Musical Concepts, a select line of high-quality classical recordings whose focus includes the reissue of important and landmark recordings, is pleased to announce the release of “Alfred Deller: The Complete Vanguard Recordings”. This reissue series will make available, for the first time in over twenty years, all of Alfred Deller's Vanguard recordings. The counter-tenor’s own solo vocal work, as well as anthems, operas, songs,odes and all his roles as performer and leader of The Deller Consort will be released in six multiple CD boxed sets,comprising in total 35 discs, and restoring to the worldwide marketplace these ground-breaking and invaluable early music recordings.
A fine straight-ahead jazz saxophonist, Eric Alexander grew up in the state of Washington. He initially attended Indiana University, studying classical music as an altoist. However, he soon discovered jazz, switched to the tenor, and transferred to William Paterson College in New Jersey. After graduating, he moved to Chicago and gained important experience touring with Charles Earland while also becoming a fixture in local clubs. In 1991, Alexander placed second at the Thelonious Monk Institute's saxophone competition, finishing just behind Joshua Redman…
Richard Skelton has spent the last two years living on the rural northern edge of the Scotland-England border, a boundary demarcated by various watercourses - among them the Kershope Burn, the Liddel Water and the River Esk. This hinterland topography has informed a series of musical recordings which, in their brevity, stand in stark contrast to the longform compositions for which he is more usually known. Nevertheless, there is a sense that these twelve miniatures are fragments of a larger whole, such is their unity in tone and timbre.
Like spandex pants, pyrotechnics, and concept records, the power ballad is as essential to a proper hard-rockin' band as a mid-concert guitar or drum solo. Giving the band a moment to show its sensitive side was just as important as the hardest song on the album, striking a balance and making the music accessible to those who like a little love in their rock. A time-honored tradition since the '70s, this two-disc compilation is not just a reasonably priced two-disc session, it's an anthropological barometer mapping the evolution of the power ballad. Metal love song compilations come and go, but never has this song style been so meticulously documented so well. Every single important moment in the history of power ballads is included in this 30-song session.
Eric Alexander has had many opportunities to record as a leader for several different labels, though producer Tetsuo Hara, owner of the Japanese label Venus, has become a huge fan, recording him almost any time he travels to New York City. This 2008 session finds the tenor saxophonist with several musicians with whom he is very familiar, including pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist John Webber, and drummer Joe Farnsworth (the latter two who play with Alexander in the co-op band One for All)…