Grdina is a guitar and oud player from Vancouver whose mentor and teacher for five years has been bassist Gary Peacock. This disc is a result of their work together, and combines some of Grdina’s interests in mainstream jazz, free improvisation and Arabic classical music.  The trio explores improvisation and world fusion, sometimes taking solos or just two of the instruments working as a duo.  All three performers operate as a tight confederation of talents, dovetailing their skills together fully. 

Most of the tracks have an introspective ECM-like mood about them. Grdina is interested in serious composer such as Berg, Webern and Bartok and that comes out in his music. But he is also inspired by Keith Jarrett, Paul Bley and Ornette Coleman.  He says he wants it to be about simplicity and complexity all at the same time, and that sums up the feeling of many of the tracks.  The sound of the oud is a nice change from the usual guitar lines, and it doesn’t always remind one of Arabic music in these selections. The original recording was 88.2K/24bit and while the surround mix isn’t enveloping it does add a more realistic dimension to the three players on the frontal soundstage.

Tracks: Yellow Spot into the Sun, Different Places, Platform, Renunciation, Morning Moon, Ginger Root, 100 Years, Distant, Combustion, Think Like the Waves, Cobble Hill, Albert the Monk, String Quartet #6, Strathcona.

– John Henry

This co-production of the Bolshoi Theatre (the word translates as “Great”) and Pentatone brings a sampling of the typical opera-goers’ experience in one of the great world centers of opera. And in exemplary surround sonics instead of the awful sound of Soviet-ear recordings or the so-so sound of many more recent Russian efforts. The opening of the original Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1825 coincides with the birth of the national Russian opera.  The Bolshoi today develops great traditions in a modern spirit. There are two stages where 500 performances are held each season, seating an audience of 3000 every evening.  The best performers, directors, choreographers and conductors are retained for Bolshoi productions.

Bass voices have always been a strong focus of Russian opera, and the highlights program opens with two bass arias from Glinka’s A Life for the Czar.  Dargomyszki’s Rusalka, seldom heard in the West, is next with a pair of arias featuring both tenor and bass soloists plus a male chorus. Three Tchaikovsky operas are excerpted with an aria from each: Iolanthe, Queen of Spades, and Mazeppa.  The arioso from the latter is sung by baritone Yuri Nechaev; it was new to me and quite lovely.  The selection from Rachmaninov’s Aleko is translated The magic power of song and again features a basso with male chorus.  The familiar tunes of Borodin’s Prince Igor provide the final four selections on the SACD. The soloists are baritone and bass with chorus.  The last selection is one of the most energetic and dramatic versions of the orchestral Polovtsian Dances I’ve ever heard – making a grand audiophile wrap up to an interesting survey of the Bolshoi Experience.  The acoustics of the huge venue are excellent and the 5.0 surround recreates them with much realism. (I was in the hall many years ago. I recall how spectacular the special effects were in ballets and operas with battles, fires, etc.)

 – John Sunier

The popularity of Shostakovich’s music in the late 20th and early 21st century is due, in part, to its multidimensionality. On one hand, some of it is musically ‘accessible’ because of its use of Russian folk themes. On the other hand, recent controversy has revealed that underneath this veneer of popularity lies musical and political messages that disclose how upset the composer was at living in constant threat of death and musical suppression imposed on him by Stalin and Russian Communism. This fascinating subtext to the music has motivated critics to reassess his music as more substantial than originally thought. His work, especially the symphonies, are as much about the man’s struggles as the emotional and traumatic effects of war and Russian politics that everyone can relate to in today’s world.

Shostakovich’s Eleventh Symphony on the surface is a panoramic account of the abortive uprising of 1905 which preceded the successful 1917 revolution. Or is it? The work was written in 1957, only a year before the Soviets brutally smashed the Hungarian revolt of 1958. What was the composer referring to? If his statements in Volkov’s controversial Shostakovich memoirs in Testimony are true, it’s clear that the composer referred to both events in this symphony.

Ever since the stunning 1958 Stowkowski recording, this symphony has been a favorite of audiophiles because of its orchestral depiction of specific events of the 1905 uprising. Bychov’s stunning interpretation – in time for the Shostakovich centennial – cuts to the historical and emotional essence of the work by choosing brisk tempos over a slower, more sentimental interpretation. His performance is a full 13 minutes faster than Rostropovich’s recent London Symphony performance. In the Palace Square section he creates a menacing, sinister atmosphere that clearly communicates the violence that’s to come. There is atmosphere, but the recording is relatively close with a wide and accurate instrumental soundstage. The magnificent scherzo (the 9th of January), pregnant with revolutionary songs, comes alive in the Fugato battle scene. It’s a blood curdling depiction of the battle between the resurgents and the governmental troops that’s visceral, exciting, yet musically cogent. SACD’s extra dimension of depth communicates with emotion and clarity.

