What makes 1035 truly special is the integration of the Keybird’s MIDI capabilities, allowing me to connect and play two analog synthesizers directly through the instrument. This opens up an exciting realm of sonic possibilities, merging the organic warmth of an acoustic piano with the electronic textures of synthesizers. It’s a dynamic dialogue between the traditional and the contemporary, where acoustic sound meets modernity.

The album was recorded in the Westerkerk in Enkhuizen, a medieval church with stunning acoustics that add a sacred, resonant quality to each note. The church’s atmosphere allows the music to unfold naturally, enhancing both the delicate tones of the Keybird and the spacious textures of the synthesizers. It’s a setting that beautifully amplifies the blend of ancient and modern that runs through the heart of this album.

In 1035, I explore new frontiers of classical music through an innovative instrument. This journey uncovers the surprising ways in which music from centuries past can blend with modern technology, giving Bach’s sonata a fresh perspective while maintaining its timeless beauty.

Kristján Martinsson – piano 

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In 2016 he toured Europe with legend Larry Coryell who described Martien’s playing as intelligent and soulful.

In 2019 hammond organ player Mike le Donne and Vincent Herring joined Martien for a new edition of ‘Original Grooves’ playing the major clubs in Germany and Holland.

Martien’s style of playing is clearly rooted in the Jazz tradition but at the same time he is always looking for adventure!

István Gyárfás – guitar
‘Excellent guitarist, excellent style, excellent sense of humor, excellent person. All this to the glory of God. This is Gyafi. This is why we all love him so much.’

Zoltán Oláh – double bass
Zoli is a very talented bass player with whom Gyafi has an almost symbiotic relationship. The two can read each others mind and that provides me with a warm bath to step into musically speaking. Zoli has a classic sound and ‘solid time’, two characteristics you really need without a drummer.

The post When Marty Met Gyafi & Zoli [Pure DSD] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

When I learnt about Protopopov a few years ago, I wished I had gotten to know it sooner. However, he was not well-known at all; a lot of his music was never even recorded. I wanted to change that. Once I got to know his heart-breaking life story, marred by oppression and sabotage, I was even more convinced that someone had to do something about it. That’s why I decided to dedicate the third and final album in the Eclipse series to the music of Protopopov. – Written by Mattias Spee

Mattias Spee – piano

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Over the years, I have unearthed a great number of pieces by composers that even the biggest music afficionados have never heard of – like a musical treasure hunt. I considered some of these hidden gems so valuable, that I wanted to make recordings of them. This has resulted in the Eclipse project. – Mattias Spee

There is a lot of music in the world. Some of it, like Bach or Mozart, you hear often. Other brilliant composers slip through the cracks, for reasons that often have nothing to do with their music. Their music raises questions like “Why have I never heard this before?” and “What other treasures are still waiting to be discovered?”. The circumstances leading to some composers being recognized as geniuses and others being completely forgotten, is something I find endlessly fascinating. I spend a lot of time looking for music on the brink of oblivion. The internet is a great source of material and once you get a reputation as a pianist who is interested in unusual repertoire, the music starts finding you. People from my personal network regularly send me things and even complete strangers reach out to me with music that they think might be of some worth. Over the years, I have unearthed a great number of pieces by composers that even the biggest music afficionados have never heard of – like a musical treasure hunt. I considered some of these hidden gems so valuable, that I wanted to make recordings of them. This has resulted in the Eclipse project.

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These forces of nature are mirrored in the score through Ravel’s characteristic lush orchestration and vivid melodies. Interjections from a wordless chorus – sung in this performance by award-winning British ensemble, Tenebrae – perfectly capture the celestial might of the God, Pan, as he comes to the lovers’ rescue.

While living in Paris at the turn of the century, Maurice Ravel was commissioned to write a ballet by the impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, Serge Diaghilev. The result was music of fluid, delicate beauty – a languid drama of danger and desire. The plot of Daphnis et Chloé is adapted from a second-century Greek erotic pastoral and tells the captivating story of love and longing between the humble goatherd Daphnis and shepherdess Chloé. When Chloé is abducted by pirates, Daphnis calls upon higher powers to aid his pursuit.

London Symphony Orchestra
Tenebrae
Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor 

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Louisa Amend is a vocalist and educator based out of Denver, Colorado. She graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2016 with a Bachelors of Music Education. Throughout her association with UNC, she was a member of numerous premier vocal ensembles (one earning a few DownBeat Student Music Awards) and several opera productions produced by the university and Opera Classica Europa in Germany.

After teaching in public schools, Louisa transitioned into working as a freelance musician and founded her own teaching studio. Louisa sings locally, both in a jazz and classical setting. She recently completed a dedication to the great vocalist Carmen McRae at Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club with McRae’s former piano player, Eric Gunnison. In addition to performing as a soloist, Louisa Amend is the lead soprano of the Denver-based vocal jazz ensemble, Sharp 5. Louisa is also the music director at a local church, where she sings weekly and directs a choir.

Louisa Amend is a dedicated instructor of voice and piano at her private studio and Graland Country Day School. Over the years, Louisa has worked with Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts (CCJA) as a teacher of their SheBop Young Women in Jazz Workshop and KinderBop programs. Also, she has worked as a clinician for several middle school and high school vocal jazz ensembles and with the Denver Women’s Chorus.

Louisa Amend Quartet
Louisa Amend, Vocals
Tom Amend, Piano
Gonzalo Teppa, Bass
Braxton Kahn, Drums

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Patricio Baeza Barrera was born in Chile. He came to Hungary with his family in 1975, when he was twelve years old, and has lived here ever since. Although music, by his own admission, comes from his being and his soul, at first he only played music as a hobby. He played in various university clubs.

