Meininger Trio Memories

Young Armenian born pianist Tigran Hamasyan is the next rising star in progressive and modern jazz piano, following paths of the bop innovator Bud Powell, post-Powell contemporary icon Chick Corea, and peer Eldar Djangirov. Brimming with talent so extreme it boils from his fingers, Hamasyan's second release as a leader displays all the power, chops, and verve one could want if you are into visceral, steam-powered jazz. Inspired by his bandmates, the twin Moutin brothers, Hamasyan paints an ethnic palate of music from his homeland mixed with witty fervor and no small sampling of sensitivity within measured parameters.

In the face of change, memory becomes precious. This is especially true for Maurice Ravel whose important source of creativity lies in evoking the memories of music from the past. In Ravel’s hand, these memories are delicately suspended between decadence and invention, between nostalgia and progressiveness. Such memories reside in the body, in the form of half-forgotten dances, to be simultaneously recalled and reinvented.

Collaboration is the third CD to be issued from a pair of 2002 sessions by the Great Jazz Trio, featuring Elvin Jones and Richard Davis with leader Hank Jones. The pianist previously worked alongside Davis on numerous sessions led by other musicians, including Elvin's Dear John C., though the Jones brothers worked together only sporadically during their long careers. Although eight of the songs appeared on Someday My Prince Will Come (issued by Eighty-Eights/Columbia) and the earlier 441 CD Autumn Leaves, these are valid alternate takes and not repeats or castoffs. Elvin Jones, who died in 2004 from heart problems, is still in top form on these sessions, especially on the thunderous opener, "Rhythm-a-Ning," though he focuses quite a bit on his underrated brushwork for the remainder of the disc…

It is easy to grasp the concept that Suspended Memories is one of the greatest e-music trios ever. Each member - Steve Roach, Jorge Reyes, and Suso Saiz - had a brilliant solo career before forging ahead as a trio. Earth Island, the group's second CD, explores the concept of this planet as an island in the sea called the galaxy. The composition titles make references to the dawn of man and hide isolation and desolation. The music is deep, inspirational, and distant. Roach, Reyes, and Saiz bring their own spiritualities to the table along with their own sound worlds. When they emerge, they emerge as one. This disc is an amalgamation of three distinct entities that intertwine and interact seamlessly. They do not just bring out the best in each other; they bring the totality of each other. The dark atmospheres are full of ethnic spirituality and cultural richness. There are no holes. This is a great CD from a trio of great artists.

The three members of the Rembrandt Trio, after fifteen years of touring the world together, found themselves grounded in The Netherlands when the world came to a standstill in 2020. Known for their curiosity-driven approach to music, incorporating many different musical cultures into their work and collaborating with grandmasters from different countries and continents (most notably with Persian grandmasters Hossein Alizadeh and Kayhan Kalhor) - the trio was now forced to stay put, stop performing, travelling and collaborating.

The 1960s was a time of Top-40 radio, featuring a wide variety of styles, especially in the pop and easy listening genres. 'Pop Memories of the '60s' is the biggest and best collection of these hits ever offered in one box set. With well-known vocalists, folk artists, instrumentalists and more, it's one great musical memory after another! Step back in time… you're sipping a martini, ready to play an LP… listening to Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, the Kingston Trio, the Lettermen, Connie Francis, Englebert Humperdinck, Glen Campbell, Al Martino, B.J. Thomas, Tom Jones, Nat King Cole, Stan Getz, Henry Mancini, Bobby Vinton, Stevie Wonder and dozens more '60s favorites.

The 1960s was a time of Top-40 radio, featuring a wide variety of styles, especially in the pop and easy listening genres. 'Pop Memories of the '60s' is the biggest and best collection of these hits ever offered in one box set. With well-known vocalists, folk artists, instrumentalists and more, it's one great musical memory after another! Step back in time… you're sipping a martini, ready to play an LP… listening to Ray Charles, Dionne Warwick, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, the Kingston Trio, the Lettermen, Connie Francis, Englebert Humperdinck, Glen Campbell, Al Martino, B.J. Thomas, Tom Jones, Nat King Cole, Stan Getz, Henry Mancini, Bobby Vinton, Stevie Wonder and dozens more '60s favorites.