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Kirk McElhearn |
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Johann
Sebastian BACH
(1685-1750) Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord, Preludes and
Fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book I
Alison Crum, viola da gamba; Laurence Cummings, harpsichordRec: November
1999. SIGNUM SIGCD024 [55.12]
This recording
was a discovery that made me reconsider these pieces, which I had often
considered to be minor works. Not only is the playing outstanding, but
the recording quality of this disc is among the finest I have ever heard
of these instruments. As I said in my review, "This is perhaps the
best recording available of Bach's Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord.
Beautiful performances by both musicians, instruments that sound fresh
and alive, and an excellent recording make this an essential disc for
any Bach lover." KM
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Johann
Sebastian BACH
(1685-1750)
Trio Sonatas London
Baroque Ingrid Seifert, violin; Richard Gwilt, violin / viola; Charles
Medlam, violoncello; Terence Charlston, harpsichord / organ. Rec: October
- November 2001, St. Martin’s, East Woodhay, Hampshire, England.
BIS CD-1345 [74.38]
London Baroque
have already proven their uniqueness in the past, but they reach a new
summit here. In my review, I had already considered this one of the best
discs of 2002: "This fine recording is certainly one of the best
Bach discs of the year. London Baroque confirm their qualities as not
only sensitive and well-balanced, but also creative in these fine transcriptions.
This is an essential recording for Bach lovers, who will find new worlds
of feeling in music that is certainly familiar." KM
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Johann
Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I BWV 846-869
Rosalyn Tureck, piano Rec: September and October 1975, April 1976, BBC
Concert Hall Studios, London.
BBC MUSIC BBCL 4109 2 [131.21]
Roslyn Tureck
is one of the finest Bach performers on the piano, and her mono recording
of the Well-Tempered Clavier, from 1953, stands as one of the finest versions
of this monument. What a surprise to discover that the BBC had tapes of
a 1975-76 recording of these preludes and fugues, made for radio broadcast.
It's hard to say whether this recording will dethrone her older set -
time will tell, as will repeated listenings. But this set stands as one
of the great surprises of this Bach year, and perhaps her final testament.KM
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Johann
Sebastian BACH
(1685-1750) St. John Passion BWV 245
Ingrid Schmithusen, soprano Yoshikazu Mera, counter-tenor Gerd Türk,
tenor (Evangelist) Chiyuki Urano, bass (Jesus) Peter Kooij, bass (Petrus,
Pilatus) St. Matthew Passion BWV 244
Nancy Argenta, soprano Robin Blaze, countertenor Gerd Türk, tenor
(Evangelist) Makoto Sakurada, tenor Peter Kooij, bass (Jesus) Chiyuki
Urano, bass Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki Rec: April 1998 (St.
John), March 1999 (St. Matthew), Kobe Shoin Women’s University, Japan.
BIS CD-1342/1344 [274.11]
Okay, I cheated.
I have to mention a fourth, which was not originally released in 2002, but
which saw a budget re-release this year.
As I said in my introduction, Masaaki Suzuki has been recording what is
probably the finest set of Bach's sacred cantatas. His recordings of Bach's
passions are also excellent. This re-release of the two passions, in a less
expensive set, is certainly a must for anyone who does not already own it.
The St. John has been widely - and justly - praised as the finest version
available. The St. Matthew passion, while not quite as excellent as the
St. John, features the inspired singing of Robin Blaze, one of the finest
countertenors singing Bach today. But together with the brilliant choir
and Suzuki's impassioned direction, this recording is one of the finest.
Together, the two passions in this set are perhaps the best example of a
conductor's unique vision of this great music.
