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J D Allen – Americana – Musings On Jazz And Blues – Savant

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 16, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

J D Allen – Americana – Musings On Jazz And Blues – Savant SCD 2155, 44:54 ****: The album is an adventure into America’s musical past. (J D Allen – tenor saxophone; Gregg August – bass; Rudy Royston – drums) The combination of musicians that J D Allen brought together for his look at musical culture called Americana: Musings On Jazz And Blues brings to mind another seminal recording done in 1957 by tenor saxophone Sonny Rollins entitled Way Out West, that included bassist Ray Brown and drummer Shelly Manne. Although both discs have similar instrumentation, Rollins is focused on the popular music tradition, while Allen has devoted his efforts principally to the blues form. The project opens with an Allen original “Tell The Truth, Shame The Devil” and immediately the function of the blues is evident as Allen begins his exploration of the genre with a soulful sound that is heartfelt. There are two compositions on this session that are not Allen originals, the first being “Another Man Done Gone” and “If You’re Lonesome, Then You’re Not Alone”. The first is credited to Alabama-based singer Vera Hall and is sorrowful blues that is accentuated by Gregg August’s arco bass […]

STRAVINSKY conducts STRAVINSKY: L’Histoire du Soldat; Dumbarton Oaks & others – Pristine Audio

by Audiophile Audition | Mar 24, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

For Stravinsky enthusiasts, this disc fills an essential gap otherwise omitted in the recorded legacies accumulated over the years. STRAVINSKY conducts STRAVINSKY: L’Histoire du Soldat Suite; Violin Concerto in D Major; Jeu de Cartes; Dumbarton Oaks Concerto for Chamber Orchestra in E-flat Major – Marcel Darrieux, violin/ Emil Godeau, clarinet/ Gustave Dherin, bassoon/ Eugene Foveau, cornet/ Raphael Delbos, trombone/ Alphonse-Joseph Delmas, doublebass/ Jean-Paul Morel, percussion (L’Histoire)/ Samuel Dushkin, violin/Lamoureux Orch. (Concerto)/ Berlin Philharmonic Orch. (Jeu de Cartes)/ Dumbarton Oaks Festival Orch./ Igor Stravinsky – Pristine Audio PASC 462, 79:20 [avail. in various formats from www.pristineclassical.com] *****: Producer and Restoration Engineer Mark Obert-Thorn provides the rationale for this collection of Stravinsky’s rare recordings: The present program might be called “The Uncollected Stravinsky,” as it brings together several items which have been left out of recent reissues of the composer’s recordings, mainly because they were done as “one-offs” for labels with which the composer did not usually record. We hear here his only recordings for Polydor, Telefunken and Keynote, as well as a French Columbia recording omitted in EMI’s “Composers in Person” series set of CDs devoted to Stravinsky. If you have this CD and the Mozart download on this [Pristine] webpage, […]