Smiley (1956) Anthony Kimmins, Colin Petersen, Bruce Archer, Ralph Richardson

Of note from 1956's Ballads and Blues are two performances with tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. These will be appreciated by anyone who has enjoyed Jackson's work with Thompson on the Savoy label. The 1956 date also has three Ralph Burns arrangements that augment the players with a woodwind quintet. While neither overly lush or cloying, the oboes, etc., still don't add a lot to what the core group has to say.

Of note from 1956's Ballads and Blues are two performances with tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. These will be appreciated by anyone who has enjoyed Jackson's work with Thompson on the Savoy label. The 1956 date also has three Ralph Burns arrangements that augment the players with a woodwind quintet. While neither overly lush or cloying, the oboes, etc., still don't add a lot to what the core group has to say.

Of note from 1956's Ballads and Blues are two performances with tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. These will be appreciated by anyone who has enjoyed Jackson's work with Thompson on the Savoy label. The 1956 date also has three Ralph Burns arrangements that augment the players with a woodwind quintet. While neither overly lush or cloying, the oboes, etc., still don't add a lot to what the core group has to say.

A good day starts off with a good morning. Here is the music, which helps you get up on the right side of the bed: Beautiful, harmonious music inspired by nature. Imagine waking up every morning in a house by the ocean. The soothing sound of the waves and their eternal pulse in the background are reminiscent of things eternal in your existence. The night's gossamer of dreams retreats with a couple of deep breaths, and time has come to tackle the day's new challenges.

Beautiful music inspired by nature and the peace we all can expirience by taking a walk and listen to the birds singing, the calming sounds of ocean waves. Nature means a lot to Jan Skovgaard Petersen. Whenever important decisions have to be taken, he usually taks a walk by the ocean to create a break where thoughts can calm down. The music on this album expesses his gratitude and inner joy to have this sanctuary.

Anthony Goldstone assembles a piano program centered on Benjamin Britten. Beyond putting Britten's music in the middle of the recital, he also intelligently relates the rest of the works to Britten in some way. Goldstone begins with works of two of Britten's teachers, Frank Bridge and John Ireland, then follows a few short Britten pieces with a set of preludes by his friend and contemporary Lennox Berkeley, and works from the 1970s by Ronald Stevenson and Colin Matthews, who were inspired by Britten. It's a program that ranges from the freely passionate, rhapsodic Dramatic Fantasia of Bridge to the atonality and minimalism of Matthews. Each work or set of pieces takes full advantage of all the capabilities of the piano, whether it be lyrical melodies or percussive animation, crashing bass chords or delicate sparks at the top of the keyboard.