***Please Note***
The sample tracks below are generated from the digital version of this album. The songs included on the LP are as shown on the image of the back sleeve above.

2021 NativeDSD Album of the Year Winner – Audience Award & Jazz Piano Award

Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s is a 13-track, 92-minute Double Album featuring Jazz pianist Monty Alexander. Accompanying Alexander on this spirited live date are bassist Paul Berner (Lionel Hampton Orchestra), drummer Duffy Jackson (Milt Jackson, Benny Carter), and percussionist Robert Thomas, Jr. (Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Carlos Santana). It has been converted from the Original Analog Master Tape to DSD and DXD by 2xHD Mastering in partnership with Resonance Records.

Drawn from Alexander’s personal collection, the vigorous, imaginative performances on Love You Madly were recorded at the titular Fort Lauderdale, Florida nightclub on August 6, 1982. The recording engineer was the late Mack Emerman, legendary founder of Miami’s Criteria Recording Studios, the state-of-the-art facility where the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, and Aretha Franklin, among many others, had cut some of their biggest hits.

The Kingston, Jamaica-born keyboardist had lived in Miami since his family moved there in 1961, and had known Emerman, a Jazz buff who had played trumpet in his alma mater Duke University’s big band, for many years.

Alexander recalls in a new interview with Resonance Records co-president and Jazz Detective Zev Feldman, “Mack just had this idea, ‘Hey, can I come and record you? I’ll bring the truck.’ He already had a remote truck [unit]. So, he brought the truck and he put the mic on the bass and the drums, and the whole thing, and, son of a gun, this tape, which he gave to me, was all a gift.”

In his overview essay, Jazz historian Willard Jenkins says of the resultant recording, “For this date at Bubba’s, Monty Alexander drew up neatly balanced set lists that touched upon several facets of his expansive bag, including standards, ballads, blues, island perspectives and southern exposures ranging as far south as Brazil. Love You Madly provides a wonderful survey of the leader’s gifts and his enormous rhythmic palette on the wings of his consummate piano artistry.”

Hearing this album, you’ll agree with pianist Christian Sands who says: “Listening to Monty is like eating a great meal made by a master chef. He musically cooks with the grits and gravy of the blues, adds the smokiness of NYC swing, all while simmering in the rich island flavors of his Jamaican roots. He satisfies all of the senses and leaves you wanting to hear more.”

Monty Alexander – Piano
Paul Berner – Bass
Duffy Jackson – Drums
Robert Thomas Jr. – Percussion

The post Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s [Download & Vinyl Bundle] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

2021 NativeDSD Album of the Year Winner – Audience Award & Jazz Piano Award

Love You Madly, the 2021 winner of PF’s Writers Choice Award, was captured live in 1982 at Fort Lauderdale’s Club Bubba. Recorded by Criteria Recording Studios’ Legendary Founder Mack Emerman, this is Monty Alexander at his best, with a great band and incredibly high energy performance. Accompanying Alexander on this spirited live date are bassist Paul Berner (Lionel Hampton Orchestra), drummer Duffy Jackson (Milt Jackson, Benny Carter), and percussionist Robert Thomas, Jr. (Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Carlos Santana). It has been converted from the Original Analog Master Tape to 45rpm 200g vinyl by 2xHD Mastering in partnership with Resonance Records.

Drawn from Alexander’s personal collection, the vigorous, imaginative performances on Love You Madly were recorded at the titular Fort Lauderdale, Florida nightclub on August 6, 1982. The recording engineer was the late Mack Emerman, legendary founder of Miami’s Criteria Recording Studios, the state-of-the-art facility where the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, and Aretha Franklin, among many others, had cut some of their biggest hits.

The Kingston, Jamaica-born keyboardist had lived in Miami since his family moved there in 1961, and had known Emerman, a Jazz buff who had played trumpet in his alma mater Duke University’s big band, for many years.

Alexander recalls in a new interview with Resonance Records co-president and Jazz Detective Zev Feldman, “Mack just had this idea, ‘Hey, can I come and record you? I’ll bring the truck.’ He already had a remote truck [unit]. So, he brought the truck and he put the mic on the bass and the drums, and the whole thing, and, son of a gun, this tape, which he gave to me, was all a gift.”

In his overview essay, Jazz historian Willard Jenkins says of the resultant recording, “For this date at Bubba’s, Monty Alexander drew up neatly balanced set lists that touched upon several facets of his expansive bag, including standards, ballads, blues, island perspectives and southern exposures ranging as far south as Brazil. Love You Madly provides a wonderful survey of the leader’s gifts and his enormous rhythmic palette on the wings of his consummate piano artistry.”

