G Parted

Alto saxophonist Gary Bartz attended the Juilliard Conservatory of Music and became a member of Charles Mingus' Jazz Workshop from 1962-1964 where he worked with Eric Dolphy and encountered McCoy Tyner for the first time. He also began gigging as a sideman in the mid-'60s with Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, and later as a member of Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers. His recording debut was on Blakey's Soul Finger album…

Youthful Viennese pianist Till Fellner has performed J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier to critical acclaim across Europe, and has made it the backbone of his recital repertoire. For this recording of Book I, Fellner performs the 24 preludes and fugues with a rich and full sound, yet with the refinement and fastidious control required in these comprehensive studies of Baroque keyboard technique. Articulation and balanced phrasing are of paramount importance, and Fellner's energies are directed to the clean execution of lines and the careful shading of contrapuntal voicings. What emotion he communicates is subtle and somewhat constrained to the contrasting characters of each pairing – the preludes and fugues often play off each other – yet his interpretations are quite colorful and varied over the course of the set. Neither cerebral nor effusive, Fellner renders the music in an appealing middle area between schools of interpretation, and achieves imaginative results that should please both traditionalists and fans of period practice.

André Raison’s (1650-1719) biographical facts are so scattered, and they teach us so few about him, that he remains for us a quite poorly known musician: a hypothetical date of birth, a rather imprecise date of death, 1719, and a few pieces of information related to his education as well as his main positions – organist to the grand couvent et collège des Jacobins of rue Saint Jacques, and subsequently, to the “Royal” abbey of Sainte Geneviève du Mont where he had previously studied. We also know that Louis- Nicolas Clérambault, who dedicated to him his first and only organ works book in 1714 (date of publication as well of Raison’s second book), was his student.

Complete collection of Caruso's performance. the original recording untouched by digital reprocessing makes it even more attractive to me. it makes a great contrast to modern recordings of the contemporary tenors. the modern recording sound so artificial and computer enhanced in comparison - one might as week call them computer generated arias.

The mellow soft rock magic and universal pop sensibilities of Bread's timeless sound have never sounded better than on Rhino's Definitive Collection, the most comprehensive 2-disc retrospective of their hugely popular work ever assembled. Elegantly crafted and effortlessly melodic, Bread's signature sound was powered by the songwriting finesse and soulful vocals of David Gates. This new compilation offers 30 delicious slices of musical artistry from one of the biggest acts of the 70's.