Monthly Archive: June 2018

ANTHEIL: Specter – performed by  Duo Odeon – Music of George Antheil – Sono Luminus 

ANTHEIL: Specter – performed by  Duo Odeon – Music of George Antheil – Sono Luminus 

A good collection of Antheil’s music, played with passion and precision Antheil: Specter – performed by  Duo Odeon – Music of George Antheil – Sono Luminus Audio CD DSL-92222 (6-22-18) TT: 61:59 George Antheil (1900-1959) was an American composer—born in Trenton, New Jersey—who began his professional career in Europe, where he was friends with, among […]

Chet Atkins – Chet Atkins In Hollywood – Speakers Corner Records 

Chet Atkins – Chet Atkins In Hollywood – Speakers Corner Records 

A country guitar legend records in Hollywood and enhances his legacy. Chet Atkins – Chet Atkins In Hollywood – RCA Victor LSP-1993 (1959/1961)/Speakers Corner Records (2016), 180-gram stereo vinyl 35:47 ****1/2: (Chet Atkins – guitar; Howard Roberts – guitar; Jethro Burns – mandolin; Clifford Hill – bass; George Callender – bass; Larry Bunker – drums; […]

Kevin Sun – Trio – Endectomorph 

Kevin Sun – Trio – Endectomorph 

New trio music inspired by Parker, Coltrane, Iyer and more. Kevin Sun – Trio – Endectomorph Music EMM-003, 71:47 [2/2/18] ****: (Kevin Sun – tenor saxophone, C-melody saxophone (tracks 4, 12), clarinet (tracks 2, 7, 9), producer; Walter Stinson – bass; Matt Honor – drums, Tracklist at end of review) Saxophonist and clarinetist Kevin Sun […]

Ry Cooder – Paradise And Lunch – Warner Brothers/Reprise/Speakers Corner

Ry Cooder – Paradise And Lunch – Warner Brothers/Reprise/Speakers Corner

A classic 1974 roots album gets a well-deserved analog update!  Ry Cooder – Paradise And Lunch – Warner Brothers/Reprise MS 2179/Speakers Corner (2016) 180-gram stereo vinyl, 36:51 *****: Ry Cooder’s Paradise And Lunch was released in 1974 to critical acclaim. Backed by a stellar ensemble of jazz (with no less than Earl Hines one one […]

RICHARD STRAUSS: Macbeth; Don Juan; Death and Transfiguration; Festmarsch  – Staatskapelle Weimar/ Kirill Karabits – Audite

RICHARD STRAUSS: Macbeth; Don Juan; Death and Transfiguration; Festmarsch  – Staatskapelle Weimar/ Kirill Karabits – Audite

Familiar and unfamiliar orchestral selections from Richard Strauss receive energetic readings from conductor Karabits. RICHARD STRAUSS: Macbeth, Op. 23; Don Juan, Op. 20; Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24; Festmarsch in C Major – Staatskapelle Weimar/ Kirill Karabits – Audite 97.755, 70:25 (5/18/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: In 1884, Richard Strauss became, through the support of […]

Reason & Reverence: Works for Orchestra – Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra / Petr Vronský – Navona

Reason & Reverence: Works for Orchestra – Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra / Petr Vronský – Navona

An excellent collection of contemporary collection of music around the theme of reverence and growth Reason & Reverence: Works for Orchestra – Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra / Petr Vronský Navona Records NV6166  (6/8/2018) ****: What a refreshingly good listen this disc from Navona is. The album starts splendidly with Christopher Keyes’ An Inescapable Entanglement. It has […]

MENDELSSOHN:  Overture & Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics

MENDELSSOHN:  Overture & Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics

Faeries and humans may well dance and rejoice in Ivan Fischer’s new reading of Mendelssohn’s classic response to Shakespeare’s magical comedy. MENDELSSOHN: Overture and Incidental Music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Opp. 21 & 61; F. MENDELSSOHN: May Night, OP. 9, No. 6; Distance, Op. 9, No. 2; Gondola Song, Op. 1, No. 6 – […]

Danny Fox Trio – The Great Nostalgist – Hot Cup 

Danny Fox Trio – The Great Nostalgist – Hot Cup 

Modern piano jazz from a forward-looking trio… Danny Fox Trio – The Great Nostalgist [TrackList follows] – Hot Cup 104, 53:18 [1/19/18] ****: (Danny Fox – piano; Chris van Voorst van Beest – bass; Max Goldman – drums) There’s plenty of personal history in the ten originals on the Danny Fox Trio’s third album, the […]

BLOCH: Music for Viola and Piano – Paul Neubauer, viola/ Margo Garrett, piano – Delos 

BLOCH: Music for Viola and Piano – Paul Neubauer, viola/ Margo Garrett, piano – Delos 

Virile, robust performances of Bloch’s viola compositions make this collection a must for those who cherish the instrument at its best. BLOCH: Suite for Viola and Piano; Suite for Viola Solo; Suite Hebraique; Meditation and Processional – Paul Neubauer, viola/ Margo Garrett, piano – Delos DE 3498, 56:27 (2/16/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Cultural historians […]

Ryan Keberle and Frank Woeste – Reverso-Suite Ravel – Phono Art

Ryan Keberle and Frank Woeste – Reverso-Suite Ravel – Phono Art

Modern jazz inspired by classicalism. Ryan Keberle and Frank Woeste – Reverso–Suite Ravel [TrackList follows] – Phono Art/Alternate Side, Ref Phonoart 001, 53:40 [2/9/18] ****: (Ryan Keberle – trombone, co-producer; Frank Woeste – piano, co-producer; Vincent Courtois – cello; Jeff Ballard – drums) Classical music and jazz have become intertwined over the decades, from Gershwin’s […]

Benito Gonzalez, Gerry Gibbs and Essiet Okon Essiet – Passion Reverence Transcendence: The Music of McCoy Tyner — Whaling City Sound 

Benito Gonzalez, Gerry Gibbs and Essiet Okon Essiet – Passion Reverence Transcendence: The Music of McCoy Tyner — Whaling City Sound 

A charismatic Tyner tribute. Benito Gonzalez, Gerry Gibbs and Essiet Okon Essiet – Passion Reverence Transcendence: The Music of McCoy Tyner [TrackList follows] – Whaling City Sound [dist. by NAXOS] WCS 102, 77:32 [4/27/18] ****: (Benito Gonzalez – acoustic piano; Gerry Gibbs – producer, drums, percussion, conga drums, harp, mini-Moog, vibraphone, marimba, kalimba, balifons, glockenspiel, […]

Sometime Ago – Cornerstone Records

Sometime Ago – Cornerstone Records

An appealing release filled with subtle coolness. Sometime Ago – Cornerstone Records CRST CD 148 58:24****: (Jim Vivian – bass; John Abercrombie – guitar; Ian Froman – drums; Mike Murley – tenor saxophone) John Abercrombie was an American guitarist, who in addition to being an influential  jazz figure, might also be considered as a synthesizer […]