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The more I listen to the recordings created by Brendon Heinst and his team, the more enchanted I become. TRPTK has easily become a favorite music label in this household because of the highly varied and non-traditional repertoire, extraordinarily good artists (whom we may not know by name but are very deserving of our attention),... Read More »

If you're a baby boomer (OK, Boomer!) or one of their children, you no doubt have a strong familiarity of the works of jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. Or at least, you know him through osmosis, via his compositions for the many Charlie Brown and Peanuts television specials and movies that have aired almost incessantly since... Read More »

Back in the early nineties, I worked at my day job with a guy, Tim, who was following his dream, trying to make it as a guitarist moonlighting in a local Atlanta rock band. He was a wickedly gifted guitar player, and his band had often gone head to head against another local band, Mr.... Read More »

Handel: Organ Transcriptions (arr. J. Walsh and J. Hook). Simone Vebber, organ (Serassi organ, Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Milan, 1835-7). Discantica 314.  TT: 54.04 Saul: How excellent Thy name, O Lord; Preserve Him for the glory of Thy Name. Organ Concerti: Op. 4, No. 4; HWV 295 ("The Cuckoo and the Nightingale"). Coronation Anthem, HWV... Read More »

Our good friend and fellow scrivener John Marks, he of The Tannhäuser Gate, has shared with us another of his musical reflections from that estimable blog site. Once again, he stirs the mind by telling us about music that we likely do not know...much to our benefit! I always learn when I read one John's... Read More »

Comparing Native DSD64 and DSD256 Releases by Tom Jung of DMP I was graciously asked by Brian Moura at NativeDSD.com to listen to and critique some of their newest Native DSD releases which come from Tom Jung at DMP.  The releases were provided as both DSD64 and DSD256 masters for download and comparison. I listened to the... Read More »

2020 marks the 20th anniversary of progressive / hardcore / metalcore / technical deathcore band Between the Buried and Me, and Craft Recordings follows up on the excellent reissue of the band's first album with a remixed / remastered LP reissue of their sophomore effort, 2003's The Silent Circus. The myriad changes to the band's... Read More »

If you have the good fortune to have a smart TV connected to your stereo and are a fan of the genre, then I encourage you to participate in this Latin Jazz listening party. These are not cell phone audience recordings, but professional productions with good sound. Grab a favorite beverage, a dance partner hopefully,... Read More »

…all descriptions of music are quite worthless & rather unpleasant; they are apt to be hysterical & to say things the people will be ashamed of having said afterwards. V. Woolf, Diary.   Vigilate. English Polyphony in Dangerous Times. Monterverdi Choir, John Elliot Gardiner. Soli Deo Gloria SDG 720. It isn't often we get to... Read More »

…all descriptions of music are quite worthless & rather unpleasant; they are apt to be hysterical & to say things the people will be ashamed of having said afterwards. V. Woolf, Diary.   Bach Cello Suites, Alisa Weilerstein, Pentatone PTC 5186 751. I am a big first impression guy. I never leave it at that,... Read More »

Amour Éternel,  Ekaterina Siurina, soprano; Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra/ Constantine Orbelian. Delos DE 3583.  TT: 76.11 CARPENTIER: Louise: Depuis le jour. GOUNOD: Roméo et Juliette: Je veux vivre; Va! Je t'ai pardonné...Roméo! Qu'as-tu donc? (with Charles Castronovo, tenor); Faust: O Dieu! que de bijoux...Ah! je ris (Jewel Song). BIZET: Les pêcheurs de perles: Me voilà seule... Read More »

One of the few benefits of quarantine has been an abundance of time for listening to music. As resident Latin music specialist, I offer the following recommendations for your enjoyment. Buenos Hermanos was Ibrahim Ferrer's 2003 follow up to Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer released in 1999. Both recordings are from World Circuit.... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor in the midst of holy smoke and fine drink...  (portrait by John Robinson) Time for a quick shout-out for two recordings from HDTT:  one, a wonderful Quad DSD (DSD256) recording that you should be aware of, while the other is of a remarkable Double DSD (DSD128) album. Both belong in your DSD... Read More »

Music@Menlo Live, 2019 (available at https://musicatmenlo.org/live/) Year in, year out the Music@Menlo music education program issues its Music@Menlo Live series of recordings with music performed by the program's instructors. The cast has changed since the series began in 2002, though a few of the originals are still in evidence: program directors pianist Wu Han and... Read More »

Formed in 2000 from the remnants of a handful of Raleigh, North Carolina bands, Between the Buried and Me was principally the brainchild of guitarist Paul Waggoner and vocalist Tommy Rogers. And while the group has gone through a number of personnel changes, the band's current incarnation features not only Waggoner and Rogers, but also... Read More »

Am Ende der Welt. Photo by Per-Einar Einarsen - Used with permission Weserbergland is a project led by Norwegian composer Ketil Vestrum Einarsen. He's deeply rooted in classical music, progressive rock, and experimental electronic composition. Their newest release, from Apollon Records, is Am Ende Der Welt. Compared to their previous release, it pushes farther, goes... Read More »

BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances, WoO 1; Waltzes, Op. 39. Marco Schiavo and Sergio Marchegiani, pianists. Decca 481 7812.  TT: 71.20. Downloads: classical-music-download.com (FLAC); over-blog.com (320 kbps mp3); prestomusic.com (mp3, FLAC, hi-res FLAC); qobuz.com; wattpad.com (mp3, OGG, FLAC) The short review: gleaming, limpid performances of delightful, well-wrought music, in excellent sound. Get it. Some of you may want to know... Read More »

O Brother, Where Art Thou. A twenty-year old movie soundtrack, with music written a century ago, is once again relevant today. What a World It is gray out, but the birds are singing and my children are sleeping soundly during these early hours of a Sunday morning. I am watching steam lazily rope out of my... Read More »

Photo by John Marks The above photo was not taken in Ireland, but it perhaps could pass; and in any event, it will have to do. For St. Patrick's Day, here are Nathaniel Rosen (cellist), Doris Stevenson (pianist), and Arturo Delmoni (guest violinist) playing Fritz Kreisler's trio arrangement of "Londonderry Air," also known as "Danny... Read More »