Monthly Archive: January 2016
Joe Farrell – Skate Board Park – Xanadu/Elemental Music & Kenny Barron – At the Piano – Xanadu
Two great additions to the Xanadu Master Edition catalog – Joe Farrell & Kenny Barron. Joe Farrell – Skate Board Park – Xanadu/Elemental Music 906078 – 1979 – 39:55 – ****: (Joe Farrell – tenor sax; Chick Corea – acoustic & electric piano; Bob Magnusson – bass; Lawrence Marable – drums) Although veteran multi-reed jazz artist Joe Farrell mastered clarinet, flute, and soprano saxophone, it was the tenor sax to which he was most attracted. Farrell recorded his first album with Maynard Ferguson, and followed up with Jaki Byard for a period. Gigs with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band was well as an extended tenure with drummer Elvin Jones prepared him for stints with Woody Herman, Horace Silver and Herbie Hancock. In the early 1970s he was a charter member of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever fusion band (for which he is most known). In 1978 Joe was ready and excited about a date for Xanadu where he could return to his straight-ahead bebop roots in a quartet setting. Backed by Corea and long time mate West Coast bassist, Bob Magnusson, iconic drummer Lawrence Marable was added to make a first-rate quartet. The song list was a mix of […]
Lisa Hilton – Nocturnal – Ruby Slippers
Exploring the human “experience” with Lisa Hilton… Lisa Hilton – Nocturnal – Ruby Slippers 1020, 51:34 (1/22/16) ***1/2: (Lisa Hilton – piano; Antonio Sanchez – drums; J.D. Allen – tenor sax; Terell Stafford – trumpet and Flugelhorn; Gregg August: bass) Lisa Hilton’s new CD explores human emotions that often emerge during late evening personal reflections. Whether it be issues of love, illness, or abandonment, Hilton’s compositions and melodies bear repeat listening sessions. I found myself returning to this CD several times both in the intimate listening space of car audio as well as in quiet evening home audio settings. Hilton is backed by a front line of accomplished stars: Terell Stafford and J.D. Allen, who contribute to the moodiness that brings on active thought. “A Spark in the Night” would be at home in a detective noir movie as Allen and Stafford support Hilton’s catchy theme. “Seduction” is blues-based and haunting. “Whirlwind” has a bees nest of activity with the horns leading the way and August’s bass providing an active pulse. “Willow Weep for Me” has a sumptuous arrangement and Terell is a perfect choice for taking the lead on this classic track. The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?” is […]
Meridian Arts Ens. “Alchemy” (CD+DVD) & Meridian Arts Ens. “Live in Concert” (DVD) – both Meridian Arts Ens.
Meridian Arts Ensemble, “Alchemy” = music of Byrd, Gesualdo, Corelli, J.S.Bach, de Lassus, Carissimi and Elgar Howarth (Track List follows) – Meridian Arts Ensemble, 8 Bells – (CD + DVD) 59:02, (2/01/13) ***1/2: Meridian Arts Ensemble, “Live in Concert : The Library of Congress – 2004; Deutsches Jazz Festival – 1997” = music of Stravinsky, Gesualdo, David Sanford, Elliott Sharp, Su Lian Tan, Daniel Grabois, Jon Nelson, Randy Brecker (Track List follows) – Meridian Arts Ensemble, 8 Bells, 59:02, DVD (4:3 PCM stereo) [Both Distr. by Harmonia mundi] (7/10/12) ***1/2: This is a very talented and diversified brass ensemble you should hear. The Meridian Brass Ensemble was new to me. This is a genre I do enjoy but do not follow too well, I admit. The Meridian Arts Ensemble is based in New York City, specializing in the performance of new works for brass and percussion, but also in the traditional brass ensemble rep and with equal skill. Founded in 1987, the original members of the group wanted an opportunity to play challenging works, to experience control of their ensemble, and to find creative outlets for their musicianship. Meridian received its early education in the American Brass Quintet’s brass class […]
Robin Eubanks – More Than Meets the Ear – ArtistShare
Big band jazz for modern ears. Robin Eubanks – More Than Meets the Ear [TrackList follows] – ArtistShare AS0141, 71:38 [11/20/15] ****1/2: (Robin Eubanks – acoustic and electric trombone, percussion pads, producer, co-mixer; Antonio Hart – alto saxophone; Alex Cummings – alto and soprano saxophone; Marcus Strickland, Bobby LaVell – tenor saxophone; Lauren Sevian – baritone and bass clarinet; Lew Soloff, Alex Sipiagin, Duane Eubanks, Aaron Janik – trumpet; Jason Jackson, James Burton – trombone; Jennifer Wharton – trombone, tuba; Douglas Purviance – bass trombone; Glenn Zaleski – piano; Mike King – organ; Boris Kozlov – acoustic and electric bass; David Silliman – percussion; Nate Smith – drums) What would you do with a year off from work? Trombonist Robin Eubanks was given a one-year sabbatical from Ohio’s Oberlin College (where he is a professor) and used that time to do something he’d never accomplished before: write, arrange and plan out a jazz big band project. The result is the 72-minute collection, More Than Meets the Ear, which features nine Eubanks originals performed by Eubanks (acoustic and electric trombone and percussion pads), five saxes (led by Antonio Hart), four trumpets (led by the late Lew Soloff), four additional trombonists (led […]
