Mike Verta Impressions

REFERENCE RECORDINGS is pleased to announce SPANISH IMPRESSIONS, our second album with this elite trio. The Hermitage Piano Trio consists of violinist Misha Keylin, cellist Sergey Antonov, and pianist Ilya Kazantsev. The trio has been praised for its “polished and spirited interpretations” (The Washington Post), “absolute rhythmic precision and dynamic exuberance” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), and “powerful, intelligent and deeply moving performances” (The Seattle Times). Their first album on our label, Rachmaninoff, was nominated for three 2020 GRAMMY® Awards in the categories of Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, Best Engineered Album, Classical, and Producer Of The Year, Classical.

Impressions featuring music by Coltrane, Bechet, and D’Rivera, among many others, is an album unlike any other. Organist Jean-Willy Kunz gathered a group of musician-friends from the realms of classical and contemporary music, pop and jazz. They embarked on a musical trip around the world, exploring an original and diverse repertoire of traditional Eastern European dance music, klezmer, and jazz. Listeners will discover a kaleidoscope of fascinating music ranging from Petite fleur by Sidney Bechet, to Impressions by John Coltrane, to Frank Sinatra’s hit Fly Me to the Moon. The organ as it’s never been heard before!

Sophie Dervaux’s debut album on Berlin Classics is very much in the French tradition. Together with her French colleague, pianist Sélim Mazari, the bassoonist presents works on this concept album Impressions that are by composers of various eras, including Debussy, Saint-Saëns, Ravel, Fauré and Koechlin. The bassoon – unusually – takes the stage as a soloist and so fulfils the purpose that the Vienna Phil bassoonist had in mind: to present the unique singing sound of the instrument and enrich the world of the bassoon in the process.

En 1916-1917, le jeune Lorca participe a à quatre excursions universitaires à travers l'Espagne, sous la direction de Martin Dominguez Berrueta, professeur de littérature et d'art à l'université de Grenade. L'horizon de Lorca s'élargit, il découvre l'unité de l'Espagne dans, sa diversité - la Castille surtout l'impressionne-, rencontre Antonio Machado à Baeza, Unamuno à Salamanque, connaît ses premiers triomphes de pianiste, lorsque le soir, au cours de festivités organisées en l'honneur des étudiants, il joue ses compostions et, naturellement, il note ses impressions de voyage…

Some of today’s most meaningful up and coming and established jazz artists pay homage to the iconic Beatles record “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Musicians were given the challenge to create loose interpretation of these classic songs, and the result is impressionistic, original, avant-garde takes on legendary tracks like “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds”, “Getting Better”, and “A Day In The Life”. Keyon Harrold, Brandee Younger, Shabaka & The Ancestors, and Antonio Sanchez are just some of the amazing artists who have contributed to this project. This release will impress Beatles fanatics by highlighting the material in a brand-new light, while also showcasing some of the most exciting names in jazz today.

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