Justin Ramondo

Violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte and harpsichordist Justin Taylor, two of the most promising virtuosos of the new generation and founder members of the ensemble Le Consort, now present a duo album that pays tribute to a great eighteenth-century dynasty of musicians, the violinists and composers of the Francoeur family.

Tuba virtuoso Justin Benavidez is heard in three new tuba concertos, two recent solos, and stunning transcriptions of works by Gustav Mahler and Claude Debussy. Benavidez is currently Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Florida State University and performs as principal tuba of the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. In the summer he is on the faculty at the Round Top Music Festival in Texas. With his playing noted for it's "tremendous virtuosity and stylistic versatility," Benavidez has performed in venues throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. He has been featured numerous times on APM's Performance Today radio program. His debut solo album, Emblems, won Silver Medals in the Classical Album and Instrumental Solo Album categories of the Global Music Awards. The International Tuba Euphonium Association Journal described it as "an impressive and highly entertaining record" on which Benavidez "shreds with enthusiasm, exuberance, and precision."

In October 2020, Justin Adams, whose post-punk approach has been en-riched by a passion for Arabic and African trance/blues, and Mauro Durante, a visionary inheritor of the Taranta roots of his native Puglia got together to make an intense and intimate album: Still Moving. They recorded live in the studio, without overdubs. Together they found what was essential in their common sound, reaching into traditional music from Italy (folk songs like 'Damme La Manu', classics like 'Amara Terra Mia') and America ('Little Moses', the Carter Family classic). Original songs, like 'Dark Road Down' mix the wild pizzica rhythm of Southern Italy and trance boogie, while 'Djinn Pulse' goes from serene instrumental minimalism to hypnotic catharsis. The title song 'Still Moving' evokes Mediterranean migration with the ancient frame drum and raw electric guitar providing a starkly beautiful landscape.