5.7.25

KRONOS QUARTET · TERRY RILEY — Requiem for Adam (2001) Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

This may be the single most powerful piece of music that the Kronos Quartet has ever recorded, and perhaps that Terry Riley has ever written. This is because Requiem for Adam is so personal, so direct, and experiential. Requiem for Adam was written after the death of Kronos violinist David Harrignton's son. He died, in 1995, at the age of 16, from an aneurysm in his coronary artery. Riley, who is very close to the Harringtons and has a son the same age, has delved deep into the experience of death and resurrection, or, at the very least, transmutation. Requiem for Adam is written in three parts, or movements. The first, "Ascending the Heaven Ladder," is based on a four-note pattern that re-harmonizes itself as it moves up the scale. There are many variations and series based on each of these notes and their changing harmonics, and finally a 5/4 dance as it moves to the highest point on the strings. The drone-like effect is stunning when the listener realizes that the drone is changing shape too, ascending the scale, moving ever upward and taking part in the transmutation of harmony. There are no blustery passages of 32nd notes only gorgeous arco phrases shimmering away as the harmonics transform the piece of music form an ascent to a near pastoral acceptance of the highest realization linguistically. The second movement, "Coretejo Funebre en el Monte Diablo," is full of electronic music, horns, bells, and percussion that slam around in the background. This is a sampled soundtrack for the quartet, but it is integral in moving the focus of movement panoramically, expanding it across vistas instead of making it a vertical relationship between soul and the divine. It is cacophonous and almost celebratory. Riley refers to it as funeral music that might be heard in New Orleans, and he's almost right. Still there are classical canonical funereal figures here, like a Deus Irae that is somehow kinked up, offbeat, sideways, but nonetheless very present. In title movement, number three, plucked strings move against sliding harmonics and two long pulse notes stretch into almost impossible duration and intensity. These give way to funky dance figures, almost bluesy as a coda that moves toward an ever more frenzied articulation of theme and variation of the coda. There are graceful lines tacked on, almost as cadenzas for the strings to come back to themselves and their dovetailing roles, but they just take off again in search of that 7/8 polyrhythmic cadence again which gives way to a high register harmonics and finally a statement of the two-note pulse found at the beginning of the piece. It's the most complex quartet Riley has yet composed, and easily his most satisfying. The disc closes with "The Philosopher's Hand," a solo piano piece played by Riley. Riley was asked by Harrington to improvise a piece while thinking of Pandit Pran Nath, Riley's musical and spiritual teacher who passed in 1996. Riley claims that Pran Nath had come to Adam's funeral and held David Harrington's hand, which, Harrington remarked, was the softest hand he'd ever felt. The piece reflects all of these: the softness, the deep regret of Adam and Pran Nath's passing, and most of all of Riley's remembering, which is filtered through the anguish and beauty of the human heart. It's more than a whispering close to an already astonishing recording: it's the end of the world, and the beginning of the next, or at least the evidence that music can almost deliver this much.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <- 
TERRY RILEY (b. 1935)
Requiem For Adam
Cello – Jennifer Culp
Ensemble – Kronos Quartet
Viola – Hank Dutt
Violin – David Harrington, John Sherba
1.    Ascending The Heaven Ladder    13:24
2.    Cortejo Fúnebre En El Monte Diablo 7:05
Engineer – Craig Silvey
Engineer [Assistant] – Bob Levy
Sampler [Ensoniq Ts-12] – Terry Riley
3.        Requiem For Adam    21:18
4.        The Philosopher's Hand 5:57
Piano – Terry Riley
Notas
"Requiem for Adam" was commissioned for the Kronos Quartet by Sydney and Frances Lewis, Margaret Lyon, and Jim and Jeanne Newman. 

4.7.25

PEROTIN — The Hilliard Ensemble (1989) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Tracklist :
 1. Viderunt Omnes 11:36
(Perotin, Traditional)
2. Veni Creator Spiritus 7:29
 (Anonymus, Traditional)
3. Alleluia Posui Adiutorium 7:34
 (Perotin, Traditional)
4. O Maria Virginei 4:49
 (Anonymus, Traditional)
5. Dum Sigillum 7:37
 (Perotin, Traditional)
6. Isaias Cecinit 1:43
 (Anonymus, Traditional)
7. Alleluia Nativitas 8:31
 (Perotin, Traditional)
8. Beata Viscera 6:12
 (Perotin, Traditional)
9. Sederunt Principes 11:54
(Perotin, Traditional)
The Hilliard Ensemble :
David James - Countertenor
John Potter - Tenor
Rogers Covey-Crump - Tenor
Mark Padmore - Tenor
Charles Daniels - Tenor
Gordon Jones - Baritone
Paul Hillier - Baritone, Director

