After World War II ended a new style of jazz emerged called “bebop”. This highly technically oriented sound was as controversial as it was entertaining. Audiences enjoyed fast tempos and complex harmonies by innovators such as Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

Johannes Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3, Handel Variations; Anton Kuerti, Piano

I'm sitting here shaking my head, wondering how in blazes I can begin to talk about Brahms's Third Piano Sonata? It’s a wonder to behold, bursting with exuberant intelligence and beauties of so many hues.

Glenn Gould, Mozart: The Piano Sonatas

I suddenly realized that for many months running I’ve been all tied up with newly issued CDs. I’ve written about some of them. It has been an interesting and enriching experience, but one involving lots of intense hours of repeated listening, and it has kept me away from my pre-existing library.

Nick Colionne – Just Come On In
[Three Keys Music]

Everyone knows that Chicago is renowned for its great jazz heritage and free, summertime outdoor music festivals, not to mention the world famous “Taste of Chicago” food and music extravaganza. But some of the best acts can be found in some of the much smaller venues such as radio station WNUA 95.5 FM’s “Smooth Jazz Thursdays” ...

ODETTA - BLUES EVERYWHERE I GO

As Bluefish hit the shores of the Northeast, and their swirling fins and eating frenzies chase bait fish literally onto the sand of Cape Cod beaches, its time to indulge our sonic pleasures in these long summer days in another form of Blues: the deep, sonorities of Odetta’s vocal version, captured in all of its magnificence on this audiophile gem.

Ray Brown Trio – Summer Wind: Live at the Loa
During a recent jaunt to Chicago to visit staffers Dave Thomas and Mike Wright, our esteemed publisher Clement Perry talked of how ironic it was that he had left “ … sunny, 78 degree New Jersey just to arrive in cold, rainy Chi-Town”  My immediate thought, being a Chicagoan myself, was that even a “cold, rainy Chi-Town” is still far more appealing than Jersey City on its best day, but I digress. (publisher's note: I check the weather channel all the time and it is now June and weather in Chi-Town hasn't gotten much warmer).

Tina Brooks – The Waiting Game

A few weeks ago I was shooting the breeze with some friends of mine while hanging out at one of Chicago’s many great jazz clubs when the subject of great tenor saxophonists became a hot topic of conversation. I just assumed that one of my all-time favorites; Tina Brooks’ name would be thrown into the ring.

DABOA "FROM THE GEKKO”

Where to begin with this audiophile gem? First, it defies all rigid categorization, blending soaring and liquid vocals with a heady mix of Baroque, jazz, flamenco, rap and laughter. The sonics of this recording are as resplendent as the jungle of sounds that it emerges from, rewarding the listener with gorgeous sonic surprises, like spotting a fleetingly rare scarlet macaw in flight.

Anées de Pèlerinage

A summer evening, temperate, calm, almost timeless. You’d never know it’s early March. As the horizon fades from blue to blue on the recumbent hills where I live, it is easy to imagine a time long ago when the world was quite new and everything bristled with an almost magical potential. Just like in the fairy tales.

The Great XRCD Shootout!

Thanks to Kevin Berg of Japan Victor Corporation of America, I was finally able to do something I’ve wanted to do for a long time: a comparison between an XRCD disc and a non-XRCD disc of the same recording:...

Mikhail Glinka

What an absolutely wonderful recording! I love everything about it, the music, the performances, the sound quality, the acoustics of the venue. And me with a long-standing, shall we say, indifference to opera as such.

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73 and Tragic Overture, Op. 81

Telarc, who represents Pentatone in the United States, have in my mind always been one of those labels which stand for excellence in sound quality, but this recording stands out. Over the years I’ve heard a number of recordings that do an outstanding job of conveying the thrill of live music,...

Maurice Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé (Suite No. 2), Pavane pour une infante défunte, La Valse, Ma Mère l’Oye, Bolèro

I spent most of last night with this hybrid SACD in a state of deep enjoyment and excitement. Between times, I thought of how I was going to go about writing this review. Did I want to listen to other versions of La Valse, Pavane, Ma Mère l’Oye, and Bolèro (I have several), make general and specific comparisons,...

The WHO: Tommy

GINGER BAKER AND THE DJQ20 WITH JAMES CARTER-”COWARD OF THE COUNTY”

Take note all audiophiles who love a challenging sonic and musical adventure mining the essence of jazz, blues and rock: this gem of a recording is for you! On one side of the performance stage we have the rock n’ roll guru, Ginger Baker, whose virtuosity on the drum kit is beautifully rendered in this recording..

Duke Ellington at the Whitehouse
Duke Ellington's seventieth birthday was celebrated with a patriotic royal flair on April 29, 1969. Richard Nixon's White House gathering of jazz, cultural and political luminaries joined to wave bright flags of appreciation for America's most significant composer and bandleader -- Edward Kennedy Ellington, a man beyond category.

Samba Jazz Fantasia
Malandro Records, in Cincinnati, Ohio, has become one of the hippest places on the planet. If you doubt that attribution, work your way through their catalog of genuinely world-class Brazilian-inspired music with players who do not merely approach the spirit of Brazil's musical heritage, but who embody that spirit from long years of front line playing.