David Oistrakh - Tchaikovsky violin D Major Op 35 adante allegro vivacissimo

 

Tchaikovsky violin D Major Op 35 adante allegro vivacissimo

The music piece is the second and third movement of Concerto violin D Major Op 35 that Tchaikovsky wrote in 1881.  Originally, the entire piece was dedicated to violinist Leopold Auer but he turned his nose up calling it too difficult and too radical to play.  Tchaikovsky had to wait three years until the right violinist would come along.  Brodsky had a go at it, which became a big hit in London.  Eventually, the music would arrive in Moscow.  By then, Tchaikovsky would have completed the mighty quartet of violin concertos produced in the nineteenth century.

Credits:

David Oistrakh, violin

Eguene Normandy, conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra

I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Image post and video art were 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. Hope you enjoy. 

sDg.

Jericho - Cozy Cole

The music is Jericho from the vinyl album All Star Swinging Groups, Pete Johnson, Cozy Cole, The Savoy Sessions.  This is as much as I could find about Cozy Cole's arrangement of Jericho.   If anybody has more information, I appreciate your inputs.

Cozy Cole and his Orchestra: 

Cozy Cole, drums

Johnny Guarnieri, piano

Teddy Walters, guitar

Billy Taylor, bass

Ben Webster, tenor sax

Ray Coniff, trombone

Lammor Wright, trumpet

Recorded: March 13, 1944, New York

I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Image post and video art were 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.

Hope you enjoy. 

sDg. 

David Oistrakh - Tchaikovsky Violin D Major Op 35 allegro moderato

 

Tchaikovsky Violin D Major Op 35 allegro moderato

The music piece is the first of the three movements of Concerto violin D Major Op 35 that Tchaikovsky wrote in 1881.  Originally, the entire piece was dedicated to violinist Leopold Auer but he turned his nose up calling it too difficult and too radical to play.  Tchaikovsky had to wait three years until the right violinist would come along.  Brodsky had a go at it, which became a big hit in London.  Eventually, the music would arrive in Moscow.  By then, Tchaikovsky would have completed the mighty quartet of violin concertos produced in the nineteenth century.

I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Image post and video art were 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. Hope you enjoy. 

sDg.

Zinnias as Pop Art

A:  This?

B: Or this?

Shelly Manne and his Band vol 4 (side 1 of mono vinyl album)

Shelly Manne and his Band vol 4 (side 1 of mono vinyl album)

For me the interesting thing about collecting jazz records is that I get to discover jazz artists from another jazz artist. Such is the case here. I've never heard of Shelly Manne before until I started collecting used vinyl records. I had no idea what he played and how he sounded. Then I saw his name on the album cover of one of the jazz records I already listened to - must have been one from Howard McGhee, whom I heard from Dizzie Gillispie, whom I heard from Miles Davis, and who has never heard of Miles.

I find that vinyl record was made for jazz. There is something organic about it. When I play the same song back to back from a CD to a vinyl the difference is huge. Most of the CDs of old school jazz recordings are remastered from analog recording tapes and made to sound clean. Not a bad approach but the result can sterilize the sound too much that the dynamics are lost. The energy is lost. Of course one complaints about vinyl records is that you have to put up with the pops and crackles, and at times some annoying hisses. That has never been an issue for me. I actually don't mind them because for me they are parts of the experience. Whenever I listen to jazz on vinyl I feel like I'm living in the past when these songs were written and performed. I like to share this particular video from the Shelly Manne Vol 4 album because I think it's worth listening to the recording. I hope you would enjoy as much as I did.

Sheldon Manne (June 11, 1920 – September 26, 1984), professionally known as Shelly Manne, was an American jazz drummer. Most frequently associated with West Coast jazz, he was known for his versatility and also played in a number of other styles, including Dixieland, swing, bebop, avant-garde jazz and fusion, as well as contributing to the musical background of hundreds of Hollywood films and television programs. - (excerpt from Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelly_Manne)

Alto Saxophone – Charlie Mariano Bass – Leroy Vinnegar Design [Cover] – Guidi Drums – Shelly Manne Engineer – Val Valentin Photography By [Cover Photo] – Fred Lyon Photography By [Rear Cover] – Lester Koenig Piano – Russ Freeman Supervised By [Technical] – Roy DuNann Trumpet – Stu Williamson Recorded on Jan.19th, Jan.26th and Feb.2nd, 1956 in Los Angeles. 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.

La Pierna

 La bienvenida.