Hearing this album, you’ll agree with pianist Christian Sands who says: “Listening to Monty is like eating a great meal made by a master chef. He musically cooks with the grits and gravy of the blues, adds the smokiness of NYC swing, all while simmering in the rich island flavors of his Jamaican roots. He satisfies all of the senses and leaves you wanting to hear more.”

Monty Alexander – Piano
Paul Berner – Bass
Duffy Jackson – Drums
Robert Thomas Jr. – Percussion

The post Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s [Deluxe 200g Double Vinyl] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Following his critically acclaimed interpretation of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony, Iván Fischer leads the Budapest Festival Orchestra to the summit of 19th century symphonic music, with this new recording of the monumental, enigmatic, unfinished and deeply religious 9th Symphony of Anton Bruckner. The album is exclusively available in Stereo and 5 Channel DSD 128, DSD 256 and DXD plus Stereo DSD 512 at NativeDSD. 

The three completed movements are pervaded with angst and awareness of death. As in Mozart’s unfinished Requiem, the first movement is dominated by a dark D minor. The pounding rhythms of the scherzo seem to anticipate Stravinsky and Bartók, while the large leaps and piercing dissonances point towards the Second Viennese School of Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. The Adagio is Bruckner’s heartrending farewell to the world and to life. Although Bruckner died before he could write the huge fourth movement he had in mind, there is something satisfying and comforting in concluding with the Adagio.

Budapest Festival Orchestra
Ivan Fischer, Conductor

The post Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

It starts with Darktown Strutters’ Ball by Shelton Brooks. A happy song from the early 20th Century. Catchy and easily remembered. It sounds just like the ideal album opener. Girl Of My Dreams, the title track was a popular waltz song of the Twenties and in more recent years had an important role in the movie Angel Heart. The New Orleans style musicians of the Fone Jazz Makers transformed it into a fox-trot.

The recording was produced and recorded by Giulio Cesare Ricci at the Teatro Comunale dei Concordi in Campiglia Marittima (LI). He used Neumann U47 and M49 tube microphones, advanced microphone pre-amplifiers Nagra Audio, Nagra 4s Analog Tape Recorders and line, microphone and supply cables designed by Signor Ricci.

The Original Analog Master Tapes were transferred from the Nagra 4s directly to Stereo DSD.

With this recording, Giulio Cesare Ricci wanted to give the listener a unique experience. It is as if the listener was sitting on an armchair positioned in the ideal position of the theater listening to this fine live recording of New Orleans Style Jazz. In this position, the depth, width, and height of the sound can be highly appreciated.

Fone Jazz Makers
Vittorio Castelli – Clarinet & Vocal
Andrea Sirna – Tenor Sax & Vocal
Giacomo Marson – Trumpet
Nino Frasio – Sousaphone
Giorgio Alderighi – Banjo

The post Girl Of My Dreams appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s is a 13-track, 92-minute Double Album featuring Jazz pianist Monty Alexander. Accompanying Alexander on this spirited live date are bassist Paul Berner (Lionel Hampton Orchestra), drummer Duffy Jackson (Milt Jackson, Benny Carter), and percussionist Robert Thomas, Jr. (Weather Report, Jaco Pastorius, Carlos Santana). It has been converted from the Original Analog Master Tape to DSD and DXD by 2xHD Mastering in partnership with Resonance Records.

Drawn from Alexander’s personal collection, the vigorous, imaginative performances on Love You Madly were recorded at the titular Fort Lauderdale, Florida nightclub on August 6, 1982. The recording engineer was the late Mack Emerman, legendary founder of Miami’s Criteria Recording Studios, the state-of-the-art facility where the Bee Gees, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, and Aretha Franklin, among many others, had cut some of their biggest hits.

The Kingston, Jamaica-born keyboardist had lived in Miami since his family moved there in 1961, and had known Emerman, a Jazz buff who had played trumpet in his alma mater Duke University’s big band, for many years.

Alexander recalls in a new interview with Resonance Records co-president and Jazz Detective Zev Feldman, “Mack just had this idea, ‘Hey, can I come and record you? I’ll bring the truck.’ He already had a remote truck [unit]. So, he brought the truck and he put the mic on the bass and the drums, and the whole thing, and, son of a gun, this tape, which he gave to me, was all a gift.”

In his overview essay, Jazz historian Willard Jenkins says of the resultant recording, “For this date at Bubba’s, Monty Alexander drew up neatly balanced set lists that touched upon several facets of his expansive bag, including standards, ballads, blues, island perspectives and southern exposures ranging as far south as Brazil. Love You Madly provides a wonderful survey of the leader’s gifts and his enormous rhythmic palette on the wings of his consummate piano artistry.”

