Lester Young – Pres (1974/2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Lester Young – Pres (1974/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 34:05 minutes | 548 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Charlie Parker Records

Lester Young was unique, just as original and fascinating a musician as he was a human being. He introduced a new way of playing which led to the modern jazz. He was the inspiration for Charlie Parker and countless musicians on all instruments who grew up becoming jazz musicians during the fourties and fifties. The cool jazz of the 1950’s was directly based on Young’s light and relaxed style.

(more…)

Read more

LGT Young Soloists & Alexander Gilman – Beethoven Recomposed (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

LGT Young Soloists & Alexander Gilman – Beethoven Recomposed (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:01:16 minutes | 1,12 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos

To mark the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Russian born arranger Paul Struck has arranged two of the composer’s great mid-period chamber masterpieces for soloist and string ensemble. Expanding the sonorities of the ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata – Beethoven’s most important chamber work for violin – allows the sonata’s concertante quality to emerge in a new light. The Cello Sonata No. 3 equally succeeds in conceiving the piano part for ensemble, while exploring fullness of sound and maintaining transparency of texture.

(more…)

Read more

LGT Young Soloists – Souvenir (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

LGT Young Soloists – Souvenir (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:11:44 minutes | 1,35 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

Hochbegabte junge Musikerinnen und Musiker im Alter zwischen 12 und 23 Jahren haben sich zu einem einzigartigenEnsemble von Streichersolisten zusammengeschlossen: die LGT Young Soloists. Mehr als 70 erste Preise bei nationalen und internationalen Musikwettbewerben hat die Formation bereits gewonnen. Ins Leben gerufen wurde das Projekt vom Geiger Alexander Gilman und der LGT, einem Finanzunternehmen des Fürstenhauses von Liechtenstein. Für ihr viertes Album auf RCA Red Seal haben sich die LGT Young Soloists berühmte “Zugabenstücke” vornehmlich des 19. Jahrhunderts ausgewählt. Hochemotionale Musik sowie Bravourstücke, die ein virtuoses Feuerwerk entfachen, die technischenMöglichkeiten der Streichinstrumente bis zum Äußersten ausloten, aber auch an Leidenschaft und Herz appellieren: etwa das berühmte “Liebesleid” von Fritz Kreisler, “Le Grand Tango” von Astor Piazzolla, die beliebte “Méditation” aus Massenets Oper “Thaïs” und atemberaubend virtuos: “Hora Staccato” von Grigoras Ionica Dinicu.

(more…)

Read more

LGT Young Soloists – Nordic Dream (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

LGT Young Soloists – Nordic Dream (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:25 minutes | 1,20 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical

This beautiful collection of Nordic works for string orchestra is packed with Scandinavian passion and melancholy, and melodies that stay with you long after Sibelius’s devastating “Valse triste” has faded away. There are some gorgeous discoveries here, from Bræin’s intense “Serenade for Viola and String Orchestra” and Atterberg’s searing “Suite for Violin, Viola and String Orchestra”, hypnotic in its use of gorgeous, modal harmonies and sweeping lines. Sinding’s yearning “Serenade for Harp and String Orchestra” draws on folksong influences while Halvorsen’s “Chant de Veslemøy” has a simple, delightful charm. The LGT Soloists play with bags of expression and a clear love for this beautiful music.

(more…)

Read more

Leyla McCalla – Vari-colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/88,2kHz]

Leyla McCalla – Vari-colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 40:29 minutes | 700 MB | Genre: Acoustic, Folk
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Dixiefrog

The daughter of Haitian immigrant parents, Leyla McCalla, whether by design or synchronicity, moved to New Orleans in 2010 after studying cello performance and chamber music at New York University, and once there, while busking and playing on the street corners and in the bars and clubs, she fell in love with Louisiana Creole culture, and coupled with her further explorations of Haiti’s traditional Creole folk music, she developed a strong and grounded musical vision, part old and traditional and part bohemian intellectual. As this debut solo album (she was featured on the Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Leaving Eden album and has toured extensively with them) shows, it’s a mix that McCalla balances well, with most of the tracks featuring her musical arrangements of various Langston Hughes poems, along with striking personal versions of a couple of traditional Haitian folk songs. If this sounds like things here will be a little stiff and academic, well, they’re not, as McCalla makes the Hughes lyrics her own, and the sparse, haunting feel of these tracks is timeless, belonging to this century but feeling like they could have come from early in the century before, too, or even the one before that, a kind of musical hat trick that is pretty impressive, to say the least. McCalla’s voice is warm and just slightly jazz-tinged, and she plays sparse tenor banjo and acoustic guitar on some of the cuts here, but it is her cello playing that gives the album its unique sound, all warm and round and ominous somehow, taking the stark arrangements to deep emotional places. The opener, “Heart of Gold,” sets the tone, spare and yet expansive, and tracks like the tenor banjo-led “Mesi Bondye” and the swinging acoustic guitar blues “Too Blue” give the set list some variety. McCalla’s debut solo album is a fully realized and nuanced gem, and one can’t help but be interested and curious about her next musical project.

