2 [Pt. 1] TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74 “Pathetique;” Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48 Willem Mengelberg conducts Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam Naxos 8.110885 70:10 ****: With repeated listening to the work of Willem Mengelberg (1871-1951), I am always astonished that no matter how eccentric or willful I find his performances, I still find them convincing. The recording of the Pathetique dates from 22 April 1941, and we are in the throes of a master virtuoso technician and his players, sensitive to the various nuances of emotion – some quite specific, which Tchaikovsky openly inserted into his score. Mengelberg takes deliberately slow first movement tempos in order to accommodate such markings as “despairingly” at bar 171, “pain, lament” at bar 317, and recollection of sweet love” at bar 326. That Mengelberg used to justify his emendations as the result of advice from the composer’s brother Modeste Tchaikovsky caused the Concertgebouw players to jibe that any adjustments Mengelberg made to his Bach scores were equally justified by conversations with “Modeste Bach.” What most impresses in the Pathetique performances are not merely the dynamic gradations that Mengelberg elicits from his […]
Classical Reissue Reviews, Part 1 of 2
September 2004, Pt. 1 of 2 [Pt. 2] BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14a; Lelio, Op. 14b: Chorus of Shades; Fantasy on Shakespeare’s The Tempest Michael Tilson Thomas conducts San Francisco Symphony and Symphony Chorus RCA 82876-60959-2 75:30****: Recordings from 1997-1998 that have been assembled for RCA’s “Classic Library” collection, these inscriptions from Michael Tilson Thomas are clearly sympathetic readings of Berlioz’ familiar, quasi-biographical symphony of 1830 and its melodramatic sequel, the unfamiliar Lelio of 1832. From the audiophile point of view, these are audacious, powerfully projected performances, with Luis Baezís E-flat clarinet a standout among the throng of orchestral effects; his is the perverted vision of the beloved, the idee fixe, in the March to the Scaffold. Inscriptions of Lelio are still rare; collectors will recall that it was Rene Leibowitz who took the risk of exploring this odd assemblage to art and ego. Later, for EMI, Jean Martinon gave this weird score a try. With the theme of Lelio’s being death-and-resurrection, the model for the Chorus of Shades would seem to be Gluck’s Orfeo. The lightness of the orchestration for the Tempest Fantasy recalls pages from Queen Mab in Romeo and Juliet. If Liszt can have his […]
Interview with Da-Hong Seetoo
Interview with Da-Hong Seetoo, Grammy Award-Winning Classical Producer and Engineer [See Classical Reviews, Pt. 2 for reviews of two of the Music@Menlo CD sets.] Da-Hong Seetoo began playing the violin at age two and a half. Seetoo’s mother was a pianist and his father was a violinist who taught at the Shanghai Conservatory. He grew up during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and had to practice with the windows closed because Western music was forbidden. His father was able to purchase – at great expense – a Telefunken reel-to-reel hybrid (tube and transistor) tape deck so he could copy any of the recordings that were circulated underground. “No one knew how to fix it, so I learned how to fix it myself. I was always interested in electronics. I built my first radio when I was seven years old,” he related. He skipped the first four years of college, going directly to the Shanghai Conservatory where he was a violin prodigy. In 1979 he played for Boston Symphony concertmaster Joseph Silverstein who recommended him to the Curtis Institute of Music where he was admitted without a live audition. He studied with Ivan Galamian, graduated in 1984, and continued graduate studies at […]
DVD Reviews, Part 3 of 3
Pt. 3 of 3 – September 2004 [Part 1] [Part 2] Blazing Saddles (1974), 30th Anniversary Special Edition Directed by Mel Brooks Starring: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn Studio: Warner Bros. Video: Letterboxed widescreen format preserving the aspect ratio of the original Audio: Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1, English or Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish, French Extras: Scene-specific commentary by Mel Brooks, Back in the Saddle documentary, Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn (excerpt), Pilot for proposed TV series spinoff – Black Bart (1975), Additional scenes, Orig. theatrical trailer Length: 93 minutes Rating: ***** Along with Young Frankenstein Blazing Saddles is probably the funniest film work to come from the irrepressible Mel Brooks. The AFI made Blazing Saddles No. 6 in a list of the Top 100 Comedies of all time. He pulled out all the stops, stepping on several sacred cows in the process, in this Western parody to end all Western parodies. (What a nice antidote it made for me after The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.) Little plays the black sheriff selected sort of accidentally who partners with sidekick Wilder to help save a little town thru which evil schemer Korman wants to destroy […]
