David Katz Phenomenological

It's a truism by now that countertenors have made a notable comeback in our time, but David Daniels isn't about to rest on his laurels. As if his recent successes weren't enough to set him apart, on this recital album Daniels forays beyond the countertenor's stereotypical domain of the baroque to interpret lieder of Beethoven and Schubert, as well as French mélodies and Vaughan Williams. A stunningly beautiful disc.

In general, tenor saxophonist David Murray's Red Baron recordings are not on the same level of his Black Saints albums; the settings tended to be more conservative and the material not as strong. This outing with pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassist Santi Debriano, drummer Roy Haynes and trumpeter Marcus Belgrave is better than most of his Red Baron releases…

Liszts Études represent a peak in the history of piano writing. Beyond the tremendous technical difficulties, Liszts Études are poetic works, études tableaux, suggesting programme music influenced by literature, painting, and folklore as can be identified by titles such as Mazeppa, Wilde Jagd, Gnomenreigen or Feux follets. Similar to Schumann, Liszt added those lyrical appellations as an afterthought to stimulate the fantasy of both the listener and the performer, thus paving the path to modern piano playing as we know it today.