Babyface – The Day (1996) [Reissue 2001]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 61:17 minutes | Scans included | 2,53 GB
or DSD64 2.0 (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 2,47 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,27 GB
Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is pop’s best melodic writer since the heyday of Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. On The Day, Babyface makes that connection explicit by cowriting “How Come, How Long” with Wonder, who also contributes a duet vocal, a harmonica solo, and longtime bassist Nathan East to the session. Even more impressive is the fact that the eight songs Babyface wrote for The Day without his hero’s help also boast yearning melodies and ear-opening chord changes that are absolutely Wonder-ful.
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Babatunde Olatunji – Love Drum Talk (1997) [Reissue 2004]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 67:49 minutes | Digital Booklet | 2,98 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Digital Booklet+ | 1,41 GB
Features Stereo and Quadrophonic Surround Sound | Chesky Records # SACD 275
The Nigerian-born drum master leads an ebullient ensemble of guitarists, singers and percussionists through a series of spirited meditations on the nature of love. Lust, kinship, sensuality, courtship and spirituality are the themes Olatunji uses to fuel his joyous infectious playing. Highlights include “Mother, Give Me Love”, “Don’t Know Why My Love”, “Spell Mónisola” and more.
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Babatunde Olatunji – Drums Of Passion (1960) [Reissue 2002]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 44:20 minutes | Scans included | 3,81 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/44,1 kHz | Scans included | 562 MB
Features Stereo & Multichannel Surround sound
Drums of Passion is an album released by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji in 1960. Unquestionably, it was the first recording to popularize African music in the west, becoming immensely successful and selling over five million copies. In 2002, it was released as a single layer stereo and 5.1 SACD by Columbia Records. In 2004 the album was added to the National Recording Registry.
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Babatunde Olatunji – Circle Of Drums (2005)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 62:54 minutes | Scans included | 3,45 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,11 GB
Recorded in 1993 but only released in 2005, two years after his death, it’s a mystery why this sat in the vault for so long. Here the Nigerian master drummer collaborates with Sikiru Adepoju and Muruga, and the results are as good as anything he released in his prime during the 1960s. He can conjure up a groove out of nothing, making it flow and ebb, while the drummers talk to each other with their instruments. It’s not quite all percussion, however, as the one-string ektar fiddle, synth, chants, and even (surprisingly) hammered dulcimer enter the mix. Each of the six tracks gets time to develop, and it’s the kind of disc that will have listeners performing workouts on their bodies (keeping up, however, is a different matter). It’s readily apparent just how good these guys were during this session, making it sound so easy. Olatunji might no longer be with us, but on this disc he leaves a strong legacy.
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Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berliner Philharmoniker – The Radio Recordings 1939-1945 (2019) [22x SACD Set]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 21:42:34 hours | Scans NOT included | ~ 52,3 GB
or FLAC 2.0 (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Front, Scans NOT included | ~ 26,4 GB
The radio recordings between 1939 and 1945 with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Wilhelm Furtwangler are among classical music’s most compelling sound documents. Created at the peak of the collaboration between orchestra and conductor, Furtwangler’s artist personality is conveyed more vividly than anywhere else. What can be heard is music in which inspiration and the expressive will know no bounds and in which, not least, the existential experience of the Second World War reverberates. For the first time, the Berliner Philharmoniker are releasing a complete edition of these recordings.
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Wynton Marsalis – Marsalis Standard Time, Vol. 1 (1987/2015)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 62:53 minutes | 2,47 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 62:53 minutes | 650 MB
Genre: Jazz | Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Front Cover | © Sony
On the first of three volumes, Wynton Marsalis explores 10 standards plus two of his originals with his quartet of the period (which consists of pianist Marcus Roberts, bassist Robert Hurst III and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts). Marsalis’s tone is quite beautiful on the well-balanced set; even the ballads have their unpredictable moments. Among the more memorable performances are his treatments of “Caravan”, “April in Paris,” “New Orleans,” “Memories of You” and two versions of “Cherokee.”
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Wynton Kelly Trio, Wes Montgomery – Smokin’ At The Half Note (1965/2013)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 41:10 minutes | 1,62 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | Front Cover | © Verve Music
Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound from the original analog master tapes to vinyl and PCM. The DSD was sourced from the PCM. George listened to all of the different A/D converters he had before he chose which to use, and he felt the George Massenburg GML 20 bit A/D produced the best and most synergistic sound for the project.
