Monthly Archive: June 2018
Bernstein in the 1940s, Volume 2 = Works by SCHUMANN; ROZSA; R. STRAUSS – New York Philharmonic – Pristine Audio
Pristine restores the historical moment of Bernstein’s 1943 debut at Carnegie Hall, a moment that officially launched a legendary career.
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 many others, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Ernest Hemingway, Eric Satie, and Igor Stravinsky. Antheil wrote over 300 musical works – symphonies, chamber works, film music, and operas. This disc gives us a collection of Antheil’s chamber music, performed by two of Antheil’s greatest supporters, the Duo Odeon, violinist Hannah Leland and pianist Aimee Fincher. They formed Duo Odeon in 2014 during their doctoral studies at Arizona State University. They also champion other contemporary composers to give them a wider audience. Although all the pieces on the disc are quite interesting, I was absorbed by Valses from Specter of the Rose, an arrangement of music from Antheils 1947 film score for Specter of the Rose. The recording is an intimate one for all three works, with a hint of room ambiance. Most of the music is centered between the front […]
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; Jack Sperling – drums; with Dennis Farnon and His Orchestra) Chet Atkins was a transcendent country music star. He worked his way up through the traditional country scene as a guitarist. He also played mandolin, fiddle banjo and ukulele. The list of artists he backed was extensive, including Hank Snow, The Carter Family, and Red Foley. Atkins was known for popularizing the Merle Travis guitar technique, using the thumb and two or three finger to pick. As a “hired hand” Atkins was good enough to be inducted into the Grand Old Opry in the 50’s. But Atkins’ musical legacy may have been defined by his work as a producer. Along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, Chet Atkins helped to define the Nashville sound, reducing fiddle and banjo instrumentation and injecting more dynamic sound mixes. Atkins won 14 Grammys and 9 Country Music Awards. He […]
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 is a good example of moving beyond what one knows. On the one hand, Sun has spent considerable time and effort transcribing solos by John Coltrane, Steve Coleman, Hank Jones, Joe Henderson, Vijay Iyer and more. Nevertheless, Sun is much more than a replication instrumentalist. He understands the importance of tradition and studying master musicians but he does not rely on recreating what those artists have done. Instead Sun uses what he has learned to push his music forward and propel his creativity. Throughout his debut as leader—the 72-minute, 14-track Trio—Sun displays his imaginative performance style, his compositional skills and his group improvisational perception. The Brooklyn-based Sun is also a member of the quartet Great on Paper and the chordless quartet Earprint. He studied composition with Miguel Zenón and John Hollenbeck, and cites Coleman, Iyer, Miles Okazaki, Henry Threadgill, Steve Lehman and Turner as influences. […]
Harry Nilsson – Aerial Ballet – Speakers Corner (2017)
Fifty years later, this pop album is still important! Harry Nilsson – Aerial Ballet – RCA Victor LSP-3956 (1968)/Speakers Corner (2017) 180-gram vinyl, 25:15 ****1/2: (Harry Nilsson – vocals; Plas Johnson – woodwinds; Dennis Budimir – guitar; Al Casey – guitar; Michael Melvin – piano, organ, harpsichord; Larry Knechtel – piano, bass; Jim Gordon – drums; Milt Holland – percussion) Prior to the advent of the early 1970’s singer/songwriter culture in Southern California, there was Harry Nilsson. The Brooklyn native moved to Los Angeles and balanced his job in a bank with a desire to sing and perform original compositions. After some early songwriting successes with Little Richard, Phil Spector, Glen Campbell, The Yardbirds and The Monkees, Nilsson was signed to RCA Victor as a solo artist. With a three-and-a half octave range as a tenor, he developed a musical style that synthesized baroque psychedelic pop with Caribbean tempos, utilizing vocal overdubs. In 1967, Pandemonium Shadow Show was released to critical acclaim, but disappointing sales. However musical peers like The Beatles were enthusiastic fans and this provided momentum to his career. In 1968, Aerial Ballet fared considerably better, yielding two “hits”. The first, Fred Neiil’s “Everybody’s Takin’” was a minor […]
Dectet: The Music of David Sampson – Czech Philharmonic Orchestra/Paul Polivnick, American Brass Quintet – Albany Records
Compelling compositions by American Composer David Sampson
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 track) and rock musicians, it represented the stylized, modern blues contexts that imbue Cooder’s music. Speakers Corner has re-mastered this classic album to 180-gram vinyl and it is terrific! Side One opens with an update of “Tamp ‘Em Up Solid”. The jaunty laid-back grooves are framed by exquisite acoustic guitar picking. The ever-present “Sunday” undertones bask in gospel backup vocals and the gentle roll of a train cadence. Washington Phillip’s “Tattler”is revisited by infectious island rhythms and playful ambiance. The switch to electric maintains the low-keyed elegance. Within the rock community, there is a genuine respect for the roots of blues music. Cooder is among the most supportive in this endeavor. The homage continues with a country-based cover of Blind Willie McTell’s “Married Man’s A Fool”. The amalgam of roots and gospel (and there is an “Amen Brother!”) is reminiscent of the time period with […]
