Ellister makes you forget her instrument. She doesn’t play the trumpet, she plays music. There’s no struggle in her playing; the notes come out effortlessly, as if inventing them and executing them perfectly on the horn is no big deal at all.

The sound of Paul Bley's trio brings to mind Lennie Tristano immediately as this recording begins, and for once Bley is playing with a heavy enough touch so that an appropriately dark-toned curtain shrouds the music; out of this bursts a series of blues choruses that are incredibly inspired. Thus begins one of Bley's most enjoyable albums, a recording from New York City in the early '60s that has been issued in close to ten different versions. The acquisition of these tapes by the French BYG label right away spells trouble, especially for anyone hoping to collect royalties. Jazz fans will encounter several different cover photographs for these loose Footloose! releases, even involving several different pipes being smoked by Bley.

EuroArts presents a spectacular musical event featuring Daniel Barenboim, one of the most prolific and high-profile artists performing on international stages today. He introduced this concert, which was recorded live at the famous Teatro alla Scala Milan in May 2007 as “A concert dedicated to Italy, but not by a conductor”. It is a highly personal tribute to a country he has toured regularly as a conductor and the first ever live instrumental recital recording at this internationally renowned venue. For his solo piano recital he chose Franz Liszt's Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), composed 1837–1849, which contains some of the composer’s most beautiful piano music - a feast not only for piano lovers.

Eliane Elias continues exploring Brazilian music on this latest release, doing both classics such as "The Girl From Ipanema" and a Milton Nasciemento medley, plus several Ivan Lins tunes. She uses alternating bassists and drummers, with Eddie Gomez, Marc Johnson, Jack DeJohnette, and Peter Erskine dividing time, plus Nana Vasconcelos on percussion, with Lins helping out on vocals.

This is a significant recording for several reasons. Sergio Vartolo has now recorded all of Frescobaldi’s keyboard music (the other issues were on the Tactus label). The Fantasie (1608) and Ricercari (1615) are the earliest of Frescobaldi’s keyboard publications (the latter being issued in the same year as the more famous first book of Toccatas), and as far as I’m aware neither had been issued complete before; so to get both together, and at super-budget price, is treasure-trove indeed. Frescobaldi fanatics need read no further. (Gramophone)

After Dizzy Gillespie's death in 1991, his colorful Afro-Cuban United Nation Orchestra (which was formed in 1988) was headed by altoist-clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera. With the better-known sidemen on this 1993 CD including first trumpeter Byron Stripling, trombonist Conrad Herwig and tenor saxophonist Mario Rivera, additional solo space was allocated to some of the other talented players as were guest spots for trumpeter Claudio Roditi, trombonist Slide Hampton and vibraphonist Dave Samuels. A Night in Englewood is an easily recommended set. The music is very Latin-oriented and shows that the orchestra had moved away from Gillespie's usual repertoire to exclusively feature originals by bandmembers (including D'Rivera's "I Remember Diz").

The Richter Ensemble performs music from the 17th to the 20th century exclusively on gut strings and uses its experience with historical performance practice to heighten the sense for the development of musical language over the centuries. The ensemble is passionately dedicated to the music of the Second Viennese School and, based on its research, has decided that the time is ripe to steer the perception of this music in a new direction, on the path of rediscovering and recapturing not only its modernity but also its connections with the past. Hence the musicians have initiated a project to record the entire string quartet works of the Second Viennese School, to place them in a historical context and to combine them with unusual works by other composers.

This recording was taken from a live performance during the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2019/20 season at London’s Royal Festival Hall. The recording captures the thrill and electricity of the live performance.

From the elated dream to the bitter reality: to provide a proper rendering of Franz Schubert's music, with its enormous range of expressions including all the intermediate tones, the instrument of choice must be the Fortepiano, if only for its similitude to the pianos used during Schubert's lifetime. The model used in the present recording is based on the grand piano of the Viennese master Conrad Graf, an instrument that Schubert himself owned. Its six pedals allow Schubert's music to be played with multifaceted pliancy and depth. The skillful use of all these pedals, which in modern instruments have been reduced to two or three, opens up a multitude of sound facets, similar to doors that open up to a multitude of rooms, each decorated in its own particular way and with its own particular style.

The Spacelords started in 2008, when Marcus Schnitzler (drums, djembe, percussion, special effects) joined Matthias Wettstein (guitars) and Klaus Werz (bass) for a first session. Matthias and Klaus already had a few song-ideas and after a couple of weeks almost half of the first CD was arranged. As the ideas came so quick and the feeling was there from the first moment, it was clear: Even each of them had his own personal style and background, they had found a common sense in music. Marcus, who's traveling to west Africa since 1991, to study traditional rhythms, but is also into psychedelic music for over 25 years, Matthias, influenced by his trips to India since the seventies and playing his guitar for more than 3 decades…

Clifford Hayes & Earl Hines - Frog Hop (1996) {Frog DGF10 rec 1927-29}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 295 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 187 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 14 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1927-29, 1996 Frog / David French | DGF10
Jazz / Early Jazz / Jazz Blues

The Frog label has long been a byword for the meticulous compilation of outstanding rarities, and this reissue is no exception. Clifford Hayes' Louisville Stompers presented a fascinating blend of country blues and jazz, featuring trombone, violin, 4-string tenor guitar and piano. Earl Hines is at the ivories for the 1929 sesssions, of which unissued takes are included for each of the eight tracks. The 25 tracks are augmented by the vocal by Sippie Wallace which the Louisville Stompers accompanied on their final recording session. The reissue was remastered by the late John R. T. Davies from his own collection. Enough said.

This debut solo release by Allan Holdsworth has an "in the raw," coarsely presented, jam-session quality complete with warts and all, as well as real gems of jazz fusion shining through. This is the 1990 CD that was digitally remastered from the original analog tapes (AAD/ADD). Tracks 9-13 did not appear on the 1976 CTI vinyl release.