L'amico Ritrovato Fred Uhlman

2 CD Set Contains Previously Unreleased Performances. JESUS ON THE MAINLINE is drawn from two 1971 concerts; April 14th, 1971 in Tacoma, Washington, and November 5th, 1971 at the Gaslight In New York, which would prove to be the final recording of the Delta Blues legend. The bottleneck guitarist was 67 years old when these tracks were recorded and his passion and conviction seem to have strengthened with the years. At this point in McDowell's career he had shifted to playing electric slide guitar. Accompanying McDowell's gruff voice, the guitar often seems to finish the singer's sentences for him; it's like listening to an old married couple.

Very few musical compositions truly deserve that overworked adjective “unique,” but it accurately applies to William Walton’s Façade.”] Or perhaps we should call this mostly-early work Façades, as it is recorded here in three parts: “Façade – An Entertainment” (21 pieces dating from 1922); “Façade 2 – A Further Entertainment” (8 more pieces; 1978-79); and the four pieces of “Façade: Additional Numbers” (1922, 1977).

Chapellier’s own tribute to the legendary Fleetwood Mac guitar player (BB King used to say that he gave him chills) concentrated on his 1967-1970 period. Fred brings his own personal touch to the master works, staying as close as possible to the sound of the times and to the spirit of the original versions. Total success! Fred Chapellier has been playing music for more than 20 years and has now joined the ranks of the top French blues rock guitarists. Semi-finalist at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis (the largest gathering of blues musicians in the world) he has toured with some of the best French vocalists and many american artists as Tom Principato or Billy Price. He has recorded eight solo albums and contributed to innumerable discs by some of the best artists in the field.

Here is Johann Sebastian Bach in transfigured light: with organ chorale preludes, vocal cantata movements and orchestral sinfonias – 24 pieces in all – transcribed for trio and solo piano by Fred Thomas, and threaded into a compelling new sequence by Manfred Eicher. On Three Or One, Bach’s idiom is respectfully explored by three innovative players, a process Thomas describes as “quietly joyful,” and the trio pieces, primarily drawn from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein, acquire a fresh character in the hands of Kazakh violinist Aisha Orazbayeva and British cellist Lucy Railton, musicians more often associated with contemporary composition’s cutting edge.

An unusual little record - a set that's a bit "fake" in its pedigree, but which still comes across with some wonderfully vivid results! Fred Kaz is a Chicago pianist, but he works here on a set of original compositions based on his readings on Near Eastern cultures - dubbed by Fred as "Turkish experiments" in the liner notes - and a compelling blend of Eastern modes and modern jazz piano - maybe not as all-out as later experiments of the type on MPS/Saba, but still pretty darn great! The group's a trio - with Victor Sproles on bass and Roger Wanderscheid on drums.

Silent, Listening is a major addition to ECM’s distinguished line of solo piano recordings, featuring one of the outstanding improvising pianists and jazz masters of our time: Fred Hersch. The album features seven original creations and a handful of well-chosen standards, including Billy Strayhorn’s “Star-Crossed Lovers”, Sigmund Romberg’s “Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise”, Alec Wilder’s “Winter Of My Discontent” and Russ Freeman’s “The Wind”, all played with the focus, sensitivity and gracefulness for which Hersch is renowned. Developed with producer Manfred Eicher in the responsive acoustics of the Lugano studio, the album was recorded in May 2023.