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 conductor Hans von Bulow, the deputy at the Meiningen court orchestra, where Strauss nurtured a slow but abiding respect for Wagner’s music and for the condensed, symphonic poems of Franz Liszt. In 1886, Strauss selected a proper Shakespearean subject for musical treatment, the “Scottish tragedy” of Macbeth. The gestation of this “harsh and gruesome” text took Strauss the better part of four years and three revisions: it premiered 13 October 1890 in Weimar, the very “home ground” of Franz Liszt, progenitor of the form of the tone-poem. Following the psychological rather than the chronological aspects of the play, the violent, often dissonant music depicts the brief monarchy amiable King Duncan, but the music soon erupts with dark ambition and ruthless fury, especially in the use of a new instrument in Strauss arsenal, the bass trumpet. Music boastful, savage, and intermittently tender compete in various paroxysms […]
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 a minimalistic style, with some more traditional elements. Red Rock is a symphonic poem commissioned by the Henderson Symphony and its music director, Taras Krysa. The music reflects Nevada’ Red Rock Canyon near Las Vegas. It’s an interesting piece, full of invention and subtle musical color. Fernidnando De Sena’s Deciphered Reverence explores the lofty idea of divine presence and creates an interpretation through the consistent, triumphant swelling of the orchestra. Composed by Willem Van Twillert, multiple styles set the foundation for Branches of Singularity. Multiple developments transitions from one style to another create an interesting and attention getting piece. Andrew Schultz’ Symphony No. 2 – Ghosts of Reason concludes the CD nicely. It’s a slower, contemplative piece. Sometimes a mixture of composers does not make for a good listening experience. But Reason and Reverence flows together very nicely, with some very fresh voiced composers. The […]
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 – Anna Lucia Richter, soprano/ Barbara Kozelj, alto/ Pro Musica Women’s Choir, Nyiregyhaza/ Budapest Festival Orchestra/ Ivan Fischer – Channel Classics Hybrid DSD CCA SA 37418, 56:35 (6/22/18) [Distr. by PIAS] *****: That Felix Mendelssohn composed his Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the age of seventeen (1826) continues to astound anyone aware of the precious delicacy and sensitivity of its scoring and absolute fitness of its idiom. Whether or not the young Mendelssohn had been impressed by Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischuetz, the sensibility of magical transformation and faerie intrigue so suits the drama that no other composer has dared to challenge the effect. In terms of recorded performance, depending on one’s preference for English or German narrative, those by Otto Klemperer and Ferenc Fricsay, respectively, have maintained their dominance in my own catalogue of inspired readings. Now, with this performance by Ivan […]
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 53-minute The Great Nostalgist. The modern jazz tunes are titled after different aspects of friendship, family, childhood, school days and recent life events. The NYC-based group formed in 2008. Pianist Fox also co-founded the New York City rock and roll band Tubby and has performed with Bruce Springsteen, Cassandra Wilson and Kermit Driscoll. Bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest (born in Maine; moved to Brooklyn in 2005) created the chamber music project Hear + Now. Drummer Max Goldman (born in Rochester, NY and has lived in NYC since 2001) has played and/or recorded with Tim Berne, Eleanor Friedberger (who was one-half of The Fiery Furnaces) and others. The Danny Fox Trio’s previous releases comprise 2011’s The One Constant and 2014’s Wide Eyed. The threesome open with the cerebral “Adult Joe,” meant to honor old friends and recall childhood nicknames. The 6:35 tune features a moody […]
French Moments = Piano Trios by ROUSSEL, DEBUSSY, FAURE – Neave Trio – Chandos
