|
|
|
|
 |
Classical
Music |
|
|
| |
Frédéric
Chopin: 26 Préludes
Robert Schumann: Papillons, Op. 2.
Claudio Arrau, piano.
PentaTone Classics PTC 5186 165 Reviewed by RSF
PentaTone Classics, along with the engineering know how of Polyhymnia
International BV, continues their tradition of mining musical masterpieces
from the 1970’s quadraphonic catalogue of Philips Classics. With
over 60 discs in the PentaTone catalogue to date that should be explored
by all music lovers, these ‘classic’ performances are given
first-rate sound you’d never know wasn’t from pure digital
sources. The performances of Chopin and Schumann played by the great Chilean
pianist Claudio Arrau, offer the music lover insightful, accurate readings
of these important compositions. Arrau was one of the last century’s
legendary masters of the piano and his skills are clearly heard in these
entrancing performances. His personal repertoire was vast, from Beethoven
through Schoenberg. His Liszt is legendary. Born in 1903, he spanned the
Century, only dying in 1991. Listening to these two ‘old friends’
is a reminder of how great he truly was. I hope to see more Arrau performances
re-issued in the future; the sound is truly exceptional. I really enjoyed
listening to the CD layer, but have to admit that the real beauty is realized
in multi-channel.
This is wonderful music, easily accessible and highly prized. Not to be
missed.
Supplier: www.pentatonemusic.com |
|
   |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Mozart:
Chamber Music for Winds and Strings
Boston Symphony Chamber Players
BSO Classics 0601 Reviewed by RSF
I’ve always been a fan of the BSCP and was delighted to hear (and
hear about) this all Mozart program which includes K581, the Clarinet
Quintet, K407, the Horn Quintet as well as the Oboe and the Flute Quartets,
K370 and K298 respectively.
While the actual members of the ensemble have changed over the years –
they were first formed in 1964 under the tenure of Erich Leinsdorf –
the quality of the playing by these principal members of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra has remained of the highest calibre. This is an immensely enjoyable
outing that contains cohesive, yet spontaneous performances. The sound
quality is outstanding and the disc timing is generous at 76+ minutes.
There are not many comparable discs that offer performances of this standard
and certainly nothing in the DSD market comes close. The CD layer is most
likely a down-conversion, with a rich, not too reverberant acoustic. I
have a particular fondness for the Clarinet and Horn Quintets and was
extremely impressed with the playing of the principals involved, William
R. Hudgins, clarinet and James Sommerville, horn. This is Mozart offered
up with fashionable performances, exceptional sound and at a moderate
price. Highly recommended and not to be missed.
Supplier: www.bso.org
|
|
  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Biber,
Bach, Vivaldi: Icons Of Music – Violin Sonatas
Marco Fornaciari, Ernesto Merlini, Leonardo Colonna
fonè Signoricci cd 004 Reviewed by AKB
Italian violinist Marco Fornaciari performs violin sonatas by Biber, Bach
and Vivaldi, and I am totally impressed. The sound of these original instruments
– not as resonant as modern ones – fits perfectly with the
church acoustic, not overloading it but sounding detailed and full of
complex resolution.
The Austrian composer Biber is almost forgotten today, but he created
wonderful sonatas for violin and basso continuo. Like Vivaldi, he was
influenced by non-musical impressions – for his Sonatas of the Holy
Rosary, it was scenes from the bible and the life of the Virgin Mary.
The original instruments demand their own technique, yet the sonatas sound
surprisingly modern. I am often dissatisfied by recordings with historic
instruments – in my opinion, they have become more about attitude
than authenticity. They tend to be too dogmatic, sometimes too forced,
sometimes too artificial. But sometimes, you hear a record that sounds
so convincing it forces you to change your mind. Icons Of Music is just
such a recording!
|
|
 
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Audiophile
Recordings |
|
|
| |
Plas
Johnson - Positively
Pure Audiophile PA-005 Reviewed by DDD
Plas Johnson is not exactly a household name, but anyone who has watched
the Peter Sellers’ movie Pink Panther will recall Johnson’s
bluesy sound from the famous theme song. This is a re-issue of one of
Johnson’s best Concord albums, made as an aside to backing any number
of better known artists. He is accompanied here by the Concord house band,
consisting of Ray Brown, Herb Ellis and Jake Hanna in this sextet outing.
