“Blue” Gene Tyranny

Ana Caram – Rio After Dark (1989/2003)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:46 minutes | 1,22 GB | Genre: Jazz, Latin
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Chesky Records

Known for her delightful delivery and delicate vibrato-less soprano, the Sao Paulo-born vocalist/composer/guitarist is equally at ease on melodic ballads as she is on tongue-twisting sambas. A Cash Box reviewer once wrote that “hearing Ana Caram was like a sweet, sunny, wake up call”.

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Amorphis – Under The Red Cloud (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:00:05 minutes | 807 MB | Genre: Metal, Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Atomic Fire

Under the Red Cloud is the twelfth studio album by Finnish masters of Melancholic Metal, Amorphis, released worldwide through Nuclear Blast. Cryptic Rock reviewed the album, finding that it had more of a focus on melody than the previous album, and it had a wider variety of instruments, which was more in line with the band’s pre-2012 work. “The Four Wise Ones” was described as an “instant classic” song, “pure melodic death metal at its finest.” Cryptic Rock also saw songs that were heavy metal, folk metal and rock ballads.

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Ally Venable – Texas Honey (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 37:54 minutes | 583 MB | Genre: Blues
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Ruf Records GmbH

There’s something about Texas. Open up the history books and you’ll find the Lone Star State at the eye of every rock ‘n’ roll storm. Pull up a stool in any bar-room and you’ll still hear Southern gentlemen spin stories of ZZ Top, Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Now, tip a ten-gallon hat to the bandleader writing her own name onto the state’s famed back pages, as Ally Venable releases breakout third album, Texas Honey – with production from another local hero. “Ally is the future of the blues and the crossover music of American roots-rock,” nods Mike Zito. “She is Texas Honey.” Released alongside her appearance on the 2019 Blues Caravan, Ally’s Ruf Records debut went down at MARZ Studios in Nederland, Texas, where producer Mike turned the killer songs in her back pocket into the album of her career. “On this album,” Ally reflects, “it’s still guitar-oriented, but I focused more on the songwriting, the hooks and melodies. I try and write about what goes on in my life, or something that I feel can relate to others. I want my songs to be a release for people, something they can play and enjoy.”

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Al Hirt – Unforgettable (1968/2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/192 kHz | Time – 29:34 minutes | 1,11 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © RCA – Legacy

Alois Maxwell “Al” Hirt was an American trumpeter and bandleader. He is best remembered for his million-selling recordings of “Java” and the accompanying album Honey in the Horn (1963), and for the theme song to The Green Hornet. His nicknames included “Jumbo” and “The Round Mound of Sound”. Colin Escott, an author of musician biographies, wrote that RCA Victor Records, for which Hirt had recorded most of his best-selling recordings and for which he had spent much of his professional recording career, had dubbed him with another moniker: “The King.” Hirt was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in November 2009.

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Agnieszka Oszanca – Salvatore Lanzetti: Sonatas for Violoncello Solo and Basso Continuo, Op. 1, Vol. 1 (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:08:53 minutes | 1,28 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Challenge Classics

The protagonist of this recording, Salvatore Lanzetti, an Italian cellist and composer, was born in Naples around 1710. He studied cello and composition in his hometown. There is evidence to suggest that between 1730 and 1754, Lanzetti spent a substantial amount of time in London, where, according to Charles Burney, he helped to popularize his instrument and establish its newly acquired solo status amongst the English music lovers. In 1736 in Amsterdam, our 12 Sonate a Violoncello Solo e Basso Continuo were published as his Opus 1, dedicated to Federico di Brunswick (Frederick, Prince of Wales). His fame as one of the first true cello virtuosi and that of a composer prone to the technical innovations of the instrument was recognized by M. Corrette in his Methode, théorique et pratique pour apprendre en peu de tems le violoncelle dans sa perfection (Paris 1741), where he refers precisely to the Sonatas op. 1. The beauty of the Opus 1, the subject of this recording, lays in their incredible versatility, not only in terms of technical complexity, but also character and the mixture of the French and Italian style which was popular at the time. The extensive use of double stops, shifting, explorations of the entire fingerboard, thumb position and employment of complex bowing techniques, that were until this time the reserve of violin technique, testify to Lanzetti’s extraordinary command of his instrument and fearless imagination.

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