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SACD

Denny Zeitlin Trio – As Long As There’s Music (1998) [Japan 2016] [SACD / Venus Records – VHCD-145]

adminOctober 14, 2025 59 Views

Title: Denny Zeitlin Trio – As Long As There’s Music (1998) [Japan 2016]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Denny Zeitlin is an American jazz pianst and composer. He’s recorded more than 35 albums including more than 100 original compositions. On this release for Japanese Venus Records he’s joins the bassist Buster Williams and drummer Al Forster to perform the Great American Songbook favorites and more jazz standards.

The part-time nature of Denny Zeitlin’s music career hasn’t harmed his pianistic abilities one iota, as this trio date for the discerning Japanese market demonstrates. Beautifully recorded, with world-class support from Buster Williams (bass) and Al Foster (drums), the album is mostly set in the thoughtful, harmonically complex idiom now identified with Bill Evans but with outbreaks of swinging fervor. There are two original Zeitlin tunes – “There and Back,” with a definite Evans flavor, and the more unpredictable wanderings of “Canyon.” The rest of the tunes are Great American Songbook favorites, jazz standards (Zeitlin is particularly inventive and swinging on John Coltrane’s modified blues “Cousin Mary”), and the traditional token bossa nova (A.C. Jobim’s “Triste”). A conservative record, yet quite beautiful.

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1 min read

SACD

Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No 3 & Symphony No 5 (2014) [SACD / Mariinsky – MAR0549]

adminOctober 14, 2025 51 Views

Title: Denis Matsuev, Mariinsky Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No 3 & Symphony No 5 (2014)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

The Mariinsky label presents the recording of two of Sergei Prokofiev’s most popular works, Piano Concerto No 3 and Symphony No 5. Denis Matsuev features as soloist, in this his fourth recording on the Mariinsky label. Since winning the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1998 Matsuev has established a reputation as one of Russia’s leading pianists and is renowned for his interpretations of Russian music.

Since 2010, Denis Matsuev has put out an exciting run of recordings with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra, playing the Russian concerto repertoire with extraordinary power and fire. The Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major is the most popular of Sergey Prokofiev’s five piano concertos, and Matsuev gives the performance his special combination of brilliant technique and muscular energy. The solo part in the outer movements is virtuosic and highly percussive, and Matsuev’s attacks are quite metallic and spiky, though this tone is contrasted with smoother phrasing and a rounder quality in the second movement’s set of variations. Yet even here are displays of prestidigitation that call for a penetrating edge, and Matsuev’s playing cuts through the rather heavy orchestral accompaniment every time. The concerto is paired with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, and this is an odd choice, considering that Matsuev’s previous releases with Mariinsky have included two concertos each. Yet because this is one of Sergei Prokofiev’s most popular symphonies, second only to the “Classical” Symphony in its audience appeal, the choice seems sound, especially if Matsuev and Gergiev were counting on this album to win new fans. The sound of this hybrid SACD is generally clear and deep, though the orchestra occasionally seems bass heavy and a little murky.

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2 min read

SACD

Denise King – La Vie En Rose (2016) [Japan 2017] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-239]

adminOctober 14, 2025 44 Views

Title: Denise King – La Vie En Rose (2016) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Denise King is a singer whose naturally beautiful voice, vibrato and phrasing please musicians as well as fans. In the past 25 years, Ms King has sung at almost all of the top venues in Philadelphia, several in New York, Paris, Turkey, Brazil, Africa, Germany and Japan. This album for Venus Records was recorded in Italy with Massimo Farao’ Trio. “Denise King sings pop and jazz standards with touches of the blues, soul and even gospel in a voice steeped in a sophisticated, swinging, sometimes soulful, satin style much like one of her idols, Sarah Vaughan”.

Listening to her warm tone, impeccable phrasing, and the absolute control she has of her voice is mesmerizing. Whether shes singing a Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan standard, or an Aretha Franklin cover, she puts her heart and soul into every note. Denise has mastered the art of making a song her own no matter what the genre. With a voice described as velvet smooth, warm and steeped in sophistication, she captivates you and holds you with every note. In this age of auto-tune, quick fixes and artistic gimickery, her love of people, performance style, and energy have ensured her a spot in the Jazz community for a long time. She is a self-proclaimed torch bearer, a keeper of the flame holding the preservation and presentation of the traditional style of Jazz singing close to her heart. No gimmicks, no pyrotechnics, just an intense focus on the melody and the lyrical content.