Song Circus, “Anatomy of Sound” = a capella vocal sextet from Norway – 2L
Song Circus, “Anatomy of Sound” = RUBEN SVERRE GJERTSEN: Landscape with Figures; OLE-HENRIK MOE: Persefone – Song Circus – 2L-117 SABD, 56:59 SACD + 5.0 DTS audio-only Blu-ray (11/13/15) **1/2: Strange, spooky and not for everyone. Song Circus is an acclaimed a capella vocal sextet from Norway that specializes in works and improvisations using the human voice in a sort of architectural way; to build sound environments that are very textural and not relying regularly on the emphasis of harmonies, pitches and melodies. In other words, their work, impressive though it is, is a bit of a throwback to the sounds of Stockhausen, Ligeti and some electronic sound fields added to augment the mood and texture. This is, by and large, very abstract stuff that is best appreciated by listening to the intended vocal textures and bits of harmonies and range that creep in somewhat unexpectedly. Song Circus has worked a lot with composer Ruben Sverre-Gjertsen, who creates the electronics as well as sculpts and edits bits of texts, before; in the case of the present Landscape with Figures, the texts are from poetry by Damian Vitanza and James Joyce. Don’t expect to hear extended stretches of prose set to […]
Houston Person – Something Personal – HighNote
Houston Person – Something Personal – HighNote HCD7282, 63:16 ****: Stylishness and lyricism succeed in a mainstream scene. (Houston Person – tenor saxophone; Steve Nelson – vibraphone; John di Martino – piano; James Chirillo – guitar tracks 2,4,5,6; Ray Drummond – bass; Lewis Nash – drums) In the King James version of the Bible, Matthew 9:17 reads: ”neither do men put new wine in old bottles, else the bottles break.” Clearly this admonition does not apply to tenor saxophonist Houston Person and his cohorts in the release Something Personal. This stellar aggregation has taken some familiar standards and introduced them into new versions with body, finish, and character, that make them readily enjoyable. Houston Person, who is now in his eightieth year, knows all there is to know about playing the tenor saxophone, and has developed his soulful style which features a breezy approach and deep phrasing. Throughout the session, all the recognizable stylistic features of Person’s playing and those of the other members of the group, are brought out beautifully by Rudy Van Gelder’s recording and engineering. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen wrote “The Second Time Around” for a forgettable Bing Crosby movie called High Time released in […]
Andrew Hill – The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint and Soul Note – (4 CDs)
Four albums which encompass pianist Andrew Hill’s creativity. Andrew Hill – The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint and Soul Note [TrackList follows] – CAM/Black Saint/Soul Note BXS 1039, CD 1: 40:32, CD 2: 42:06, CD 3: 48:10, CD 4: 43:46 [11/13/15] [Distr. by Harmonia mundi] ****: (CD 1: Faces of Hope, 1980. Andrew Hill – piano) (CD 2: Strange Serenade, 1980. Andrew Hill Trio: Hill – piano; Alan Silva – bass; Freddie Waits – percussion) (CD 3: Verona Rag, 1988. Hill – piano) (CD 4: Shades, 1987. Andrew Hill Trio and Quartet: Hill – piano; Clifford Jordan – tenor saxophone; Rufus Reid – bass; Ben Riley – drums) Pianist and composer Andrew Hill (d. 2007) was a very individualistic artist who conceived a distinctive jazz vernacular which employed and combined free jazz elements, chromatic components and modal moments. Hill typically gets branded as an avant-garde musician; yet his music (compositions and long-form improvisations) do not mirror the free dissonance of others pigeonholed as avant-garde or free jazz creators, such as Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor and similar musicians. Although Hill was a stalwart performer and a noted educator, his standing was often as someone only known by other, […]
Cultural Death: Music under Tyranny = Works ov BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS, BERLIOZ – Munich Philharmonic & USSR Sym. – Arbiter
