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Rachel Podger is a joyful music maker, regardless of her choice of composers. And she is one of the best artists performing today on baroque violin and within the world of period instrument performance generally with her Brecon Baroque ensemble.  I wrote enthusiastically about Podger and Brecon Baroque in my article about Channel Classics and the... Read More »

Circa 1967, that is… Imprints on music are lifelong influences. Among my early imprints that I continue to cherish are the recordings made by André Previn with the London Symphony early in his career. Released by RCA from around 1967 to 1972, these Decca recorded performances are a consistent pleasure. The various Decca recording teams,... Read More »

Nicolas van Poucke: The Schumann Collection, Vol. 1, TRPTK. (2020 (DXD) (HERE) What a pleasure to listen to this quite extraordinary pianist, Nicolas van Poucke, in this new release from TRPTK. His performances of the Schumann works on this album are totally engaging, full of musical intelligence and emotional depth. It is always a treat... Read More »

Nickel Creek formed in 1989, at a point when all three members were under the age of thirteen. They actually went by the moniker "The Nickel Creek Band" for a few years before eventually deciding to drop "The Band" to present themselves with a more modern and concise identity. Consisting of mandolin player and vocalist... Read More »

Lanchbery-Herold: La Fille Mal Gardée, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by John Lanchberry, HDTT. (1962 Decca (Pure DSD256) (In 2 parts: HERE) These excerpts from John Lanchbery's 1960 adaptation of Ferdinand Hérold's 1828 score have been a guilty pleasure of mine since I first heard them on the original Decca SXL... Read More »

Bob Witrak's High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) is a treasure house for DXD and DSD256 downloads of some of the best recordings from the golden age of analog stereo recording. Perusing the HDTT catalog is like traveling back in time to my favorite record store to wander through shelves of wonderful recordings from Decca, RCA,... Read More »

Sacred Trance Music from Taos Mountain, Habib Chishti, Michael Rosell, Salman Hanuman Lee, Shawnina Good Road Woman. Yarlung Records. (DSD256) (HERE) Go to your quiet place, turn out the lights, transport to the original recording session with these musicians. The sound quality is that good—immersive, translucent, and transcending. And the musical performances are that subtle,... Read More »

Craft Recordings continues their 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of Creedence Clearwater Revival with this new LP reissue of their seminal album, Cosmo's Factory. Starting in July 1970, Cosmo's Factory quickly rose to the top of the US Billboard album charts and was propelled to quadruple platinum status in the US alone on the... Read More »

From Heaven on Earth - Lute Music from Kremsmunster Abbey, Hubert Hoffmann. Challenge Classics | Northstar Recording (DXD) (HERE) A beautiful and sensitive recording of some exquisite compositions  recently discovered in the library of the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria. Hubert Hoffman is clearly a master of the 11-string lute, as heard here... Read More »

2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of progressive / hardcore / metalcore band Between the Buried and Me, and Craft Recordings continues to celebrate this watershed moment with remix / remasters of the band's entire catalog. Now up: BTBAM's third studio album, 2005's milestone release Alaska, which gives us the band featuring their... Read More »

Jane Ira Bloom: Wild Lines - Improvising on Emily Dickinson. Anderson Audio (2017, Audiophile Edition 2020 (DXD) HERE Jane Ira Bloom is an acknowledged jazz master on the soprano saxophone. She has built a following bridging modern and experimental jazz. In Wild Lines she has created a fresh and unpretentious exploration of the intersection of... Read More »

Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 and Op. 3, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Pentatone (Three Albums 2019, 2020 (DXD) [HERE] This is big, bold, exciting Handel. None of your timid tinkly stuff. This music has drive! It has bass! It is energetic! Just have fun with it. Yes, that was my first reaction listening to... Read More »

Ballads is considered by many as an essential addition to any John Coltrane collection. First released on the Impulse label in mono and then later in stereo, it has continued to cause both consternation and praise by both critics and fans. This new 33 RPM stereo reissue is another wonderful addition to the Acoustic Sounds... Read More »

The more I listen to the recordings created by Brendon Heinst and his team, the more enchanted I become. TRPTK has easily become a favorite music label in this household because of the highly varied and non-traditional repertoire, extraordinarily good artists (whom we may not know by name but are very deserving of our attention),... Read More »

If you're a baby boomer (OK, Boomer!) or one of their children, you no doubt have a strong familiarity of the works of jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. Or at least, you know him through osmosis, via his compositions for the many Charlie Brown and Peanuts television specials and movies that have aired almost incessantly since... Read More »

Back in the early nineties, I worked at my day job with a guy, Tim, who was following his dream, trying to make it as a guitarist moonlighting in a local Atlanta rock band. He was a wickedly gifted guitar player, and his band had often gone head to head against another local band, Mr.... Read More »

Handel: Organ Transcriptions (arr. J. Walsh and J. Hook). Simone Vebber, organ (Serassi organ, Church of St. Mary Magdalene, Milan, 1835-7). Discantica 314.  TT: 54.04 Saul: How excellent Thy name, O Lord; Preserve Him for the glory of Thy Name. Organ Concerti: Op. 4, No. 4; HWV 295 ("The Cuckoo and the Nightingale"). Coronation Anthem, HWV... Read More »

Our good friend and fellow scrivener John Marks, he of The Tannhäuser Gate, has shared with us another of his musical reflections from that estimable blog site. Once again, he stirs the mind by telling us about music that we likely do not know...much to our benefit! I always learn when I read one John's... Read More »

Comparing Native DSD64 and DSD256 Releases by Tom Jung of DMP I was graciously asked by Brian Moura at NativeDSD.com to listen to and critique some of their newest Native DSD releases which come from Tom Jung at DMP.  The releases were provided as both DSD64 and DSD256 masters for download and comparison. I listened to the... Read More »