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Stories for January 18, 2020

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    Imogen Heap to host GRAMMY awards premiere ceremony / HYPEBOT
     
    Posted At : January 18, 2020 3:12 PM

    Innovative musician and artist advocate Imogen Heap will host this year's Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony. The Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony features the many awards that will not be included in the nighttime CBS broadcast. Nicola Benedetti, Chick Corea, I'm With Her, Angélique Kidjo and Yola are among the performers to be streamed live via GRAMMY.com on Sunday, Jan. 26th from 12:30 – 3:30 PM PT Presenting the first GRAMMY Awards of the day will be current nominees Luis Fonsi, Nathalie Joachim, Kimié Miner, PJ Morton, Esperanza Spalding and former Recording Academy Chair Jimmy Jam. Cheche Alara will serve as musical director. The live stream of the Premiere Ceremony will remain on GRAMMY.com as video on demand for 90 days following the event. 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 HYPEBOT ARTICLE

  • Jesse Cook is going to get your attention with HEY! / Cashbox Canada
     
    Posted At : January 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    Award-winning and Internationally acclaimed guitarist, composer and producer Jesse Cook has swirled together Spanish guitar and Algerian violin and gumbri into an infectious musical mashup with multi-instrumentalist Fethi Nadjem for "HEY!" - a special single release, available January 10, 2020. "Some people think world music is anthropological field recordings," says Cook of the collaboration. "That's not my vibe…"Global music is the future, (and) I like it loud and bombastic!" And so sets the tone for "HEY!", the duo's global music mashup. The track was created soon after Cook and Nadjem shared the stage at the 2019 Victoria Jazz Festival; Cook's skills as a composer and producer quickly set the stage for Nadjem's remarkable talents across the guitar, oud, violin, mandole, and kora, the African harp, among many more, resulting in the stand-alone single. Also featured on "HEY!" are Matt Sellick on rhythm guitar, Dan Minchorn on bass, and percussionists Matais Recharte and Marito Marques; modern dance company Gadfly are featured in the video. READ THE FULL Cashbox Canada ARTICLE & WATCH THE VIDEO

  • Devonte Hynes' synthetic pop aesthetics blend with Third Coast Percussion's soundscape magic for 'Fields' / I CARE IF YOU LISTEN
     
    Posted At : January 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    On October 11, 2019, pop music star Devonté Hynes (a.k.a. Blood Orange) released his debut classical album Fields in partnership with Grammy-Award winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion on Cedille Records. The album features world premieres of Hynes' music performed by Third Coast Percussion, with Hynes himself on synthesizers. Hynes' synthetic sounds blend pop aesthetics with classical and ambient soundscape composition, creating a foundation over which Third Coast Percussion works its magic as virtuoso performers. Hynes' cycle For all its Fury for Third Coast Percussion in collaboration with Modern dance company Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is a collage of meditative minimalism mixed with electronic noise filtering set in a multi-movement form. Simple, clean lines executed by TCP with the utmost delicacy permeate the movements, creating microcosms of Hynes' ambient sound world. The piece oscillates between electroacoustic and electronic cells that reemerge in a post-minimalist blend of noise music and Glass-ian motives as clouds of amorphous electronic sound wash over and through the polyrhythmic textures that metrically modulate. READ THE FULL I CARE IF YOU LISTEN REVIEW

  • Downton Abbey - the film, set for release on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK / Harwich and Manningtree Standard
     
    Posted At : January 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    THE film from the hit drama created by West Stafford resident Julian Fellowes will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK from January 27. It is already available to download and stream from streaming services. Downton Abbey the film (PG, 122 minutes) was an enormous hit on the big screen and a sequel is already in the works.  Downton Abbey is a crowd-pleasing frippery of froth, which assiduously ties up loose narrative threads from the acclaimed TV series and unpicks a few new ones. Michael Engler's film is comfortingly and disappointingly familiar, welcoming back most of the main cast plus Scottish composer John Lunn to underscore every twitch of a hemline with swooning orchestrations.  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 Harwich and Manningtree Standard ARTICLE

  • Now and then a collaboration comes along that grabs your attention - Ola Onabule and The Hazelrigg Brothers / Jazz In Europe
     
    Posted At : January 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    Now and then a collaboration comes along that grabs your attention and earlier this week this is exactly what happened when the new EP from vocalist Ola Onabule and The Hazelrigg Brothers hit our mailbox. Ola Onabule is, of course, no stranger to Jazz In Europe readers however The Hazelrigg Brothers maybe a little less known and we expect that this release will somewhat change that perspective. For those readers not familiar with Ola Onabule, a simple Google search will deliver enough material to keep your eyes and ears busy for quite some time.  However, I think it appropriate to metaphorically delve a little deeper into the Hazelriggs. The Hazelrigg Brothers consist of George and Geoff Hazelrigg, both Pennsylvania based musicians, and together with drummer John O'Reilly have formed a piano trio for several years. I first became aware of the group through pianist and producer Jason Miles who tipped me on their last album "Songs We Like". I can honestly say after the first listen I was sold and felt compelled to reach out to them to find out more. The interview with the brothers can be read here. 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 Jazz In Europe ARTICLE

