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Lyn Stanley – The Moonlight Sessions, Volume One (2017)
DSD128 (.dsf) 1 bit/5,6 MHz | Time – 51:29 minutes | 4,06 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/192 kHz | Time – 51:29 minutes | 1,92 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: NativeDSDmusic | Genre: Jazz | © A.T.Music
Lyn Stanley, the Sultry Jazz singer of the decade, offers this collection of love songs where she’ll spins tales of love’s make ups and break ups. “The Moonlight Sessions” is the title of the newest chapter in Ms. Stanley’s remarkable singing career. With this project, Lyn creatively offers a number of jazz standards with classical twists together with refreshingly new takes on iconic pop songs. The songs include hybrid classical romantic compositions with jazz standards on some of the song selections. Chopin is combined with Jobim, you’ll hear quotes from Ravel, Mozart, Beethoven and Debussy with American Songbook jazz classics. Lyn brings her unusual creativity in music arrangements to add a new excitement to old standards. Accompanied by the some of the best talent in jazz this album is steamy.
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Lyn Stanley – Potions: From The 50’s (2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 00:59:39 minutes | 2,36 GB | Genre: Jazz
Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | © A.T. Music
Lyn Stanley returns with classic song hits of the 1950s — captivating and imaginative
Produced by renowned jazz pianist/composer Kenny Werner
Recorded and mixed by Al Schmitt; mastered by Bernie Grundman
All songs mixed and mastered on analog tape
Download authored direct to DSD from analog tape by Bernie Grundman.
“While there are a plethora of females out there purporting to be jazz singers today, very few can hold a candle to the legends of days gone by. Most are OK, but tend to have a sameness to their interpretations of the songs they choose to sing that borders on the boring. Yet one, and she is a new name to me, who stands out from the same old same old pack of today is jazz singer Lyn Stanley. … What will catch your attention as it did mine was both how she has something new to add to these standards as well as how she seems to have a deep understanding of each song she sings. Another aspect of her singing is that she sounds like a jazz singer, not a pop singer trying to sing jazz. She modulates her tone and phrasing in the same way a tenor sax player would handle his instrument during a solo. This is something lacking in so many of today’s jazz singers. Just listen to her sing ‘I’m Walking’ from her Potions album for a brilliant example of what I’m talking about.
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Lyn Stanley – Lost In Romance (2013)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 01:02:25 minutes | 2,48 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:02:25 minutes | 1,19 MB
Genre: Jazz | Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Booklet, Front Cover | © A.T. Music
Singer, dancer, ingenue, Lyn Stanley is a fully realized and mature talent exploding into her own. An award-winning ballroom dancer, Stanley melds that physical experience of movement with her performance of jazz standards, bringing the genre back to its dancing, kinetic roots. As executive producer on Lost In Romance, Stanley brings a Midas touch to the proceedings, producing in wholly urbane and sophisticated collection of the best the Great American Songbook has to offer. It takes a certain fortitude to record one more collection of jazz standards, but then again, this is the most appropriate starting place for Stanley. Standards are the proving ground for Stanley’s singing philosophy and that philosophy is a sound and entertaining one.
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Lyn Stanley – Interludes (2015)
DSD128 (.dsf) 1 bit/5,64 MHz | Time – 59:15minutes | 4,67 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 59:15 minutes | 1,18 GB
Genre: Jazz | Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © A.T. Music LLC
Jazz vocalist Lyn Stanley’s third studio release “Interludes” features 14 tracks including a duet with guitarist John Chiodini on “I’m A Fool To Want You”. This alum is her most adventurous and exciting recording yet. Her expressive and versatile vocals pay justice to the lyrics that she interprets, her voice is at various times quietly emotional, seductive, saucy and inviting, and she sounds comfortable no matter what the setting. The album has been a Top Seller for fine audio websites worldwide. Analog mixed and mastered by Grammy Award winning engineers Al Schmitt and Bernie Grundman.