Finally, I would like to stress that all four of these recordings were brought
to us by the smaller, independent labels (though the BBC is not exactly
independent), showing that the finest music, at least for composers such
as Bach, is released not by the multinational companies who abruptly end
contracts with great performers and conductors for not being marketable
enough, but by the small labels who work to share their love for music.KM
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John Phillips |
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Morten
LAURIDSEN
(b.1943 - ) Lux
Aeterna (1997) World Premiere Recording Les Chansons des Roses
(1993) Ave Maria (1997) World Premiere Recording Mid-Winter
Songs Orchestral Version (1990) World Premiere Recording O Magnum
Mysterium Los Angeles
Master Chorale and Sinfonia Orchestra/Paul Salamunovich Recorded June
9, August 29, 1997, and January 9 & 20 1998, in Sacred Heart Chapel,
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. DDD
RUBEDO
CANIS MUSICA RCM 19705 [76.23]
When I reviewed
the disc which I am recommending as my disc of the year it was as far
back as April, and as I predicted then, this would probably be my disc
of the year. To be honest, I have not heard a disc since this date which
has give me as much pleasure as this RCM disc of the music of Morten Lauridsen,
entitled O Magnum Mysterium, performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale
and Sinfonia conducted by Paul Salamunovitch, RCM 19705. Not yet available
in the UK, it can be obtained from Amazon.com and would make the perfect
Christmas present for any of your music loving friends. JP
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Peter Quantrill |
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Gérard
GRISEY
(1946 – 1998) Quatre
chants pour franchir le seuil (1997/8)
Catherine Dubosc (soprano); Klangforum Wien; Sylvain Cambreling Recorded:
WDR Funkhaus, October 2000
KAIROS 0012252KAI [41:34]
The eerily
prescient swansong of one of the last century's most individual voices.
Gerard Grisey could hardly have foreseen the aneurism that would kill
him at the age of 42 when writing 'Four Songs on Crossing the Threshold',
but nor could he have left a more powerful or appropriate artistic testimony.
I well remember the frisson which spread round the Queen Elizabeth Hall
after its world premiere there. For at least half of us in the hall, it
was the first time we had heard a note of the Canadian composer's music,
so little had it been publicised or played outside Francophone countries.
Even more unusual was the certain sense that we had heard a masterpiece,
a sense which repeated listenings to this fine performance only confirm.
The work uses fragmentary texts of Egyptian papyri to meditate on the
passing of life into death and in its breath, patience and imagination
constitutes a late-20th-century answer to Das Lied von der Erde. PQ
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Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1907-1975)
Shostakovich:
Symphony No. 11 in G minor Op. 103, The Year 1905 (1957)
London Symphony Orchestra/Mstislav Rostropovich Recorded live March 2002,
Barbican, London. LSO
LIVE LSO0030 [72’24"]
OK, there
is an element of the 'I was there' nose-thumbing about this choice as
well. But having heard Slava's earlier Washington recording and three
previous live performances of his, I'm pretty confident that this is his
finest interpretation to date of a symphony for which he appears to hold
a special affection. And why not? Until as recently as a decade ago, it
was rarely heard live: discophiles talked of performances by Mravinsky,
Stokowski and Pritchard with awe. The first two, at least, stand the test
of time. But the combination of the LSO at full throttle and Rostropovich's
broad tempi give the Eleventh a cinematic breadth, which, in truth, it
always had: it's just that its detractors used 'film music' as a term
of derision. What could be more atmospheric and unsettling than the endless
quiet timpani tattoos in the first movement, more garish than the trombone
glissandos at the height of the massacre depicted in the second movement
(and rendered with quite breathtaking presence by the LSO's engineers),
more weepy than the string threnody of 'Eternal Memory' or more haunting
than the long cor anglais solo before the final bell-capped frenzy? This
is the soundtrack to living history, and with Rostropovich you don't need
pictures. PQ
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Olivier
MESSIAEN
(1908-92) Complete organ works
Jennifer Bate Recorded in Beauvais Cathedral 1980-82 and Eglise du Saint-Trinité,
Paris, May 1987 REGIS
RRC1086, 1087, 2051, 2052 (available separately or as a 6-disc boxed
set)
If you don't
already know the music of the greatest composer for organ since Bach,
this is the place to start. Or maybe you're already familiar with the
imagery, by turns saccharine and stark, of La Nativite du Seigneur, in
which case Livre d'Orgue's hieratic outer reaches are a mind-expanding
world away. As one of Notre Dame's three titular organists, Olivier Latry
knows his way around this often intransigent instrument as well as anyone
alive. His knowledge of its possibilities for tone colour is matched by
DG's feat of multi-miked engineering to produce performances that truly
sound more detailed and balanced than they ever could live. PQ
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John Quinn |
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Leontyne
Price Rediscovered: Arias by HANDEL,
BRAHMS, GIORDANO, POULENC, BARBER,
HOIBY, PUCCINI, CILEA
and Spirituals
Leontyne Price (soprano) David Garvey (piano) Recorded ‘live’ at Carnegie
Hall, New York City on 28 February, 1965
RCA RED SEAL 09026 63908 2 [66’36]
This is
a live recording of Leontyne Price's belated solo debut recital at Carnegie
Hall, New York on 28 February 1965. Inexplicably, most of the contents
