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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 »

Bach vs Beck…is it all just Nature's Noise? I am listening to both Bach then Beck on Spotify and noticed they had a similar 5 million listening audience for the month. What else do these guys have in common? To start they both wrote music for infinite audiences. This is something Beck no doubt always... 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 »

Do You Believe In Ghosts? A boy hears a sound. He hears sound before he has a name. He hears gurgling, pounding underwater. He hears an ocean of blood swimming around him. Through his veins. Through his mother. He breaks into the light of day. He's shocked that he has a voice. He finds his... 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 »

"The SPARS code is a three-position alphabetic classification system developed in the early 1980s by the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS) for commercial compact disc releases to denote aspects of the sound recording and reproduction process, distinguishing between the use of analog equipment and digital equipment." Wikipedia, USA Richard James Burgess, the Marketing, Sales and Licensing Director at Smithsonian Folkways Recording, i.e. the non-profit... 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 »

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations "I can't breathe" Eric Garner, George Floyd "We can't breathe" People all over the World "What's Going On" Marvin Gaye "Why Can't We Live Together" Timmy Thomas "Love Is the Message" MFSB (Gamble & Huff) "RESPECT" Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin "Get up, stand up, stand up for... Read More »

Herein the latest from our goodly colleague, John Marks, editor of The Tannhauser Gate, his worthy and informative blog site. He points us to a male soprano whose voice would delight the angels. O! Can he sing! Dr. David W. Robinson, Ye Olde Editor "Well, the Welsh do sing, do they not?" I murmured to myself, upon... 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 »

Personally, I consider this to be one of the more memorable musico-poetic explorations that John Marks has done. He of  The Tannhauser Gate ambushes us with not one, but two allusions, both of which left me bemused. May they do you as well as they did me! Dr. David W. Robinson, Ye Olde Editor An... Read More »

"First Press" ("1st Press") is a term used to describe LP releases. It is used to describe the earliest editions of a given title. This is a difficult topic and collectors specializing in it are usually focused on some part of the publishing market. But it is very similar with Compact Discs—below we will discuss... Read More »

Electrond, photo by Trond Gjellum. Used with permission Trond Gjellum is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the leader and drummer for Panzerpappa, an instrumental progressive rock band, and Suburban Savages, which is more song-based. He's worked on a number of other projects, including The Samuel Jackson Five, and +Ingelrii+. Earlier this... Read More »

In this Covid 19 pandemic, where many have suggested songs with either soothing or suggestive lyrics to wade through this difficult period, I chose instead to focus on five selections geared more towards escapism, dance and anxiety abandonment. So do yourself a favor, for the next 40 minutes or so, shut off the news, give... Read More »