Recording of the Month

Mark Weinstein: "Todo Corazón: The Tango Album"

Created on Wednesday, 01 May 2013 00:00

Written by Rad Bennett

Category: Recording of the Month

Todo Corazón: The Tango Album Jazzheads JH1198
Format: CD

Musical Performance: ****
Sound Quality: ****
Overall Enjoyment: ****

Mark Weinstein insists on doing things his own way. The bassist and trombonist took time off from music to earn a PhD in philosophy, and when he returned to music, his instrument was the flute, his technique and sound entirely self taught.

Daniel Lantz Trio: "Plays Bond"

Created on Monday, 01 April 2013 00:00

Written by Joseph Taylor

Category: Recording of the Month

Plays Bond Do Music DMRCD 012
Format: CD

Musical Performance ****
Sound Quality ****1/2
Overall Enjoyment ****1/2

The James Bond movie series, now 50 years old, is probably as vital today as it was in the Sean Connery years. My son and I agree that Daniel Craig is the best Bond since Connery, and that the last three films are some of the most enjoyable the series has produced in years. The music in the films is almost as iconic as the main character, especially the themes composed by the late John Barry. But pop tunes written for them by other songwriters have also found their way into our collective memories.

Monica Ramey: "And the Beegie Adair Trio"

Created on Friday, 01 March 2013 00:00

Written by Rad Bennett

Category: Recording of the Month

Monica Ramey Adair Music Group 700261370958
Format: CD

Musical Performance: ****1/2
Sound Quality: ****1/2
Overall Enjoyment: ****1/2

Nashville is well known for its fabulous country singers, but on the evidence of this CD, jazz, too, is alive there, and doing very, very well. Pianist Beegie Adair has 34 recordings to her credit, and she and her trio -- bassist Roger Spencer and drummer Chris Brown -- play a weekly date at F. Scott’s Restaurant & Jazz Bar, whose patrons must count themselves very fortunate to hear such amazing music. The three have played together a long time, and their musical lines weave in and out comfortably as the musical spotlight shines first on one, then the other. Though each has a distinct musical personality, they come together in perfect unanimity, seeming to breathe together -- “tight-knit” is an understatement.

Emilia Amper: "Trollfågeln (The Magic Bird)"

Created on Friday, 01 February 2013 00:00

Written by S. Andrea Sundaram

Category: Recording of the Month

Emilia Amper BIS/eClassical.com
Format: FLAC 24/96 Download

Musical Performance: ***1/2
Sound Quality: ****1/2
Overall Enjoyment: ****

The nyckelharpa is an instrument of Swedish origin dating back to at least the 14th century. It is bowed like a violin, but instead of the musician’s fingers pressing the strings against the fingerboard to alter the pitch, it has a series of key-activated frets. In addition to the four main strings, the modern nyckelharpa has 12 sympathetic strings that are tuned to the pitches of the chromatic scale. (Older examples had varying numbers of sympathetic strings with different tuning schemes.) These give the instrument added resonance, and a complex timbre rich in upper harmonics. The nyckelharpa is important in the Swedish folk tradition -- an image of one appears on the reverse of the 50-kronor banknote.