have never been issued before.Rarely have I heard a disc which more strongly
gives the listener the feeling of being present at An Event. Miss Price's
programme, in which she is brilliantly supported by David Garvey, is marvellously
varied. Her singing is vividly communicative throughout and by leaving
in a judicious amount of applause RCA allow us to experience the rising
tension and excitement in the audience. A disc to enthrall the listener.[JQ]
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Anton
BRUCKNER (1824-1896)
Symphony
no 8 in C Minor (Original version, ed. Haas)
Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra, conducted by Günter Wand Recorded live in the Philharmonie,
Berlin, 19-22 January 2001
BMG RCA
Red Seal 74321 82866-2 [87’07"]
This was
the last in the series of live Bruckner recordings which Gunter Wand made
with this orchestra in the final few years of his life. Recorded live
in the Philharmonie between 19 and 22 January 2001 it is a remarkable
testament to Wand's mastery as a Brucknerian.The composer's great symphonic
edifice is unfolded with what seems like a natural inevitability. Wand
is in full command of the structure and is aided by sumptuous playing
from the Berlin players. A magnificent achievement. JQ
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Zygmunt
STOJOWSKI (1870-1946)
Piano
Concerto No 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 3 [35.01] Piano Concerto No 2 in A
flat major (Prologue, Scherzo and Variations), Op. 32 [33.01]
Jonathan Plowright (piano) BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Martyn Brabbins Recorded in the Caird Hall, Dundee, 6-7 June 2001 The
Romantic Piano Concerto: Volume 28
HYPERION CDA67314 [68.12]
Another
issue of neglected repertoire from Hyperion and another in the label's
long (and ever-lengthening) list of winners.These ripely romantic concertos
by Stojowski (1870-1946) fell into complete negect after his death but
now find a worthy champion in Jonathan Plowright. They are rewarding,
hugely enjoyable pieces and Plowright grasps the many opportunities for
boith virtuosity and poetry which they contain. His playing is absolutely
superb. He receives magnificent support from Brabbins and his players.Excellent
sound and notes. These most refreshing alternatives to the usual 'warhorses'
deserve to be much better known. JQ
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Paul Serotsky |
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Dmitri
SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 - 1975) The
Symphonies (Complete)
WDR Symphony Orchestra/Rudolf Barshai, with WDR Chorus (Nos. 2, 3), Sergei
Aleksashkin (bass, No. 13), Moscow Choral Academy (No. 13), Alla Simoni
(sop., No. 14), Vladimir Vaneev (bass, No. 14)
Brilliant Classics 6324-1/11
After several
months of concentrated exposure, my brain was reeling. You can pick nits
'til the cows come home, but in the final analysis this is a stupendous
set. The earthily communicative WDRSO is a sound for sore ears, Barshai
oozes "idiomatic" from every pore, and the recording - a dynamically
squashed Eleventh apart - will earn you the undying gratitude of your
equipment. Considering that you can buy this set for little more than
the change from a round of drinks (I'm exaggerating, but only just!),
you've really no excuse. Go for it. PS
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Paul Shoemaker |
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Francis
POULENC (1899-1963)
Dialogues Des CarmélitesOpera in three Acts and Twelve Scenes
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg Choeurs de l'Opéra National
du Rhin Conducted by Jan Latham-Koenig
ARTHAUS DVD 100 004 With subtitles in English, German and Dutch
[149 mins]
Opera du
Rhin production, DVD. Video opera staging where the excellent singers
are also not merely superb actors but also dancers as well. One of the
most effective ever dramatic productions on opera video, and musical performance
and sound so good it could be listened to by itself as an audio cd. A
perfect opera is an unattainable goal, but this comes as close as we're
ever likely to get. PSh
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Franz
LISZT (1811-1886)
Symphonic
Poems Complete Budapest Symphony
Orchestra/Árpád Joó Recorded Budapest 1984/5 DDD
Super bargain price! - also available on HUNGAROTON HCD1267781 at full
price BRILLIANT CLASSICS
99938 [5CDs: 297.16]
. This recording
is a sign that these works have finally achieved their rightful place
in the repertoire, they are taken seriously and are worthy of being performed
in their own style on their own terms, using the highest possible technical
and artistic standards. A new criterion for the future. PSh
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l'orfeo to come |
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Kevin Sutton |
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Ignaz
PLEYEL (1757-1831)
Symphony
opus 3, number one in D (B. 126) Symphonie Concertante number 2 in F for
piano and violin (B. 115) Sixth Symphonie Periodique in F (B. 140)
Jakub Dzialak, violin Riccardo Bovino, piano Zurich Chamber Orchestra/Howard
Griffiths Recorded in the Kirche Neumünster, Zurich, July 27-30,
2000. DDD CPO 9997592
[55:09]
Splendid
music by a sadly neglected master. This is one of the most elegant performances
that I have heard in years and the music is completely engaging. CPO's
production is outstanding. KS
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Love
Letters Martin
Scott KOSINS (b.1947) Love Letters, A dialogue for flute and
piano; Winter Moods, for unaccompanied flute, Francois
BORNE (1840-1920), Fantasie Brilliante (on themes from Bizet’s
Carmen, Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin, Theobold BOEHM
(1794-1881), Variations Brillantes sur un Air Allemand, Grigoras
DINICU (1889-1949), Hora Staccato.
