Duo Biao 2008

The original Crystal Silence (recorded in 1972) was and still is one of the strongest early releases on the then relatively new ECM Records. Pianist Chick Corea and vibist Gary Burton have been working as a dynamic duo for over 35 years now, releasing many CDs in duo form and with various ensembles. The playing on the original Crystal Silence is almost telepathic and the scope of the compositional direction wide, enough to produce a riveting album never hampered by the 'limited' orchestration of just piano and vibraphone. The New Crystal Silence seeks not merely to revisit the past, but expand on this enduring musical relationship. The most obvious manifestation of the transformed Crystal Silence is that one of the two CDs of this set is with the Sydney Symphony, performing Tim Garland's arrangements of Corea compositions.

With their music, these two artists have reached a maturity and technical superiority that inevitably shift the focus. Into to room, into the hall. And this to a degree where the contact with their audience becomes almost tangible. They capture the atmosphere in such a way that encourages audiences to discover that a concert with Michala Petri and Lars Hannibal is an exceptional experience that strikes the chords of the heart.
Whereas Michala Petri has a long standing as one of the world’s most supreme instrumentalists, Lars Hannibal’s wide experience from various ensembles enables him to create both harmony and contrast. Together, they form a synthesis that attracts attention worldwide.

For his latest recording directing Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet has revived Sémélé by Marin Marais – the final opera by one of the leading composers from the reign of Louis XIV. Known above all for his compositions for the viola da gamba, Marais the composer was at the same time the author of a number of tragédies lyriques which he wrote for the Académie royale de Musique. Even to this day it has only been Alcyone which has attracted the attention of music lovers and musicians. Yet Sémélé – first performed in 1709 – arrives now full of music to charm and seduce the listener: a sparkling prologue honouring Bacchus, a set of arias with a freshly-minted appeal, a marvellously inventive diabolical scene, divertissements rich in character; all this leading up to an earthquake scene memorably anticipating the later work of Rameau.

The magic that occurs when student meets teacher on equal footing years down the road is rare enough. With Jim Hall—one of the most influential guitarists of the past half century—his spare approach, a reference point for younger guitar icons including John Abercrombie, John Scofield and Pat Metheny, has resulted in more magic than most. Hall and Metheny met successfully on Jim Hall & Pat Metheny (Telarc, 1999) and, while the elder guitarist also met briefly with Bill Frisell on a handful of tracks on Dialogues (Telarc, 1995), it was clear that the simpatico between them was profound and warranted further investigation. 13 years later—Frisell's star rising considerably during that time—the two reconvene for Hemispheres, a double-disc set with one disc of duo material and the other in quartet with bassist Scott Colley and Joey Baron, where their empathic relationship is finally and fully realized…

Active through four decades, Danish duo known most for their descriptively titled "Sunshine Reggae" and its electro-funk B-side, "White Horse." As Laid Back, Copenhagen, Denmark-based duo Tim Stahl and John Guldberg are known most for a handful of stylistically disparate hits that spanned the 1980s. The duo had met the previous decade with the Starbox Band, discovered that they worked well together, and within a short period of time landed a contract as Laid Back on Teldec subsidiary Ultraphone. Their first single, "Maybe I'm Crazy," was released in 1980, preceding their self-titled debut album released the following year. Two years later, they signed with the Medley label and scored a hit in their homeland and abroad with the descriptively titled "Sunshine Reggae," released in support of their second album, Keep Smiling.

Award-winning electro-pop duo from Australia, containing members of the Sleepy Jackson and Pnau.
Best known for their hit single "Walking on a Dream," Australia's larger-than-life electro-glam-pop duo Empire of the Sun feature the Sleepy Jackson's Luke Steele and Pnau's Nick Littlemore. Steele had previously worked with Pnau on "With You Forever," a track from the band's 2007 self-titled third album, and the pair enjoyed collaborating so much that they started their own project, drawing inspiration from the likes of Phoenix and Daft Punk. In fall 2008, Empire of the Sun released their debut album, Walking on a Dream, which the musicians described as "a spiritual road movie." Featuring songs co-written by Pnau's other half, Peter Mayes, the album went platinum in Australia and the title track became a hit single across the globe…

Brethren Of The Free Spirit is an acoustic collaboration between guitarist/composer James Blackshaw and lutenist/composer Jozef Van Wissem. Named after a cult of 13th-century Northern European religious heretics (they’re detailed in Greil Marcus’s Lipstick Traces), this duo play with an appropriately zealous intensity. Their first album All things are from Him, through Him and in Him was released on Belgian imprint Audiomer. The second album is released in November 2008 by Important Records. Brethren of the Free Spirit debuted in New York and went on a crusade through the Lowlands, Belgium, Spain, Ireland and London.

Tomorrow Today (1969). Hardin & York's debut album was quite competent yet derivative early progressive rock, and derivative of Traffic in particular. At least, however, it came by its influences quite honestly, Pete York having drummed behind Steve Winwood in the Spencer Davis Group, and Eddie Hardin having joined the Spencer Davis Group after Winwood left. And the duo does get quite a lot of sound out of their keyboards and drums, although they had plenty of backup from some session musicians. Hardin sings and writes uncannily like Winwood circa Traffic's "Forty Thousand Headmen" period, but while that's a good standard to shoot for, therein also lies the problem: it's not quite as good as the Winwood-paced Traffic, and certainly not as original…