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Chopin's Last Waltz, Robert Silverman pianist, Kimber Kable ISOMIKE 5606, LP. Producer: Ellen Silverman Editing: Aaron Hubbard Mastering: Chad Kassem, Aaron Hubbard Recording Engineers: Aaron Hubbard, Ray Kimber Mastering Engineer: Kevin Gray, Cohearent Audio, LLC Recorded using the ISOMIKE RECORDING TECHNIQUE recorded at DSD256 and edited in that format without any compression or equalization other than... Read More »

Audio Note Music – ANM 1601 ­(UK) (2017, March) Format: Vinyl (2x180 gram LPs at 45 rpm) Named official 'musical ambassador' for Audio Note Music, Canadian cellist Vincent Bélanger is part of an all too rare breed: an authentic audiophile/musician. Dedicated to raising awareness around his beautiful bicentennial or so instrument, the busy 38-year-old is on... Read More »

Yuko Mabuchi Trio; Yuko Mabuchi piano, Bobby Breton drums, and Del Atkins bass; Yarlung Records 80161 CD, pressed in Germany on high definition special composite materials. Available in PCM and DSD on HDTracks, and NativeDSD.com up to DSD256 (Quad DSD). 2017. Recorded before a live audience at the Brain and Creativity Institute’s Cammilleri Hall.   Yuko Mabuchi plays a Steinway Piano. Recording... Read More »

Johann Sebastian Bach, Cantatas for Bass. Matthias Goerne, baritone. Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. Gottfried von de Goltz. Harmonia Mundi HMM 902323. If dark power is what you want in Bach's cantatas for bass—and you surely should—then Matthias Goerne is the answer to your prayers. Eloquent darkness is not always what we get from true basses, but... Read More »

No. 2, Op. 19; No. 3, Op. 27 ("Song of the Night"). Ewa Marczyk, violin; +Ryszard Minkiewicz, tenor; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and +Choir/Antoni Wit. Naxos 8.570721. TT: 60.49 The symphonies of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski effectively arrived in the West with the start of the digital era; the musical press was effusive, but I didn't... Read More »

Anyone with any level of appreciation for great cello performance should check out Elinor Frey at once; an immensely talented and virtuosic player, she's also a seriously gifted researcher and scholar of all things cello, with a special appreciation for the Baroque period. Although she plays both modern and period instruments, it's pretty clear that... Read More »

Mozart Violin Sonatas, Nos 3, 8, 20, 25, 26, 30. Alina Ibragimova, violin and Cédric Tibeghien, piano. Hyperion CDA 68164. (2 CD's.) What always strikes us about Ibragimova's and Tiberghien's Mozart is that every sonata feels freshly addressed. Each work is allowed to have its own musical life and identity. I discovered this with their... Read More »

Legrand Jazz, Impex Records LP Reissue, Stereo. IMP 6028 of Columbia CS 8079 It is about time Legrand Jazz, this historic jazz LP—or shall I say "hard bop"—was reissued properly. The Impex LP is the 36th LP version of Legrand Jazz in the world, and the best, I think, by a country mile. Made from the Columbia session tapes... Read More »

I was at CES when GamuT Audio of Denmark was starting to make a footprint with their electronics. This was in the early 2000s well before Gamut had speakers which have deservedly garnered raves. GamuT showed with some speakers were an exceptionally finished product soundwise, if not also in appearance. The speakers? Tonian Labs speakers,... Read More »

DIVA 3DCD-2017, CD $17.99, available at http://divajazz.com/sights-and-sounds/recordings/3divas_cd/ Should it matter that the music you're listening to is performed entirely by women? That's the problem I had right out of the gate when it came to reviewing this eponymous debut CD from three supremely talented jazz musicians—pianist Jackie Warren, bassist Amy Shook, and drummer Sherrie Maricle.... Read More »

Like many boomers, I've reached the point in my life where the aesthetics of Mid-Century Americana have become incredibly pleasing. It might be nostalgia, borne from the idea that the world of my childhood looked very different than now but in delightfully subtle ways such as the lines of the furniture in the average living... Read More »

Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UD1S 2-002 Box (2017, June), #2103 of 3000. Originally released on Riverside – RLP 9376 (1961, Oct.) Category: jazz. Format: Vinyl (2x180 gram LPs at 45 rpm) Ratings Global Appreciation: 9.6 - Music: A (9.0) - Recording: 9.2 - Remastering + Lacquer Cutting: 10 - Pressing:... Read More »

LISZT: Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (with two concert endings). MUSSORGSKY: Night on Bald Mountain. LIADOV: Baba Yaga. FRANCK: The Accursed Huntsman. DUKAS: The Sorcerer's Apprentice. SAINT-SAËNS: Danse macabre. ARNOLD: Tam O'Shanter.  J.STRAUSS II: Lucifer Polka. Minnesota Orchestra/Eiji Oue. Reference Recordings RR-82CD.  TT: 71.56 DOWNLOADS: Amazon.com (mp3); emp3s.co (mp3); itunes.apple.com; qobuz.com ("16-bit" mp3);  referencerecordings.com (Apple lossless, FLAC,... Read More »

Jorge Federico Osorio, Final Thoughts. Last Piano Works of Schubert and Brahms. Çedille CDR 90000171. I grew up on the music of the late nineteenth century—Brahms was the center of my initial musical universe, the symphonies in particular. As is often the case if you 'grow up' on a particular style and composer  (unless you... Read More »

New West Records BO6XPTH66X, LP $20.98, Amazon.com When it comes to harmonizing singers, who's your favorite group? The Beach Boys? Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young? The Fleet Foxes, who finally put out a somewhat troublesome yet utterly charming third album this week? My personal pick—John Doe and Exene from X—may be off the beaten path,... Read More »

Good friend John Marks once again shares with PF readers the rich trove of musical discoveries that he shelters at his blog site, The Tannhauser Gate.  In this case, we have the delight of hearing the fusion of Elizabethan modalities with...mirabile dictu!...none other than a particular favorite of mine, Nick Drake. As unlikely as it seems, the... Read More »

Ecstatic Peace!/Caroline Records CAROL015LP, $19.99 2-LPs Amazon.com For me there are two Sonic Youths. I really like one of them. They're edgy and noisy but still know how to create simple and concise indie-pop songs that really kick ass, songs like "Kool Thing" and "Bull in the Heather." They can even branch out and deliver... Read More »

As I write this review, Chicano Batman takes the stage in the blaring sun of the Coachella Valley for the second time—two years ago, some had commented on how absurd it seemed that this Los Angeles-based tropical soul band hadn't played the iconic festival. Now, on the heels of hearing their third full length album, Freedom... Read More »

Einsam Keit. Schumann Lieder. Mathias Goerne, baritone, Markus Hinterhäuser, piano. Harmonia Mundi HMM 902243.  Coming to Matthias Goerne without expectations, which I'll concede is almost impossible, we are struck by the unique combination of weight and lyricism in his voice. Paralleled by the same quality in the piano. The perfect baritone can do this but... Read More »