Art Hodes Plays Bugle Call Rag

 

Art Hodes Plays Bugle Call Rag...

... From 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. Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), known professionally as Art Hodes, was an American jazz pianist. A committed jazz traditionalist, Hodes was often at odds with proponents of the bebop movement in the 1940s. One of his forums was a radio program on WNYC out of New York City. He also published and wrote for the magazine Jazz Record; his columns appear in the collection Selections from the Gutter (1977). [excerpt from Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Art-Hodes] I would categorize the songs performed by Hodes in this album in the style of New Orleans jazz. Others who are familiar with Art Hodes might disagree and would say he belongs to the Chicago style jazz. And yet, Hodes considered himself a swing man, a jazzman who typically would be associated with big bands. "I was always a 'swing' man," Hodes wrote in 1988. "But I could also play it pretty." I left some parts of the vinyl scratches in reproducing the songs in this album. I felt that the noise added to the era of smoked filled dance floor, champagne and cocktail glasses clinging, and the swinging vibe of glamour culture. Personally, I felt a lot of the hype was shallow - hiding behind sophistication and idiocy - reminiscent of the Dada Movement. But let me not get too far ahead of myself. The point of listening to the song is reimagining jazz as it were back then. As a side note, the music style was probably waning when the songs were recorded in 1944. I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from William Gottlieb/Library of Congress and the album Art Hodes – I Remember Bessie. The video clip of spinning turntable is from Atakan Ozkan https://www.pexels.com/@atakan-ozkan-1068907.) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. Hope you enjoy. sDg.

Monday Blues in Texas

 

It's a lazy morning as always in our humble abode.  Raining outside, believe or not.  This is how it looks like when it rains here in Texas.  Just finished our expresso coffee.  Taking our time for the next thing to come.  Enjoying our seed grown Zinnas.  Texture on the leaves courtesy of the neighborhood bugs.  Captured with the iPhone 11 pro.  Edited using Snapseed.  Hope you are having a great day.

Borodin - In The Steppes of Central Asia Symphony No 2 in B Minor

 

In The Steppes of Central Asia Symphony No 2 in B Minor

Alexander Borodin, doctor, chemist, professor, composer, bartender.  Try to top that in your business card.  His day job was a doctor and a chemist.  When he was bored, he taught and chased women at the School of Medicine for Women, a school he founded in Saint Petersburg.  At nights, he would be a mixologist - creating cocktails for the Czar and his friends.  On his spare time or when was ill, he composed music.  His best known works are arguably Symphony No 2 in B minor and Prince Igor.  

It took him six years to write Symphony No 2 - between 1869 and 1876. It consists of four movements and is considered the most important large-scale work completed by the composer himself.  

Symphony No 2 has four movements but I divided the music into three parts: 

• First movement In The Steppes of Central Asia Symphony No 2 in B Minor
• Second movement Heroic I: Allegro Animato Assai
• Third and fourth movements Heroic: II. Scherzo - Prestissimo and Allegreto Tempo 1  

This video post consist of the first movement. But please be sure to follow the links for the rest of the music.

I do not own the copyright to the music and the recording. Photos used on post was appropriated from the original album . Video clip of spinning LP is mine. This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Hope you enjoy. sDg.

Linda Looking Through

 

Good evening.

Glad

 

Glad

The video was more than four years in the making.  I composed, performed and recorded Glad back in February 2016 when we were still in California.  I always had in my mind that I would do a video of the music with aerial shots of the desert - but I found out that the video clips were very expensive.  Couldn't justify it.  So I just moved on.  Somewhere around last year, I revived the project when I stumbled unto a video clip produced by The World from Above - I believe they own the copyright.  The clip is not my own but appropriated to look different from the original. I am invoking Fair Use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107 for educational purpose.   I would gladly take down the post upon notice of the rightful owner of the video clip.

Music recorded using Capture and mastered on Presonus. Guitars used were Epiphone Acoustic Southern Jumbo and Fender Jaguar - both tuned to DADGAD. The music and performance of Glad is © 2016 Rob Castro.

Hope you enjoy.

The most efficient way to make omelet

 

The old lady claimed that these eggs will hatch herbs that I couldn't believe. So, lo and behold, magic pepper plants are hatched.  I transplanted them into container pots.  In a few days, I think the peppers would be ready for harvest.

Hope you enjoy.

