Golden Apple Quartet

As a Chilean-born composer and pianist living in Australia, I have nurtured a penchant for bringing Latin American vernacular music into the classical concert hall. Both of these musical traditions are widespread and possess an immense canon fashioned by many an inspired composer. Just as significant, both have been greatly impacted by a myriad of interactions with vernacular music over several centuries. A brief survey of the Western tradition may identify composers such as Mozart and Beethoven engaging with Turkish music, Bartók with Eastern European folk music, or Bizet and Debussy with Spain.

BRAVADE is an illustrious and active recorder quartet specializing in Renaissance recorders. The Bravade musicians have studied early styles of music at the Sibelius Academy and Stadia in Helsinki, at music universities in Germany and the Netherlands and also on many courses and master classes. As a quartet Bravade has studied with Han Tol, founding member of the world-famous Flanders Recorder Quartet, and professor Peter Holtslag.

This three-disc compilation features many of the Mills Brothers' best tracks. Although Golden Greats does not cover the vocal group's whole career, it still competes well with the definitive Mills Brothers: The Anthology (1931-1968) and perhaps represents them better.

This is a great collection of rare and hard to find tunes compiled by Jeffrey Glenn. Hundreds of odds & ends by little known groups, famous singers, and famous singers before they became famous.

A jazz vocal group consisting of mainly new or emerging artists. Personnel includes Daryl Bosteels, Melissa Hamilton, Van Hawk, Christopher Humphrey, Jeff Auger, Marty Ballou, Fred Haas, and Les Harris, Jr. They've made four albums thus far for Denon, one a Christmas release, with their most recent effort featuring a guest stint from Clark Terry. In spite of this CD being self-titled, it is not the first recording by the vocal quartet the Ritz, but their initial release in a series of discs for Denon. The group had been in existence for five years at the time of these studio sessions. They do a great job with a fun-filled driving take of Louis Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry," a lush arrangement of the moving "It Never Entered My Mind," an almost runaway Latin-flavored "Invitation," as well as a tightly negotiated through the ultimate bop roller coaster, "Scrapple From the Apple."