I sette pezzi presentati in questo CD sono conservati in una singola collezione manoscritta datata 1725. I concerti testimoniano l'intensa raffinatezza di un genere ormai poco conosciuto: pezzi per flauto, due violini e basso continuo; una forma che mette efficacemente insieme le caratteristiche del solo sonata, trio sonata e concerto. Il manoscritto è conservato presso la biblioteca del Conservatorio di Musica di San Pietro a Maiella di Napoli.

Mystical Adventures expands Jean-Luc Ponty's palette slightly with the introduction of part-time percussionist Paulinho Da Costa and the use of a vocoder on a couple of tracks. Otherwise, it's the same mixture of mildly intoxicating arpeggios and flights of fancy that you'd find in various amounts on any Ponty album from this period.

Every eight years, it seems, Jean-Luc Ponty picks himself up, gives himself a good shake, and switches direction. In 1967, he made his first life-changing visit to the U.S.; 1975 found him going solo permanently as a jazz/rock icon; 1983 marked a switch to sequencer music; and in 1991, Ponty discovered African music. Taking advantage of the huge interest in African music in France, Ponty recorded his electric violin over the churning, hypnotic grooves of a coterie of visiting West African musicians in Paris, and the results, on Tchokola, are delicious. In one sense, not that much has changed, for while Ponty has thrown out the sequencers and electronic gizmos, his music remains grounded in repeated ostinato patterns – those provided by the Africans.

Jean-Luc Ponty recorded for a number of labels prior to his signing by Atlantic in the early '70s, but this 1970 session in Japan was among his most challenging albums to acquire until it was finally reissued in the fall of 2011 in Japan. He joined forces with Japanese keyboardist Masahiko Satoh, the great bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, guitarist Yoshiaki Masuo, and drummer Motohiko Hino for the studio date.

The Diabelli Variations (Op. 120) are Beethoven's last major work for the piano. The work went neglected for decades after its publication in 1824 until Hans von Bülow rediscovered it, championing it as the "Mikrokosmos of Beethoven's genius" (as if he had already heard Bartok). "Indeed", he wrote, "the whole world of tone and evolution of musical thought is outlined here, from the most contained contemplation to the most abandoned humor - an unbelievable rich variety". Many will agree that Op. 120 is one of Beethoven's foremost compositions; for sure the greatest set of variations ever written for the piano.

Isaac Hayes - And Once Again (1980) {2014 Remastered & Expanded Reissue - Big Break Records CDBBRX0178}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 408 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 150 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 67 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1980, 2014 Polydor / Big Break Records / Cherry Red | CDBBRX0178
R&B / Soul / Funk

Isaac Hayes needs no introduction. As a songwriter his career spanned more than 45 years during which time he penned countless songs for himself and others while releasing numerous albums containing tracks that have kept dance floors moving since the 60s. 1980 saw the release of AND ONCE AGAIN, the fourth solo studio album released on Polydor Records from the legendary Isaac Hayes. The follow up to the hugely successful Don’t Let Go, AND ONCE AGAIN took a softer approach and focused more on the fantastic ballad talents of Isaac Hayes.

The secular cantatas afford us a glimpse of what J.S. Bach could have done if he had been tempted to write an opera. They reveal a composer who was highly sensitive not only to the place where they were to be performed (in the Zimmermann cafe or gardens in Leipzig), but also to the texts he was given to set and to the audience that was to listen to them. As performed by the Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin and Rene Jacobs, these fascinating works demonstrate the full range of Bach's musical palette.

Mary Halvorson - Meltframe (2015) {Firehouse 12 Records FH12-04-01-021}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 202 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb | Artwork | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Firehouse 12 Records / Mary Halvorson | FH12-04-01-021
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Modern Jazz / Guitar

Mary Halvorson’s "Meltframe" is the product of three years of gestation and refinement. Initially conceived as a solo guitar album made up of jazz standards, the final document is comprised of modern compositions long admired by Mary, the oldest being Duke Ellington’s "Solitude". The remainder of the pieces date between the early 1960s through to Tomas Fujiwara’s "When", a recent addition to the book of music for The Hook Up, an ensemble in which Halvorson is a charter member.

The now-retired Régine Crespin is easily the greatest soprano voice to come out of France since World War II, notable not just for its body and luster but for such an effortless sense of line that you're never aware of the individual notes, only the overall musical idea they're meant to create. This was recorded a bit late in her career and some wobble is apparent. But her characterization of the words–so important in Ravel's precise animal portraits in Histoires Naturelles–is peerless. Too bad that the Satie songs–in terms of quality–veer between serious endeavors and cabaret toss-offs. The disc is filled out by Crespin's performance of Beethoven's concert aria Ah! Perfido, which illustrates why she was a formidable Tosca in her day.

With tunes such as "Let's Get It On," "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," "Try a Little Tenderness" and "Night Train" being included, this CD certainly qualifies as one of the most unusual of all the World Saxophone Quartet recordings. Far from being a sellout to commercialism, this set features the WSQ (altoists Julius Hemphill and Oliver Lake, tenor saxophonist David Murray and baritonist Hamiet Bluiett) meeting the six soul and R&B tunes (which are joined by three complementary originals) head on. The WSQ was always open to playing rhythmically and was not allergic to strong melodies while including solo and group improvisations that were quite advanced. The combination works quite well on this surprising success.