DVD Reviews, Part 2 of 3
Pt. 2 of 3 – September 2004 [Part 1], [Part 3] We continue our DVD Music Video reviews with five more!… Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003) Music & Appearances by Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, Allman Brothers Band, Les Paul, and others Studio: Palm Pictures Video: 4:3 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo Extras: 80 minutes of bonus footage: Deleted scenes, Separate interviews with Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Phil Ramone & others Length: 82 minutes for documentary Rating: **** Legendary record producer and recording engineer Tom Dowd died in 2002 and director Mark Moormann’s swinging documentary brings to light and sound the charmed life of this versatile, likable and no-nonsense hero of recorded music. Other much better-known producers in the record business, such as Phil Ramone, Jerry Wexler and Atlantic’s Ahmet Ertegun, speak at length about Dowd and his unusual story makes one wonder why his name hasn’t been just as familiar as theirs. Dowd was the son of professional musicians and majored in math and science in high school. He did classified research at Columbia University relating to the development of the atom bomb. After WW II the nature of his […]
DVD Reviews, Part 1 of 3
Part 1 of 3 [Pt. 2] [Pt. 3] ALL MUSIC VIDEOS (and more in Pt. 2) Keeping Score: MTT on Music (2004) The Making of a Performance: Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony Studio: San Francisco Symphony Video: 16:9 widescreen Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 on symphony, stereo on documentary Subtitles: German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese Extras: Narrated slide show on Tchaikovsky’s life, Piece on SF Symphony Rating: **** This first-rate pairing of a documentary on Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, followed by a full-length concert performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, was broadcast recently on PBS as the first in a series of San Francisco Symphony telecasts. The project grew out of the efforts of the Symphony’s staff in starting their own record label to issue MTT’s recordings of the Mahler Symphony cycle in SACD format (which we have been reviewing). Tilson Thomas adopts a very similar informal “just talkin’ to ya’” style of music appreciation pioneered by his one-time mentor Leonard Bernstein in his award-winning TV series for Omnibus. We see him working with the score of the Tchaikovsky, finding new details and turns of phrase that can bring what he himself describes as a warhorse to new life. He talks […]
Component Reviews, Part 3 of 3
September 2004, Part 3 [Pt. 1] [Pt. 2] Role Audio “The Enterprise” Tower Speakers SRP: $2,395 per pair Role Audio Box 13396 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3398 919-244-8777 www.roleaudio.com roleaudio@hotmail.com 2 -way transmission line design 2 3.5-inch woofers surrounding 1-inch fabric-cone tweeter D’Apollito driver configuration Double transmission lines Full plinth (14” x 12” x 1”) for stability Built-in spikes on plinth Full-length grill snaps off Integral vents for low wind noise and clean bass Full value film-foil capacitors in xovers Oxygen-free air core inductors Frequency response: 35Hz to 20kHz Five-way binding posts; Bi-wireable Dimensions: 5.5” W x 43” H x 10.4” D Weight: 50 lbs. each Woods: black & birch; oak & birch; or black & cherry for $100 extra Intro Role Audio is the higher-end line of NSM Audio, which has been building good inexpensive speakers in North Carolina for some years now. Their line of speakers has flexibility in both performance and price. A need arose for a new line of speakers at a higher price point, but still in the more modest under-$2500 a pair price point area. The Role Audio line was the result, and The Enterprise is the very top of the Role lineup, designed […]
Component Reviews, Part 2 of 3