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New York’s Ensemble for Early Music, Frederic Renz – Daniel and the Lions / Ludus Danielis (2004)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:10:44 minutes | 2,79 GB | Genre: Classical
Official Digital Download – Source: hd-klassik.com | Digital Booklet | © Fonè Records
Frederick Renz studied harpsichord with Gustav Leonhardt in Holland as a Fulbright Scholar. He was keyboard soloist with the legendary New York Pro Musica Antiqua for six seasons and founded the Early Music Foundation when the former organization disbanded in 1974. Under his enterprising direction, EARLY MUSIC NEW YORK has earned accolades worldwide for its vibrant performances of music and music drama from the Middle Ages through the early classical periods.
For his pioneering work in the genre of medieval music-drama, maestro Renz has received numerous accolades including commissions from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Play of Mary Magdalene, Resurrection Play of Tours and Raising of Lazarus/Conversion of St. Paul; Sponsus: Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins), Spoleto Festival USA (Herod and the Innocents) and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (Play of St. Nicholas, Daniel and the Lions and Le Roman de Fauvel). Frederick Renz has also received two Producers Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Opera/Musical Theater Program and a grant from the Ingram Merrill Foundation.
A noted harpsichordist, Frederick Renz has given numerous solo recitals, appeared with orchestras and chamber groups in New York, and has recorded for Lyrichord, Foné, Decca, Vanguard, Musical Heritage Society, Musicmasters and Nonesuch. As an educator, Renz has served as Visiting Professor and Artistic Consultant for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Oklahoma, the Fundacion del Estado para la Orquesta Nacional Juvenil (Venezuela), the Athens Festival and the Tokyo Summer Festival. Mr. Renz was recently awarded an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York in recognition of his research and the performance of historical music
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Mozart Piano Quartet – Mozart: Piano Quartets (2009)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 66:36 minutes | F/B Covers | 3,49 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | F/B Covers | 1,11 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel surround sound | MDG # 943 1579-6
The Mozart Piano Quintet was founded in 2000 and has been catapulted to the top echelon of the international music world. Their previous recordings on MDG have all been well received. This recording is one of MDG’s best 2+2+2 recordings & all details are clearly audible with a placing of the listener in the best seat of a very fine chamber hall. Enthusiastically recommended.
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Andrew Manze, The English Concert – Mozart: Night Music (2003)
Classical, Orchestral | SACD ISO: DSD64 2.0, DST64 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Artwork | 3.35 GB
Label: Harmonia Mundi | Release Year: 2003
The title of this exceptional disc, “Night Music”, should not be taken to mean that the performances are in any way dark, mysterious, droopy, sluggish, or otherwise conventionally “nocturnal”. Rather, the term evokes its 18th century musical meaning: a time for fun, relaxation, parties, entertainment both indoors and out, and of course, romance. Indeed, “Romantic” is perhaps the best way to describe these virtuosic, impulsive, and extravagantly expressive performances by the inimitable Andrew Manze and his team of crack “authentic-instrument” players.
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Sharon Bezaly – Mozart: Flute Concertos (2005)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & DST64 5.0 >1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Covers | 2.58 GB
FLAC tracks 2.0 24bit/88.2 kHz | Covers | 971 MB
Izrael-born Sharon Bezaly (who now lives in Sweden) has rightly risen to the top of her field with silky performances like this one which seemed universally rated highly by the music press (Gramophone, ClassicsToday, etc). Her repertoire extends to many Scandanavian composers who have written several flute concertos for her marvelously refined technique (she was a student of Aurele Nicolet). On this recording she plays a 24k instrument custom-made for her by Muramatsu Japan.
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Byron Janis, Kyril Kondrashin, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra – Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (2005)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & DST64 3.0 >1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Covers | 2.83 GB
FLAC tracks 2.0 24bit/88.2 kHz | Covers | 1.32 GB
Legendary performances, no doubt. Nice sound in the original recording, the processed 3 channel sounds even better. Piano tone is wonderfull, full-bodied and detailed. Nice orchestra perspective.