David Shostac, flute Anita Swearengin, piano Recorded 1984 and 2001. [ADD
and DDD] CRYSTAL RECORDS
CD314 [48:55]
Fresh and
origingal new music, splendidly played. This is one of the finest recitals
that I have heard in some years. For lovers of great chamber music, this
is a must-have. KS
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Leo
ORNSTEIN (1892?-2002)
Piano
Works: A Morning in the Woods, Danse Sauvage (Wild Men’s Dance), Piano
Sonata Number 4, Impressions of the Thames, Tarantelle, Piano Sonata Number
7, A Long Remembered Sorrow, Suicide in an Airplane.
Janice Weber, Piano Recorded June 2-5, 2001, Toronto, Canada, [DDD]
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559104 [67:00]
An excellent
account of one of America's most ecclectic and undiscovered masters. Piano
playing of the first order. Music that well meets the criteria to be called
great. KS
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Christopher Thomas |
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Leonard
SALZEDO
(1921-2000) String
Quartet No.2 Op. 3 (1942-43, revised 1995) Sonata for Violin and
Viola Op.132 String Quartet No.7 Op.76
Archæus Quartet Ann Hooley and Bridget Davey-violins Elizabeth Turnbull-viola,
Martin Thomas-cello Recorded Henry Wood Hall, London, April 2001
DUTTON CDLX 7113 DDD [61:52]
The first
recording of two fine quartets by Leonard Salzedo, the good news being
that there are another eight yet to come. It is hard to believe that a
cycle of this quality, ranking potentially alongside the likes of Daniel
Jones and Elizabeth Maconchy, has been so badly overlooked but at last
Dutton aim to put the record straight. Coupled with the fine Sonata for
for Violin and Viola the Archaeus Quartet give authoritative, committed
performances. CT
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Arnold
SCHOENBERG
(1874-1951) Gurrelieder Tove - Karita Mattila (soprano) Waldtaube
- Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano) Waldemar - Thomas Moser (tenor)
Klaus-Narr – Philip Langridge (tenor) Bauer, Sprecher – Thomas Quasthoff
(bass-baritone) Rundfunkchor
Berlin MDR Rundfunkchor Leipzig Ernst Senff Chor Chorus Director Simon
Halsey Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Sir Simon Rattle Recorded September
2001, Philharmonie, Berlin
EMI Classics 7243 5 57303 2 9 [DDD]
Rattle's
interpretation of Schoenberg's towering masterpiece may not be for everyone
but this emotionally wrought performance brings out the true genius of
Schoenberg's masterful orchestration, complimented by soloists of all
round quality. For my money Thomas Quasthoff is in a league of his own
as the speaker in the Wild Hunt of the Summer Wind and Anne Sophie von
Otter is an eloquent Wood Dove. CT
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Harrison
BIRTWISTLE
(b. 1934) Pulse Shadows (1996) Meditations on Paul Celan for Soprano,
String Quartet and Ensemble
Claron McFadden (soprano) Arditti Quartet Nash Ensemble Reinbert De Leeuw
Recorded at The BBC Hippodrome, London
TELDEC WDR 3 3984-26867-2 DDD [63:33]
I would
urge anyone who has struggled to be won over by Birtwistle (and I know
there are still many) to give this disc a go. Pulse Shadows is an extraordinary,
personal response to the poetry of of Paul Celan. Emotionally charged
with a deep vein of lyricism (yes, I said lyricism!), it is a work that
leaves a lasting and haunting impression.CT
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Jonathan Woolf |
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Adolphe
BIARENT (1871-1916)
Piano
Quintet Cello Sonata
Marc Drobinsky, cello Diane Andersen, piano Danel Quartet Recorded Sint
Truiden, Academiezaal January 2001 (Piano Quintet) and Studio Dada, Brussels
September 2001 (Sonata)
CYPRES CYP4611[73’15]
Two unknown
works by the almost unknown Charleroi born Biarent. Admired by Ysaye and
De Greef, he shared something of the Franckian hothouse but one that showed
strong awareness of Russian influence, which added colour to his palette.