No. 2 [No. 1] [3] • September 2004 V Inc. Bravo HD1 Off-Air (OTA) HDTV Tuner SRP: $349 V, Inc. 320A Kalmus Dr. Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 668-0588 (voice) (714) 668-9099 (fax) https://www.vinc.com/ Basic Description Unit receives all free-to-air (ATSC) formats (both analog and digital). Allows 16×9 or 4×3 output format and displays 480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i. Component, S-video, and composite video outputs and analog and coaxial digital audio output are included. Composite video and analog audio auxiliary inputs are available for PIP. IR remote controlled. RS-232 connection for upgrades. V-chip with parental control, electronic program guide, and favorite channel lists. 1 year warranty. 10.43” W x 6.89” D x 1.65” H, ~4.5 lbs. Equipment Radio Shack VU-120 XR outdoor FM/VHF/UHF antenna (120” boom length), RCA Scenium HDLP50W151 50” DLP rear projection television, Marantz VP12S2 DLP front projector projecting on Stewart 100” 16×9 screen with Studiotek 130 material; Hughes E86 DirecTV satellite/off-air HD decoder box (for comparison), Krell Theater Amp Standard, Krell Home Theater Standard processor, Audioquest cabling (Component video, audio, speaker wire). Setup The HD1 comes in an unassuming, smallish box with a plastic carrying strap. The power supply is separate and although the plug looks like […]
Component Reviews, Part 1 of 3
September 2004, Review 1 of 3 [2] [3] V, Inc. Bravo D2 Scaling DVD player SRP: $249 V, Inc. 320A Kalmus Dr. Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (714) 668-0588 (voice) (714) 668-9099 (fax) https://www.vinc.com/ Basic Description DVD player which plays DVD/DVD-R, VCD/SVCD, CD-DA/CDI-FMV, CD, MP-3, CD-R/CD-RW and supports MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, JPEG, DIVX. 8/16/32/48x fast forward and fast backward. Will output in 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. DVI, component, S-video, and composite video outputs for video, analog RCA, and both coaxial and optical digital outputs. Remote control included. Unit measures 16.9” W x 10.2” D x 2.6” H and weighs 5.5 pounds. 1 year warranty. Associated Equipment RCA Scenium HDLP50W151 50” DLP rear projection television, Fujitsu P42VHA30WS 42” Plasma monitor, Marantz DV-4400 DVD player (for comparison), Audioquest and Accell video cabling, Panamax 5300 line conditioner. Setup Although the manual that accompanies the D2 is full of color pictures and multiple hookup descriptions, some of the information is not quite correct. The manual states that it is necessary to connect a composite video cable to initially obtain an image, and then, via the setup menu, you can change the output resolution and select between DVI or component, etc. This is not […]
Classical CD Reviews, Part 2 of 2
September 2004 Pt. 2 of 2 [Pt. 1] VILLANCICOS Y DANZAS CRIOLLAS DEL LA IBERIA ANTIGUA EL NUEVO MUNDO 1550-1750: La Capella Reial de Catalunya, Hespèrion XXI, Jordi Savall – Alia Vox AV 9834 (77 mins.) ****: Jordi Savall and his intrepid band have traversed this delicious New World repertoire before, but about half of the music on this new recording is new to their discography. There even seem to be some entirely unrecorded works here, by the Mexicans Juan Garcia de Zéspedes and Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, the active in Peru Tomas y Torrejon y Velasco, and the Spaniards Melchior Torres and Mateo Flecha. But whether it is new or newly recorded, there is always much to be gained from the musicians’ fresh sense of improvisation, their sense of joy and excitement. And, also as always, the virtuosity with which Savall fastens on to a theme is riveting, even if the singers (including the usually resplendent Montserrat Figueras) are not always at their ultimate best. The recording is beautifully detailed and transparent, the presentation is a feast for the eyes as well as for the brain. If you love life enhancing rhythms, a rich tapestry of instrumental color […]
Classical CD Reviews, Part 1 of 2
September 2004 – Part 1 of 2 [Part 2] BACH, VIVALDI, MARCELLO: Concerti Italiani – Concerto Italiano, conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini – Naïve Opus 111 OP 30301 (63 mins.) ****: In the middle and at the end of an otherwise routine Baroque recital are two performances that, for very different reasons, every fancier of the genre will want to own. The apparent “concept” of the CD is the juxtaposition of Venetian concertos that Bach used as models. Oddly, however, the Bach concerto is a fabrication of its own, conductor Alessandrini’s arrangement of the well-known solo harpsichord work, the Italian Concerto, for strings. Patrick Barbier’s muddle-headed liner notes sheds little light on the circumstances surrounding what is called a “reconstruction,” or why it should be considered as such. But it makes for fascinating listening, the only other orchestration I know of the Italian Concerto being Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt’s more heavy-handed approach (included on a wonderful 2-disc set of Bach orchestral transcriptions from Biddulph). The performance by Concerto Italiano, unfortunately, does nothing to make it sound anything other than like a duck out of water. Maybe I’m missing something. The other notable work on this release is a breathtaking reading of Vivaldi’s G […]
SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews, Part 4 of 4
