Performer June 2013

There s nothing to compare to the sound of an amplified Hohner Marine Band harmonica in the hands (and mouth) of a master like Little Walter, Walter Horton, Snooky Pryor or Sonny Boy Williamson. All of them were just as adept with the unamplified specimen but the addition of electricity takes this miniscule instrument into a different realm. Many musicians heard here were disciples in one way or another of John Lee Williamson (the original Sonny Boy), who played his harp through a microphone in clubs but never recorded that way. The list of these men is a long one, including Billy Boy Arnold, Walter Mitchell, Doctor Ross, Forrest City Joe and Robert Richard, while Little Walter influenced younger men like Junior Wells, Jerry McCain, James Cotton and George Smith…

Palms is an American post-metal supergroup that formed in 2011. The group features Deftones' vocalist Chino Moreno and three members of the post-metal band Isis: bassist Jeff Caxide, drummer Aaron Harris and guitarist Bryant Clifford Meyer.

Masaru Imada Trio +2 - Green Caterpillar (1975) {2013 Japan Three Blind Mice Mini LP Blu-spec CD Remaster THCD-222}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 284 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 104 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2013 Three Blind Mice / Sony Music Direct (Japan) / Think! Records | THCD-222 | LP TBM-39
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Post Bop / Electric Piano / Piano

Three Blind Mice Blu-spec CD reissue series! Limited paper sleeve edition! Pianist Imada Masaru was 42 years old when he recorded this album in 1975. His adventurous spirit led him to use the electric piano for the first time in a recording, and thanks to his musicianship, he made it sound like he'd been playing the instrument for years. The program opens with the title track, a sophisticated urban funk. Guitarist Kazumi Watanabe plays a big role here. It is followed by a more intricate, fusion-like "Straight Flash."

Following the varied programming of Johannes Brahms: Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 1, Barry Douglas presents a mix of early and late pieces to give the second volume emotional balance, and sets a series of short pieces against a monumental masterpiece. Douglas is a thoughtful and eloquent performer, and his Brahms has the hallmarks of serious consideration and introspection; nothing here is superfluous or simply offered for show. The sensitive selection of three Ballades and three Intermezzi to frame the muscular Rhapsody Op. 119/4, gives the first part of the program an internal unity and feeling of logical organization, even though the shifting moods feel as effortless and unplanned as clouds passing on a sunny afternoon. The Sonata No. 3 is placed at the end of the recital, as befits its stature, and Douglas' interpretation gives it the feeling of gravitas and inevitability. Yet it also partakes of the fleeting moods that were carefully prepared in the early part of the program, so Douglas' shaping of this album shows great care in preparation.

Almost 10 years after her debut album Norwegian saxophonist and composer Frøy Aagre releases her fourth album, the most ambitious, epic and diverse album in her career. The album marks a distinct stylistic change in Aagre´s music with the entry of electronic sounds and influence from pop and electronica. The music is warm, challenging and inventive, it is a masterful mix of genres performed with musical energy and enthusiasm.

For the first time, from the vaults of electronic music guru, Klaus Schulze, comes The Schulze-Schickert Session, a rare and previously unreleased private session featuring echo-guitar pioneer Günter Schickert. Recorded on 26 September 1975 in Klaus Schulze's home studio in Hambuehren, Germany, Schulze can be heard playing an EMS Synthi A, as well as keyboards, and a Syntanorma, while Schickert plays a 12-string Framus with metal strings and also sings on a few tracks. Although Schickert's name is little-known outside of a very select circle of krautrock fans, he was a key member of the Berlin free jazz scene of the 1960s and a pioneer of the echo-guitar.

Interest in Spohr is on the rise –a fact demonstrated not only by our new recording of his complete symphonic oeuvre but also by the outstanding reputation rightly earned by our edition of his complete violin concertos. Spohr’s striking originality as a composer and violinist are reflected in these works from the middle and late periods of his life, presented here as world première recordings. The title Grand Duo concertant was given by Spohr to place equal virtuosic demands on both Violin and Piano, neither instrument has a subordinate role.

Renowned worldwide in his lifetime and remembered today as a double bass virtuoso, Giovanni Bottesini excelled in every branch of musicianship, but his operas and sacred works were overshadowed by those of Verdi and have fallen into neglect. Composed in response to the death of his brother Luigi, Bottesini’s large scale Requiem combines ecclesiastical counterpoint with formal innovation and the expressive lyricism and dramatic orchestration of operatic models.