The decision to choose music as a career was made in 1988, after his first visit to Chile in a long time. It was then that he realized that music and music-making together were an indispensable source of joy for people, and that serving them was the most beautiful vocation.

During his stay in Chile, he came into contact with many renowned musicians. His musical tastes were most influenced by the Chilean folk musician Osvaldo Alvear. It was from him that he learned most about Chilean and Latin American folk music, which has been one of the main inspirations for his compositions ever since.

Patricio Baeza Barrera – Guitar, Vocals & Harmonica

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The album presents complex organ music works by composers Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986), Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937), and Jules Grison (1842-1896). The peculiarity of this album is that this church sounds very spacious and soft in the recording. It gives listeners the impression of a very large cathedral.

SM900, Metal Reel, 15 IPS, CCIR

TRACK LIST:

Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Prélude, Adagio et Choral varié sur le theme du “Veni creator” op. 4
21.08 min

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
Prélude Op. 29 N. 1
3.19 min

Jules Grison (1842-1896)
Toccata en fa
7.34 min

Aare-Paul Lattik, Organ

The post Tallinn Cathedral Organ [Analog Reel to Reel Tape] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

I was immediately drawn to this release because of the artists involved (…) And, as expected, the playing is very stylish, with great ensemble and nuance. (…) The stereo recording by Jared Sacks is excellent, with all of the transparency, detail, and balance among the performers that we’ve come to expect from his recordings over the years.
– Rush Paul, Positive Feedback / NativeDSD [Read Full Review]

Born in Mexico City, violist Dana Zemtsov has always retained a deep love for the colorful Latin-American culture. The discovery of Gabriel García Márquez’s book One Hundred Years of Solitude, in which the vivid literary images of clouds of yellow butterflies precede a forbidden lover’s arrival, inspired Dana to revisit her earliest musical memories.

This led to a unique project embodying the most characteristic expression of love in Latin-American culture. The beautiful boleros presented on this album entitled Yellow Butterfly: Latin American Favorites. They are so well known that practically every Spanish-speaking person can sing them by heart.

With arrangements by the legendary Joan Albert Amargós and Claudio Constantini, the recording conjures the surreal atmosphere of the Americas: melancholy, roughness, poetry, vitality and joy. These ‘recomposed’ boleros were arranged for solo viola and a small ensemble that consists of pianist Anna Fedorova, trumpeter Angelo Verploegen, bandoneonist Claudio Constantini, double bassist Nicholas Schwartz and percussionist André Groen.

The smell of smoked sugar cane, corn and coffee; mysterious noises of strange creatures in the night, heavy rains, colibris around deep green-colored plants and powerful sharp colored flowers… All of this and so much more is to be heard in the rhythms and melodies of Latin American boleros. It was the familiarity of this colorful, almost surrealistic, atmosphere that struck me when I started discovering the literature of Gabriel García Márquez. One day, all these motives came together in one simple yet timeless moment while I was reading One Hundred Years of Solitude in the beloved Parque México in my place of birth, Mexico City. This is where it all began. I was sitting and reading surrounded by plants and birds, in my quiet oasis in the middle of this noisy and chaotic city, on one of those green ornamented benches that are so typical in the gardens of Mexico and are so dear to me since the times of my childhood. – Dana Zemtsov

Dana Zemtsov, Viola
Angelo Verploegen, Flugelhorn & Trumpet (Tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 13-15)
Claudio Constantini, Bandoneon (Tracks 1, 4, 9, 11, 14)
Nicholas Schwartz, Double Bass (Tracks 1, 3-8, 10, 11, 13-15)
Anna Fedorova, Piano (Tracks 1-3, 6-8, 12-15)
André Groen, Percussion (Tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 15) 

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Audiophile Masters X, our first edition of Audiophile Masters Covers Collection was so well-received, we just had to make another one. We are excited to announce Audiophile Masters Volume XI Covers Collection 2. With songs you know and love performed by some of our favorite musicians we’ve had the pleasure of recording on Octave, this Covers Collection is one that you will find yourself pulling off the shelf over and over. Recorded in Stereo Pure DSD 256 by Paul McGowan.

On Audiophile Masters, Volume XI: Covers Collection 2, the musical flavors range from jazz and swing to Sixties and Seventies songwriting. Like the first volume in the series, the sound quality is warm, intimate, and spacious, thanks to Octave Records’ Pure DSD 256 recording process and the Gefell M90 and Neumann U67 microphones used in the studio, and the use of mostly acoustic instruments.

Audiophile Masters, Volume XI: Covers Collection 2 was recorded using Octave’s Pyramix-based Pure DSD 256 system from Merging Technologies. It was recorded, mixed, and produced by Paul McGowan and Jessica Carson, with Terri McGowan assisting. The album was mastered by Gus Skinas.

Audiophile Masters Volume XI picks up where we left off with Volume X and starts with two great jazz standards performed by Alicia Straka: Cheek to Cheek and It Don’t Mean a Thing. Katie Mintle’s vocals soar on Paul McCartney’s Blackbird, Dylan’s Don’t Think Twice and Joni Mitchell’s Case of You.

Jeremy Mohney’s quintet throws in some swing with a great lineup of classics, All of Me, Sweet Georgia Brown, There Will Never Be Another You and I’ll See You in My Dreams and Rebecca Folsom makes her Octave debut with Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock. Kick back, relax and enjoy familiar songs with a fresh twist.

Alicia Straka (Tracks 1,2)
Jeremy Mohney Quintet (Tracks 3,4,5,6)
Rebecca Folsom (Track 7)
Katie Mintel (Tracks 8,9,10)

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