Forrester

This is, quite simply, one of the most splendid Handel opera recordings ever made. We owe a debt of gratitude to DG/Universal for reissuing this much-admired Westminster recording from 1965. The opera itself is one of Handel's finest; a late work magically integrating farce and pathos, and filled with an abundance of brilliant invention remarkable even for Handel. Priestman does full justice to the kaleidoscopic shifts of mood, affect, idiom and orchestration that makes this work a viable musical entertainment today no less than in 1738. Though Priestman's Viennese forces play modern instruments, the conductor obviously has a solid understanding of Baroque performance practice (according to the musicological priorities of his day)…

Because of scoring exceptionaly high on a state wide standardized exam and being an exceptionally good basketball player Jamal Wallace is sent to a prestigious prep school in Manhattan. He soon befriends the reclusive writer, William Forrester. The friendship leads to William to overcome his reclusivness and for Jamal to overcome the racial prejudices and pursue his true dream - writing.

One of the greatest albums of Hammond jazz ever recorded! Bobby Forrester may not look like a hipster on the cover, but this set grooves like some of the best early 70s work by Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, and Groove Holmes - hitting hard with some really funky tracks that have made the album a must-have with collectors for years. The sound here a lean, mean revision of the Prestige Hammond jazz groove of the 60s - Bobby grooving on organ with just drums by Johnny Kirkwood and guitar by Elijah Williams Jr - all coming together in a totally solid sound that has plenty of funky riffs, nice drums, and soaring organ lines! Given the lean, compact approach to the groove, we might compare Forrester most with Charles Earland at his best - although the album's got a voice and depth that's certainly all its own…

Deutsche Grammophon has delved into its vaults to reissue the very first "complete" studio recording of Handel's Serse. (Absent are one recitative and the B section of Serse's aria "Più che penso," crossed out in Handel's autograph score.) Recorded in 1965 and originally issued on the Westminster label, this fine performance has never been available on CD, nor has it previously been issued complete on LP outside of the United States.