48 SACD, DVD-A & xrcd Reviews This Month September 2004 – Pt. 4 of 4 [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] Click on any cover to go directly to its reviews Go directly to xrcd reviews A pair of spectacular pipe organ SACDs next… SAINT-SAENS: Symphony No. 3 In E Minor “Organ;” – Michael Murray, organ/Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy; Encores a la française = COUPERIN: Chaconne; DUPRE: Carillon; GIGOUT: Scherzo; FRANCK: Piece Heroique; WIDOR: Toccata from Sym. No. 5; BACH: Sinfonia from CAntata 29; VIERNE: Final from Sym. No. 1; DUPRE: Musette; LEMMENS: Fanfare – Michael Murray – Telarc SACD from 50K Soundstream masters – SACD-60634 76 minutes ****: Another combined album from two earlier Soundstream issues. The pipe organ of St. Francis de Sales Church in Philadelphia couldn’t be brought to the orchestra’s own hall, so the Philadelphia Orchestra went to the church for this 1980 recording session. The organ certainly sounds more impressive than that on some competing Organ Symphony versions, and Ormandy’s forces are some of the best. I didn’t have the original CD of the St.-Saens but I did of the organ solo album. I again found the CD layer on the new disc for all […]
SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews, Part 3 of 4
48 SACD & DVD-A Reviews This Month September 2004 – Pt. 3 of 4 Pop, Rock, Misc. [Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 4] Click on any cover to go directly to its reviews We launch the pop & rock hi-res section with a Neil Young festival… Neil Young – On The Beach; Reprise R9 73945 Stereo DVD-A ****: The original release of this record was back in 1974. Even knowing that I was surprised at how “new” this music sounded. Part of the fact may relate to the fact that I’m not familiar with any of the songs, but right away the first track, “Walk On,” had an inviting rhythm with lyrics to match. The pace changes as the album progresses with the middle songs being a bit slower and mellow in comparison to the earlier tunes. Like most Young music, this disc offers politically and philosophically charged material. “Revolution Blues” is one of the more upbeat tunes on the surface but covers some heavy material bringing new mean to love thy neighbor. Vampire Blues is a funny song about exactly what you think–a bloodsucker. “On The Beach” is a thought provoking song that has a deliberately slow […]
SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews, Part 2 of 4
48 SACD & DVD-A Reviews This Month September 2004 – Part 2 of 4 – Classical (beg.) [Part 1] [Part 3] [Part 4] Click on any cover to go directly to its reviews ***** MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ***** W.A. MOZART: Requiem – Christine Schafer, soprano; Bernarda Fink, alto; Gerald Finley, bass; Kurt Streit, tenor; Arnold Schoenberg Choir/Concentus Musicus Wien/Nikolaus Harnoncourt – Deutsche Harmonia Mundi Multichannel SACD 82876 58705 2 *****: Mozart’s famed “requiem fragment” knocks me for a loop each time I hear it, but this recording knocked me off my feet and I landed in mid-air. Everything seems right, from the subdued Introitus to the brief but astonishing Dies Irae. Only Verdi’s Dies Ira comes close to this one in linking a frightening mood with exciting musical invention. The SACD surround balance is near perfect: you feel that you are in that church trembling away your last moments! Harnoncourt’s sense of drama is intense: I have never heard a conductor respect Mozart’s rests so well. Fink and Schafer show remarkable restraint and conviction in the Tuba Mirum, and Fink’s lower registers are particularly tasty. Harnoncourt conducts the Confutatis with erratic tempos and demonic dynamics, probably […]
SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews, Part 1 of 4
48 & Reviews This Month! September 2004, Pt. 1 of 4 – Jazz [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] Click on any cover to go directly to its reviews Claire Martin – Too Darn Hot! – with Gareth Williams, piano; Geoff Gascoyne, double bass; Clark Tracey, drums; Nigel Hitchcock, saxes; many others, featuring the Tapestry String Quartet, arranged by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett – Linn AKD 243 – Multichannel Hybrid SACD ****: As soon as I heard the saxophone burst that powers the opening of Something’s Coming (from West Side Story), I knew this disc was something very special, and not just another rehashing of tired old standards given quirky treatments by some new upstart trying to make a name for herself. The tune swings hard – during the instrumental break during the bridge, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to get up and dance! The brashness, confidence and total control that Claire Martin exudes suits the song perfectly – it’s still faithful to the Bernstein/Sondheim tradition, but she sings it like she owns it! My incredible reaction to this disc (and we’re only just past the first track) serves to remind me of […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