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Monty Alexander Trio – Love Me Tender (2011) [Japan 2017]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 64:37 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 2,6 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Front/Rear Covers | 1,36 GB
Veteran pianist Monty Alexander left Jamaica and came to the United States at age 17. This recording for Venus Records celebrates his 50 years in the land of jazz. Known for his straight ahead sensibilities and sometimes considered a successor of Oscar Peterson, his long career has widened his musical spectrum and brought maturity to his playing. For this recording, Monty is accompanied by bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer Willie Jones III on original songs like “Can’t You See”, “Got To Go” and “Sweet Lady”, as well as popular tunes such as “Come Fly With Me”, “I’ve Never Been In Love Before”, You Call It Madness” and “We’ve Only Just Begun”, plus the title song.
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Monty Alexander – Jamboree: Monty Alexander’s Ivory and Steel (1988) [Reissue 2003]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 48:50 minutes | Scans included | 3,1 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 53:19 mins | Scans | 965 MB
Pianist Monty Alexander’s “Ivory And Steel” group combines together bop-based jazz with Jamaican calypsoes and West Indian rhythms. On this quite enjoyable set, Alexander utilizes both Othello and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe on steel drums, either Marshall Wood or Bernard Montgomery on bass, drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith and the hand drums of Robert Thomas Jr. Alexander contributed four of the rhythmic originals which are joined by some Jamaican folk songs (including “Sly Mangoose”), Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” and a couple of obscurities. The accessible results are often memorable.
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Monty Alexander with Ernest Ranglin – Rocksteady (2004)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 57:14 minutes | Scans included | 3,58 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,18 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Telarc # SACD-63581 | Genre: Jazz
Prior to becoming an ace mainstream jazz pianist in the U.S., native Jamaican Monty Alexander played on countless sessions at Studio One in Kingston — well before reggae, rocksteady, and even ska crossed the seas. Since 1998, secure in his jazz credentials, he has been reminding listeners of those roots, cranking out album after album and managing to unite jazz and reggae in a sometimes irresistible fusion. This time, Alexander reaches further back to pre-reggae Jamaican pop from the late ’60s/early ’70s, bringing along a guitar-slinging friend from the old days, Ernest Ranglin. On previous Jamaican-accented albums, Alexander sometimes sounded as if he was making an effort to hold back his prodigious technique in order to keep things simple. But here he sounds more comfortable paring down his playing to the basics while still throwing in an occasional sly quote or monster lick, now going more and more to his evocative melodica playing. Ranglin brings a brittle, staccato touch to everything he touches, and the rhythm section careens gently along, with only rare hints of a ska feel and without the overpowering dub-flavored bass of previous Alexander Jamaican outings like “Meets Sly and Robbie” and parts of “Goin’ Yard.” Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites,” one of the first genuine Jamaican hits in the U.S., moves and grooves much like the original while allowing for some jazz licks. Less well-known in America, perhaps, are some other choices like Ken Boothe’s “Freedom Street” and the Congos’ “Row Fisherman.” Moving up a bit on the time scale, Alexander and Ranglin include the Burning Spear signature tune “Marcus Garvey” and with heads bowed, they close the album with a dignified duo rendition of the Hon. Robert Nesta Marley’s “Redemption Song.” The six-channel surround mix on this hybrid SACD is simple and strikingly consistent, with Quentin Baxter’s drums and Junior Jazz’s scratching rhythm guitar coming from the rear channels, and Alexander, Ranglin, and occasional hand percussion coming from the front.