Hearing this album, you’ll agree with pianist Christian Sands who says: “Listening to Monty is like eating a great meal made by a master chef. He musically cooks with the grits and gravy of the blues, adds the smokiness of NYC swing, all while simmering in the rich island flavors of his Jamaican roots. He satisfies all of the senses and leaves you wanting to hear more.”

Monty Alexander – Piano
Paul Berner – Bass
Duffy Jackson – Drums
Robert Thomas Jr. – Percussion

The post Love You Madly: Live at Bubba’s [Double Album] appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Amsterdam Moon won two 2020 NativeDSD Album of the Year Awards for Singer/Songwriters and the Audience Award.  This release is one of the best selling albums in the Just Listen catalog.

Bill Dodd, NativeDSD Senior Reviewer says “Startlingly present, right there in front of you, The Coo (Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert) make their songs seem as if they are flowing right out their hearts for the first time.”

Brian Moura, NativeDSD Technical Advisor adds “The songs and music from The Coo are deeply rooted in a musical connection.  There is no doubt about the singing, passion, and the pure joy of the songs on this album.  An excellent debut from a vocal duo that you will be hearing more from in the future.”

LP Made from DSD Master

Just Listen Records produced a 140g vinyl LP directly from the DSD master. It was pressed at Deepgrooves. Get a 45 rpm DSD direct to LP shipped to you.

Serendipity

(read the extended story here in this blog post)

They could easily have spent their whole lives living worlds apart, but the chance encounter between the two songwriters of The Coo feels like it was always meant to be. Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert’s journey started with a serendipitous meeting on a midsummer evening and has evolved into a deep musical and personal relationship bridging the North Sea. They write and sing songs together in two-part harmony about time, love, life, and the universe.

Matt Arthur, finding himself lost and unfulfilled at home, left Britain on a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam, alone, searching for a spiritual and musical break. He took himself to a local open mic event at Amsterdam’s café De Koe. That’s where Jara Holdert first noticed him, sitting at the other end of the bar. After they heard one another’s songs, they knew immediately that they were woven from the same artistic cloth. A conversation started over some jenevers and continued when they met up again the next evening and Jara showed Matt around the canals under a full Amsterdam moon. They talked about music and philosophy, life, and heartbreak. And then they had to part, way too soon.

Discovery

Matt went back to London, and Jara stayed in Amsterdam. Too often, stories end there. And it would have been a beautiful story, even if it were only ever going to be a fleeting one. But when, a year later, Jara decided to pay Matt an impromptu visit, they discovered that their musical connection went far deeper than they’d realized. The moment they were in the same room again, something clicked. Something in the space between them – the space they had reduced from miles and miles to just meters – fell into place.

“The very first day, we went up to Matt’s studio in Tottenham and from the moment I picked up a guitar, we were playing, exploring, adding, and a song flowed out. It surprised both of us,” says Jara.

The next two years were spent writing songs over WhatsApp, meeting over FaceTime and visiting each other —- when they could afford it —- to play intimate acoustic shows together.

We discovered that there was this kind of magic between us, musically.” says Matt. “We don’t ever need to discuss things too much. We could start and end songs on stage whenever we liked, or we could change melodies and arrangements and we knew that we would follow each other”.

Jara: “Our days together were always limited, so we never had much time to rehearse. But we discovered that it didn’t matter when we played impromptu concerts – we trusted each other musically, and because we took songs on stage right after we’d written something, the material stayed fresh and the performance adventurous. We both had experience with studio projects and band projects where tracks were perfected to a tee and rehearsed for hours, but that’s not what we were about. Our playing together felt more free, spontaneous, a breath of relief. We thought part of our magic was in that – and that the live-feel of our material is what we should try to capture if we’d ever record.

The Coo

In April 2019, the time was ripe – the Coo was ready to capture their sound as it was created, as it evolved, and as it had always been heard —- in a live environment. The Coo are Matt Arthur – Guitar, Vocals and Jara Holdert – Guitar, Vocals

—Words and Music by The Coo: Matt Arthur & Jara Holdert.

Video about this recording

The post Amsterdam Moon (140g Vinyl) appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Amsterdam Moon is a Live Stereo and 5 Channel DSD and DXD recording by The Coo.  It won two 2020 NativeDSD Album of the Year Awards for Singer/Songwriters and the Audience Award.  This release is one of the best selling albums in the Just Listen catalog.

Bill Dodd, NativeDSD Senior Reviewer says “Startlingly present, right there in front of you, The Coo (Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert) make their songs seem as if they are flowing right out their hearts for the first time.”

Brian Moura, NativeDSD Technical Advisor adds “The songs and music from The Coo are deeply rooted in a musical connection.  There is no doubt about the singing, passion, and the pure joy of the songs on this album.  An excellent debut from a vocal duo that you will be hearing more from in the future.”