(more…)

Read more

Leyla McCalla – The Capitalist Blues (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Leyla McCalla – The Capitalist Blues (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 42:30 minutes | 483 MB | Genre: Blues, Folk, Jazz, World
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz Village

In this third album, the enchanting and beautiful Leyla manages to capture moments of pure joy. She is the kind of musician that tells a story. A New-Yorker with Haitian roots, Leyla settled in the bayou of Louisiana to explore her Creole roots and to dig out and spread the message of social and environmental injustice. She really came into her own during those eight years spent in the New Orleans sunshine and has even abandoned her cello to embrace the clarinet, violin, piano and electric guitar. Now, the multi-instrumentalist is mixing it up more than ever, supported by a group for the very first time, King James & The Special Men. The retro folk of The Capitalist Bluesdabbles in calypso (Mize Pa Dous), R&B (Me and My Baby) and Creole blues (Lavi Vye Neg) and Leyla’s vocals alternate seamlessly between Creole and English. A very well-arranged album that captures the leisurely lifestyle of the tropics.  – Charlotte Saintoin

(more…)

Read more

Leyla McCalla – A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Leyla McCalla – A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 39:08 minutes | 771 MB | Genre: Folk, Blues, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Jazz Village

As with her excellent debut album, Leyla McCalla brings all of her diverse cultural influences to her music. A Day For The Hunter, A Day For The Prey manages to show both the singer’s Haitian roots, but also that Louisiana folk that has seeped into her music since her move to New Orleans. English, French or Creole are all languages in which she performs, and the New York-born artist also juggles influences from Jazz and Blues.

(more…)

Read more

Lexi Walker – Merry Christmas (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lexi Walker – Merry Christmas (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 24:54 minutes | 282 MB | Genre: Pop, Christmas
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Portrait – Sony Masterworks

Sony Music Masterworks imprint Portrait Records signs singing sensation Lexi Walker, the dynamic 13-year-old whose performance of “Let It Go” from Frozen has received over 72 million YouTube views.

Lexi’s holiday-themed debut album Merry Christmas, available November 20, features traditional and new holiday songs from both sides of the Atlantic, including “O Holy Night,” “Christmastime Is Here,” “Pat A Pan,” “When a Child is Born,” plus “We Need a Little Christmas” from Broadway’s Mame. It also includes her rendition of the hit “Let It Go” and more.

(more…)

Read more

Lexi Walker – Inspire (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lexi Walker – Inspire (2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:37 minutes | 434 MB | Genre: Vocal Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Masterworks

Portrait Records announces the release of INSPIRE, the first ever full-length album from America’s newest sweetheart, Lexi Walker. INSPIRE is available on October 27, 2017.

A follow-up to Lexi’s 2016 EP release, Wishes and Dreams, the new album – Inspire –  includes the songs from the EP “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella, “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Pinocchio and Celine Dion’s “The Power of the Dream,” plus iconic songs like “Don’t Rain On My Parade” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

INSPIRE also features two new original songs “Tiny Voice” and “Once More,” written by Lexi. Plus, on three of the songs, Lexi collaborated with guest artists including global YouTube superstars The Piano Guys (“What A Wonderful World”), Grammy-nominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker (“The Prayer”) and vocal trio GENTRI (“When You Believe”).

(more…)

Read more

Lex Jasper Trio – Lexposure (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Lex Jasper Trio – Lexposure (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:00:56 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Challenge Records

It is not often that one is lucky enough to directly observe the creation of unique beauty, perfect craftsmanship, absolute passion and profound dedication. I recently had the wonderful opportunity to experience these with the creation of “Lexposure”, in Cologne at the end of August 2020. This took place in the legendary, state-of-the-art “Riverside Studios”, under the auspices of the producer Ralf Kemper, who actively and artistically directed the entire technical recording at the mixing desk.

