George Soros Biliography

George Barnes and Carl Kress often teamed up to play guitar duets from 1962-65, although they made relatively few recordings. "Guitars Anyone?" was their last meeting on record, and it finds the pair in high spirits on a dozen selections. The second part of this CD features Barnes' Second Quartet with Dick Hyman, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Jo Jones and others.

The satin Shearing sound is in perfect form here - backed by added strings and woodwinds conducted by Billy May - and key proof that Billy could come up with some richly subtle arrangements when he wanted! Most prominent instrumentation comes from George's piano, and the group's trademark vibes, guitar, and wonderful percussion - but the backings also nicely compress some strings and reeds in ways that flesh out the sound, yet never take it over! It's almost as if Billy's just flavoring the Shearing combo sound just a bit - adding just a dose of magic to cuts.
In Black Satin, the George Shearing Quintet - with added orchestrations - all in a blend that's got that pillow-soft sound that Shearing did so well back in the 50s! Arrangements are by George and Billy May - the latter of whom is especially subtle here, bringing things in with the best ballad mode he'd use behind Sinatra…

Pianist George Shearing meets up with guitarist Wes, vibraphonist Buddy, and bassist Monk Montgomery on this enjoyable if slightly lightweight outing. The performances are a bit too concise at times, but the album has some fine soloing by the principals. Highlights include "Love Walked In," "Love for Sale," and "The Lamp Is Low."

Arriving ten years after The Dark Horse Years: 1976-1992, The Apple Years: 1968-75 offers the first act of George Harrison's solo career presented in a handsomely produced, impeccably remastered box set. The outside packaging mirrors The Dark Horse Years but the discs housed inside the box show a greater attention to detail than the previous set: each of the albums is presented as a paper-sleeve mini-LP replicating the original album art (Extra Texture does indeed have extra texture on its sleeve), while the brief hardcover book contains perhaps the glossiest paper to ever grace a rock music box set. Better still, the remastering of all six albums is superb. Supervised by Harrison's son Dhani, the team mastermind by Paul Hicks, who worked on the acclaimed 2009 Beatles remasters, and featuring Gavin Lurssen and Reuben Cohen, bring The Apple Years to the same sonic standard as the 2009 Beatles remasters and the results are rich, deep, and alluring…

Gabriel Fauré considered Umberto Giordano’s Siberia to be one of the most interesting and singular works of the early 20th century. The opera’s tragic narrative follows Prince Alexis’s courtesan Stephana. She falls in love with an innocent soldier, Vassili, who is sent to Siberia for killing the Prince. Stephana gives up her life of luxury to follow him but cannot escape her past. With its intensely Russian atmosphere and passionately soaring melodies, Siberia was Giordano’s favorite among his operas. This acclaimed Fiorentino production was greeted with multiple ovations.

On November 29, 2002, one year after the passing of George Harrison, Olivia Harrison and long-time friend Eric Clapton organized a performance tribute in his honour. Held at London's Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George's songs, and music he loved, performed by a line-up that included Eric Clapton, Jools Holland, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi and Anoushka Shankar, Ringo Starr, Dhani Harrison and many more.