Arbiter celebrates three musical personalities who flourished, then perished within the autocratic bounds of fascism. Cultural Death: Music under Tyranny = BEETHOVEN: Leonore Overture No. 2; BRAHMS: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83: Allegro non troppo; BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique, OP. 14a – Munich Philharmonic/ Oswald Kabasta (Beethoven)/ Alfred Hohn, p./ Leipzig Radio Orch./ Reinhold Merten (Brahms)/ USSR State Sym. Orch./ Oskar Fried (Berlioz) – Arbiter 162, 78:43 (10/16/15) [Distr. by Albany] ****: Extensive documentation complements this fascinating release, part of which – the Oskar Fried Berlioz inscription from 1937 – has had CD incarnation prior. Allan Evans has created a kind of musical liturgy for three artists who perished as a result of the rise of fascism in Germany and the USSR: Oswald Kabasta (1896-1946), Alfred Hoehn (1887-1945), and Oskar Fried (1871-1941). Each musician, in his own way, suffered under the regime of National Socialism; although in Kabasta’s case – unlike Herbert von Karajan – his opportunism led to a personal catastrophe rather than a case of political redemption. Oswald Kabasta, a protégé of Karl Muck, assumed authority with the Austrian Radio Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony, and the Munich Philharmonic. His power-base, once established, even permitted him […]
Albert Coates conducts = MOZART: Sym. No. 41; BEETHOVEN: Sym. No. 3 – Pristine Audio
The epic temper in Albert Coates finds marvelous vehicles in music by Mozart and Beethoven. Albert Coates conducts = MOZART: Symphony No. 41 in C Major, K. 551 “Jupiter”; Overture to The Impraesario, K. 486; BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 55 “Eroica” – London Symphony Orchestra/ Albert Coates – Pristine Audio PASC 455, 71:42 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Some 35 years ago, record producer Thomas L. Clear created a two-volume “Anthology of Orchestral Music” on vinyl that included Russian-British conductor Albert Coates (1882-1953) leading the LSO in a performance from HMV electrical shellacs (26 August and 27 October 1927) of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony. I recall my telephoning Thomas Clear to express my total involvement in the Coates vitality and the cyclonic, manic frenzy he whipped up for this reading of Mozart’s last symphony. Now, record producer and engineer Mark Obert-Thorn revives this inscription, along with Coates equally remarkable Eroica (16 September and 26 October 1926) with an un-named London ensemble. The crisp execution and sheer velocity of the Jupiter Symphony do not detract from its dramatic and lyric effect; in fact, we might be just as much awed to witness the extent that Mozart’s […]
RICHARD STRAUSS Lieder sung by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf – Parlophone vinyl
We are hearing how it must have sounded in the Grunewaldkirche. RICHARD STRAUSS: Vier letzte Lieder – Orchestral songs: Muttertändelei, Op. 43 No. 2; Waldseligkeit, Op. 49 No. 1; Zueignung, Op. 10 No. 1; Freundliche Vision, Op. 48 No. 1; Die heiligen drei Könige aus Morgenland Op. 56 No. 6 – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, sop.. Berlin Radio Sym. Orch./ George Szell – Warner Classics/ Parlophone 0825646049646 vinyl, 38:84 (11-6-15) ****(*): Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was born in 1915, and came to symbolize the ultimate operatic drama queen in the core German opera, operetta, recital and various other repertoires, with numerous excursions into other shores. To celebrate her centenary, Warner Classics has re-released the original LP of her recordings of Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs and four earlier orchestral songs, recorded in September 1965 with George Szell and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. The performances were an odd couple pairing of the coquettish soprano with the disciplinarian conductor; the combination produced heady results. Szell focused on giving the subtly Technicolor orchestra the clear direction it needed in what is treacherously flexible but gorgeous Romantic music, letting Schwarzkopf, just past her glorious prime, the extra room and emotional dimensions she needed to float and phrase […]
Jimmy Giuffre – Western Suite – Atlantic/ Pure Pleasure – vinyl