  • Rachel Barton Pine discusses Dvorak & Khachaturian Violin Concertos with Central and Northern Michigan Radio
     
    Posted At : January 18, 2020 12:00 AM

    Chart-topping, international violin soloist Rachel Barton Pine, joined multi-faceted conductor Teddy Abrams and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra for a new Dvořák and Khachaturian Violin Concertos release on AVIE Records.  The album, featuring Dvořák's Violin Concerto in A minor Op. 53 and Khachaturian's Violin Concerto in D minor, highlights each composer's prominent use of his own traditional ethnic music. The recording marks Pine's 39th recording and fifth on AVIE records. Pine's previous four AVIE albums, Mozart: Complete Violin Concertos with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner; Bel Canto Paganini: 24 Caprices and other works for solo violin; Testament: Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violinby Johann Sebastian Bach, and Elgar & Bruch Violin Concertos with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton all debuted on the classical charts. Central and Northern Michigan Radio: WCMU classicl host, DAVID NICHOLAS interviewed RBP recently for 'Mosaic where the Violinist spoke about the new recording.     LISTEN p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; color: #4d4d4d}

  • Joep Beving says; 'peaceful music provides escape, comfort and change' / udiscovermusic.
     
    Posted At : January 17, 2020 12:00 AM

    "A lot of us are desperate to find some sort of essence and truth," says Joep Beving, the latest curator of the Peaceful Music playlist. Dutch pianist and composer Joep Beving is a 21st-century music phenomenon. His self-pressed 2015 debut album, Solipsism, quickly became a viral sensation; over the following five years, his tunes have gained more than 320 million streams. Beving, who stands 6' 10" and has a distinctive flowing beard, plays haunting, subtle music, some of which is featured on the brilliant Peaceful Music playlist he has guest-curated in partnership with Universal Music Group and Apple Music. Beving, who was born in 1976, is the fourth acclaimed composer, following Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds and Luke Howard, to select the choices of the playlist brand co-created between Universal Music Group and Apple Music. "There is a kinship within all this music" The pianist, talking to uDiscover Music from his home in Amsterdam, says he thought long and hard about the "listening experience" he wanted on his playlist, a selection which includes picks from all four Peaceful Music curators, along with music from John Cage, Nils Frahm, Terry Riley, Sebastian Plano, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Erland Cooper, Brambles and Radiohead, who are one of his favourite bands. Photo: Rahi RezvaniShare On Flipboard Listen to the Peaceful Music playlist exclusively on Apple Music. READ THE FULL udiscovermusic. ARTICLE

Top 10 for Jan

If you're still trying to choose the perfect soundtrack to accompany the festive period, 'Christmas Carols with Libera' could be the one / CLASSIC fM: Album Of the Week

Posted: December 9, 2019 12:00 AM | By: Admin
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Throughout the week Classic FM's presenters bring you the best new recordings, including world exclusives and premiere broadcasts of latest releases. This week: John Suchet's Album of the Week is Christmas Carols with Libera. John plays a track from his featured Album of the Week at 10.15am every weekday.

If you're still trying to choose the perfect soundtrack to accompany the festive period – maybe this could be the one. The all-boy English vocal group Libera returns with another Christmas album, following a succession of highly popular festive CDs. This latest release is made up of 16 festive favourites to get you into the Christmas spirit, including ‘Once in Royal David's City', ‘Carol of the Bells' and The Snowman's ‘Walking in the Air'. Directed by British composer Robert Prizeman, Libera is made up of boys from the London area, all between the ages of seven to 16. The group regularly performs across the world, and has attracted a large following from the US, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.

Join Classic FM for a month of musical festivities. SEE THE PAGE

Crossover Media Projects with Libera

  • Libera

    Christmas Carols with Libera

    The  boys  who  make  up  the  choral  group  Libera  are  normal  South  London  kids  aged  7  to  16  years.  The  music  they  produce  is  truly  extraordinary.  Their  new album  ‘Christmas Carols With Libera' is available on 15 November 2019 on  CD  plus  digital formats through Invisible Hands Music.  

    Libera are one of the leading worldwide exponents of the British choral tradition and this special collection includes 16 popular carols and a bonus song from the ‘The Snowman'; the evergreen ‘Walking in the Air' is recreated Libera-style.  From the traditional‘Once In Royal David's City' and the haunting ‘Carol Of The Bells' to the popular ‘In The Bleak Midwinter', this new CD is packed with favourites but also imbued with the unmistakable atmosphere of a Libera concert. There will be a launch show on 3 December 2019 at 1930 at St John Smith Square, London.

    Taking on the mellow and the more upbeat songs in this collection, the boys of Libera had great fun. The likes of ‘Ding Dong Merrily On High' require real precision, as well as purity. Many of the tracks were recorded during a group ‘retreat' to a rehearsal space in an old school, this allowed a true live feel to the process. The boy who took the lead vocal on ‘The Snowman' had just turned 9 years old, whilst the introductions to the French ‘Noël Nouvelet' and the Irish ‘Wexford Carol' are both handled by native French and Gaelic speakers, Libera is as polyglot as ever.