This is the kind of music you expect to hear on a Concord release –
traditional, swinging and well recorded. If not the most challenging jazz,
what it does, it does very, very well. The record swings, and reminds
me of many great concerts I’ve enjoyed at the Concord Pavilion produced
by Carl Jefferson, founder of the Concord label. Concord is well known
for its excellent engineering, most often by Phil Edwards, and this is
no exception, yet this deluxe vinyl set lifts the excellent sound a few
notches. Stan Ricker’s half-speed mastering is largely responsible
for that, along with spreading the grooves out over two heavy discs, pressed
on heavy vinyl at RTI. Pure Pleasure also scores with wonderful packaging.
Except for the Japanese Venus Records releases, no record company today
comes close to the quality of record sleeves provided by Pure Audiophile.
Kudos to Dennis Cassidy and his team!
|
|
  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Diabolus
in Musica: Accardo interprets Paganini
Charles Dutoit cond. LPO. Salvatore Accardo, violin.
Clearaudio/Deutsche Grammophon 477 6492 Reviewed by RSF
This one had me puzzled, but only for a little while. Although I see references
to CD compilations in the liner notes, what is released here was originally
recorded by DGG at various venues in the late 1970’s. I wasn’t
familiar with Accardo’s work for the label during this period, but
I can tell you that what I hear on this Clearaudio release gives me great
food for musical thought. Paganini, the fire and brimstone composer (as
well as, according to reports of the day, one of the greatest violinists
who’s ever lived), is captured eloquently on this re-issue. While
I did find the acoustic occasionally too reverberant for my taste, Accardo’s
playing is thrilling and exceptionally vivid. He’s recorded perfectly
by the engineers who not only deliver great dynamics, but also offer us
the delicacy of a wonderful pianissimo in the form of a delicate triangle
positioned properly in the orchestral venue. Each selection is a treat
and I truly hope Clearaudio gets more
of this on vinyl. Very impressive and I think ‘a must own’
set. Not to be missed.
Supplier: www.clearaudio.de
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
John
Abercrombie & Eddie Gomez with Gene Jackson - Structures
Chesky SACD317 Reviewed by DD
Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops were very popular half a century ago.
They recorded some wonderful encore orchestral pieces and of course the
(in)famous early Living Stereo of Offenbach’s Gaite Parisienne.
This, in the right pressing has always been regarded as a sonic spectacular.
However, whether or not the music is your cup of tea is another matter
entirely. I’d always dismissed Fiedler as a serious conductor. The
man was a great talent but because I’m so familiar with his ‘wallpaper’
recordings, having him record say a Beethoven symphony would be quite
a shock to me. I don’t have, and didn’t want, an original
of this recording so have nothing to compare and my feelings about this
issue are mixed.
I find the sound quality excellent. If only all Living Stereo re-issues
were given this treatment! But I find Suite No. 1 frankly boring. Suite
No. 2 is much more interesting. The second side finishes with quite a
lovely Lyric Suite which is comprised of four movements: Shepherd Boy,
Norwegian Rustic March, Nocturne, March of the Dwarfs. You’ll have
to decide if the performances are for you, but I can assure you that you
won’t be disappointed in the sound quality.
|
|
  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Karrin
Allyson - Footprints
Pure Audiophile Records PA-014 (2) Reviewed by DDD
I approach new releases by jazz vocalists with caution, but this one took
me by surprise. I’ve enjoyed Allyson’s prior releases for
Concord, but she’s finally put it all together in a package of songs
that had me riveted from start to finish.
