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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 »

A gift, a sudden gift from audio compadre John Marks, proprietor of The Tannhauser Gate blog site. John is also the driving force behind John Marks Records, which was active in the 1990s but is now lamentably no longer producing recordings. His work moved me so much that he was featured on the cover of one of... 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 »

Like my good friend John Marks, proprietor of The Tannhauser Gate, I am a profound lover of Bach. But I was unaware of Nicholas Bruhns, and the other choice tidbits of musical history that John so adroitly shares with us here. I envy him the ability to attend the Bard Festival, and take in such focused wonders of... Read More »

There's an old adage folks like to dust off whence we suffer some loss, as wrenching as it is inexplicable, not unlike a late April ice storm, midst that initial gush of springtime bloom, which heretofore has served to affirm the promise and wonder of life and renewal after such a long, harrowing winter: "They... Read More »

Shaded dogs that is! This isn't the first time these absolutely legendary RCA Living Stereo recordings have appeared on reel-to-reel tape (Scheherazade (FTC2017) was according to Discogs released in 1960 on four-track tape). This is, however, the very first time this pair of now close to 60 year old recordings are available on real time... 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 »

Monterey CA, September 15 – 17, 2017 One of this legendary jazz festival's most star-studded line ups will drive energy and sheer musical glory to its full height this fall in the comfortable expanse of Monterey's bucolic fairgrounds. Tributes to jazz heroes—Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald and Sonny Rollins—will punctuate the weekend. Herbie Hancock... Read More »

RADIO FREE CHIP Ourselves in the tune as if in space, Yet nothing changed, except the place - Wallace Stevens The guitar is a small orchestra.  It is polyphonic. Every string is a different color, a different voice. - Andrés Segovia In January of 1987, Andrés Segovia embarked on what turned out to be his... 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 »

Dear friend and fellow sojourner John Marks once again shares a musical morsel with us, originally published on his blog site, The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com). This is a fine video of the guitar master, John McLaughlin, swingin' with Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show band. As John observes below, what can one say? As the ancient Romans would... 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 »

Well, lawdy Miss Clawdy! John Marks' latest republication from The Tannhauser Gate is compact, but delicious. A shout from the past, really, right after World War II, but before Bing Crosby's Ampex Corporation with its pilfered Nazi technology that we today call "tape recorders" hit the scene. 78s everywhere, of course; no LPs to be seen. A... Read More »