The Piano Quintet is marginally the stronger of the two, full of density
and exhausted calm, a fascinating, profoundly complex work. The Cello
Sonata highlights his intimacy, obsessive writing and gift for the succint.
Two major works in other words and model presentation as well. JW
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Franz
LISZT (1811-1886)
Douze
Études d’exécution transcendente S139
Sergio Fiorentino, piano Recorded Conway Hall, London 14 February 1955
and Civic Hall, Guildford 16 February 1966
CONCERT ARTIST CACD 9201-2 [63’04]
A master
Lisztian returns to the catalogue in this never-before-released set of
these fiendish Etudes. Articulate, deeply musical without ostentation,
virtuosic without preening, nobilty courses throughout his performance
illuminating everything he does. JW
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Roy
HARRIS (1898-1979)
Symphony
No 7 Epilogue to Profiles in Courage – J.F.K. Symphony No 9 National Symphony
Orchestra of Ukraine Theodore
Kuchar Recorded Grand Concert Studio, Kiev, Ukraine June 1999
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559050 [57’49]
The wit,
the kick and the bite of the Seventh in this fine recording is harnassed
to a Ninth of strength, vocalised song and punchy lyricism. Once more
the American Classics series from Naxos has borne fruit - not to be missed.
JW
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Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Violin
Sonata No 9 Kreutzer Piano Concerto No 3 Andante Favori
Benno Moiseiwitsch, piano Jascha Heifetz, violin Philharmonia Orchestra
Malcolm Sargent Recorded 1949-50
APR 5610 [73’50]
Predating
their commercial recording by two years this far from immaculate but stimulating
meeting documents the two Russian musicians in the Kreutzer Sonata. Moiseiwitsch
is joined by one time pupil Sargent for a traversal of the Third Concerto
that has poetic elevation and lyricism in profusion. JW
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Leo
ORNSTEIN (1892?-2002)
Piano
Works: A Morning in the Woods, Danse Sauvage (Wild Men’s Dance), Piano
Sonata Number 4, Impressions of the Thames, Tarantelle, Piano Sonata Number
7, A Long Remembered Sorrow, Suicide in an Airplane.
Janice Weber, Piano Recorded June 2-5, 2001, Toronto, Canada, [DDD]
NAXOS AMERICAN CLASSICS 8.559104 [67:00]
I was fortunate
enough to review both Ornstein discs - Hamelin's on Hyperion and this
one by Janice Weber on Naxos; nothing to choose between them really but
Weber and Naxos range as widely as Hamelin and catch the essence of Ornstein.
Call it proto-Futuristic, call it unforgiving, barbarous with its crushing
assaults but there's impressionist poetry and depth as well and it's unignorable
even, perhaps especially, when at its most fractious. JW
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JAZZ
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Don Mather |
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Charlie Haden with Michael Brecker American Dreams
Gitanes 064 096-2
This disc
represents Michael Brecker's best work to date and I somehow always felt
that we had not heard everything he was capable of previously on record.
DM
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'A Jazz Odyssey' Oscar Peterson with Collective Personnel
Verve 589 780-2
This album
released to coincide with the publishing of his book of the same name,
contains some of the best work of the greatest pianist that jazz has produced.
DM
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Clifford Brown and Max Roach At Basin Street
VERVE 589 826-2
This 1956
recording shows how many blind alleys jazz has explored in the last 50
years! It still sounds just as clean and pristine as when it was recorded.
DM
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Jack Ashby |
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JOE LOVANO ‘Viva
Caruso’ Blue Note/Capitol
7243 5 35986 2 4
As one biographer
put it "‘Viva Caruso’ is a roots project, Lovano the ethnic
Folklorist." I couldn’t agree more! JA
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