What are you listening to and WHY might anyone be interested? (Vol. XIV)
Posted by: Richard Dane on 31 December 2017
On the eve of a new year, it's time for a new thread.
Last year's thread can be found here:
Time for Pat...
Karajan's opera recordings have never garnered much praise in the press, but this remains a unique document of Tristan & Isolde, with Jon Vickers at the height of his powers as an almost excessively imposing Tristan (in pretty lousy German). Dernesch doesn't achieve similar depths but she sounds beautiful. The rest of the lineup is just about perfect. Karajan goes for slow and sumptuous, dramatically aware but very different from Bernstein or Böhm. Sound of this transfer is good not great, but this edition repairs most of the weird balance issues of earlier issues.
Cheers
EJ
Nils Frahm - All Melody (released January, 26, 2018). Bandcamp.
Perfect ambient electronica. Sounds hypnotic in addition to the snowfall outside.
2006 - Tidal...
Oliver Nelson - Screaming the blues
Allmusic.com:
Oliver Nelson (on tenor and alto sax) meets Eric Dolphy (alto, bass clarinet and flute) on this frequently exciting sextet session with trumpeter Richard Williams, pianist Richard Wyands, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Roy Haynes. Although Dolphy is too unique and skilled to be overshadowed in a setting such as this, Nelson holds his own. He contributed five of the six compositions (including "Screamin' the Blues," "The Meetin'," and "Alto-Itis") and effectively matches wits and creative ideas with Dolphy.
ewemon posted:
Shakura Saida
I am always inclined to follow Ewen on his Blues reviews on here but he can bombard us with talent and sometimes it's difficult to know where to start. All I can tell you that there is only one word for this one and that is belter.......belter I say. This gal can sing and some of the lyrics are wonderfully mischievous. Great musicianship also.
If anyone has some pointers among the many blues recommendation recently, please highlight them.
Great shout with this one Ewen.
Now Playing.......
Chris Potter - The Dreamer is the Dream
Chris Potter (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, Ilimba, samples), David Virelles (piano, celeste), Joe Martin (double bass), and Marcus Gilmore (drums, percussion).
Streaming on TIDAL....... Enjoying Chris's saxophone in the opening track 'Heart in Hand' and love the cohesion of this quartet, a wonderful album.
Jazz doesn’t come much cooler than this...
nigelb posted:ewemon posted:
Shakura Saida
I am always inclined to follow Ewen on his Blues reviews on here but he can bombard us with talent and sometimes it's difficult to know where to start. All I can tell you that there is only one word for this one and that is belter.......belter I say. This gal can sing and some of the lyrics are wonderfully mischievous. Great musicianship also.
If anyone has some pointers among the many blues recommendation recently, please highlight them.
Great shout with this one Ewen.
Having a paddle up the big river to acquire Blueprint and having discovered the cheapest offering is £152, I thought I would check out another Shakura S'Aida album, namely Brown Sugar.
Now Blueprint is Shkura's first album from 2008 and comprises blues covers from the 40s and 50s whereas Brown Sugar is her second album from 2010 and she co-wrote most of the numbers on this with her guitarist. The 2 albums are only 2 years apart but are very different. What has remained the same is the high standard of the material and performance. Yes another belter and Brown Sugar is a mere £5.99 pre loved on the big river. No brainer. Still going to keep an eye out for Blueprint though. Just love those lyrics and the lady's superb voice.....but oh those lyrics!
It is so exciting to make such a wonderful new discovery from flicking through this thread. I think this lady is just superb and I will be collecting more of her stuff. Which reminds me to thank all those that take the time to post on here, it is the most rewarding part of the forum IMHO.
One of the best Juke Joint Blues albums out there.
The last for today
ewemon posted:
One of the best Juke Joint Blues albums out there.
A great album indeed! Such a shame that Lester Butler passed away ...
The Who - Live at Leeds (deluxe 2014 remaster) - 24/96 from HD Tracks. I post this because it sounds so much better than the 2001 deluxe version I had from CD. This one is clearer and everything is properly separated and it makes you feel more like you were there than the old CD version. Also the songs are in the right order now! There is also added banter, which I think adds to it as well as being a good laugh.
I was reading about this remaster on another forum and they were talking about the HD Tracks version, so I got it from there to make sure I got the right one. This is the first time I tried HD tracks - usually their prices are much higher than everyone else.
For those that are interested, I found this on the Leeds Uni website: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/thewhol...hoConcertBooklet.pdf - its a booklet they made when Daltrey and Townshend went there in 2006 to unveil the blue plaque. It contains some nice pics and a bit of history.
Moved on after that to nice Nordic Jazz from Bandcamp...
Then I switched to Ella, remembering I still wanted to buy two of her albums - which I did afterwards...
Now listening a nice version of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony. I like to compare the new recordings with the old war horses, both have there charms..
naim_nymph posted:Hey Doug,
nice writeup!
would you like to swop your double DG set of Ludwig for my 5CD Sony/RCA of Frédéric C ?
Debs
Debs,
Gee, 5cd's for 2? Umm..... NO.
You almost had me there with your outrageously generous offer but as it turns out I already have this 5CD set of Chopin. Only difference is that mine has a different cover and that is probably why my sounds better 
Actually, I would agree with you that this set isn't the ideal for recorded piano perfection but it is still a long way from the worst I have. None of the big labels tend to get it right (in my opinion) and that includes DGG, Sony, RCA, EMI, Hyperion, Chandos etc. They have a house sound ideal and only occasionally does a miracle happen where a certain recording engineer rises above this and gets more of the fundamentals correct?
I would say that this RCA Chopin set comes in at a little lower than the typical average sound meaning it is a far way from perfect but not the worst. I would say DGG, Philips, Decca are about in the middle of the pack. It usually matters though who is in charge of the recording though. You are lucky at least you got yours for a very reasonable price! What you got is a typical 1990's - 2000's recording. I think many smaller labels have been putting out some nice recordings over the last decade or so.
Not the most flattering picture of Ella, but she is backed up by great musicians. Rockin in rhythm is a great example of her scat singing.