Vocal Command

Bing Crosby was, without doubt, the most popular and influential media star of the first half of the 20th century. The undisputed best-selling artist until well into the rock era (with over half a billion records in circulation), the most popular radio star of all time, and the biggest box-office draw of the 1940s, Crosby dominated the entertainment world from the Depression until the mid-'50s, and proved just as influential as he was popular. Unlike the many vocal artists before him, Crosby grew up with radio, and his intimate bedside manner was a style perfectly suited to emphasize the strengths of a medium transmitted directly into the home.

Richard Tucker Award-winners Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez – dubbed “America’s fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press) – look forward to releasing their first album together: a recording of romantic love duets by Verdi, Puccini, Bernstein, and others, recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Patrick Summers’s leadership in London. The album is slated for release in May 2014, and it will be the couple’s first release as exclusive recording artists for Warner Classics.

Richard Tucker Award-winners Stephen Costello and Ailyn Pérez – dubbed “America’s fastest-rising husband-and-wife opera stars” (Associated Press) – look forward to releasing their first album together: a recording of romantic love duets by Verdi, Puccini, Bernstein, and others, recorded with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Patrick Summers’s leadership in London. The album is slated for release in May 2014, and it will be the couple’s first release as exclusive recording artists for Warner Classics.

A great choice of tunes and an outstanding supporting cast mark this album from the outset. With performers of the caliber of Steve Swell and Dominic Duval behind her, vocalist Mary LaRose (not to be confused with the equally impressive jazz vocalist Dena de Rose) spins a tight yet expansive story, one that goes deep into the belly of the melodies, distorting them just enough to make them feel fresh. LaRose is a modernist, yet she values old-fashioned tunefulness and emotion. Trombone, sax, and acoustic bass may at first blush seem like an odd combination to back a jazz singer, but with her elastic vocal chords, the mix is nearly perfect…

With the exception of saxophonist Jan Garbarek , fellow Norwegian Arild Andersen —who has a considerably smaller discography as a leader—has created some of the ECM label's most stylistically diverse music since the early 1970s. From exploring the nexus of traditional folk music and improvisation on Sagn to the fusion-centric Molde Concert, the spontaneous composition of Karta and the Nordic Cool-meets-string quartet of Hyperborean, Andersen has explored a host of different angles from which to approach his personal jazz-centricity. ~ AllAboutJazz

An album of folk songs that embraces the theme of travel and journeys seems entirely appropriate. So much of our traditional song has travelled all around our islands, and far beyond, it makes perfect sense to collate some of those where the characters who populate the stories are on the move. Scots singer/song writer Claire Hastings has done just that, in Those Who Roam.

PFM - Photos of Ghosts (1974)
Rock Progressive | EAC Rip | FLAC, Cue, Log | Cover 600 dpi | 234 Mb

Nel Gennaio del 1974 la PFM è al Command Studio di Londra per registrare il suo primo disco internazionale (dei cui testi e della cui produzione si occupa appunto Sinfield), proprio mentre i King Crimson realizzano, nella sala accanto alla loro, Larks Tongue In Aspic: nasce così Photos of Ghosts, versione in inglese di Per Un Amico.
Il 24 Marzo del '73 la PFM si presenta al pubblico inglese all'ABC Fulham Theatre di Londra, e il riscontro da parte della critica è molto positivo. Forte del successo radiofonico del singolo "Celebration", versione inglese di "È Festa" (brano incluso in Storia Di Un Minuto), la PFM partecipa con successo al Festival di Reading. Proprio in quest'occasione si verifica un curioso episodio: i tecnici staccano la corrente nel bel mezzo della performance con il pretesto ..