Applemagazine From 22 January 2016

When the young Archduchess of Austria, Marie-Antoinette, arrived at the French court in 1770, amongst her luggage was a harp. Contrary to the instrument’s heralded decline, the harp was about to enjoy an unprecedented popularity and to inspire a rich and prolific repertoire, quite distinct from the concertos being composed for the keyboard. Xavier de Maistre and Les Arts Florissants take us on a voyage of discovery through these magnificent compositions, from the lesser known Concerto for harp & orchestra by Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz to Haydn’s “La Reine” Symphony, bringing them to life using period instruments in a programme that is as accomplished as it is captivating.

Yiorgos FAKANAS is a bassist from Greece. He has been active in the European jazz and fusion scene for more than 20 years. And Yiorgos FAKANAS has already reached the level of the expert musician in Greece and in the field of Jazz/Fusion in Europe.

Avishai Cohen impressed a lot of listeners with his soulful contributions to Mark Turner’s Lathe of Heaven album in 2014. Now the charismatic Tel Aviv-born trumpeter has his ECM leader debut in a programme of expansive and impressionistic compositions for jazz quartet (trumpet, piano, bass, drums), augmented by tenor saxophone on a few pieces. Into The Silence is dedicated to the memory of Avishai’s father David, reflecting upon the last days of his life with grace and restraint. Avishai’s tender muted trumpet sets the emotional tone of the music in the album’s opening moments and his gifted cast of musicians explore its implications. Israeli pianist Yonathan Avishai has played with Cohen in many settings and solos creatively inside the trumpeter’s haunting compositions, sometimes illuminating them with the phraseology of the blues.

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra - E.S.T. Symphony (2016) {ACT 9034-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 466 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 182 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 70 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2016 ACT Music | ACT 9034-2
Jazz / Classical / Orchestral Jazz / Modern Composition / Contemporary Jazz / Creative Orchestra

Esbjörn Svensson, the Swedish original who consistently turned crossovers between jazz, pop and classical music into lasting art with EST, would have got around to this orchestral venture himself but for his accidental death in 2008. With its shapely themes, subtle pacing and big climaxes, his popular trio’s music was ideal material, eloquently confirmed here by arranger Hans Ek, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and four star jazz soloists, including brilliant Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala and Norwegian saxophonist Marius Neset.

Pianista y compositor, nacido en Buenos Aires, Argentina, en el año de 1986. Realizó una formación clásica en el Conservatorio Superior de Música Astor Piazzola, posteriormente se formo en la carrera de Jazz del conservatorio Manuel de Falla. En 2016 lanzo su primer material discográfico "Fricción y Ficción" con obras de su autora con el trio que tiene conformado desde 2014, Diana Arias en contrabajo y Federico Isasti en batería. El trio ha participado del Festival de Jazz de Villa Ramallo (edición 2016) y en el 2017 es elegido para participar del Festival de Jazz de Buenos Aires como una de las nuevas propuestas musicales de la escena actual. Ademas el grupo mantiene una actividad constante en club de jazz, bares, teatros y centros culturales.

Johann Sebastian Bach trained his many sons to be the finest organists of their time, yet hardly any organ music survives from them. Through transcription, improvisation, and other acts of imaginative re-creation this recording reunites Bach and his boys for a program that recaptures the virtuosic panache, commanding counterpoint, impressive poise, and exuberant excess of this first family on the organ. Played by award-winning Bach scholar and organist David Yearsley on Cornell University's reconstruction of a Berlin organ from 1706, known to at least one of the Bach sons, this program explores new dimensions not only of Johann Sebastian's towering achievement but also of the kinds of now-lost contributions the next Bach generation might have made to their family instrument's long and glorious history.

After three fine quartet albums that culminated in 2014's excellent Extended Circle, Norwegian pianist and composer Tord Gustavsen returns to the trio format of his earliest ECM outing. What Was Said isn't a look back at the standard piano trio format. German-Afghan vocalist Simin Tander joins the pianist and drummer Jarle Vespestad. Gustavsen's instantly recognizable sound ripples in ever widening circles around melodies often based in traditional Norwegian hymns, folk songs, and gospel music. This band incorporates improvisational elements into the core of each composition, and the singer is a co-conspirator in the moment of creation. Tander sings in Pashto, Norwegian, and English. In most cases, lyrics have been translated from their origins into another tongue. Tander's delivery, an expressive and disciplined, slightly smoky contralto, is full of mystery…

Wholly instrumental, prog/jazz fusion in approach, the band is led by drummer Arild Brøter who writes most of the material. Together with his henchmen - including Marie Faerevaag on saxophone - they create a musical landscape as exhilarating and energising as a Norwegian fjord. ‘Crab Key’ and ‘Erised’ are good examples with Oyvind’s Broter’s sweeping keys complementing Stephan Hvinden’s heavier guitar figures - ‘Erised’ could even be a theme to a Scandi crime thriller. ‘Second Rate Punk’ develops into a funky wig-out where the guitar plays off the added brass section with great effect. This Chicago brassiness (as in Chicago, the band) continues on the strangely entitled NOL861613060…

An album with the diversity and multitude of talented musicians that Winter Thrice features certainly has its work cut out for it. Not only are Borknagar respected pioneers of the second-wave black metal sound, but additionally we have the staggering track record of every member to consider, with pedigrees stretching from the likes of Dimmu Borgir to Vintersorg. Sweetening the deal even further, former vocalist and Ulver mastermind Kristoffer ‘Garm' Rygg has returned to contribute a spot of vocals, sending expectations for this latest offering sky-high. Fortunately for everyone, Borknagar has delivered, with Winter Thrice providing a thoroughly satisfying slab of music. There's simply no capacity in which this album is a let down…