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Monthly Archive: January 2016

Joseph Daley – The Tuba Trio Chronicles – Joda Music

Joseph Daley – The Tuba Trio Chronicles – Joda Music

by | Jan 16, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

An inventive trio tribute to the pioneering Sam Rivers. Joseph Daley – The Tuba Trio Chronicles [TrackList follows] – Joda Music (Catghaut Arts) 004, 69:52 [1/1/16] ****: (Warren Smith – drums, MPI [Multiple Percussion Instrument] (tracks 1, 5, 7), bass marimba (track 2), timpani (tracks 2, 4-5), bass drum (tracks 3-4), gongs (tracks 3-5), Chinese cymbal (track 3), cymbals, crotales (tracks 4-5), marimba (track 5), cow bells (track 5), wood blocks (track 5), vibraphone (track 6); Joseph Daley – producer, euphonium (tracks 1, 3, 5), tuba (tracks 2, 5-7), muted and open tuba (track 4), processed sounds (track 5); Scott Robinson – tenor saxophone (tracks 1, 6), bass saxophone (tracks 1, 4, 7), contrabass sarrusophone (track 3), jazzophone (tracks 3-4), bass flute (tracks 5-6), Theremin (track 5), photo Theremin (track 5), waterphone (track 5), percussion (track 5), contra-alto clarinet (track 5)) The trio album dubbed The Tuba Trio Chronicles has an inscription inside the digipak which sums up this record: “This project is dedicated to the memory of my good friend and mentor Sam Rivers.” Those are the words of tuba player Joseph Daley, who worked with Rivers [b.1923 – d.2011], specifically Rivers’ pioneering Tuba Trio. Daley’s experience at Rivers’ […]

Shura Cherkassky, piano = Works of HAYDN, CHOPIN, CHASINS, POULENC & RACHMANINOFF – MeloClassic

Shura Cherkassky, piano = Works of HAYDN, CHOPIN, CHASINS, POULENC & RACHMANINOFF – MeloClassic

by | Jan 16, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Cherkassky’s appearances in Germany in the 1950s confirm his status as a master colorist. Shura Cherkassky, piano = HAYDN: Piano Sonata No. 34 in e minor; CHOPIN: Ballade No. 1 in g minor, Op. 23; Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat Major, Op. 51; Fantasie-Impromptu in c-sharp minor, Op. 66; Scherzo No. 1 in b minor, Op. 20; CHASINS: 3 Chinese Pieces, Op. 5; POULENC: Toccata from Trois Pieces; RACHMANINOV: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 – Shura Cherkassky, p./ Sym. of the SW German Radio/ Hans Mueller-Kray – MeloClassic MC 1033, 74:55 [www.meloclassic.com] *****: The rarified art of pianist Shura Cherkassky (1909-1995) has another important document in these 1952-1958 recital pieces and the Rachmaninov Rhapsody from, respectively, Bremen and Southwest German Radio. From the outset (27 February 1958), with the e minor Haydn Sonata (1778), Cherkassky presents a wide sonic palette, though understated, that reveals Haydn’s demands – Alberti bass figures, legato double-notes, syncopated double-notes, and a constant juxtaposition of major and minor modalities – that unfold in a manner that combines much of Scarlatti with the stile brise of the Bach sons. Besides the use of portato arpeggios in the first movement, the striking Adagio suggests florid, […]

Audio News for January 15, 2015

by | Jan 15, 2016 | Audio News

Samsung to Supply OLED Displays for Next Apple iPhone – A new report says that Samsung Display in South Korea is getting ready to make flexible OLED displays for Apple iPhone 7. The curved OLED screens will replace the current LTPS TFT LCD screens. Samsung Display is also investing $832 million to make OLED displays for its Galaxy smartphones and Chinese smartphone makers. The latest flexible OLED screens can be folded and rolled up. America’s Most Diverse Festival To Feature Sound Installations – The Big Ears Festival, March 31 thru April 2, will feature sound installations of John Luther Adams’ Veils and Vesper and Lou Reed’s Drones, programming by Laurie Anderson. The installation will run six hours daily, and the listener is able to create their own mix by moving thru the space and basking in the harmonic colors of each piece. The setting is the sanctuary of the former First Christian Church in Knoxille, TN, which will become a place of contemplation and meditation. Other works of Adams will be performed during the festival, including his orchestral work, Become Ocean. The Lou Reed work originates from six of his electric guitars and amps. The New Yorker hails it as […]

JAMES WINN: Variations; Masque; Three Nocturnes – MSR Classics

JAMES WINN: Variations; Masque; Three Nocturnes – MSR Classics

by | Jan 15, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Winn the performer has been around awhile, but if you don’t know the composer you only have half the story. JAMES WINN: Variations on a Theme of Bartok; Masque for Oboe, Cello, and Piano; Three Nocturnes for Piano Trio – Dmitri Atapine, cello/ Rong-Huey Liu, oboe/ Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, v./ James Winn, p. – MSR Classics MS 1588, 47:44 [Distr. by Albany] *****: James Winn us a highly-regarded performer, teacher, composer, and new music specialist operating out of the University of Nevada in Reno. This outstanding disc showcases his chamber music work from the late 1970s to late 1980s, and for those lamenting the supposed fact that creative and even breathtaking new music is a thing of the past, this disc is likely to change your mind. The Variations is for cello and piano, and is an absolute masterpiece to my way of thinking. Not only are the intricacies of development from a Bartokian theme exploited to the full, but also the profound technical abilities of the cello are maximized in a way that allows the soaring beauties of Winn’s melodies to achieve full effect. The Masque for Oboe, Cello, and Piano settles things down a bit with a tone that […]