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Palladian Ensemble – An Excess of Pleasure – Works of MATTEIS, LOCKE, PURCELL, etc. – Linn

Palladian Ensemble – An Excess of Pleasure – Works of MATTEIS, LOCKE, PURCELL, etc. – Linn

by | Nov 27, 2016 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Palladian Ensemble – An Excess of Pleasure – Works of MATTEIS, LOCKE, PURCELL, etc. [TrackList Follows] – Linn BKD 010, 65:43 (10/31/95 & 3/11/16) ****½: (Pamela Thorby; recorders/ Rachel Podger; violin/ Joanna Levine Viola da Gamba/ William Carter; theorbo, guitar) A welcome reissue of the Baroque chamber super-band Palladian Ensemble’s debut recording. Between their formation in 1991 and 2003, when violinist Rachel Podger left to pursue a solo career, the Palladian Ensemble made ten remarkable recordings for Linn Records. Except for the first, which is under review here, on which Joanna Levine plays viola da gamba in place of regular Susan Heinrich, the ensemble has remained the same. Seven of these recordings received lofty Diapason awards. Over these 12 years, they have established themselves as a consistent and premier Baroque chamber group. For me, this ensemble of theorbo/lute, violin, viola da gamba and recorder is distinctive for its harpsichord-less sonority. William Carter’s fretted instruments have an expanded role in maintaining the harmonic textures. We feel his presence everywhere in the ensemble, whether plucking the deep notes on the theorbo or driving the rhythm with his bright-hued Baroque guitar. Occasionally, as in the Ciaconna, he showcases his virtuosity on a solo […]

Joe Henderson/Chick Corea etc. – Mirror, Mirror – MPS vinyl

Joe Henderson/Chick Corea etc. – Mirror, Mirror – MPS vinyl

by | Sep 1, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Joe Henderson expands the vision on Mirror, Mirror… Joe Henderson/Chick Corea etc. – Mirror, Mirror – MPS 0210998MSW – vinyl (1980) ***: (Joe Henderson – tenor sax; Chick Corea – piano; Ron Carter – bass; Billy Higgins – drums) Joe Henderson, the iconic jazz tenor saxist, covered all bases. He could be deeply in the groove as a key member of Horace Silver’s funky hard bop band, yet at home with free expression exploring abstract jazz. He led sophisticated large bands and earned a Grammy honoring Billy Strayhorn on his well-received album, Lush Life.  He was a reserved musician, never showy, and highly respected by his peers. He was inspired by John Coltrane and that influence is felt on this 1980 release, just reissued by MPS on vinyl. Backed by three all-stars, Chick Corea, Ron Carter, and Billy Higgins, we find Joe in a complex harmonically advanced modal space exploring fellow band member’s compositions, as well as one of his own tunes, and the standard, “What’s New.” Joe enters avant-garde space but does not venture so far as to alienate mainstream listeners. His composition, “Joe’s Bolero” goes out onto the ledge but is not a free dive as his bellowing […]

Home Page for May 2015

Home Page for May 2015

by | May 1, 2015 | Home Page

Our drawing for May is the just-released DGG complete set of all the Beethoven Piano Sonatas performed by Maurizio Pollini on 8 CDs.  His playing has a heft and muscularity that complement the works perfectly. (The average customer reviews at Amazon for this $32 set were 5 out of 5 stars.) Here is our review of the boxed set.  Three AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers who register this month using our simple form will receive the albums.  [Please fill it out entirely.] Go to our current Editorial Page for details on this drawing and (soon) the winner of last month’s drawing.

Home Page for May 2015

Home Page for January 2015

by | Jan 1, 2015 | Home Page

For January 2015 we have two fine new jazz CDs going to six AUDIOPHILE AUDITION readers. One is Such Sweet Thunder, by Vance Thompson’s Five Plus Six featuring the core quintet with six additional horns.  Their debut CD is full of panache and surprise, and includes music of Ellington and Monk plus country and folk. Here’s our review of it. The second CD is Lonely City, from vocalist-composer Allegra Levy. This is her clearly autobiographical debut album, and is a lyrical collection of 11 originals. Pictured are the covers both CDs. To be considered, just register using our simple form on the site, and you may be one of the lucky six readers. More details on our Editorial Page, plus the name of the winner of December’s major SACD set. Here is our Best Discs of 2014 List

Blue Note xrcd24 Reissues – a Cause for Celebration

Blue Note xrcd24 Reissues – a Cause for Celebration

by | Oct 13, 2013 | Special Features

For years the XRCD re-issue series from JVC put out among the very best “Red Book” CDs of any jazz label. Their attention to detail was beyond reproach.  Original issues in the 1990s were manufactured in the JVC manufacturing plant in Yokohama, Japan. They involved the use of the 20-bit Sony PCM-9000 magneto-optical disc combined with JVC’s K2 20-bit analog-to-digital converter. Jitter and distortion were largely eliminated. The end product produced the highest quality transfer from the original master tapes to compact disc. At that time JVC issued primarily releases from  Fantasy/OJC, well before those labels were sold to Concord Records. [Although these discs are down-sampled to CD 44.1K/16-bit standards and are playable on any CD player, we are still listing these latest versions individually in our Hi-Res Section because the fidelity has been enhanced to the point that they now truly sound more hi-res than standard CDs…Ed.] In 2006 Elusive Disc took over the JVC XRCD line when JVC USA shut down their operations here. With former JVC employee Kevin Berg as production coordinator, and Robert Bantz as executive producer, under the moniker Audio Wave (marketed by Elusive Disc), they have been re-issuing classic Blue Note issues from the […]