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Monty Alexander – My America (2002)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 60:11 minutes | Covers included | 3,85 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 61:49 mins | Covers | 1,24 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Telarc # SACD-63552 | Genre: Jazz
Over his long recording and performing career, Monty Alexander has displayed an ability to excel with any jazz or related genre. From swing to bop and hard bop, from reggae to mainstream jazz, you name it and Alexander has done it and done it well. On his latest and fourth album for the Telarc label, the veteran pianist takes time to show his appreciation and gratitude to his adopted home, America, through a series of songs in honor of people and images that shaped his attitude toward this country, whether it be cowboy movies he used to see as a youngster in Jamaica or the impression made upon him by a variety of American performers, including Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, and others of like diversity. Nor has he forgotten his Caribbean roots with a highly rhythmic version of Al Green’s “Love and Happiness.” Alexander’s “Mack the Knife” is given a sort of gentile honky tonk burnish, while there is a bit of music hall piano in “Battle Hymn of the Republic” before he turns this patriotic song into a rousing swinger with gospel overtones. If this album needed a subtitle, it might be “Some of My Best Friends Are Singers,” picking up on the device successfully used by his once-playing partner, Ray Brown. Alexander is joined on four cuts by Freddy Cole, John Pizzarelli, Kevin Mahogany, and Cat. As good as this vocalizing is, it’s the infectious, bright playing of Alexander that lifts this album beyond the realm of the ordinary. Recommended.
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Monty Alexander – Monty Meets Sly and Robbie (2000)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 50:50 minutes | Scans | 3,24 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,01 GB
Features Stereo & Multichannel Surround sound
Jazz purists may turn up the nose at this jazz-reggae summit meeting, but that’s their loss. It’s not that they wouldn’t have the right to be suspicious – experiments in jazz-reggae fusion do not have a distinguished history. But the combination of Jamaican-born jazz pianist Monty Alexander and reggae godfathers Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare works beautifully here for a number of reasons: first of all, Alexander is a gifted melodist with an unerring sense of groove (not always a given with jazz players), and second of all, Sly and Robbie emancipated themselves long ago from reggae’s rhythmic strictures, so there’s lots of variety on this album. The grooves are never less than bone deep: on “Monty’s Groove,” Shakespeare’s minimalist bassline and Dunbar’s funky drumming propel Alexander into inspired (if a bit restrained) flights of improvisation, and “People Make the World Go ‘Round” is a slow, dark dancehall workout that gives Alexander’s piano lots of open space to work with. “Hot Milk,” the album’s closer, is a touching tribute to the late reggae organist Jackie Mittoo, on which Alexander plays mournful melodica over a modified rocksteady beat. There are times when you might wish Alexander would cut loose and wail a bit more, but this album is a delight from beginning to end.
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Monserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Sir Colin Davis, Royal Opera House – Puccini: Tosca (1976) [Reissue 2006]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 4.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 118:24 minutes | Scans | 5,3 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Artwork | 1,94 GB
Features Stereo & Quadrophonic Surround sound | Pentatone Music B.V. # 5186 147
Caballé’s Tosca is one of the most ravishingly on record, with scarcely a less than beautiful note throughout, save where an occasional phrase lies a touch low for her. She doesn’t quite have the ‘prima donna’ (in quotes, mind) temperament for the part (the coquettish malice of ‘but make her eyes black!’, as Tosca forgives Cavaradossi for using a blonde stranger as model for his altarpiece of the Magdalen, isn’t in Caballé’s armoury; either that or she knows that her voice would sound arch attempting it), but her portrayal is much more than a display of lovely sounds. She’s precise with words, takes minute care over phrasing, and she knows to a split second where dead-centre precise pitching becomes crucial. Carreras’s Cavaradossi is one of his best recorded performances: the voice untarnished, the line ample, and if he’s tempted at times to over-sing one forgives the fault for the sake of his poetic ardour. José Carreras recorded Tosca twice in the 1970s–his best years–but his voice was much better for Colin Davis when recording this set in 1976 than it was for Herbert von Karajan’s 1979 interpretation. Wixell is the fly in the ointment: a capable actor and an intelligent artist, but his gritty timbre lacks centre and thus the necessary dangerous suavity. Davis’s direction is flexible but dramatic and finely detailed, and the secondary singers are all very good. The recording, despite some rather unconvincing sound effects, still sounds very well, with space around the voices and a natural balance between them and the orchestra.
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