Every time you think you have heard the last word on George Frideric Handel's stature as an opera composer, along comes another previously unheard masterpiece. The latest is the first recording of "Ezio", a three-act opera seria dealing with capricious tyranny, military bravery and true love facing difficulties in ancient Rome. Old-fashioned even in 1732, "Ezio" was a flop, closing after five performances, and was not heard again until this century. But the arias are wonderful, particularly in this recording, which features some of America's finest young baroque specialists, headed by soprano Julianne Baird and mezzo-soprano D'Anna Fortunato, with Richard Auldon Clark conducting the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and the Magic Circle Opera Chorus in a bright, well-styled performance. Anyone who loves baroque vocal music should hear this. Historic Performances.

This magnificent compilation of the greatest Wagner singers and conductors of the 20s and early 30s is an absolute MUST for everyone who is remotely interrested in how Wagner was done in the past.
The greatest attractions are the magnificent interpretations of Friedrich Schorr, Frida Leider and the young Lauritz Melchior. Schorr sings Wotan in the excerpts from Die Walkure and Leider sings Brunnhilde. Melchior sings the young Siegfried.

Since their foundation in 2011, SLAEGT have found a very own, unique style of playing heavy metal. Stylistically influences are drawn from a broad spectrum of such diverse movements as the NWOBHM, the black metal scene(s) of the 80’s and 90’s and everything in between and beyond. SLAEGT plays an epic blackened heavy metal but without any kind of limitation when approaching the style.“The Wheel” is an album that showcases a band that has grown without forgetting, where it came from. A band that is hungrier than ever before, and who knows, that more is to come. A band that is called SLAEGT, who is way more concerned with personal expression and writing the best songs possible, than adhering to fashions and mundane attractions. “The Wheel” was produced, mixed and mastered by Lasse Ballade (Ballade Studios) in the band’s hometown Copenhagen and features a guest appearance of local musician Felix Havstad Ziska who handles cello, viola and violin on “Gauntlet of Lovers” and the title track.

This production presents Händel’s masterpiece for which a lot of excellent recordings have already been released, however Concerto here offers the true “original” opera version. This means that the roles played by Cesare, Tolomeo and Nireno which were written at that time specifically for the castrati who could best could perform those roles, are in fact beautifully performed by our well-known sopranos: Angelo Manzotti who plays the main character; Angelo Galeano, the youngest one, who plays the role of Tolomeo outstandingly and last but not least Angelo Bonazzoli, playing Nireno.

Albert Ayler Quartet - European Radio Studio Recordings 1964 (2016) {hatOLOGY 678}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download (qobuz.com) -> 371 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 143 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) | 5% repair rar
© 1964, 2016 HAT HUT Records | hatOLOGY 678
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Saxophone

Albert Ayler (1936-1970) was a jazz genius, whose story has the status of tragic myth – myth which, as often happens,is informed by truth. He pioneered free jazz on tenor saxophone, creating generations of disciples, beginning with John Coltrane. In his ecstatic soundworld, he forged connections between the furthest reaches of 60s avantgardism, and themusic's beginnings in New Orleans, re-igniting its creative impulses. But free jazz was never a commercially viableform: when Ayler died he had won some critical recognition, but none from the jazz public. 1964 was Ayler's annusmirabilis.

Soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy's first recording as a leader since moving to Europe (except for the obscure Roba from three months earlier) was originally cut for the Byg label before being reissued on an Affinity LP. Lacy was in Rome after being "stranded" in South America for quite some time. He had embraced many of the aspects of free jazz, and his interplay with the Italian musicians (trombonist Italo Toni, clarinetist Claudio Volonte, bassist Marcello Melis, and drummer Jacques Thollot), as well as cellist Irene Aebi (who would soon become a permanent member of his groups), is intriguing, often dense, and quite passionate…

The Berliner Philharmoniker elect their own conductor: after von Karajan’s death they chose Claudio Abbado. He rejuvenated the orchestra, expanded its repertoire, and created a less autocratic atmosphere, inspiring levels of commitment and communication from his musicians that resulted in performances and recordings that stand the test of time. Abbado’s tenure with the Berliner Philharmonic can be considered as one of the highlights in the orchestra’s history and many of their recording together still remain unsurpassed on record. DG celebrates this partnership with a 60-CD limited edition collection of their complete recordings – many classics right from the start.

Boasting twenty one pulsating tracks drawn from the northern coasts of Colombia, ‘Palenque Palenque!’ reveals a unique and fascinating story of how Afro Colombian music developed from the 1970s onwards and how the local sound-systems in Cartagena and Barranquilla played such an important role in shaping the sound of the Colombian champeta.

In a period in which the boundaries between musical genres are rapidly dissolving, there still exist major differences between what we still call a “jazz” band and those of other musical classifications.Perhaps the most significant of these is that longevity in a jazz ensemble will nearly always have an entirely positive effect on the music. That’s clearly a huge factor when listening to the high-caliber international quartet put together over a decade ago by the New York-based guitarist-composer Scott DuBois.

Engelbert Humperdinck is an English pop singer. Humperdinck has been described as "one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers around." His singles "Release Me" and "The Last Waltz" both topped the UK music charts in 1967, and sold more than a million copies each…

Ed Cherry Special Trio - Szósta po Południu (2015) {ForTune 0064 041}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 285 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 123 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 9 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 ForTune LLC | 0064 041
Jazz / Post Bop / Jazz Funk / Guitar

Considering that jazz guitarist Ed Cherry has worked with a number of well known leaders like Dizzy Gillespie, Big John Patton and Dr. Lonnie Smith, his records as a leader are few. A couple of months ago (April, 2015), I reviewed an amazing CD from Pheeroan AkLaff which featured Ed Cherry on guitar and we've sold more than fifty copies so far. This month (July, 2015) the ForTune label has released a rare trio effort from Mr. Cherry, backed by two fine Polish musicians, neither of whom I was previously familiar with.

Pianist Gregory Privat introduces his second album, Tales of Cyparis based on the story of a prisoner that survived the volcanic eruption of Mt. Pelee in 1902. After being pardoned from his crimes, Cyparis joined Barnum & Bailey’s circus as “the Most Marvelous Man in the World,” recounting the horror of the eruption.

Diana Panton's gifted voice has a direct penetrating power, full of an emotional conviction that her contemporaries lack. The combination of her ethereal and graceful singing skill, appealingly luscious voice and her ability to deliver the lyrics as a storyteller make DIana Panton simply irresistible.