BILL EVANS — We Will Meet Again (1980-1993) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This was pianist Bill Evans' final studio session, a rare outing with a quintet (starring trumpeter Tom Harrell and Larry Schneider on tenor and soprano) and his first recording with the members of his final regular trio (bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera). The playing time is over 61 minutes. The group interprets "For All We Know" and seven Evans originals, including "Peri's Scope" and "Five." The thoughtful session is full of lyrical melodies and strong solos; even Evans' electric keyboard work on a few tunes is distinctive. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1     Comrade Conrad 10:05
Bill Evans
2     Laurie 8:20
Bill Evans
3     Bill's Hit Tune 10:49
Bill Evans
4     For All We Know 3:37
J. Fred Coots / Sam M. Lewis
5     Five 9:10
Bill Evans
6     Only Child 10:47
Bill Evans
7     Peri's Scope 6:11
Bill Evans
8     We Will Meet Again 2:34
Bill Evans
Credits :
Acoustic Bass – Marc Johnson 
Drums – Joe LaBarbera
Piano, Electric Piano – Bill Evans
Tenor Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Flute – Larry Schneider
Trumpet – Tom Harrell

ANN BURTON — By Myself Alone (1974) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Although Ann Burton was born in the Netherlands and made a couple of albums for the Dutch label Artone in the mid-'60s, she really made her mark in Japan. There she teamed up with some excellent local jazz musicians to make several albums, especially the 1974 set By Myself Alone. Of the ten or so albums she made before dying too young in 1989, this ranks as one of her best. The album features an intelligent and entertaining mix of tunes with unique Burton interpretations, treating the listener to more than 40 minutes of solid, if not spectacular, singing. Burton's voice could be husky and sensuous as on "Come Rain or Come Shine" or light and airy on a song favored by Blossom Dearie, "May I Come In?" She could take a tune by a one-time rock icon, Don McLean's "Oh My What a Shame," and make it sound like one of those Irish folk songs drenched with regret and resignation. A session highlight is the medley of "Yesterday" and "Yesterdays," where she focuses on the similarities rather than the differences between these two tunes written by composers from widely different backgrounds and generations. If this album is any indication, Burton was not interested in making her voice sound like a horn. There's no swooping, scatting, or other wordless vocalizing. Rather, she adhered to the lyrics the way they were written, respecting them by singing them in a straightforward manner. Dave Nathan  
Tracklist :
1. Come Rain Or Come Shine 4:48
  Harold Arlen / Johnny Mercer 
2. Let Me Love You 5:10
  Bart Howard 
3. May I Come In 2:09
  Marvin Fisher / Jack Segal 
4. Love Is A Necessary Evil 3:53
  Marvin Fisher / Jack Segal 
5. Oh, My What A Shame 4:01
  Don McLean 
6. By Myself Alone 1:50
  Howard Dietz / Arthur Schwartz 
7. Yesterday & Yesterdays 2:53
  Otto Harbach / Jerome Kern / John Lennon / Paul McCartney 
8. Birthday Song 2:50
 Don McLean 
9. I Could Have Told You So 8:08
J. Oliver 
10. That Old Feeling 3:07
Lew Brown / Sammy Fain 
11. Travellin' Light 4:59
 Johnny Mercer / Jimmy Mundy / Trummy Young 
Credits :
Bass – Kunimitsu Inaba (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 to 11)
Piano – Masahiko Satoh 
Guitar – Sadanori Nakamure (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 7, 8)
Vocals – Ann Burton
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Akira Miyazawa (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 7 to 11)
Drums (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6 to 11), 
Congas (tracks: 2, 4, 7, 8) – Masahiko Ozu 

3.7.25

ANNITA RAY — Slow Glow (1962-2010) FLAC (tracks), lossless


Annita Ray's sublime debut pairs the singer with arranger Harry Betts, whose soft-focus, gossamer backings perfectly complement Ray's limited but evocative vocal palette. Betts' ingenious combination of woodwinds, feather-light strings and subtle rhythms nicely balance Ray's breathy, quavering vocals, lending focus and ballast to a singer in genuine need of both. The material is familiar--e.g. "A Sunday Kind of Love" and "For All We Know"--but to its credit Slow Glow trips up expectations at every turn, creating a listening experience as warm and lovely as its title portends. Jason Ankeny
Tracklist :
1. Slow Glow  2:44
Written-By – Jeanne Taylor, Dick Hazard
2. I Don't Want To Walk Without You  2:54
Written-By – Frank Loesser, Jule Styne
3. The Heart That Broke Was Mine  3:58
Written-By – Fran Landesman, Tommy Wolf
4. Another Time, Another Place  2:23
Written-By – Richard Adler
5. Oh, You Crazy Moon  3:10
Written-By – J. Burke-J. Van Heusen
6. I'll Be Around  2:48
Written-By – Alec Wilder
7. This Time The Dream's On Me  2:54
Written-By – H. Arlen-J. Mercer
8. This Life We've Led  3:21
Written-By – F. Landesman, N. Algren, T. Wolf
9. For All We Know  2:45
Written-By – J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis
10. A Sunday Kind Of Love  3:14
Written-By – A. Leonard, B. Belle, L. Prima, S. Rhodes
Credits :
Conductor, Arranged By – Harry Betts
Vocals – Annita Ray

KRONOS QUARTET · TERRY RILEY — Requiem for Adam (2001) Two Version | APE + FLAC (image+.tracks+.cue), lossless

This may be the single most powerful piece of music that the Kronos Quartet has ever recorded, and perhaps that Terry Riley has ever written...