On Monday, August 26 / Key in the morning at 11:45 am, Deutschlandfunk Kultur presents a Portrait of the soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. The soprano saxophone is not always taken for full in jazz, quite often it is additional instrument to alto or tenor saxophone. A few musicians have focused exclusively on the higher, usually unbent, saxophone. From a distance it is easy to confuse it with a clarinet, but the sound is sharper and more pressure. A musician who can only be experienced on the soprano saxophone is Jane Ira Bloom. The US saxophonist is an icon in music circles, but beyond the jazz circle she is not well known.
Author: Ulrich Habersetzer READ THE FULL Deutschlandfunk Kultur PAGE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

Following the release of Ron Howard's new biopic, Pavarotti albums occupy the top two spots in this week's Classic FM Chart. Just behind Pavarotti – OST and the late tenor's Greatest Hits album, it's Winton Marsalis' Violin Concerto at No. 3, played by violinist Nicola Benedetti. The other new entry in this week's chart is Anne Dudley's soundtrack to Poldark, following the release of Series 5 last Sunday. To coincide with the documentary "Pavarotti," Decca Records releases the original soundtrack, Pavarotti: Music From The Motion Picture.  from Decca/UMG. Pavarotti: Music from the Motion Picture draws from Pavarotti's rich recorded catalog and follows the arc of the film. It features selections from operas such as "Turandot," "La bohème," "Aida," "Tosca" and more as well as Italian songs and collaborations with friends such as Plácido Domingo, José Carreras ("‘O sole mio"), U2, Brian Eno, Passengers ("Miss Sarajevo"), and others. Touchingly, the complete recording of Puccini's "Donna non vidi mai," which Pavarotti dedicated to Princess Diana, is included. In addition to a special unreleased song with Andrea Bocelli, the soundtrack also features Pavarotti's duet of "Ave Maria" with Bono, available for the first time commercially. The song, recorded live during the 2003 "Pavarotti & Friends for SOS Iraq" benefit concert in Modena, Italy, is available now for streaming.  Also to coincide with the release of the documentary, Decca Records releases the new 3-CD best of collection titled Pavarotti: The Greatest Hits from Decca/UMG. The complementary releases both feature previously unreleased music and superstar duets with the likes of Bono, Elton John, James Brown, Lou Reed, and more. Pavarotti's incredible repertoire can be explored in depth with the new three-disc/digital best of collection, Pavarotti: The Greatest Hits, which serves as a companion to the soundtrack and film. The anthology features 67 of the world-renowned tenor's most well-known recordings and collaborations and includes the best of his "Opera Arias," "Italian Songs & Sacred Arias" and"Great Duets." Fittingly opening with his iconic performance of "Nessun dorma," the "Opera Arias" disc spans the opera legend's entire career and includes beloved performances from "La bohéme," "Rigoletto," "Pagliacci," "Tosca," "Carmen" and"Madama Butterfly." More than 20 of Pavarotti's most powerful works including "O Sole Mio," "Caruso," "Volare," "O Holy Night," "Mama" and"Funiculì, funiculà" are collected together on "Italian Songs & Sacred Arias." SEE CLASSIC fM chart  p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

British/Nigerian singer/songwriter OLA ONABULE releases his latest album at the end of August. The 14 tracker that is 'Point Less' is the follow up to Ola's successful 2015 outing 'It's The Peace That Deafens'. The new LP focuses on issues of social injustice with tracks that deal with issues like violence, immigration, betrayal of dignity and (so relevant, given what's happening right now) xenophobia. At the same time, Ola insists that the LP is a celebration of life. He says that the protagonist in the songs enjoys a joyous, positive life but is beset by events – mainly outside his control. An interesting concept for sure. SEE THE SoulandJazzandFunk PAGE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} Lara Downes is known for her eclectic presentations of the piano repertoire – from iconic favorites to newly-commissioned works – her performances bridge musical genres and traditions, and engage a wide range of audiences with what San Francisco Classical Voice has called "an elegant example of how accessibility and a breezy relevance can exist, organically, in a classical music concert." On March 1, 2019, Downes releases a new album, Holes in the Sky, on Portrait, an imprint of the Sony Music Masterworks label. A genre-fluid collection of music written and performed by today's leading female artists, celebrating the contributions of phenomenal women to the past, present, and future of American music, Holes in the Sky tells the story of what women and girls can contribute to the world when they are given a chance - their dreams can make holes in the sky. Lara collaborates with an extraordinary multi-generational group of female guest artists on this album, including the iconic singer / songwriter Judy Collins, boundary-breaking violinist Rachel Barton Pine, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, fast-rising cellist Ifetayo Ali-Landing, and the urban youth vocal ensemble Musicality. NetNebraska is asking pianists 15 questions as part of a series. Some may have been borrowed or altered from some other questionnaires. Just a fun way to get to know current performers.   CLICK HERE to get to know Lara Downes

When it comes to ultra-hip solidly swinging jazz vocals, Ms. Stanley has no equal… she's no stranger to our pages… my latest review of her work was for her "London Calling" album, where she got very high marks.  Her performance on Bobby Troup's jazz classic "Route 66" video below is just superb……the video production is totally professional, & will give you some real insights into the hipness we cruised through when we took that route back in the day…  In addition to Lyn's stunning vocals, you'll also hear Otmaro Ruiz, piano; Mike Lang, piano; Chuck Berghofer, bass; Aaron Serfaty, drums; John Chiodini, guitar and Luis Conte, percussion… swingin' & rockin' songs like "Pink Cadillac" will have you tappin' your toes & finger-poppin' right along with the group… I predict this one will be getting some MAJOR spins on jazz stations all across the globe. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px} READ THE FULL Contemporary Fusion Review

Two contemporary world premieres paired with Samuel Barber's masterful First Symphony make this disc a delicious sampling of neoromanticism in American music. The standout here, and the main reason to buy this disc is the glorious Jennifer Higdon Harp Concerto (2017).  Higdon, the third woman to win a Pulitzer Prize (by my count) is clearly schooled in a wide variety of compositional techniques which she uses judiciously.  She is unabashedly a romantic but her sound is hardly retro.  She, like many well trained and talented composers, uses her many skills and techniques judiciously.  Nothing experimental here, just good writing for both orchestra and soloist. The recording on Cleveland based Azica records is well recorded and all the music supports repeated listenings where the attractive surface of the music gives way to more detail.  All in all a CD that fans of Jennifer Higdon, Yolanda Kondonassis, and American Romanticism will want to own. READ THE FULL NEW MUSIC BUFF REVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d; min-height: 14.0px}

Multi-GRAMMY nominated pianist Nadia Shpachenko reflects on the role of the concert hall in the liner notes for her recent Reference Recordings album The Poetry of Places: "The hall is the most important instrument…we spend a great deal of time learning to embrace the space, learning what our pieces mean in the space, how our interpretation must change because of where we are." An album of solo and duo piano, electronics, and percussion, The Poetry of Places is a superb assemblage of works by various composers. Each piece, inspired by a particular building, weaves together a collage of place and time, and Shpachenko's evocative interpretations bring insight to the composers' visions in collaboration with pianist Joanne Pearce Martin and percussionists Nick Terry and Cory Hills. READ THE FULL I CARE IF YOU LISTEN REVIEW p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d}