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2 min read

SACD

Denean – The Weaving (1993) [Reissue 2002] [SACD / Top Music International Ltd. – TM-SACD71022.2]

adminOctober 14, 2025 49 Views

Title: Denean – The Weaving (1993) [Reissue 2002]
Genre: New Age
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Spiritually enlightened songs delivered through Denean’s angelic voice, similar to that of Enya’s. A wonderful album full of the spirit of the Southwest… A breathtaking, relaxing message of faith through music!

The Weaving, Denean’s latest release, provides a rich complement to her previous, more traditionally oriented Native album Fire Prayer. Melodious piano and synthesizer artfully support Denean’s vibrant vocals on Native chants and English lyrics. Guitar, bass, recorder and drums add dimension to the full sound of this sacred earth music. An album highlight is “Dana of the Winged Ones,” where you hear wingbeats of the majestic eagles that circle overhead in Denean’s neighboring valley.

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1 min read

SACD

BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis – Delius: Appalachia, The Song Of The High Hills (2011) [SACD / Chandos – CHSA 5088]

adminOctober 14, 2025 51 Views

Title: BBC Symphony Chorus, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Sir Andrew Davis – Delius: Appalachia, The Song Of The High Hills (2011)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

This release offers a pair of fairly early Delius works; they may not be instantly appealing to those making a start with this idiosyncratic English impressionist, but confirmed fans will love them. The roots of Frederick Delius’ Appalachia lay in his experiences as an orange plantation manager in Florida in the late 1880s, where he heard the singing of African-American laborers and, according to his own testimony, first began to think about becoming a composer. The work is subtitled “Variations on an Old Slave Song with Final Chorus for baritone, chorus, and orchestra,” and everything about it is intriguingly confused. Florida is not part of Appalachia. Nor is the Mississippi River delta, which Delius claimed was the inspiration for the work, but which he apparently never saw. To top it off, the “old slave song” is obscure; Delius, who had firsthand experience of African-American music, may indeed have heard it somewhere, but the text doesn’t appear anywhere in databases of spiritual texts, and apparently no one has discovered the source. The melody, uncharacteristically simple for a spiritual, is stated plainly after a two-part introduction, and then follows a set of variations of all possible shapes and sizes, culminating in a choral finale. The finale gives the advertised baritone soloist precious little to do; he gets to sing just a few bars after cooling his heels on-stage for half an hour. And it introduces the text of the song, which with its “sold down the river” images sounds a bit out of place in the mouths of a substantial English chorus. The BBC Symphony Chorus under Andrew Davis does its best with this, and in general the level of orchestral detail, the heart and soul of a Delius performance, is impressive here. The Song of the High Hills expands on the wordless chorus idea that is introduced in Appalachia, and technically it’s perhaps a more accomplished work. Appalachia, however, truly announced Delius as an original, and it’s the kind of piece you’ll either love or hate depending on your attitude toward the composer’s output in general. In any case, it’s not a terribly common work on CD, and Davis deserves thanks for its resurrection here.

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3 min read

SACD

Dejan Lazic – Liaison Vol.3: Bach, Britten (2011) [SACD / Channel Classics – CCS SA 28511]

adminOctober 13, 2025 67 Views

Title: Dejan Lazic – Liaison Vol.3: Bach, Britten (2011)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The word liaison can be translated in many ways: affair, affinity, connection, link, relationship, union. The CDs in the Liaisons series each feature 2 particular composers, enabling us to explore their musical worlds, sources of inspiration & degree of influence. At the same time, the recordings reveal their most conspicuous differences & their common denominators.

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1 min read

SACD

Dejan Lazic – Liasons Vol.2: Schumann, Brahms (2009) [SACD / Channel Classics – CCS SA 27609]

adminOctober 13, 2025 51 Views

Title: Dejan Lazic – Liasons Vol.2: Schumann, Brahms (2009)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The early Beethoven, the late Haydn… Where is the borderline between these 2 – what is the connection, what differentiates them? Although their ways of life & characters were clearly different, both masters lived in a time during which it was as important to obey the prescribed musical rules as it was to connect the artists intellect with his creativity, personality, & emotional world.