By muting the emotion of the opening of the Funeral March, Bychov emphasizes the anger and injustice of the uprising’s brutal suppression depicted in the middle section of the symphony’s third movement.  It’s a musically brilliant strategy, made all the more impressive by the added emotion in the return of the Funeral March. The final movement’s call to arms (Tocsin) is played with a relentless truculence that foreshadows the successful 1917 revolution. The conclusion with its imposing bass drum and piercing bell of liberation provide a moving ending to this great work. No wonder Shostakovich commented on the premiere of this work in Leningrad in 1958: “For the first time in my life, I left a concert thinking of others rather than myself.”
[Purchase at ArkivMusic.com]

— Robert Moon

Lili was the sister of Nadia Boulanger, the Paris-based composition pedagogue who was a profound influence over dozens of 20th century composers. Lili died at age 24 of a childhood disease, but created  a number of memorable works which seem to be the products of a much older and mature master composer.  Her music is little known but deserves much more attention.  Mostly of a Catholic religious nature, her music is modern-sounding but tonal and full of a rare beauty.

The setting of the Psalm 150 is the largest-scale work here – a passionate statement.  The Buddhist Prayer is a most moving work, and the Pie Jesu – with its boy soprano and very small ensemble – is a highly intense piece with gorgeous melody.  It leaves Lloyd Webber’s Pie Jesu in the dust. If you become devoted to Lili Boulanger as a result of this introduction, there is a Chandos disc of more Boulanger works.  The Markevitch performances have been on Everest LP, tape and CD and on EMI CD, but the fidelity of this 96K transfer from the prerecorded tape easily wins over other optical disc versions. It’s unfortunate there is no libretto provided.

– John Sunier

These classic Living Stereo recordings will be familiar to most audio buffs and classical collectors.  The usually-paired Respighi works were recorded in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall in l959 and the Debussy the next year. BMG is to be commended for allowing us to now hear them just about as they were originally recorded, in three channels, and at a more reasonable price than the similar three-channel Golden Age series from Mercury Living Presence.  The size and clarity of the soundstage is considerably expanded with the addition of the third channel, but if you’re only set up for plain old stereo, the DSD processing will still provide a greatly enhanced sound experience over the standard CD reissues.

It’s difficult to add much to the volumes already written about these masterful Reiner recordings. The works are some of the most appealing and spectacular to be found in the orchestral repertory – magnificent tone-painting which depends for its fullest effect on the hi-res reproduction now possible with three-channel SACD playback. The widescreen spectaculars of Respighi may not equal the musical magic of Debussy’s portrait of the sea in three different moods, but there’s no denying the Roman duo makes a strong impression in every way. For my ears the only competition performance-wise are the Toscanini recordings of all three works, but those are in dull and constricted mono recorded in that awful Studio 8H in Radio City, and no match for the clarity and spatiality of these Reiner recordings.

If you don’t already own any of this Living Stereo SACD series, you’ll find the notes inside on the History of Living Stereo and the Technical Notes of great interest. And if you pick up this one you’ll likely want to have many others of the growing series of similar reissues.

 – John Sunier

When you  think about it, there really haven’t been all that many musicians who actually did change the face of rock ‘n’ roll.  Little Richard was certainly one of the select few.  He merged gospel, soul and rock into a rollicking stew – but also just might have provided the genesis for the glam movement of the 1970s.   His ground-breaking mascara, pencil-thin mustache and outrageous stage antics provided inspiration for a multitude of artists.  He had a habit of leaving and then returning to the rock ‘n’ roll scene, but was always worshipped. As is often the case, one of his comebacks completely captivated trendy Britain. Not many artists can say he had the Beatles and Rolling Stones appear on his show bill, as well as once having Jimi Hendrix as a band member.  One of the keys to Little Richard’s bombastic shows was his piano-driven singing style combined with the presence of background vocals and sharper-than-sharp New Orleans based horns.  He certainly did have a magnificent conception of the keyboard’s contribution, both when punishing them on stage and in the studio.

This superb Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs release combines Little Richard’s first two album releases from 1957 (“Here’s Little Richard”) and 1958 (“Little Richard”).  Both records on the Specialty label were actually collections of his singles and B-sides released from 1956-58. Twenty-three tracks presented in the glorious original mono without any gimmicky attempt to  re-channel into fake stereo.  That’s the way it must be ’cause you really shouldn’t fool around with perfection – leave it as it is and just goose the existing sonics to state-of-the-art. 