The Neave Trio bestows upon us three French piano trios that well define late Gallic Romanticism and its capacity for rare colors. French Moments = ROUSSEL: Piano Trio in E-flat Major, Op. 2; DEBUSSY: Piano Trio in G Major; FAURE: Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120 – Neave Trio – Chandos CHAN 10996, 70:08 (6/1/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Recorded 19-21 October 2017, the three piano trios offered by the Neave Trio—Anna Williams, violin; Mikhail Vesetov, cello; Eri Nakamura, piano—provide perfect vehicles to justify the etymology of the ensemble’s chosen title, since “Neave” derives from the Gaelic designation for “bright” and “radiant.” Of particular note, the 1902 Piano Trio in E-flat by Albert Roussel (1869-1937) will prove enchanting, given its striking colors and post-Franck harmonic syntax. The opening movement—Modere, sans lenteur—though establishing a three-note pattern on the home key in a manner that suggests a sunrise, quickly gravitates into the active, chromatic harmony we associate with late French Romanticism. Roussel does demonstrate a melodic gift, occasionally in a martial spirit, and his cello likes to meander in dark hues. The recapitulation of this movement presents the themes in reverse. The influence of Cesar Franck makes itself felt in the […]
The Music Treasury for 23 June 2018 — Violinist Michael Rabin
The Music Treasury this week is featuring recordings by violinist Michael Rabin, who had an exceptional career in the 1900s, albeit a tragically short one. Rabin showed deep musical talents at very early ages, studied with Heifetz and Galamian when quite young, with his Carnegie Hall debut performing Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5. More information of Michael Rabin can be found below, along with details of the program for the evening. This week’s show can be heard between 19:00 and 21:00 PDT from its host station KZSU at Stanford University in the Bay Area, or in its concurrent streaming at kzsu.stanford.edu. As always, Dr Gary Lemco host the show. Michael Rabin, American violinist. Michael Rabin (May 2, 1936 – January 19, 1972) has been described as “one of the most talented and tragic violin virtuosi of his generation.” His complete Paganini “24 Caprices” for solo violin are available as a single CD, and an additional six-CD set contains most of his concerto recordings. Despite his brief career—he died at 35—they remain seminal recordings of each of the recorded pieces. Michael Rabin was of Romanian-Jewish descent. His mother, Jeanne, was a Juilliard-trained pianist, and his father, George, was a violinist in the New […]
The Music of Lucien Caillet, Vol. 2 = Works by BACH; BUXTEHUDE; VIVALDI ; DEBUSSY; RACHMANINOV; TCHAIKOVSKY; CAILLET – Pristine Audio
Both sophisticated and splashy, the transcriptions from Lucien Caillet compel some virtuoso playing from various ensembles.
Harold Vick – Don’t Look Back – Strata East/PurePleasure
Continuing the Strata East tradition… Harold Vick – Don’t Look Back – Strata East/PurePleasure SES-7431 – audiophile 180 gm vinyl – 1974 – ****: (Harold Vick – tenor sax, flute, bass clarinet, soprano sax; Virgil Jones – trumpet and flugelhorn; George Davis – alto flute, guitar; Kiane Zawadi – euphonium; Joe Bonner – piano, Fender Rhodes, tuba, percussion; Sam Jones – bass; Billy Hart – drums, percussion; Jimmy Hops – percussion) Strata East was a black musician owned jazz label started by Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell in the 1970s. The label produced over fifty albums during this period. A unifying factor to most all of their issues was an assertive, spiritual, post bop modal African influence. There was a lot of percussion used, and the musicians were deeply involved with interplay, as opposed to comping behind the soloist. Standards were minimized, and the session leaders both composed and arranged their own material. Multi instrumentalist, Harold Vick, recorded for the label in 1974, after having been with Blue Note, Muse, and RCA. His first album from 1963, Steppin’ Out, was a classic Blue Note hard bop release and featured an all star line-up with Blue Mitchell, Grant Green, John Patton, […]
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 may recall that the music of Swiss composer Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) indirectly led to aspects of the Harlem Renaissance: in 1925, Paul Robeson and Lawrence Brown, while passing by Carnegie Hall, read the program notes that accompanied an all-Bloch recital: “In my music, I have tried to capture the spirit of my people.” What Bloch could accomplish for “Jewish” music, thought Robeson, he and Brown could provide for Negro music in America. The 1919 Suite for Viola and Piano by Bloch does not, strictly speaking, belong to his Jewish works but to a vision of the Far East of Java, Borneo, Sumatra, perhaps in the “visual” manner of Gauguin and Henri Rousseau. Bloch called the opening motif “a kind of savage cry, like that of a fierce bird of prey.” The secondary theme, misterioso, proceeds as a meditation. The music moves into a virile Allegro, […]
The Music Treasury for 17 June 2018 — Andre Tchaikowsky, pianist/composer
This week, The Music Treasury will feature Andre Tchaikowsky, both a composer and pianist from the 1900s. His career, although short, was full with performances and a significant number of compositions, including an operatic setting to Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. The show can be heard in the Bay Area on the KZSU radio station; it is available simultaneously on the ‘Net at kzsu.stanford.edu, from 19:00 to 21:00 PDT. More information for the show is appended. Andre Tchaikowsky (1935-1982), pianist and composer Our on-air guest this evening will be commentator Mark Ainsley, who has graciously provided some of the recordings to be heard. He will discuss the career and recordings of Mr. Tchaikowsky. Andre Tchaikowsky, the Polish-born British pianist and composer, died prematurely at the age of 46. He was born in Warsaw in 1935 with the name of Robert Andrzej Krauthammer. He showed musical talent from an early age, and his mother, an amateur pianist, began teaching him piano when he was four years old. When the Second World War broke out, he and his family, because they were Jewish, were moved into the Warsaw Ghetto. He remained here until 1942, when he was smuggled out and provided with forged […]
