Samson, Jim

In England, in the spring of 1944, Allied forces are preparing for the D-Day invasion. Among them are Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin), an OSS officer; his commander, Regular Army Major General Sam Worden (Ernest Borgnine), and his former commander Colonel Everett Dasher Breed (Robert Ryan). Early in the film the personalities of the…

Four CD set. An anthology of George Martin's sound productions before the advent of the Beatles; before the collaboration that would change popular music forever. He re-defined the role of producer; pioneering the recording itself as an art form. This edition is testament to a elegant, fearless musical innovator. The surrealistic, sometimes free-form recordings he created with comic geniuses Sellers, Milligan, Cribbins and Ustinov involved sound effects and collage. These madcap sonic adventures, allied to his understanding of the workings of an orchestra, his contacts within the classical fraternity, his love of the romantic and impressionist composers, and his fascination with studio experimentation made George Martin uniquely able to provide a particular objectivity and realise what the ever-curious Beatles, or any artist, would ask of him. As head of Parlophone, determined to explode the label onto the scene, he sought artists of character; taking mobile recording units out to capture Flanders And Swann's two-man show and the irreverent satirical revue, Beyond The Fringe. The Top Five was breached in 1960 both by Matt Monro and by Peter Sellers And Sophia Loren. George Martin's first UK Number One single, and an exemplar, was 'You're Driving Me Crazy' by The Temperance Seven who combined a revival of popular music from the 20s with styles from the Edwardian era.

Ace Records’4-CD box set Make It Your Sound, Make It Your Scene: Vanguard Records and the 1960s Musical Revolution is a comprehensive chronicle of the Vanguard sound and style, taking in not only folk, but blues, gospel, country and even rock. (The label’s jazz and classical forays, alas, shall have to wait until another day.) As such, it’s a hugely impressive monument to a decade-plus of recordings that influenced a generation of blues-rock and psychedelic performers as the 1960s made way for the 1970s. But it’s even more of a revelation, for good or ill, that the universal themes reflected in these artists’ works still resonate today. This set isn’t for casual, background listening, but instead offers a serious (and seriously entertaining) glimpse back at a heady time for American culture…

Ace Records’4-CD box set Make It Your Sound, Make It Your Scene: Vanguard Records and the 1960s Musical Revolution is a comprehensive chronicle of the Vanguard sound and style, taking in not only folk, but blues, gospel, country and even rock. (The label’s jazz and classical forays, alas, shall have to wait until another day.) As such, it’s a hugely impressive monument to a decade-plus of recordings that influenced a generation of blues-rock and psychedelic performers as the 1960s made way for the 1970s. But it’s even more of a revelation, for good or ill, that the universal themes reflected in these artists’ works still resonate today. This set isn’t for casual, background listening, but instead offers a serious (and seriously entertaining) glimpse back at a heady time for American culture…

This book is about three sets of etudes by Liszt: the Etude en douze exercices (1826); its reworking as Douzes grandes etudes (1837); and their reworking as Douzes etudes d'execution transcendante (1851). It is also a book about nineteenth-century instrumental music in general because the three works invite the exploration of features characteristic of the early Romantic era in music. These include a composer-performer culture; the concept of virtuosity; the significance of recomposition; music and the poetic; and the consolidation of a musical work-concept.

This first volume of the collected original compositions of David “Dawg” Grisman is comprised of works written between 1963 and 1975, compiled chronologically in the order in which they were written. These performances were selected by the composer and include eight previously unissued tracks featuring David with Vassar Clements, Jerry Garcia, Bill Keith, Tony Rice, Frank Vignola, Clarence White and many others. In a March 1996 concert review, a Chicago Tribune critic described Grisman's "dawg" music as being among "the most important innovations in American music. By blending the exuberant spirit of bluegrass, the inspired melodies of classic American pop, the improvisatory techniques of instrumental jazz and even the plaintive gestures of turn of the century Klezmer, David Grisman has created a distinctive form of American music and lifted it to the level of high art."