Weber

Sounding as fresh today as it did in 1973, Seven Songs places the Gary Burton Quartet in an orchestral context, with compositions of Michael Gibbs inspired by Messiaen and Charles Ives as well as Miles and Gil Evans and exceptional soloing by Mick Goodrick, Steve Swallow and Burton himself. The production is exemplary: Seven Songs set a new standard for recordings of orchestral jazz.

An important transitional figure, Afro-American tenor/soprano saxophonist Lucky Thompson connected the swing era to the more cerebral and complex bebop style. His sophisticated approach to the tenor saxophone built off that of Don Byas and Coleman Hawkins. Thompson recorded with the likes of Bird, Miles, and Monk, and had a slew of albums under his own name. The accompanying hand-picked musicians includes organist Ingfried Hoffmann, known for his work with German star Klaus Doldinger, and percussionist/vibraphonist Sadi, who worked with Django Reinhardt, Don Byas, and Martial Solal. They fit hand-in-glove with Lucky’s musical conception.

The album "In einer Zauberstunde" by Australian-born flutist Xavier Luck and his compatriot Daniel Linton-France focuses on works for flute and piano inspired by song or opera. The focus is on the introduction and variations on "Trockne Blumen" from Schubert's "Die schöne Müllerin." Contrast this with the Introduction and Variations on a Theme from Carl Maria von Weber's "Euryanthe" for flute and piano, op. 63 by Friedrich Kuhlau, composed in the same year.

"I think you're really free when you can spontaneously use all the possibilities. I wouldn't want to do without free jazz even today. I just don't want to go into a ghetto, I want to use all the possibilities that jazz offers today…" said Germany's most famous trombonist, Albert Mangelsdorff, in 1993.

For the follow-up of his ECM-leader-debut La traversee, French saxophonist Matthieu Bordenave expands his trio of German pianist Florian Weber and French bassist Patrice Moret with the unique sensibilities of drummer James Maddren, whose unrelenting pulse adds deft counterpoint to the group's already idiosyncratic sound.

The tracks on this album were recorded over a period of no less than 16 years. The earliest, the two versions of Donna Anna's 'Non mi dir', date from 1953, and were intended to test microphone placings before Callas made her first commercial recording for EMI: Lucia di Lammermoor. The latest, the Verdi arias recorded with Nicola Rescigno in 1964-1965 and 1969, were never approved for release by the soprano. When Callas Rarities was first released in 1993, Gramophone wrote: 'Each item, each phrase almost, has something to be said about it: the whole collection makes essential listening'.

REFERENCE RECORDINGS® is very pleased to release this beautiful musical program of three works from the early to mid­-20th century, which we hope will provide some joy, especially to those who love Jewish music, history, and folklore.

Singer Knut Kiesewetter has garnered his fair share of fame and fortune; over more than three decades Knut successfully sang his way through everything from pop to German Lieder, blues, and trad jazz on through to bebop, continually topping European polls as best jazz singer. Great Jazz-Groove album, "Stop! Watch! And Listen!" was released in 1970 by MPS Records and featuring Knut Kiesewetter on vocals and Dieter Reith at the Hammond Organ.

Since its launch in January 2019, DG’s Project XII has grown with new compositions every month. Now on its third consecutive year, we present the 2020 vinyl compilation of Project XII, featuring twelve works by some of today’s most innovative and creative musicians.