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1 min read

SACD

Dejan Lazic – Liaisons Vol.1: Scarlatti, Bartok (2007) [SACD / Channel Classics – CCS SA 23407]

adminOctober 13, 2025 41 Views

Title: Dejan Lazic – Liaisons Vol.1: Scarlatti, Bartok (2007)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

At 1st sight, they appear to have nothing in common – but disregarding the stylistic elements & a difference of 2 centuries, you soon recognize that both are in a sense, musical architects, who as piano virtuosos were equally interested in miniature forms & inspired by folk music. On the 1 hand you have Scarlatti, who, after moving to Spain in 1729 composed almost exclusively for harpsichord & integrated elements of Spanish folklore into his compositions in an experimental way; on the other hand Bartk, who boosted the recognition of the rich native Hungarian peasant songs to an independent folk art, & was also influenced by Arabic folk music.

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1 min read

SACD

Deitra Farr – Let It Go! (2005) [SACD / JSP Records – JSP5105]

adminOctober 13, 2025 52 Views

Title: Deitra Farr – Let It Go! (2005)
Genre: Blues
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

On this accessible set of romance-themed songs, veteran Chicago blues vocalist Deitra Farr offers dynamic interpretations that frequently dabble in pop and soul. Standout tracks include the melancholy, gospel-tinged tune “Signs, Signals, and Warnings” and the emotive ballad “My Love for You”, both of which highlight Farr’s deep, expressive voice.

The same qualities you could use to describe the persona that blues singer Deitra Farr inhabits in song—independence, self-confidence, a refusal to play on anyone else’s terms—also inform the way she deals with the music business. That might explain why, despite her international reputation and undiminished talents, she hasn’t released a solo album since 2005’s Let It Go! (JSP). Farr melds traditional postwar Chicago blues and fervent deep soul with modern-sounding emotional directness and a panache that few of her contemporaries can match. Let It Go! makes her case: she coaxes fatback funk out of players who usually prefer rootsier fare, like guitarist Billy Flynn, and she runs the emotional gamut from haunted urgency (“In a Dark Place”) to swing-inflected joy (“When They Really Love You”). Even on her most anthemic barn burners, which she delivers with full-hearted ebullience, Farr steers clear of “blooze-mama” posturing. She’s at her best live, so this all-too-rare hometown show is a must-see.

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2 min read

SACD

Dejan Lazic – Schubert: Sonata in B-Flat Major & Moments Musicals (2005) [SACD / Channel Classics – CCS SA 20705]

adminOctober 13, 2025 55 Views

Title: Dejan Lazic – Schubert: Sonata in B-Flat Major & Moments Musicals (2005)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Dejan Lazić is one of those pianists who personalizes everything that he does, somewhat like a German stage director who has to have a “concept”. Accordingly, the results can be stimulating, or just plain perverse. Confronting Franz Schubert’s great B-flat major sonata presents a unique series of challenges, because the music itself is so strange, so rich in character, that it tends to be diminished rather than enhanced by an excess of “ideas”, if by this we mean something novel or gratuitous imposed for its own sake. The sonata needs to be realized from within, as it were, and met on its own terms. Happily, Lazic clearly understands this and does what any outstanding interpreter of this music must: he simply loses himself in the work, letting us hear Schubert speak through Lazić, rather than the other way around.

You know what’s cool about Dejan Lazic’s Schubert B flat major Sonata? He doesn’t try to beat the masters at their own game. He doesn’t try to out-drama Schnabel or out-intensity Richter or out-slick Brendel or out-think Pollini or out-sing Kovacevich. Dejan Lazic, a young Croatian pianist, doesn’t have to. He’s got his own way of doing things, his own point of view, and his own way of singing Schubert’s great song of life and love and death. It’s passionate, sure, but Lazic’s a young man and can’t help himself. More importantly, it sounds completely thought through. Lazic knows that no matter how long the heavenly lengths of the work, the performer has to know exactly how he or she is going to get from one end of it to the other. More importantly yet, it sounds completely improvised. Lazic knows that no matter how familiar he is with the work, its bottomless depths and endless heights will always confound the traveler through its heavenly lengths and the performer always has to be ready to go with the inspiration of the moment. But most importantly of all, Lazic sounds like he’s completely at one with the music. Length, height, depth: all these are measurements. In the end, Lazic knows that it was the qualities beyond them, Schubert’s heart and soul and spirit, that make the B flat Sonata one of the most precious of all piano sonatas. Lazic’s “filler,” the set of Six Moments Musicaux, are nearly in the same league: sweet, bitter, funny, quaint, coy, and utterly endearing. A terrific performance, especially as preserved in Channel Classics’ clear and translucent sound.

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3 min read