(more…)

Read more

Lewis Wright, Kit Downes – Duets (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Lewis Wright, Kit Downes – Duets (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 32:43 minutes | 519 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Signum Records

Award-winning British vibraphonist, composer and drummer Lewis Wright explodes the rhythmic and polyphonic possibilities offered by vibraphone and piano. His new album “Duets” reinforces his claim to be a very serious international musician. If you already thought as much – on the evidence of his exemplary vibes work with Empirical – then Duets adds a further seven case studies of exquisite chamber jazz, beautifully recorded at Air Studios.

(more…)

Read more

Oerknal Ensemble, Damask Vocal Quartet – Canto (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/192kHz]

Oerknal Ensemble, Damask Vocal Quartet – Canto (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 57:12 minutes | 1,57 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © 7 Mountain Records

On Friday 15 October 2021, Canto will be released, the second album of the collective for new music Big Bang (on the photo together with recording producer Frerik De Jong). The cd contains three works by the American composer Lewis Nielson. The nine-part Cilice is specially written for Big Bang and the Damask Vocal Quartet, which can also be heard on the album. “Nielson hides and hides information in many of his works,” says Big Bang conductor Gregory Charette. “Every time you listen to it or play it, you hear something new. It would be far too much if everything that is in this music were to reveal itself in one go. In this way, certain texts are pulled apart in such a way that at first you can only discern syllables or even single letters.”Canto is released by 7 Mountain Records. Read more in the press release of De Nieuwsbakelaar.

(more…)

Read more

Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (Extended Edition) (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (Extended Edition) (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 53:15 minutes | 612 MB | Genre: Pop Rock, Alternative, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vertigo Berlin

2018 was a truly remarkable year for budding Scottish artist Lewis Capaldi, going from years of playing in local pubs around Scotland to selling 75,000 headline show tickets on 3 sold out back-to-back headline tours and being handpicked to support Sam Smith, Bastille, Rag’n’ Bone Man & Niall Horan. He quickly amassed 300 million plays on his 9 released tracks across streaming services & eventually entered the top 40 with Grace, featuring an unforgettable video of Lewis and some topless men! Critical support also came in it’s droves as he was shortlisted for the BRITs Critic’s Choice award, longlisted for BBC’s Sound of 2018 and added to Radio 1’s covetable Brit List.

(more…)

Read more

Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lewis Capaldi – Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 42:29 minutes | 482 MB | Genre: Pop Rock, Alternative, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vertigo Berlin

2018 was a truly remarkable year for budding Scottish artist Lewis Capaldi, going from years of playing in local pubs around Scotland to selling 75,000 headline show tickets on 3 sold out back-to-back headline tours and being handpicked to support Sam Smith, Bastille, Rag’n’ Bone Man & Niall Horan. He quickly amassed 300 million plays on his 9 released tracks across streaming services & eventually entered the top 40 with Grace, featuring an unforgettable video of Lewis and some topless men! Critical support also came in it’s droves as he was shortlisted for the BRITs Critic’s Choice award, longlisted for BBC’s Sound of 2018 and added to Radio 1’s covetable Brit List.

(more…)

Read more

Lewis Wright, Matt Brewer & Marcus Gilmore – The Colour of Intention (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Lewis Wright, Matt Brewer & Marcus Gilmore – The Colour of Intention (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 39:05 minutes | 777 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Signum Records

‘The colour of intention’ refers to the creative process itself: that in order to express yourself honestly in music, you have to generate clear intentions developed from thoughts and emotions which then colour the work rather than explaining every aspect of it. In the moment of performance, the goal then becomes to put all these previous investigations out of mind and exist in the present. The colour of intention is describing everything except performance; the slower processes of development, reflection and refinement and how they’ll seep, often unpredictably, into everything that ends up being realised. Working with Matt (Brewer) and Marcus (Gilmore) adds the last and most engaging dimension. How they interpret the music, interact and bring their own highly developed languages to bare, creates something that’s both a reflection of my intentions and also infinitely more sophisticated than it’s possible for me to conceive of. I think in this sense, human connection is the greatest element of what it is we do as musicians.

(more…)

Read more
%d bloggers like this: