Flac 352

"Ballade pour la nuit (Ballad For The Night)" is an album that brings you a tribute to the music of Django Reinhardt which our listeners have referred to as “jazzy”, “gypsy”, “swing” and “the best”. On the album, lead guitarist Reinier Voet and Kain van Kooten on violin are supported by Jan Brouwer on rhythm guitar and Jet Stevens on double bass. Voet’s guitar and van Kooten’s violin playing truly swings with Brouwer and Stevens laying down a solid foundation for each selection. This is musical playing at its best with sound quality to match. If you need an album that shows off the One Microphone Recording style, this could be the ticket.

Carmen Gomes has won many awards in the Netherlands and surrounding areas. Like so many new European singers, she sings in English. Her style is bluesy and intimate with a sexy voice that's sweet as dark tupelo honey, and her interpretations are unerring. Idea of this album would take on the challenge of reinterpreting Harry Belafonte's "Belafonte Sings the Blues" was originally suggested by Harry van Dalen, owner of the eminent High End audio shop Rhapsody. He thought that Carmen’s band would be perfect for reinterpreting the mood and the sound of the classic album.

Ruud Breuls, Simon Rigter, Karel Boehlee, Jos Machtel and Marcel Serierse can play. No doubt. They belong to the absolute top of European jazz. They have played with everybody who is somebody in the world of jazz. But what really makes this album special is the love and dedication they bring to Armstrong's music. Listening to the 8 compositions presented here one realizes that genre is completely irrelevant.

Nordic Brass Ensemble was founded in 1993 by a group of brass musicians who shared a strong desire to make chamber music together. From the start, the ensemble has focused on developing its own musical ideas and concepts of sound. By exploiting the different instruments' special qualities and combining them in new and unusual ways, and by extensively using mutes, percussion and, indeed, unfamiliar instruments to create new colours and effects, the ensemble is continuously shaping its distinct sound.

Ruud Breuls, Simon Rigter, Karel Boehlee, Jos Machtel and Marcel Serierse can play. No doubt. They belong to the absolute top of European jazz. They have played with everybody who is somebody in the world of jazz. But what really makes this album special is the love and dedication they bring to Armstrong's music. Listening to the 8 compositions presented here one realizes that genre is completely irrelevant.

Nordic Brass Ensemble was founded in 1993 by a group of brass musicians who shared a strong desire to make chamber music together. From the start, the ensemble has focused on developing its own musical ideas and concepts of sound. By exploiting the different instruments' special qualities and combining them in new and unusual ways, and by extensively using mutes, percussion and, indeed, unfamiliar instruments to create new colours and effects, the ensemble is continuously shaping its distinct sound.

"Drumwise" presents Wim Kegel and Marc van Roon revisiting the traditional combination of drums and piano in a contemporary fashion. The repertoire recorded contains a broad repertoire made up of originals, improvisations, two songs from the American Songbook, and two from the Duke Ellington band book. Van Roon's own Steinway grand and Kegel's extended Gretch drums and cymbals came together in the great acoustics of the Lutherse Kerk in Haarlem and were recorded by sound engineer Bert van der Wolf. Both musicians have played and recorded with David Liebman, Michael Brecker, Clark Terry, Bob and Chuck Findley and Ack van Rooyen.

Kjell Tore Innervik performs Iannis Xenakis's Psappha and Morton Feldman's The King of Denmark, exploring the intimate performing space with large format recording techniques, engaging the listener in immersive audio. The Xenakis was recorded twice: once from the perspective of an intimate listener, and a second time literally "over-head", giving a first-persona perspective. The difference not only in microphone technique but also in the performer's state of mind and how he projects his playing has a profound impact on the listening experience. "Radical Interpretations of Iconic Musical Works for Percussion" was an interdisciplinary artistic research project hosted at the Norwegian Academy of Music (2013–2017) in collaboration with the Oslo Academy of the Arts, the Oslo School of Architecture and Design, Westerdals Oslo ACT and 2L through the Norwegian Artistic Research Programme.

For Dutch jazz pianist Marc van Roon, this album represents a dream come true, the culmination of almost five decades of exploring, playing, performing, contemplating, constructing, deconstructing, searching, researching, reflecting, engaging in conversations, jamming, travelling, instructing, sharing, dreaming and being. For a long time he wanted to allow himself full immersion in this genuine kind of improvisational exploration. Recording these pieces provided van Roon the opportunity to improvise on a tightrope, letting go of preconceived and trained artistic conceptualizations, a journey to the edge of technique and control. As an underlying framework he chose to use the printed keyboard scores of J.S. Bach as he connects the pre-composed orchestrations with improvised jazz.

After fifteen years of playing mostly ‘groundbreaking’, modern music, slowly but surely more Romantic composers entered Calefax’s repertoire. This album is the Romantic Anthology that was bound to happen, filled with voluptuous nineteenth-century compositions.