The disc starts off with “Tutti Fruitti”, a number LR had going around his head.  Actually, his initial “version” almost got him kicked out of the studio before he cleaned it up for safe consumption by the masses (and the producer).  The remaining tracks as listed below are all equally as hot.  Just about all of them placed in both the R&B and pop charts.  One of Little Richard’s other ground-breaking qualities was his ability to cross over and appeal to all types of music lovers.  One of my greatest failures as a life-long music lover has been missing the live stage acts of both Little Richard and the mid-sixties James Brown.  Even though I was quite young at the time, I could have somehow pulled it off and not doing so was simply inexcusable.

One of the best things about Little Richard’s records is that they invariably contain a live vibe. So if you can try to imagine the visuals, it’s still a great show.  With the much-anticipated return to the scene of Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, the sonics have been raised to a level only before heard in the original studio sessions.  The packaging itself is fascinating with the technical description of mastering techniques and a “so cool” B&W photo of the band in action – Little Richard is at the piano on one leg with his arms surrounding his other raised leg with its foot above the keys!

This double-album release is a necessary purchase on so many levels, even at the premium price.  No rock ‘n’ roll historian or anyone else pretending to have anything even approaching an exhaustive music collection should be without it!  Prime stuff from one of the greatest performers ever in this cultural gift we call music.

Tracks:  Tutti Fruitti; Fine, Fine Mama; I Can’t Believe You Wanna’ Leave; Ready Teddy; Baby; Slippin’ And Slidin’; Long Tall Sally; Miss Ann; Oh Why?; Rip It Up; Jenny Jenny; She’s Got It; By The Light Of The Silvery Moon; Send Me Some Lovin’; I’ll Never Let You Go; Heeby-Jeebies; All Around The World; Good Golly, Miss Molly; Baby Face; Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey; Ooh! My Soul; The Girl Can’t Help It.

– Birney Brown 

Studio:  AIX Records
Video:  1.78:1 widescreen enhanced
Audio:  96 kHz/24-bit Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1, DVD-A, CD-Audio
Extras:  Rehearsal (9 min); Behind The Scenes (4 min); Master Class (12 min); Guitar Demonstrations (21 min); The Recording (Introduction/Session Photos/Technical Notes/5.1 Channel Surround Mixing/96 kHz/24 bit Recording/Equipment/AEA Ribbon Microphones); Song Intros; Lyrics; Concert Stereo & Stereo Mixes; The Musicians (Biography/Photos/Video/Behind-the-Scenes); The Disc (Welcome/Alternate Audio Mixes/etc.)
Length:  195 minutes
Rating:  ****

This is another dual-sided dual disc release from AIX that offers the consumer many ways to enjoy the music of Carl Verheyen.  The recording was made on January 14, 2005 and the 28th in Zipper Auditorium at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts.  Carl has had quite a history with the guitar starting at age 10, going to The Berklee College of Music, and later playing with well-known artists like Max Roach, John Patitucci, John Ferraro, Stanley Clarke, Dave Grusin, and Dave Benoit.  Other band members on this recording include Cliff Hugo (bass), Bernie Dresel (drums), and guest Jim Cox on organ.

I started with the DVD-A side of the Dualdisc which has a 5.1 “Stage” mix and features still pictures over the music.  The quality of sound is clearly better than the best CDs.  The first two tracks show off Verheyen’s dizzying guitar work with both acoustic and classical guitars.  The multichannel sound is huge and the listener is placed right in the middle of the mix.  On the third track the drums and vocals come from the back as well as the front.  Other tracks make heavy use of the surrounds as well.  This track is a blues number with serious guts!  Guitar aficionados will want to let this one “soak” for a while.  A lot of the material has a folk bent with touches of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (i.e. “Silence Is Golden”).  The music could be classified as adult contemporary and might be missed by some of its target listeners for this reason—which is a shame.  In a lot of ways the electric sessions are even more impressive than the acoustic set.  The sound quality is still exemplary, but with intimate electric rock and blues Carl has found an even happier home a la Jeff Beck or Joe Satriani.  (Two of the four tunes are instrumental.)  I tried the CD audio side, and even though it sounded excellent, sonically it was a letdown after listening to the DVD-A tracks.

The DVD side features a live concert offered in DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1.  For those looking for a higher quality 2-channel mix, this is available on the interactive side.  The surround isn’t as active as the DVDA disc—it’s utilized more for audience noise.  The first cut starts off like a Stevie Ray Vaughan tune, but Carl’s voice is much different—rich, but not particularly wider in range; however, his voice is not out of place with the music.  The bulk of the material has a strong guitar bent—either with lengthy intros (i.e. “Slingshot”) or with the focus of the tunes (i.e. “Revival Downs”).  Video quality is excellent and editing is easy on the eyes, avoids quick cuts, and moves in and out w/ slow zooms that don’t detract from the performance.  (Like all great guitar players) Verheyen makes the guitar swing and sing with ease.  Even when he gets loud and nasty his control is superb (ex. “Diamonds”).  On some tunes his sound is not unlike Hendrix and that’s high praise indeed.  The interactive side of the DVD offers tons of extra features (like every AIX release) and for those who really want to delve into the technology, that is a good place to start.