    Libera are a phenomenon with 65 million  hits  on  You Tube,  they have performed  for  Popes  and  Presidents and  gained 3 Classical  Brit  nominations. With  shimmering,  mystical  chords  and  ecstatic  harmonies,  they  are  unlike  any  other  group  you  have  ever  heard.  The  distinctive  sound  of  Libera has  travelled  the  world  and has  endeared  the  group  to  fans  all  over  the world,  particularly  in  the  USA,  the  UK,  the  Philippines,  South  Korea  and  Japan,  where  their  CDs  top  the  mainstream  and  classical  charts  and  where  they  pack  concert  halls and  Cathedrals  appearing  in  their  trademark  flowing  white  robes  on  imaginatively  lit  stages.  

  • Libera

    Beyond

    The boys who make up the choral group Libera are normal South London kids aged 7 to 16 years. The music they produce is truly extraordinary. The group release their new album ?Beyond' on 12 October 2018 on CD plus digital formats through Invisible Hands Music. Libera make beautiful, progressive albums in the classical and the ambient/new age style, and ?Beyond', their eagerly-anticipated new album, is a transformative and spiritual musical experience. ?Beyond' comes hot on the heels of their globally successful 2017 ?Hope' album. On 17 October 2018, Libera will unveil ?Beyond' with a concert at London's Westminster Cathedral, which is followed by live dates in Japan and then concerts in the UK and Russia.

  • Libera

    New Dawn

    The British boy band Libera has recorded its fourth CD for EMI Classics, New Dawn. The program includes arrangements of well-known works such as Jerusalem and Bach's Air on the G string as well as less familiar melodies and new compositions. One of the CD's highlights is Love and Mercy by former Beach Boy Brian Wilson, which Libera performed at the 30th annual Kennedy Center Honors in December 2007, America's national celebration of the arts.

    2 New 'ON' this week: 39 Total
    SYND:     Music Of Your Life
    Direct: Sirius/Spa, XM/Audiovisions, Music Choice/Classical Crossover, Spafax
    Markets include: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Kansas City, Berkeley CA, Wichita

  • Libera

    Visions

    Unlike any other group you have ever heard, the twenty-four boys, aged seven to sixteen who make up the vocal band Libera, have now released Visions, their second album for EMI Classics. Libera's hard work has payed off, as they meet several hours each week in a South London church to rehearse and perform. Visions has , mystical chords and ecstatic harmonies and with Free topping both the mainstream and classical charts in many countries, Visions is a shimmering CD with a future

    1 New "ON" this week: 47"Total Stations/Shows"
    Syndicated includes:     Hearts Of Space, Echoes
    Direct: XM, Worldspace
    Markets include: Los Angeles, Washington DC, Philadelphia(ADI), Baltimore(ADI), Cleveland, Long Island NY, Berkeley CA, Albuquerque, New Orleans, Orlando FL, Memphis, Columbus OH, Honolulu, The Netherlands
     

  • Libera

    Angel Voices

    The inspirational quality of Angel Voices, the latest release by Libera, displays the uniquely talented, and best-selling 24 piece British vocal group. Following the success of Free and Visions, Angel Voices presents new & newly-arranged material. Libera is an eclectic group of 7-16 year old's, who assemble each week at a south London church to rehearse and perform.

    5 New 'ON' this week: 101 'Total Stations/Shows'
    SYND:     NPR:Hearts of Space
    Direct: Music Choice, DMX
    Markets include: Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, Kansas City, Houston, Baltimore, Portland, Cincinatti, Nashville, Honolulu, New Orleans, Salt Lake, Orlando, Columbus OH, Buffalo, Albuquerque, Chattanooga, Madison

  • Libera

    Angel Voices / Concert

    Angel Voices – The Concert, CD & DVD showcases the pure and inspirational quality of a truly unique vocal ensemble. Filmed live at the Pieterskerk, St. Peter's Church in Leiden, Holland, earlier this year and broadcast nationally on Public Television stations throughout the U.S., The double release sets the stage for Libera's U.S. tour in Spring 2008. Profiled in Time Magazine For Kids and already wildly popular in their home country, Libera is poised to take North America by storm. 

    5 New 'ON' this week: 41 'Total Stations/Shows'
    SYND:     NPR: Hearts of Space, Music Choice: Soundscapes
    Direct: XM: Boundaries
    Markets include: New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Portland, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, St. Louis, Kansas, City, Indianapolis, Honolulu,

  • Libera

    Free

    Libera, a group of all-male singers aged between seven and fourteen, are releasing Free, their first release under their new contract with EMI Classics. Their sound is a unique and original mixture of traditional choral, spiritual and new age music and over the last two years this distinctive sound has travelled the world.

    1 New "ON" this week: 28 "Total Stations/Shows"
    Markets include:     Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Wash DC, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Tucson, Berkeley CA, Santa Fe, Germany, Romania