A Tremendously Important Historic Jazz Record That Pairs Guitar Virtuoso Wes Montgomery With Miles Davis’ Rhythm Section – Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb
This is timeless music that has inspired innumerable jazz guitarists and aficionados. In fact, jazz guitar great Pat Metheny has said, “I learned to play listening to Wes Montgomery’s Smokin’ At The Half Note.” Metheny additionally said that the solo on “If You Could See Me Now” is his favorite of all time.
This legendary session was recorded at a New York nightclub. It captures Montgomery at the height of his improvisational powers. Many consider it the best performance on record by one of the most inventive guitarists in jazz history.
Highlights include the Miles Davis opener, “No Blues” and the following track, Tadd Dameron’s “If You Could See Me Now.” And the album’s versions of “Unit 7” and “Four On Six” have helped to establish these songs as jazz standards.
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Wim Van Hasselt – Chant d’Automne (2016)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 53:50 minutes | 2,16 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Channel Classics Records B.V.
The title of this album, featuring two world premieres (Grunelius and Fischer), is taken from the composition by the German pianist and composer Wilhelm von Grunelius. The inspiration for his work for flugelhorn, timpani and strings came from the poem ‘Chant d’automne’ by the French poet and art critic Charles Pierre Baudelaire (1821-1867). The use of texts is a recurring theme in this colourful programme of music for the trumpet in a variety of combinations. At the end of the final movement of his Sonata for trumpet and piano, ‘Trauermusik’, Paul Hindemith incorporates Bach’s chorale ‘Alle Menschen mussen sterben’ (BWV 634). In his Eine Deutsch-Jiddische Kantate, Iván Fischer employs texts by Avrom Sutzkever, Rainer Maria Rilke, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and others. The recording is also of particular value in view of the fact that the two world premieres of music by Grunelius and Fischer are performed by the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer himself, while he also conducts his own Eine Deutsch-Jiddische Kantate, with his daughter Nora Fischer as soprano soloist.
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Wilma Thalen – Sophisticated Lady (2000/2015)
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 56:22 minutes | 2,23 GB
FLAC (tracks) 24-bit/96 kHz | Time – 56:22 minutes | 1,07 GB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Artwork: Digital booklet | Genre: Jazz
On ‘Sophisticated Lady’ Thalen plays jazz standards in their most vulnerable form, only accompanied by pianist Bert van den Brink and Hein van de Geyn on double bass. Her violin mainly sticks with the original melody and does not immediately flee towards the usual improvisation. In a frank and honest fashion Thalen wants to make these songs heard as they are. This seems cushy and in a first hearing, the music may sound quite accessable. But apart from the fact that nowadays it isn’t common to play mainly the melody, the plainnes of this approach appears to be fairly misleading. With this very instrument and without the veiling improvisation embellishment, Thalen pointblank reaches the soul and passion of these standards. Listening to her album therefore can be just rather pleasant, but with some concentration also very confronting and emotionally moving. Together with the pure and lifelike recording technique, it is this musical stratification that makes the album a typical Turtle Records production.
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Wes Montgomery – A Day In The Life (1967/2014)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 34:44 minutes | 1,37 GB | Genre: Jazz
Source: ISO SACD | © A&M Records | Universal Music Japan (UCGU-9057)
Recorded: June 6, 7, 8 and 26, 1967 at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
By the time Wes Montgomery recorded this album (his debut for A&M), he was a major name in the pop world. Montgomery’s melodic renditions of current pop hits caught on and were played regularly on Top 40 radio. In most cases the guitarist did little more than play the melody, using his distinctive octaves, and it was enough to make him saleable. Of his three A&M recordings, A Day in the Life (the first one) was by far the best and, although the jazz content is almost nil, the results are pleasing as background music. “Windy” was a bit of a hit; the other selections (which find Montgomery backed by muzaky strings arranged by Don Sebesky) include “Watch What Happens,” “California Nights,” “Eleanor Rigby” and the title cut. –Scott Yanow
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Wayne Shorter Feat. Milton Nascimento – Native Dancer (1975/2000)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 00:43:42 minutes | 1.73 GB | Genre: Jazz
Source: ISO SACD | Booklet & Front cover | © Columbia Records
Recorded: September 12, 1974 at Village Recorders, Los Angeles.