The concept here was to take jazz instrumental compositions, add lyrics
by songwriter Chris Caswell, and round off the mix with tasteful accompaniment
by Frank Wess on tenor saxophone, Bruce Barth on keyboards, Peter Washington
on bass, Nick Philips on trumpet and Todd Strait on drums. Jon Hendricks
adds vocals on three songs, and Karrin leaves little doubt that she could
have stepped in for Annie Ross without disappointing Lambert, Hendricks
& Ross fans. Karrin also gives us a tribute to the great Oscar Brown,
Jr., performing his ‘A Tree And Me’ and ‘But I Was Cool’.
Allyson handles this material without going over the hipster jive top
(those familiar with Oscar Brown’s great album ‘Sin and Soul’
will know what I mean).
The original CD recording was mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios
and sounded excellent. This new two LP re-issue has taken things up several
notches. Stan Ricker did his half-speed mastering magic, adding two bonus
tracks, with the 15 songs spread across two 180g LPs. The sound is spectacular.
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Clark
Terry - Color Changes
Candid/ Pure Pleasure CJS 9009 Reviewed by DD
Despite a career stretching over 60 years, this 1960 release is widely
recognised as Clark Terry’s best. It’s not difficult to see
why, since he’s joined here by a stellar group including Yusef Lateef
(tenor, flute, English horn, oboe, etc. etc.), Jimmy Knepper (trombone),
Tommy Flanagan (piano), Joe Benjamin (bass), Seldon Powell (tenor, flute),
Julius Watkins (French horn), and Ed Shaughnessy (drums). The opening
‘Blue Waltz’ immediately sets the pace with great solos from
all, underpinned by deft and inventive percussion from Shaughnessy. Lateef’s
‘Brother Terry’ opens with a deep growl from Terry’s
horn that immediately sets the tone for this evocative piece, further
developed by sinuous lines from Lateef’s oboe. ‘Flutin’
and Fluglin’ does just what it says on the packet; light as air
with the flutes of Powell and Lateef interacting superbly with Terry’s
flugelhorn. ‘La Rive Gauche’ opens side 2 and is Terry’s
tribute to “my favourite section of my favourite city”. My
favourite number here ‘Nahstye (sic) Blues’ is the funkiest
of the set and features a superb tenor solo from Lateef, some storming
work from Terry and particularly inventive and powerful percussion from
Shaughnessy. Well recorded, boasting an excellent pressing from Pallas
and with not an ounce of fat in any of its seven numbers, this is a very
welcome re-issue.
|
|
  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
The Tony
Bennett Bill Evans Album
Analogue Productions 45 RPM limited edition Reviewed by DDD
Bill Evans teamed up with Tony Bennett in June1975 to record this magic
collaboration. Bennett, pushing 50 at the time, sang beautifully, but
with was hardly at the peak of his powers. Compared to earlier recordings
his voice had thickened and lost some elasticity. Evans, whose trio recordings
ensured his place among the great jazz pianists, was slumming it playing
what was a cabaret gig. Nonetheless, the pairing worked remarkably well,
with Evans reading Bennett’s every mood as though he worked as an
accompanist for a living. Original pressings of this Fantasy title rarely
show up, and it’s hard to believe this record sold so few copies.
Still, every copy of the original issue I have ever found had defective
or disappointing sound. The record seemed to catch the fancy of record
collectors when Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs released it heavy vinyl version.