Acoustic Set includes: Wildflower II; Henry’s Farm; Chinatown; Silence Is Golden; Misunderstood; Nordenham; Two Trains Running.

Electric Session includes: Lone Star; Holly House; Passing Through; Slang Justice.

Live Concert includes: Down Like Hail; Slingshot; Revival Downs; No Walkin’ Blues; Highland Shuffle; Maggie’s Ladder; Diamonds; Place For Me; Rumor Mill; Wasted Blues.

Guitar Demonstrations: 1958 Fender Stratocaster; 1965 Gibson ES-335; 1956 Supro Dual Tone; 1958 Gibson ES-175; 1960 Fender Telecaster Custom; 1966 Gibson SG; 1959 Gretsch 6120; 1965 Rickenbacker 12-String; 1954 Gibson Les Paul; 1969/70 Fender Telecaster Thinline; 1961 Fender Stratocaster; 1969 Gibson Sunburst Les Paul; 1965 Fender Stratocaster.

– Brian Bloom
 

Have to admit my first thought was similar to that upon seeing Mo-Fi’s new Little Richard SACD – why bother?  But then the initial track of this March 1957 NYC recording session came thru my front speakers and I was immediately convinced that the bother and expense was well worth it.  Hawkins was really the first player to create important jazz on the saxophone, and his rich highly individual sound is easily distinguished on all the many recordings he made during his lengthy career.  He began with Fletcher Henderson’s band in the 20s, was a main figure in the 52nd Street scene in New York in the 30s, and in the 40s he jumped right into the newer sounds of modern jazz without a break. Riverside producers Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer put together a winning all star band to play with the Hawk in this hot session at NYC’s Reeves Sound Studio. The seven musicians hadn’t all played together before, but they knew and respected one another’s work and could work together in a relaxed creative atmosphere, since there were no tightly-constructed charts for the session.

The sonics are just superb – right up to Rudy Van Gelder’s level of “deep mono.”  Few would realize this disc was mono only, but part of the achievement has to go to Mo-Fi’s careful remastering and the SACD process in general. (Kudos also to Mo-Fi for honestly identifying the disc as Mono on the jewel box, which most of the jazz labels fail to do.)  Usually very long tracks lose my interest due to overextended solos, making me think of Jazz at the Philharmonic and its ilk. But the longest by far of these half dozen tracks at over 11 minutes – Juicy Fruit – had such a juicy groove that I found I was playing it over and over and turning up the level a bit each time. Hawkins’ lyrical delivery of the classic movie theme Laura is a classic itself. And nothing in Hawk’s style, or that of any of his compatriots, sounds dated today.

Tracks: Chant, Juicy Fruit, Think Deep, Laura, Blue Lights, Sancticity

– John Henry

Mastered from a Capitol Records prerecorded 2-track tape, these performances were already heralded in their LP incarnation some fifty years ago. Today, they vibrate with the same shattering energy, especially the Berlin Philharmonic winds, strings, and brass. The silky sheen might be attributable to Karajan’s nursing of the BPO, but the Stokowski sound rules. Each of the suites is a natural test-recording for any audiophile’s high end component system. Stokowski’s adjustments to the BPO strings in the Dance of the Firebird, the sleek glissandi, the softness of the dimuendi, mesmerize in their degrees of affective nuance. Various sections, especially the Lullaby, evoke all sorts of harp coloration, along with flute and low strings. The Infernal Dance of the Demonic Magician is typical Stokowski alchemy, with excellent brass punctuations and sardonic explosions from the battery. The graduated crescendo to the ballet’s finale all but salivates musically in kaleidoscopic panoply.

A bit more interval before the Petrushka, thank you. We have hardly escaped the throes of The Firebird before we are flung headlong into the whirling soup of the puppet pantomime. The separation between the obbligato piano and the high brass proves quite distinctive, with rolling tympani underneath. In Petrushka’s Room has a bluesy coloring, hints of French fox-trot. The Mardi Gras Fair dazzles in its crystalline sheen, the extroverted bravura of the playing. Huge sprays and washes of color swell and overflow throughout the orchestral tissue, once gain treated like an organ diapason in the Stokowski lexicon, from grumbling low brass to the cymbal crashes. As diaphanous as it is luxuriant, the HDTT transfer crackles with excitement. I keep thinking that Stokowski would comment, “Now, that’s more like it!” [These interpretations are so colorful as to make most others sound like they’re black and white! They also create a fine surround field via ProLogic II.  HDTT has just reduced prices of their handmade discs to $25 each…Ed.]

— Gary Lemco