Alexander Scriabin's "Poem of Ecstasy" op. 54

Alexander Scriabin's "Poem of Ecstasy" op. 54 parts 1 and 2  

Alexander Scriabin's "Poem of Ecstasy" op. 54 part 3

Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin wrote "Poem of Ecstasy" op. 54 also known as his 4th symphony. The music is from the album Scriabin Piano Concerto/Poem of Ecstasy performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Donald Johnson, conductor; Richard Gianguilio, solo trumpet; Philip Ruder, solo violin.  

The liner notes on my album is worth repeating here:  "His (Scriabin's) life was constantly in ferment, and though he ran at fever pitch he never indulged in stimulants (with the exception of beautiful women..."  In other words, Scriabin was a mad man high on testosterone with a youthful lust of the flesh as exemplified in his fervent passion for women. 

Poem of Ecstasy is divided into three parts.  The first part is a Prologue which is identified as "Striving after the Ideal" and "Awakening of the Soul".  The solo violin is heard in a theme of "Ecstatic Love".  The trumpet solo announces the "Will to Arise" at the final portion. 

I do not own the copyright to the music and the recording. Photos used on video clip was appropriated from the original album (Vox Production Inc. ) and Alexander Scriabin:  The Complete Piano Sonatas. This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Hope you enjoy. sDg.

Charles Magnante plays La Comparsita

 

Charles Magnante plays La Comparsita

Charles Magnante (accordion) plays La Comparsita. From the album Spanish Spectacular (Grand Awards Records).

Whether or not we know La Comparsita, we often think of Tango when we hear this song.  A lot of chatters have been spoken about the origin of La Comparsita. I'm not going into that but a rather interesting piece in Wikipedia was written about the song. We all know the trustworthiness of Wikepedia. Or not.

Wikipedia writes:

"The song was originally a march, whose melody was composed in early 1916 by an architecture student in Montevideo, an 18-year-old man named Gerardo Hernán "Becho" Matos Rodríguez, the son of Montevideo's Moulin Rouge nightclub proprietor Emilio Matos. On 8 February 1916, Becho and his friend show the music to orchestra leader Roberto Firpo.  He looked at the music and quickly determined that he could make it into a tango... Years later, Firpo reported the historic moment as follows:

"In 1916 I was playing in the café La Giralda in Montevi

deo, when one day a man was accompanied by about fifteen boys — all students — to say he brought a carnival march song and they wanted me to review it because they thought it could be a tango. They wanted me to revise and tweak the score that night because it was needed by a boy named Matos Rodríguez."

The album Spanish Spectacular was a runt from 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) 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 I do not own the copyright to the music and the recording. Cover art and video clip of spinning record are mine. The clips of the awkward dancing is from Cottonbro in Pexels. This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use.

Hope you enjoy. sDg.

Art Hodes Plays Sugar Foot Stomp

Art Hodes Plays Sugar Foot Stomp (Joe Oliver, Walter Melrose)

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.

Arthur W. Hodes (November 14, 1904 – March 4, 1993), known professionally as Art Hodes, was an American jazz pianist. A committed jazz traditionalist, Hodes was often at odds with proponents of the bebop movement in the 1940s. One of his forums was a radio program on WNYC out of New York City. He also published and wrote for the magazine Jazz Record; his columns appear in the collection Selections from the Gutter (1977). [excerpt from Britannica https://www.britannica.com/biography/Art-Hodes]

I would categorize the songs performed by Hodes in this album in the style of New Orleans jazz. Others who are familiar with Art Hodes mightdisagree and would say he belongs to the Chicago style jazz. And yet, Hodes considered himself a swing man, a jazzman who typically would be associated with big bands. "I was always a 'swing' man," Hodes wrote in 1988. "But I could also play it pretty."

I left some parts of the vinyl scratches in reproducing the songs in this album. I felt that the noise added to the era of smoked filled dance floor, champagne and cocktail glasses clinging, and the swinging vibe of glamour culture. Personally, I felt a lot of the hype was shallow - hiding behind sophistication and idiocy - reminiscent of the Dada Movement. But let me not get too far ahead of myself. The point of listening to the song is reimagining jazz as it were back then. As a side note, the music style was probably waning when the songs were recorded in 1944.

I do not own the copyright to the music, the recording and the photos. (Video Artwork was appropriated from William Gottlieb/Library of Congress and the album Art Hodes – I Remember Bessie. The video clip of spinning turntable is from Atakan Ozkan https://www.pexels.com/@atakan-ozkan-1068907.) This video is posted for educational use under Section 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. Hope you enjoy.

sDg.

You may also be interested in Art Hodes Sweet Georgia Brown and Squeeze Me.