What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. X)

Soul with some uummph

atb

kk

Robert Cray Band

"Strong Persuader"

Spotify

Always unique and uncompromising, John Abercrombie gained a good deal of his popularity from his solo playing. Not the virtuoso of his primary influences -- Django Reinhardt, Tal Farlow and Jim Hall -- Abercrombie is much more the introvert. He often bypasses traditional techniques to pursue experimental sounds and rhythms. Along with Ralph Towner, whom he has recorded with before (see Sargasso Sea), Abercrombie makes excellent use of space within both his compositions and solos.

 

Upon the first listen there may not appear to be very much here; however, this music needs to be absorbed over several listens to appreciate Abercrombie's brilliance.

Why? Because this is a brilliant album .

The Return of the Durutti Column vinyl reissue.

Frédéric Chopin:  Piano Works Volume 3, Louis Lortie (Piano) 

Nocturne, Op. 27 No. 1 in C sharp minor

Impromptu, Op. 66 (Fantaisie-Impromptu) in C sharp minor

Nocturne, Op. 32 No. 2 in A flat major

Impromptu, Op. 29 in A flat major

Nocturne, Op. 48 No. 2 in F sharp minor

Impromptu, Op. 36 in F sharp major

Nocturne, Op. 27 No. 2 in D flat major

Impromptu, Op. 51 in G flat major

Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 3 in B major

Sonata, Op. 58 in B minor

Volume 3 of Lortie's continuing perusal through Chopin.  If you notice the key structure in the order of the music this is not by chance but designed by Lortie who believes strongly that it is a lost art in offering an improvisatory type piece followed by the next main piece in the same key or a related key anyway to get us in the mood.  He also offers that no one wants to sit down and listen to all the pieces of a single genre in a row.  I am not so keen on this latter statement but for what it is worth we have no choice in this matter.  He mixes it up and we get a unique outcome.

The other point of interest for me anyway is wondering about Lortie's choice of pianos.  Volumes 1 & 3 uses the exact same Fazioli F278 and Volume 2 a Steinway & Sons Model D.  Volume 1 was recorded at Britten Studio, Snape Maltings, Suffolk while Volumes 2 & 3 at Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk.  I will go back to the earlier volumes today to see if it is the piano or the venue (or both) that make a difference.

I am not adverse to a Fazioli piano but maybe only am not used to its full characteristics yet.  Lortie's playing is exacting in detail and perhaps a little too careful with his style.

in high res - finally got my problem solved by converting it again and now it plays...

Frédéric Chopin:  Nikolai Lugansky (Piano), Alexander Verdernikov,  Sinfonia Varsovia 

It always twists my brain a little to remember that Chopin's 2nd Piano concerto, while published first, was actually written first but it may hardly be a point since they were written nearly one after the other in quick succession.  

I think this is a fine recording with a great example of an excellent sounding and recorded Steinway.  While Langansky does not make it a habit of getting too emotional with the interpretation it is very convincing in how solid his playing is.  Technically perfect and flawless so hard to find any fault here.  I think there is excellent balance and ensemble between pianist and orchestra despite the usual criticism that Chopin was light on orchestral involvement.  For me, I find it perfect.  After all, Chopin was all about the piano and these are like heavy duty sonatas with a little fuller humming action to tag along.  Recording sound and balance is excellent.

The Allman Brothers Band

"Play All Night: Live At The Beacon"  disc 2

Spotify

On CD:-

On CD:-

Wagner - Die Walkure, Furtwangler Rome 1953 mono.

CD ripped to NS01, WAV through NDS.

first listen and enjoyIng it.  Bought this as I like ray and this was produced by Dan Auerbach who I am a big fan of.

atb

kk

in high res - quiet and relaxing jazz.....

First listen also

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAYemzh0ygM

In-between (chores and a run) music.

I have been listening to this a lot this week, thank you.

Taking a break from my ECM marathon to listen to some new stuff.

It's gorgeous to the point of near gaudiness, a “return to form” after a strange decade evolving from wildly prolific, heartbreak soundtracking, Winona Ryder-dating enfant terrible into a domesticated Americana bard no longer interested in why to be young is to be sad. 

a bit more rhythmic, but as well very enjoyable...on high res

Buchinder seems to be more of a technician than interpretor.

He substituted for Andsness last year and even at a live concert failed to generate a lasting impression off Beethoven's Concerto No.4.

The Decemberists

"The King Is Dead"

iTunes download

For Haydn's Piano Sonatas [and Variation sets] I recommend the Decca recording by John McCabe that are nowadays found in a massive ultra-budget CD box set as being first rate. A composer pianist reads and performs Haydn's music with genuine insight, and depth.

A consistently fine Decca recording rounds out a very enjoyable set for very small money!

ATB from George

Linda Perhacs’ Parallelograms was created in the heart of hippy country, LA’s Topanga Canyon, by a dental hygienist who was inspired by nature and by the cultural revolution going on around her.

 

When Parallelograms was finished, it sounded like a masterpiece, but the label had pressed it so poorly, sales were non-existent. Obscurity beckoned.

 

But in the internet age obscurity can be discreetly transformed into a kind of niche immortality. By 2003, Parallelograms had become a cult album.

 

Slowly, Perhacs began making music again.

 

In 2010, she connected with a new generation of LA musicians attuned to her vision, including Fernando Perdomo and Chris Price, both accomplished musicians and producers in their own right. The trio began recording the eclipse song, “River Of God”, and what became a new album’s title track, The Soul Of All Natural Things.

 

The Soul Of All Natural Things, for all its apparent serenity, is also a subtly polemical album, full of exhortations to take a step out of our frantic everyday lives. “We get too far out of balance and we must find a way to get back to our polestar,” Perhacs says. “I have a deeper purpose. My soul is giving itself to the people; I want them to be helped, I want them to be lifted.”

 

The Soul Of All Natural Things is available through Asthmatic Kitty Records.

Always liked this album even though it isn't highly rated by many Slowhand afficienados.