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Jane Ira Bloom – Early Americans – Outline/Sono Luminus SL Ed. – audio-only Blu-ray

Jane Ira Bloom – Early Americans – Outline/Sono Luminus SL Ed. – audio-only Blu-ray

by | Dec 21, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

A gorgeous Blu-ray audio from American’s soloist on soprano sax, with her trio. Jane Ira Bloom – Early Americans [TrackList follows] – Outline/Sono Luminus SL Editions – multichannel audio-only Blu-ray SLE-70005. 52:54 (Distr. by Naxos) [11/18/16] *****: (Jane Ira Bloom, soprano sax/ Mark Helias, bass/ Bobby Previte, drums) With renowned audio engineer Jim Anderson, this 13-track session consists of a dozen of her originals, the drive of Song Patrol to the spare melancholy of Mind Gray River, plus a closing solo version of the classic Bernstein West Side Story number, Somewhere. The album has a stunning photo of Bloom on the front. This is Bloom’s first trio album, and she seems to like the slightly off-balance feel of the trio, whose members she has long worked with before. It is also her 16th album as a group’s leader.  One of the tracks is under two minutes (Nearly – for Kenny Wheeler) while others are over five, including the penultimate very moving one, Big Bill. The whole session is full of plenty of variety as well as exploration. It would be a real treat of all jazz albums were as good sonics and performance is this one. TrackList: Song Patrol; Dangerous […]

“New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others – Sony Classical

“New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others – Sony Classical

by | Nov 22, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

A really amazing crossover album and one of the very best Rhapsody in Blues. “New York Rhapsody” – Lang Lang, p. & many others [TrackList follows] – Sony Classical 889853329229, 70:00 (9/16/16) *****: I almost decided to put this CD in our Popular category, but it certainly is a very intense crossover effort in spite of Lang Lang saying that it is not. At the center of it all is perhaps the very best version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on record, and I am very partial to one with David Golub, conducted by, of all people, Mitch Miller, on Arabesque (1992). That one is great stereo sound and performance but this one is even better. Part of it is the showiness of Lang Lang, which is bound to come out in this album dedicated to America’s most symbolic city as great artists have imagined it. Part of it is also that this is a two-piano version of the Gershwin classic, with jazz legend Herbie Hancock at his Fazioli and Lang Lang at his Steinway, plus the London Symphony! The rest of this CD consists of nine short tracks featuring vocals by Jason Isbell, Andra Day, Kandace Springs, Lisa Fischer, […]