An operatic dream came true in May 2016, when two singers made their role debuts as Lohengrin and Elsa at the Dresden State Opera.
Previously at home in French and Italian lyric tenor roles, Piotr Beczala was expanding his repertory in a direction that many opera fans had long wanted him to explore, while Anna Netrebko – previously hailed as the “queen of bel canto” – was undertaking her first Wagnerian role. It was also her first foray into the lyric-dramatic repertory.

Charlie was a British rock band that was formed in 1971 by singer/songwriter Terry Thomas and they released four albums in their career up to 1986. They toured extensively in America and the UK supporting amongst others Fleetwood Mac, The Kinks, The Doobie Brothers, And Alice Cooper.

Helmut Lotti is a Belgian tenor and singer-songwriter. Lotti performs in several styles and languages. Once an Elvis impersonator, he has sung African and Latino and Jewish music hit records, and he crossed over into classical music in the 1990s. The Golden Collection is a unique music monument. A deluxe box packaging with 34 discs full of audio and video music. Helmut Lotti's complete catalog available as one collection for the very first time. This makes “The Golden Collection” the ideal gift this year.

Recorded before Sir Stephen Cleobury’s untimely passing in November 2019, King’s College presents a new account of one of the greatest masterpieces in sacred music, Bach’s St Matthew Passion. For this recording Cleobury led the King’s Choir and the Academy of Ancient Music alongside some of the most outstanding British singers performing today, headed by one of the finest Evangelists of our time, James Gilchrist. The album is accompanied by a booklet with over 60 pages of texts and photographs, including a full translation by Michael Marissen and a specially-commissioned essay by John Butt.

Elmo Hope - The Final Sessions, Volume One (1966) {Specialty Records OJCCD-1765-2 rel 1991}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 293 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 141 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 13 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1966, 1991 Specialty Records / Fantasy | OJCCD-1765-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Piano

While there have been other items dubbed "final sessions," these tracks issued on Inner City Records – originally done for the Festival label – are truly Elmo Hope's parting-shot recordings, done in 1966 before his death in May of 1967. With bassist John Ore and either drummer Clifford Jarvis in the main or Philly Joe Jones on one cut, Hope's incredible virtuosity and individuality were with him right to the end. A disciple of Bud Powell with a touch of Thelonious Monk mixed in, Hope was definitely their equivalent as he matured and grew, with Herbie Nichols and Phineas Newborn as potential rival peer talents.

For this unusual CD, Stan Getz and his all-star 1966 quintet (which was comprised of guitarist Jim Hall, vibraphonist Gary Burton, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Roy Haynes) are teamed up with The Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fielder. Getz plays well enough but the arrangements are predictably lightweight with the emphasis on ballads; few surprises occur during this slight disappointment.

December 2, 2016 released a compilation by Sony Music from the series "Veronica Top 1000 All Times". The collection includes favorites of all time such as: Queen - Innuendo, Michael Jackson - Thriller, Deep Purple - Child In Time, Coldplay - Talk, Oasis - Wonderwall, Golden Earring - Twilight Zone, Bob Dylan - Hurricane, Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells, and many more…

After more than 12 years, Einstürzende Neubauten’s long-awaited new studio album Alles In Allem is finally released. The album marks the quintessence of the band’s output, opening yet another unexpected door in 40 years of ongoing sound research bya very experimental group of musicians around Blixa Bargeld. This band, like nearly no other, has managed to create a musical cosmos. It has, in fact, built up its own genre by uniquely combining edgy sound with sophisticated poetry. Appropriately, in the Year of the Rat – the symbol of ingenuity and versatility according to the Chinese zodiac – the band is not resting on the laurels of its last four decades.

Louis Andriessen - La Commedia (2014) {2CD Set, Nonesuch 534877-2}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 448 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 249 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 106 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Nonesuch / Warner | 534877-2
Classical / Contemporary / Opera

Nonesuch Records releases Louis Andriessen's Grawemeyer Award-winning La Commedia on June 9. The film opera, a collaboration with director Hal Hartley, is based on Dante's Divine Comedy, with additional texts from the 16th-century German theologian Sebastian Brant, the 17th-century Dutch dramatist Joost van den Vondel, and the Old Testament's "Song of Songs”. This Dutch National Opera production features the Asko and Schönberg Ensembles, led by Reinbert de Leeuw, with vocal soloists Claron McFadden (Beatrice), Cristina Zavalloni (Dante), Jeroen Willems (Lucifer/Cacciaguida), and Marcel Beekman (Casella). The children's choral parts are sung by Waterland's Kinderkoor De Kickers, conducted by Jan Maarten Koeman.

When a big band splits, it mostly is just a question of time until at least a part of the musicians re-surfaces either in other bands or solo. In these cases it usually is helpful, if you already had a solo career before that split, but very successful band, so that it is not completely new territory for you…

This two-CD set brings back a memorable Carnegie Hall concert that both features and pays tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. The great singer is joined on a few numbers by a Chick Webb reunion band that has a few of the original members (plus an uncredited Panama Francis on drums). Although the musicians do not get much solo space (why wasn't trumpeter Taft Jordan featured?), the music is pleasing. Fitzgerald performs three exquisite duets with pianist Ellis Larkins and then sits out while the Jazz at the Philharmonic All-Stars romp on a few jams and a ballad medley. Trumpeter Roy Eldridge's emotional flights take honors, although tenorman Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and trombonist Al Grey are also in good form…

Brash and attitudinal is the vibe on Bif Naked's 1996 self-titled release. The New Jersey native comes across as part goth, part skateboard punk with a sneer in her voice and a chip on her shoulder. It's a mix that suits her well from "Make Like a Tree," with its insistent demand of "leave me alone," to the closing spoken-word observations of "The Gross Gross Man." In between, there are a few surprises, which makes this record a bit more worthwhile than the average angry, young woman fare. "Daddy's Getting Married" is a wry take on a broken home that is less in your face and more effective. The piano-based "Tell On You" seethes with anger, but never surrenders its dignity as she lyrically confronts a rapist. There's also the sensual Generation X love song "Succulent" sung over a funky beat. Lastly, Bif Naked serves up a cool twist on "My Bike," a come-on song sung to her dirt bike.