Cut Capers are a 9-piece Bristol band whose energetic live performance and infectious sound have won them a cult following on the British festival scene. Mixing a swinging vintage-style brass section (think Caro Emerald) with funk, soul and hip-hop. Like all the best bands, (and many of those on Freshly Squeezed Music) their sound is hard to pin down but comparisons have been made to “Madness, The Streets and Lily Allen” among many others (The Bristol Magazine). Cut Capers have established themselves as go-to festival favourites, playing headline shows and main stage performances at some of the UK’s biggest festivals including Glastonbury Festival (official) and Boomtown Fair.

As much as The Moody Blues have earned the right to make a mediocre album, they shouldn't have been given the keys to the studio without a better batch of ideas than what ended up on Keys of the Kingdom. Like Sur La Mer three years earlier, many of the songs on here feel like prefabricated studio pop: programmed drum beats, sterile keyboards and soulless guitars pop up in the speakers seemingly untouched by human hands, compounded by brass arrangements and backing singers that were never a part of the Moodies' original vision…

Zu Antonio Salieris Schülern gehörten Beethoven, Schubert und Liszt. Er wurde als Wiener Hofkapellmeister bewundert. Und überhaupt galt Salieri zu seiner Zeit als einer der beliebtesten Opernkomponisten Europas. Doch nicht zuletzt dank des Kino-Hits »Amadeus« von Milos Forman verbindet mit man seinem Namen die abenteuerliche Geschichte, er hätte Mozart vergiftet. Dabei schätzten sich Mozart und Salieri. Zudem war Mozart gar von Salieris Oper »La Fiera di Venezia« derart begeistert, dass er 1773 Klaviervariationen über ein Duett aus dem II. Akt komponierte. Dieses Duett »Mio caro Adone« bildet nun auch einen der vielen Höhepunkte in der Weltersteinspielung von Salieris komischer Oper »La Fiera di Venezia«.

David Lang's the little match girl passion, for vocal quartet doubling on percussion instruments, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. It's a strong, striking piece with a surprisingly potent emotional punch. Part of its effectiveness derives from the story itself, which is so achingly poignant that it can hardly fail to raise a lump in the throat. The text is primarily compiled from the story by Hans Christian Andersen and from familiar sections from Bach's St. Matthew Passion, which sound fresh and new in English translation. Lang's clear-eyed avoidance of sentimentality saves the story from the bathos into which it could easily sink in a less skillful musical setting.

Both Anton Arensky and Sergey Taneyev belong to the generation of Russian composers who came to prominence at the end of the 19th century, midway between Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. With its expansive themes and wonderfully elegiac mood, Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1 is dedicated to the memory of cellist Karl Davydov. The subtle use of counterpoint in Taneyev’s Piano Trio in D major reveals his expertise in combining earlier techniques with the emphatically Romantic style that both composers inherited from Tchaikovsky. These two masterpieces summarize the development of the piano trio genre in Russian music of the 19thcentury, and subsequently laid the foundations for its further evolution.

​With her new album, Hélène Grimaud takes us to Salzburg, where she fascinatingly juxtaposes W. A. Mozart and the Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov (b. 1937). Following on from her successful DG debut album "Credo", this innovative combination is typical of her approach and signals another new beginning.

​A classic returns! Carlos Kleiber reportedly suffers from such nerves that he rarely manages the fortitude necessary to commit his interpretive thoughts to disc. That makes every one of his all too few recordings special, and this is no exception. Kleiber's Brahms is straightforward, rock steady, and superbly played. There are many versions of this symphony that feature more emphatic highlights and individual features, but few have the sort of cumulative power that carries right up to the last note. This one does. Kleiber's architectural grasp is especially evident in the finale, which, as a series of variations over a repeated bass line, is in itself a type of musical architecture. An unforgettable experience.

Jimmy Cleveland - Complete Recordings (2006) {2CD Set, EmArcy–Lone Hill Jazz LHJ10235 rec 1955-1959}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 794 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 359 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 51 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1955-59, 2006 EmArcy / Lone Hill Jazz | LHJ10235
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Trombone

This two CD set features the complete recordings of Jimmy Cleveland as a leader. Trombonist Cleveland closely follows in the footsteps of the great J.J. Johnson. Fluid, dynamic solos over the great ensemble writing of Quincy Jones, Benny Golson and others. A must have for fans of trombone and mid-'50s post-Bop. One of the most exciting jazz trombonists of the 1950s, Jimmy Cleveland had a technique equal to that of Bill Watrous (who would not emerge until a decade later), an enthusiastic style that could hold its own with Frank Rosolino, and was the first important new voice on the trombone to emerge after J.J. Johnson.

The universal appeal of the music of Johannes Sebastian Bach is such that most musicians, regardless of their instrument, long to play it. As a consequence, his works are constantly being arranged for other instruments – following a practice that Bach himself excelled at, repeatedly reworking his own music as well as that of others. A case in point are the four so-called lute suites, all of which now belong to the standard repertoire of most concert guitarists. To what extent they were originally composed for a plucked instrument has always been a matter of contention and has given rise to many hypotheses.

Grant Green - The Latin Bit (1962) {Blue Note CDP 8376452 rel 1996, Ron McMaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 429 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 142 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 24 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1962, 1996 Blue Note / Capitol | CDP 7243 8 37645 2 5
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Guitar

Grant Green, being known mainly as a soul jazz guitarist, eventually gravitated into the popular boogaloo sound. The Latin Bit is the natural bridge to that next phase, though a bit premature for most in 1961-1963, even relative to the subsequent bossa nova craze. Pianist Johnny Acea, long an underrated jazzman, is the nucleus of this session, grounding it with witty chops, chordal comping, and rhythmic meat. The Latino rhythm section of drummer Willie Bobo and conga player Carlos "Patato" Valdes personify authentic, seasoned spice, while at times the chekere sound of Garvin Masseaux makes the soup too thick.