Jimmy Giuffre – Western Suite – Atlantic SD-1331 (1958)/ Pure Pleasure (2015) – stereo vinyl, 38:19 ****1/2: A hi-res update of an inventive jazz symphony sounds vibrant! (Jimmy Giuffre – clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone; Bob Brookmeyer – trombone; Jim Hall – guitar) Part of Jimmy Giuffre’s musical legacy is his development of unprecedented jazz forms. He first gained notoriety in the late forties as an arranger for Woody Herman. Then Giuffre became a fundamental part of West Coast Jazz. In the fifties he formed a trio (playing saxophone instead of clarinet) with Jim Hall (guitar) and Ralph Pena (double bass). This created an ability to combine animated jazz music with low-keyed chamber interludes. When he replaced the doublebass with Bob Brookmeyer (trombone), Giuffre experienced a creative surge. The result of this was an original composition, Western Suite, that added a refreshing dimension to jazz. Pure Pleasure Records has re-mastered Western Suite to 180-gram vinyl. Side One opens with the core of the album, the four-part “Western Suite”. This is a truly ambitious work that draws on the rare alchemy between improvisational jazz and modern American classical music. The First Movement (“Pony Express”) embraces the folk elements that the title […]
Carte Blanche – Martha Argerich = Works of BEETHOVEN, SCHUMANN, SCHUBERT, RAVEL etc. – DGG (2 CDs)
The concert from Verbier from 27 July 2007 will endure as a classic moment on all counts. Carte Blanche – Martha Argerich = BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 70, No. 1 “Ghost”; SCHUMANN: Kinderszenen, Op. 15; SCHUBERT: Rondo in A Major, D. 951 “Grand Rondeau”; RAVEL: Ma Mere l’Oye; SCHUBERT: Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in a minor, D. 821; BARTOK: Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano; LUTOSLAWSKI: Variations on a Theme of Paganini; Encore: Improvisation on “Happy Birthday” (for Lily Maisky) – Martha Argerich, p./ Lang Lang, p./ Julian Rachlin, v./ Mischa Maisky, cello/ Yuri Bashmet, viola/ Renaud Capucon, v./ Gabriela Montero, p. – DGG 479 5096, (2 CDs) (7/31/15) 72:46; 64:44 (Distr. by Universal] ****: These live performances from the 2007 Verbier Festival (27 July) exist as a direct result of Martin Tison Engstroem’s invitation to Martha Argerich – whom the Founder and Director of the Festival had known since 1969 – for her to collaborate with her musician friends, preferably youthful, to make music in whatever repertory they chose. Argerich, who predominantly invests her energies into chamber music, does appear solo in the Schumann Kinderszenen Suite. Her rendition of the Schumann preserves its precious […]
Sonny Sharrock – Ask the Ages – M.O.D. Technologies
Rediscovering one of the undervalued heroes of jazz guitar. Sonny Sharrock – Ask the Ages [TrackList follows] – M.O.D. Technologies MOD0016, 44:37 (orig. release: 1991)[11/13/15] ****: (Sonny Sharrock – electric guitar, co-producer; Pharoah Sanders – tenor and soprano saxophone; Elvin Jones – drums; Charnett Moffett – acoustic bass; Bill Laswell – co-producer) Sonny Sharrock (who passed away in 1994) is one of the best guitarists many may never have heard. He primarily worked in the jazz field, but his fearless and adventurous style was typically so far out and advanced, that traditional jazz fans rarely, if ever, listened to him, which why is the reissue of Sharrock’s final jazz album, the 45-minute Ask the Ages (originally released in 1991), is an important record to discover or rediscover [Note: Sharrock’s last official work was the 1994 Space Ghost Coast to Coast soundtrack, which is not considered by most to fit into the jazz spectrum]. Sharrock made his initial recording appearance on saxophonist Pharoah Sanders’ inaugural LP, Tauhid, in 1966. Sharrock subsequently teamed up with Herbie Mann’s group; and played uncredited on Miles Davis’ A Tribute to Jack Johnson. Producer/bassist Bill Laswell invited Sharrock to join the avant/punk-jazz group Last Exit in […]
Editorial for January 2016
Here is a complete listings all the selections included in the set. This is an amazing collection for any record lover. Your chances of winning the set are very good. All you need to do is register using our very simple form here. Last month’s winner of the 52-CD Handel set on Brilliant is Joe Titone of Vancouver, WA. Congratulations! EDITORIAL AUDIOPHILE AUDITION began as a local program in San Francisco and then in 1985 as a weekly national radio series hosted by John Sunier, and aired for 13½ years on up to 200 public radio and commercial stations. In September 1998 its web site for program listings was expanded to this free Internet publication. January 2016 is our 202nd issue! All disc reviews are added thru the month as written and received, often daily. The most recent reviews appear at the top. The Home Page lists the five latest published reviews. Vinyls, Pure Audio Blu-rays and other hi-res formats are included in the SACD/Hi-Res Section, as well as exceptional xrcds. The site has been redesigned and improved. Please let us know if you find any errors. You probably have some friends who would enjoy knowing about AUDIOPHILE AUDITION. Please pass on our URL and […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