Serendipity

(read the extended story here in this blog post)

They could easily have spent their whole lives living worlds apart, but the chance encounter between the two songwriters of The Coo feels like it was always meant to be. Matt Arthur and Jara Holdert’s journey started with a serendipitous meeting on a midsummer evening and has evolved into a deep musical and personal relationship bridging the North Sea. They write and sing songs together in two-part harmony about time, love, life, and the universe.

Matt Arthur, finding himself lost and unfulfilled at home, left Britain on a spontaneous trip to Amsterdam, alone, searching for a spiritual and musical break. He took himself to a local open mic event at Amsterdam’s café De Koe. That’s where Jara Holdert first noticed him, sitting at the other end of the bar. After they heard one another’s songs, they knew immediately that they were woven from the same artistic cloth. A conversation started over some jenevers and continued when they met up again the next evening and Jara showed Matt around the canals under a full Amsterdam moon. They talked about music and philosophy, life, and heartbreak. And then they had to part, way too soon.

Discovery

Matt went back to London, and Jara stayed in Amsterdam. Too often, stories end there. And it would have been a beautiful story, even if it were only ever going to be a fleeting one. But when, a year later, Jara decided to pay Matt an impromptu visit, they discovered that their musical connection went far deeper than they’d realized. The moment they were in the same room again, something clicked. Something in the space between them – the space they had reduced from miles and miles to just meters – fell into place.

“The very first day, we went up to Matt’s studio in Tottenham and from the moment I picked up a guitar, we were playing, exploring, adding, and a song flowed out. It surprised both of us,” says Jara.

The next two years were spent writing songs over WhatsApp, meeting over FaceTime and visiting each other —- when they could afford it —- to play intimate acoustic shows together.

We discovered that there was this kind of magic between us, musically.” says Matt. “We don’t ever need to discuss things too much. We could start and end songs on stage whenever we liked, or we could change melodies and arrangements and we knew that we would follow each other”.

Jara: “Our days together were always limited, so we never had much time to rehearse. But we discovered that it didn’t matter when we played impromptu concerts – we trusted each other musically, and because we took songs on stage right after we’d written something, the material stayed fresh and the performance adventurous. We both had experience with studio projects and band projects where tracks were perfected to a tee and rehearsed for hours, but that’s not what we were about. Our playing together felt more free, spontaneous, a breath of relief. We thought part of our magic was in that – and that the live-feel of our material is what we should try to capture if we’d ever record.

The Coo

In April 2019, the time was ripe – the Coo was ready to capture their sound as it was created, as it evolved, and as it had always been heard —- in a live environment. The Coo are Matt Arthur – Guitar, Vocals and Jara Holdert – Guitar, Vocals

—Words and Music by The Coo: Matt Arthur & Jara Holdert.

Video about this recording

LP Made from DSD Master

Just Listen Records produced a 140g vinyl LP directly from the DSD master. It was pressed at Deepgrooves. Get a 45 RPM DSD direct to LP shipped to you, as well as the DSD Bundle download, both bot an incredible price here. Shipping charges apply to get this vinyl to you in perfect shape.

The post Amsterdam Moon appeared first on NativeDSD Music.

Magnificat is the Virgin Mary’s song of praise to God after one of the Bible’s greatest wonders: the angel Gabriel visiting her with the message that she is to be the mother of God’s son. In his setting Kim André Arnesen expresses the feelings Mary must have felt. Wonder, devotion, gratitude, joy, humility, hope, and compassion.

God’s selection of an unknown woman living in poverty to be the mother of His son is a bottom-up view of the world if ever there was one – and Arnesen sees the Magnificat as offering support and hope for all people struggling against adversity or in need of strength. Musica Celestis portrays the ceaseless praising of God by angels in heaven.

Aaron Jay Kernis builds his work around a simple melody which he remolds in a series of variations. The intensely beautiful and mostly barren Hardangervidda mountain plateau inspired Ola Gjeilo to write Tundra, while his Song of the Universal expresses unabashed optimism, exuberance, and poet Walt Whitman’s unwavering confidence in our deeper humanity – all through the prism of a big, warm, beating heart.

Magnificat is one of 2L’s Best-Selling albums of the entire catalog! Along with the album Quiet Winter Night.

Featured in blog post Notes on Recent Finds, No. 9 – Endless Bounty from NativeDSD by music reviewer Rushton Paul.

Nidaros Cathedral Girls’ Choir (Nidarosdomens jentekor)
Trondheim Soloists (Trondheim Solistene)

NOTICE: For the time being, Dolby Atmos MKV dowloads are provided as direct download dropbox links and are not available for download through the downloader app. The download link will be supplied at checkout.

The post Magnificat appeared first on NativeDSD Music.