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 “Rhapsody in Blue” to Miles Davis’ 1960 LP Sketches of Spain (the opening piece is based on Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez), as well as the Modern Jazz Quartet’s 1973 record Blues on Bach and many more examples. Trombonist Ryan Keberle and pianist Frank Woeste’s 53-minute Reverso – Suite Ravel is easily this year’s best classical/jazz hybrid project. The 11 tracks are primarily inspired by Ravel’s six-part solo piano suite “Le tombeau de Couperin,” written between 1914 and 1917. Keberle and Woeste do not recreate Ravel’s suite, rather they utilize the Baroque-inspired material as a starting place for their own compositions, six composed by Woeste, three by Keberle and two listed as collectively improvised. The music hints at Ravel and sometimes suggests Ravel’s underlying parameters. The CD liner notes reveal Ravel was no stranger to jazz. During a 1928 US tour, Ravel stated, […]
Carlo Zecchi: The Complete Cetra Solo Recordings – Carlo Zecchi, piano/ Arrigo Tassinari, flute/ Giaconda da Vito, violin/ E.L.A.R. Symphony Orchestra/ Fernando Previtali – APR
The piano artistry of Italian master Carlo Zecchi finds a resplendent tribute in Obert-Thorn’s meticulous restoration.
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, electronic effects, voices, wood flutes, quica; Essiet Okon Essiet – acoustic and electric bass) There are jazz artists who create magic which inspires other musicians. Pianist and composer McCoy Tyner is one of those artists. His presence looms through the 77-minute, 13-track Passion Reverence Transcendence: The Music of McCoy Tyner. Venezuelan pianist Benito Gonzalez (who has recorded with Ron Blake, Azar Lawrence and Christian McBride); percussionist/drummer Gerry Gibbs (his résumé includes Tyner, Stanley Clarke, Alice Coltrane and others); and bassist Essiet Okon Essiet (he has performed or recorded with Kenny Barron, Kurt Elling, Kenny Garrett and more) offer a testament to Tyner’s legacy with nine pieces penned by Tyner; three trio originals; and a John Coltrane tune. Gonzalez, Gibbs and Essiet are not shy about their adoration for Tyner. In the CD liner notes Gonzalez admits, “I listened to [Tyner] every day because I loved […]
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 in bringing together several musical threads from jazz to folk and rock. Equally at home on both acoustic and electric guitars, he built his reputation in the 70s and 80s, but continued to record and perform until his death from a stroke in August 2017. This session on Canadian Cornerstone Records was recorded in November 2016, and was officially released in Toronto on May 12, 2018. Accompanying Abercrombie were a cohort of first rate Canadian musicians lead by bassist Jim Vivian, with Ian Froman on drums and the ever interesting tenor saxophonist Mike Murley on 3 of the 8 tracks. The track list is an eclectic mixture of well known popular and jazz favourites along with original material from both Abercrombie and Vivian. Leading off with Cole Porter’s “Everything I Love” which was first performed in 1941 by Danny Kaye, the opening phrases by Abercrombie […]
To Brahms, With Love = BRAHMS: Cello Sonatas – Amit Peled, cello/ Noreen Polera, piano – CAP Records
To Brahms, With Love = BRAHMS: Cello Sonatas – Amit Peled, cello/ Noreen Polera, piano – CAP Records Amit Peled applies his cherished Casals cello in the service of the two Brahms sonatas. To Brahms, With Love = BRAHMS: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38; Cello Sonata No. 2 in F Major, Op. 99 – Amit Peled, cello/ Noreen Polera, piano – CAP Records 016-1, 56:57 (6/1/18) [www.caprecords.org] ****: Amit Peled extends his love affair with Pablo Casals’ 1733 Matteo Gofriller instrument (rec. 19-21 June 2017) by applying its luxurious sonority to the two Brahms cello sonatas, from 1865 and 1886, respectively. Perhaps in deference to his revered Beethoven, Brahms created his first sonata for two different instruments for the cello, much as Beethoven had exerted his first efforts on a duo sonata to his Op. 5 pair of cello sonatas. Brahms found instrumental inspiration in the playing of cellist Robert Hausmann. For the E minor Sonata, Brahms chose a theme taken from Bach’s The Art of Fugue—the Contrapunctus XIII—for his third movement Allegro, combining its three-voice, contrapuntal potential with sonata-allegro form. The opening movement, Allegro non troppo, exploits the cello’s low register to great effect. As […]
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
