Monday, August 31, 2020
Look at Me Look at You
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Night Shift Blues (Edmond Hall's Blue Note Jazzmen)
Night Shift Blues (Edmond Hall)
The album is Jazz Classics Original Blue Note Jazz, Volume 1 featuring Edmond Hall on side 1 and Art Hodes on side 2. Side 1 recorded in November 29, 1943, side 2 recorded in June 1, 1944. Published in 1952 and 1962. It's amazing that copies of this album are still out there. My copy is falling apart.
Night Shift Blues is my favorite on side 1. The raw guitar cuts through the band remarkably. You can actually hear it at the beginning of the song. Followed by the trumpet. I think it is a trombone doing the counter point. Then comes in Edmond Hall on the clarinet. He is building it up. Just how blues should be played. Slow cooking. Then everyone seems to join in. Doing their own thing. Yet in one accord. This piece scores high on my jazz blues list.
About Edmond Hall (May 15, 1901 – February 11, 1967): American jazz clarinetist and bandleader. Edmond was first taught guitar by his uncle Edmond. When Hall picked up the clarinet, "he could play it within a week. He started Monday and played it Saturday," his brother Herb recalled in an interview with Manfred Selchow, who wrote a biography of Hall titled Profoundly Blue (1988). I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from WBS Media and Imdb ). This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. Hope you enjoy. Other songs performed by Edmond Hall on the album Jazz Classics Original Blue Note Jazz, Volume 1: Royal Garden Blues High Society Blues at Blue Note
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Delius Viloin and Piano Sonata No 2
Still Life with the Morning Glory Organic Only Vegan Society Small Group
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
Charles Magnante - Espana Waltz (B. B. Monterde)
The song on this post starts with the accordion playing a classical Spanish riff that reminds me of Malagena. Only that it is distorted. That leads me to believe Magnante was the pioneer in heavy hard rock music. Hendrix must have been taking notes.
Espana Waltz means Spanish Waltz. It has its roots in English Country Dancing. By the 1820s the waltz had been thoroughly hybridized into country set dancing. According to Leilani Howard, Sacramento Ballroom Society, the Spanish Waltz ironically has nothing to do with Spain. As dance crazes spread across Europe and shortly thereafter America, music was written for them with gusto and diversity in all the countries a dance moved through [http://oslhp.net/2009/node/359].
The album Spanish Spectacular was a runtfrom the selection of used vinyl records that we were going through at our local record store. At first glance without hearing the music, I was not impressed by the artwork, which I thought was dated. And the recording was monoaural. There was not much redeeming value to the album but nonetheless we bought it just for fun. Turned out to be a gem.
Charles Magnante (December 7, 1905 – December 30, 1986) was an American piano-accordionist, arranger, composer, author and educator. His artistry helped raise the image of the accordion from an instrument considered suitable only for folk music to an instrument accepted in many music genres. (excerpt from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Magnante) Bernardino Bautista Monterde (1880-1959) was a Spanish composer. Credits Accordion - Charles Magnante Featuring - Allen Hanlon, Bob Haggart, Dick Hyman, George Barnes, Terry Snyder, Tony Gottuso, Willie Rodriguez Orchestra - Charles Magnante And His Orchestra Record Album Artwork - Tracy Sugarman Owned or licensed by EMI Music Publishing, UMPG Publishing, Sony TV Publishing. Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.
Monday, August 24, 2020
Emil Sauer plays Liszt Piano Concerto No 2 in A Major
Emil Sauer plays Liszt Piano Concerto No 2 in A Major
Emil von Sauer plays F. Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 in A Major. Felix von Weingartner conducting the Paris Conservatoire Orchestra. Recorded in December 1938. That's right, not a typo - 1938! An EMI Recording.
Not exactly sure where we found this album. Might have been from a local thrift shop or the local record store. Cost me about $2. The surface of the record is immaculate. No visible scratches. The back of the album cover has an inscription indicating the duration of the song on each side of the record. I'm guessing this must have been previously owned by a classical music connoisseur of some sort. Or maybe it was used in record broadcast - hence the duration of the songs. The quality of the recording reveals its age. Not exactly high fidelity. But that is to be expected. There are discernible pops and crackles but for me that just add to the experience of listening to an old recording. Obviously I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from the original album. ) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Jacques Offenbach - The Tales of Hoffmann [Act 1 and Act 2 part 1]
Jacques Offenbach - The Tales of Hoffmann [Act 1 and Act 2 part 1]
Another gem we acquired while going through used vinyl records at our local record store. The album was accompanied by a Libretto printed in 1957. Didn't know anything about Offenbach but we thought this would be a fun album to listen to. I am not a big fan of Opera but after listening to the record several times I realized the story is entertainingly funny. Cheap entertain if you ask me - $2.
The setting is in Germany. Likely in the late 1800s. It starts with students - presumably inebriated - singing rather boisterously about the power of wine and beer to bring joy and long life to mankind. That in itself should give a hint where this is going. Hoffmann, the German romantic poet, tells the story of three great loves of his life. All three were unhappy, and all three were destroyed by Hoffman's evil genius. The evil influence works through certain tricks of magic, and the whole atmosphere of the opera is highly imaginative and fantastic.
The opera is in three acts with a prologue and an epilogue. This post is the first installment, which consists of Act 1 and a part of Act 2. I plan to post three more installments - so if you enjoy this one as much as I did be expecting for the remainder of the music.
The account of Jacques Offenbach arriving in America to write this opera is in my opinion another story worthy of posting. I may write something about this in the future but for now I will devote more priority to the opera. Hope you will enjoy as much as I did.