Elie Siegmeister - Piano Music Vol.2 (1999)
Classical | EAC: FLAC+Cue+Log | 1 Cd, Covers | 266 Mb
Label: Naxos - Date: 1999

Elie Siegmeister (b. January 15, 1909, New York City – March 10, 1991, Manhasset, New York) was an American composer, educator and author. His varied musical output showed his concern with the development of an authentic American musical vocabulary. Jazz, blues and folk melodies and rhythms are frequent themes in his many song cycles, his nine operas, his eight symphonies, and his many choral, chamber, and solo works. His 37 orchestral works have been performed by leading orchestras throughout the world under such conductors as Arturo Toscanini, Leopold Stokowski, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Lorin Maazel, and Sergiu Comissiona. He also composed for Hollywood (notably, the film score of They Came to Cordura, starring Gary Cooper and Rita Hayworth, 1959) and Broadway ("Sing Out, Sweet Land," 1944, book by Walter Kerr).

Heinrich Schütz - Geistliche Chormusik 1648
Classical | EAC: FLAC+Cue+Log | 1 Cd, Covers | 279 Mb
Label: KOCH - Date: 1993

In spite of the decline of the Saxon Hofkapelle, Schütz produced more collections, with which his reputation reached its height in Germany and northern Europe: the collection of motets Geistliche Chormusik (Dresden, 1648) and the third volume of Symphoniae Sacrae (1650), again based on German texts and with which he intended to end his career as Kapellmeister. This was however not to be, and it was only under the young Elector Johann Georg II that Schütz was finally granted his wish to retire.

Guitar driven, melodic instrumental compositions, rich ballads, and evocative interpretations of songs by artists such Jimmy Webb, Carole King & Howard Greenfield, John Fullbright and Jim Hoke. With Reverb Babylon, his fourth solo album, Ware put 10 guitars and seven amplifiers through their paces as he and a complementary troupe hit the tone, taste and talent marks. The disc features pop (the Howard Greenfield/Carole King Crying in the Rain), country-flavored slide (Ware's Slidin' Into the Blue Door), surf (Jim Hoke's Subway Surfin'), the three-part, atmospheric title track and Spaghetti Western-ready (Ware's Tarnation Station). Ware and company mix up tempos and styles, building interest all the way. His guitars are the center of attention, but piano, organ, accordion and mandolin add very cool texture.

Rubinstein was the ultimate concert pianist. He played 100-plus engagements a year for some seven decades. Of all great pianists, Rubinstein was perhaps the least fussy. His playing, even at its greatest and most exciting, could be almost disconcertingly straightforward. For all his much-vaunted showmanship, he was a musician first and a virtuoso second. But despite his lifelong claims to the contrary, his virtuosity was formidable . . . The most characteristic features of Rubinstein's playing were his rich, and richly varied tone, his uncanny ability to 'sing' melodic lines over great stretches of time – and to project them throughout the largest halls – and his all-pervasive command of rhythm . . . this release makes for a very moving experience.So this DVD paints the regal close of a colossal reign: as indicated, the bonus is a delight, and you'll never hear more opulent, more exhilarating performances of these three pet concertos. Heartily recommended for all viewers. Including folks who normally avoid classical music.

The soundtrack to the sequel for Eddie & the Cruisers follows the basic blueprint of John Cafferty's songs for the first film – they're all high-energy, pounding three-chord rock & roll, sounding a bit like Bruce Springsteen or Bob Seger. There may not be a song as good as "The Dark Side," but the music is still enjoyable for hardcore fans of the original.

A radio show for the musically curious: post-rock, avantgarde, old time radio, contemporary classical, plain old rock, internet buzz, voices from the past… and some fun stuff. This week's highlights: Ian Brown, Asian Dub Foundation, Dismemberment Plan, Cosimo Pacciani, Paolo Archetti Maestri, Tamaryn, Jamie T, Curtis Mayfield, Melvins, The Death Set, Cappello A Cilindro, Jocelyn Pulsar, Piano Magic…

Recorded in 1989 and re-released on Original Jazz Classics in 2003, Sail Away is a fine outing by trumpeter Tom Harrell. He's joined by pianist James Williams, bassist Ray Drummond, and drummer Adam Nussbaum. A handful of guests – flutist Cheryl Pyle, guitarist John Abercrombie, tenor Joe Lovano, and soprano Dave Liebman – fill out the arrangements on ten instrumentals (two are bonus cuts from Visions). Together, Harrell and company add a contemporary spin to mainstream jazz.