Select a month

Back to The Archives

performer Archive

The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite – Cuneiform

by Audiophile Audition | Sep 12, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

The Claudia Quartet shares musical sketches from life incorporating travel, song, news, movies and more. The Claudia Quintet – Super Petite [TrackList follows] – Cuneiform, Rune 427, 47:21 [6/24/16] ****: (John Hollenbeck – drums, percussion; Red Wierenga – accordion; Matt Moran – vibraphone; Drew Gress – acoustic bass; Chris Speed – clarinet/tenor saxophone) Some writers prefer the conciseness and tight structure of short stories to the length of novels. There’s a nebulousness to characters and pensive situations where the reader has to fill in some details. One of Raymond Carver’s short story collections was called Short Cuts, and that’s an apt analogy to drummer/composer John Hollenbeck’s 47-minute Super Petite, the eighth release with his long-standing Claudia Quintet. Whereas some jazz artists gravitate to making albums or musical projects prolonged and larger, Hollenbeck took the opposite approach and focused on penning shorter compositions (although one piece on Super Petite is over eight minutes). Hollenbeck states in his liner notes, “Many of these compositions came from studies or ideas that I wanted to practice or explore—and through further exploration, they organically evolved into musical portraits or musical shorts.” Hollenbeck’s work has been and continues to be modernistic, and spans contemporary jazz and […]

What Happened, Miss Simone?, Blu-ray + CD

by Audiophile Audition | Aug 27, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

A terrific documentary on the life of this important vocalist in jazz, plus a CD of some the songs most associated with her career. What Happened, Miss Simone?, Blu-ray + CD (2015) Director: Liz Garbus Cast: Nina Simone and many of her friends and family Studio: Netflix/RadicalMedia/Moxie Firecracker Prod./Universal/Eagle Vision Blu-ray EVB335429 (9/2/16) + standard CD (2 discs) Video: 1080i for 16:9 screens, HD color & B&W Audio: English DTS-5.1 HD-MA, PCM stereo (CD – 44.1K/16-bit stereo) Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese Rating: ***** The story of her life and career is shown thru bits of archived interviews, extensive footage of her performances, and new interviews with family, friends and colleagues. Simone started out as a little black girl classical pianist of great talent, beginning at the age of four, who was turned away by Curtis Institute due to her race. She became a jazz and pop pianist, a unique vocalist, songwriter, singer, performer, civil rights activist, wife and mother, victim of abuse and a black icon. Simone’s career in music began when she had to earn money and began by playing and singing jazz and blues in nightclubs. She was considered by many to be too black, short […]

Elvis Costello – Detour – Live At Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Blu-ray (2016)

by Audiophile Audition | Mar 1, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Elvis Costello – Detour – Live At Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Blu-ray (2016) New wave auteur goes solo with forty years of worthwhile material. Cast: Elvis Costello with Larkin Poe (Rebecca and Megan Lovell) Studio: Eagle Vision EVB335309 Director: Joss Crowley Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1; PCM 2.0 Stereo Video: 1.78:1 for 16:9, 1080i HD Color Length: 121 minutes TrackList: Red Shoes; Watch Your Step; Accidents Will Happen; Church Underground; As; Shipbuilding; I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down; Walkin’ My Baby Back Home; Ghost Train; When I Was Cruel No. 2; Watching The Detectives; If I Had A Hammer; Pads, Paws And Claws; That’s Not Part Of Him You’re Leaving; Down On The Bottom; Blame It On Cain; Alison; A Good Year For The Roses; Side By Side; Jimmie Standing In The Rain; Peace Love And Understanding; Golden Tom/Silver Judas Bonus Tracks: Love Field; Either Side Of The Same Town; Brilliant Mistake; Ascension Day Ratings: Audio: **** Video: **** Elvis Costello got his start in the pub musical scene in England. He rose to some prominence as part of the New Wave vanguard in the […]

Frank Zappa – Roxy, The Movie, CD + Blu-ray (2015)

by Audiophile Audition | Feb 14, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

Frank Zappa – Roxy, The Movie, CD + Blu-ray (2015) A true rock genius is revealed in restored Blu-ray of a vintage performance. Studio: Eagle Vision EV8335219 Cast: Frank Zappa & The Mothers Video: 1.78:1 for 16:9 screen, 1080p HD, Color Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1; PCM 2.0 stereo TrackList: Something Terrible Has Happened/Cosmic Debris; Penguin In Bondage; T’Mershi Duween; Dog Meat (The Dog Breath Variations/Uncle Meat); RDNZL; Inca Roads; Echidna’s Art (of You); Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?; Cheepnis-Percussion; Cheepnis; I’m The Slime; Big Swifty; Be-Bop Tango (Of The Old Jazzmen’s Church); End Credits: Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow; Father O’Blivion Bonus Tracks: Pygmy Twylyte; The Idiot Bastard Son; Dickie’s Such An Asshole Length: 116 minutes Ratings: Audio: ***1/2 Video: ***1/2 Overall: ****: Certainly Frank Zappa’s music and career can be safely described as weird. His unique approach to rock, orchestration and avant-garde set him apart from his peers. The music was different and bent the rules of genre association and instrumental arrangement. Without reluctance, he would shake up the band lineup to bring a fresh perspective to his changing vision. One aspect of his musical career was film. 200 Motels (with The Mothers, Theodore […]

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

by Audiophile Audition | 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 […]

Andrew Hill – The Complete Remastered Recordings on Black Saint and Soul Note – (4 CDs)

by Audiophile Audition | Jan 1, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

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, […]