That sold out and itself went on to become a sought after collector’s
item. That MoFi release was one of their best mastering jobs, and compares
well with this re-issue. This one squeezes a bit more “you are there”
out of the piano sound, but in a few places I hear what might be tape
overload or damage in the vocals. This minor quibble aside, it’s
an excellent job. Buy it now or wait until it sells out and pay double
on eBay a year from now. |
|
  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Lee Konitz
- Motion
Speakers Corner/Verve Reviewed by DDD
Alto saxophone extraordinaire Lee Konitz teamed up with Elvin Jones and
Sonny Dallas for Motion, one of his finest albums. Konitz’s cool
sound is played off against Jones’ usual frenetic pace to deliver
an album that is riveting, adventurous and yet accessible. The Penguin
Guide awarded this album one of its “crowns” designating a
subjective favorite of the authors. Kontiz recorded prolifically throughout
the last half of the twentieth century, and has continued to record and
perform at a very high level. This 1961 record is certainly one of his
best and a good place to start an exploration of this great altoist, who
did more than simply follow in the footsteps of Charlie Parker, developing
his own vocabulary. Now if we could only get a reissue of Lee Konitz with
Warne Marsh on Atlantic, and then the rest of the Konitz Verves…
Original copies of Motion are fairly scarce despite their relative youth,
and Verve wasn’t always producing top quality pressing in the 1960s.
The new Speakers Corner mastering sounds splendid and handily beats the
original Verve stereo pressings, with the harmonic correctness immediately
obvious. The stereo spread is not ideal, but my mono original falls short
of the re-issue in every other respect.
This is one of the biggest sonic re-issue success stories I’ve heard
– Speakers Corner turned an indifferently mastered original into
a sonic gem.
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
John Heard
& Co. - The Jazz Composer’s Songbook
Straightahead-103 Reviewed by AKB
Welcome to the Fifties, where the finest Jazz music and Jazz recordings
took place! Straightahead Records wants to recreate the era: just imagine
a great live session at Bernie’s in Hollywood, pure analogue, recorded
direct to two track, with titles from Horace Silver, Monk and Co. Those
are the ingredients of The Jazz Composer’s Songbook. Heard, who
used to play with Oscar Peterson and Count Basie, is just one part of
a fantastic band. Danny Grissett, piano, Lorca Hart, drums, Herman Riley,
tenor sax, and Nolan Shadeed, trumpet, prove that today you can still
play in the spirit of Horace Silver, but with some modern flair too. ‘Soulville’
with an amazing unisono intro by sax and trumpet or ‘Doodlin’’
where Heard manages to apply Silver’s lively piano technique on
his bass, ‘Valse Hot’ with its tricky rhythm brushed the wrong
way: How many examples do you need to be convinced? My favourite song
is ‘Dat Dere’ from Bobby Timmons: The beat goes straight into
your feet, the five are swinging, it is just “straight ahead”
jazz!
Without a doubt Straightahead Records, established by mastering legend
Bernie Grundman and producer Stewart Levine, is set to become one of the
finest jazz labels worldwide! |
|
  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
Sarah
Vaughan In Hi-Fi - Pure Pleasure
Reviewed by DDD
One can walk into almost any used record store and find a selection of
Sarah Vaughan recordings on Mercury, Roulette and Pablo. Two of my favorites
pair Sassy with great trumpet players – Sarah Vaughan on EmArcy
(with Clifford Brown) and this new release with Miles Davis. This fabulous
record was recorded during several sessions between late 1949 and early
1952. The original album (Columbia CL 745) included eight numbers recorded
in May 1950 with top-flight musicians, including Miles on trumpet and
either Mundell Lowe or Freddie Green on guitar. Vaughan’s throaty,
sexy voice is always the star of the show, whether backed by a nameless
orchestra or jazz immortals. Everything on this album is top drawer, but
some of the songs and pairings stay with you long after the music has
subsided. Especially haunting are ‘Come Rain Or Come Shine’
with Mundell Lowe’s guitar accompaniment in the background, ‘Mean
To Me’ with Budd Johnson on tenor sax and a very muted Miles in
the background, and ‘It Might As Well Be Spring’ with Miles
doubling Vaughan’s voice a half beat behind. Pure Pleasure has released
this album with nine tracks not on the original LP spread out over two
discs. Where the original LP had quite good sound on most tracks, merely
serviceable sound on a few, Pure Pleasure has done an excellent job on
the original mono tapes.
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