Native Dancer is the fifteenth album by Wayne Shorter. It is a collaboration with Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento, featuring some of his most acclaimed compositions, including “Ponta de Areia” and “Miracle of The Fishes”. It is notable for including jazz rock and funk elements in addition to regional rhythms and Brazilian influence, in an attempt to create a “world” music accessible from many perspectives. Many American musicians were influenced by this album, including Esperanza Spalding and Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire, who covered “Ponta de Areia” on their hit 1977 album All ‘N All.
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Warne Marsh & Red Mitchell – Big Two (2009/2017)
DSD128 (.dsf) 1 bit/5,6 MHz MHz | Time – 46:48 minutes | 3,69 GB
or FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 46:48 minutes | 853 MB
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | Booklet, Front Cover | 2xHD – Storyville Records
This album, comprised of previously unissued material, stands as a fitting tribute to the integrity and splendid musicianship of tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh and bassist Red Mitchell who were true soul brothers who played together intermittently in the infancy of modern jazz, a friendship that survived nearly 40 years and was broken only by the sudden and tragic death of Warne in December, 1987.
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Christoph Pregardien, Ensemble Kontraste – Wanderer: Songs by Schumann, Killmayer & Mahler (2011)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:06:53 minutes | 2,64 GB | Genre: Classical
Source: ISO SACD | © Challenge Records / Northstar Recordings | Booklet, Front Cover
Recorded: Galaxy Studios, Mol, Belgium, 14-18 September 2010
Not even our contemporary inclination towards ‘authenticity’ and ‘loyalty to the composer’s intentions’ has been able to stop the trend of adapting scores for a different instrumentation than what the composer originally had in mind. The rapidly growing number of smallish ensembles with combinations of instruments for which very little music is available has even proved to be an added incentive in this direction, leading towards a new development within classical music. Not infrequently, a particular interest is shown in lieder which were originally written for solo voice with piano accompaniment. Sometimes the composers themselves put a small instrumental ensemble or even a complete symphony orchestra in the place of the original piano part, but it is not unusual for others to undertake this task.
One of the composers who adapted a piano score for a complete orchestra was Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), and the orchestration for his Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer, written in 1883-1885) followed the piano version so quickly that the very first performance in 1886 immediately featured the orchestra. In 1920, Arnold Schoenberg created a new version for flute, clarinet, harmonium, piano, string quintet and percussion, and this instrumentation was taken by the ensemble KONTRASTE as the starting point for a project called Wanderer, in collaboration with the tenor Christoph Prégardien. It revolves around Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen as well as sixteen lieder by Robert Schumann, which were arranged for this project by Marcus Reiβenberger. The idea was to retain the liveliness heard in the piano accompaniment while at the same time creating an instrumental colour palette that far surpassed it. A sort of intermezzo is formed by four lieder by contemporary composer Wilhelm Killmayer, who wrote his own instrumentation to fit in with the idiom used in the lieder of Mahler and Schumann. (from the linernotes written by Paul Korenhof)
Walter Davis Jr. – Davis Cup (1959/2010)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 38:08 minutes | 1.5 GB | Genre: Jazz
Official Digital Download – Source: acousticsounds.com | Booklet & Front cover | © Blue Note Records
Although a Blue Note regular at the time on sessions by Donald Byrd, Art Blakey and others, Walter Davis made only one album for the label. With Byrd, Jackie McLean, Sam Jones and Art Taylor, he explores six of his finest compositions. Davis possessed the ability to write music that was funky and catchy, but still progressive, which explains why he was one of Art Blakey’s favorite pianists and composers. “Minor Mind,” “Make It” and “Millie’s Delight” are among the album’s highlights.
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Petra Lang, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer – Wagner: Die Meistersinger (2013)
DSF Stereo DSD64/2.82MHz | Time – 01:04:22 minutes | 2,54 GB | Genre: Classical
Source: ISO SACD | © Channel Classics | Booklet, Front Cover
Recorded: January 2012, Palace of Arts, Budapest
Wagner is the giant among composers because he created his own world. Whereas others interpreted ancient and familiar mythology, Wagner created his own myth. Whereas others composed to librettos by poets, Wagner wrote his own texts. He evenbuilt his own opera house, which had to be different and innovative. Wagner was the greatest creative genius of music history.And yet this superhuman giant also had a sense of humor, clearly audible in thewonderfully constructed Meistersinger Overture. And he had intimate, sensitive lyricism, which moves us deeply in his Siegfried-Idyll. This lyricism is the most important aspect of Wagner’s music; Brünnhilde’s beautiful, longing melody which shines through the huge flame that absorbs her and the collapsing world. –Iván Fischer
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