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SACD

Leontyne Price, Erich Leinsdorf – Puccini: Madama Butterfly (2006) [SACD / RCA Red Seal – 82876-82622-2]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 81 Views

Title: Leontyne Price, Erich Leinsdorf – Puccini: Madama Butterfly (2006)
Genre: Classical, Opera
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

This recording of Madama Butterfly is one of my all time favorites. It was one of the 1st records that I bought myself in the early 1970’s. Since then I have acquired original 1963 LP pressings, UK-made LP’s, the the original R2R tape, & the old CD issue, all in hopes of finding the best sounding edition. Up till now, the Reel-Reel tape was the best, apparently avoiding the some of the dull Dynagroove equalization that RCA imposed on this & most of its subsequent 1960’s releases. Now here is where the DSD/SACD mastering has proved its worth! This disc reveals a master recording of breadth & subtlety, the equal of any of the “Living Stereo” era recordings. The 3D soundstage is spacious, the orchestra warm & detailed, & the voices exquisitely clear & vivid. All of this is in a sound environment that is never forced or harsh. I think one can safely say that we have never truly heard this beautiful performance in all of its glory until now.
In previous releases that I have heard in this Living Stereo SACD series, I found the sound either to be a little flat compared to the original LP’s, or somewhat aggressive & “in-your-face” in a way that the magnificent “Living Stereo” LP’s never were. This issue is just the opposite. Compared to these magnificent CD’s, the old LP & R2R versions still sound good, but a little flat, 2-dimensional, & lacking in detail compared to the SACD. Maybe the RCA/BMG SACD series has found its real value in revealing the true beauty of “Dynagroove”-era recordings that RCA previously offered only in over-equalized versions. I hope to see many more on SACD, including the best recordings that Leinsdorf made with the Boston Symphony. An SACD of the Leinsdorf/Boston “Lohengrin” is something to truly dream for. Don’t hesitate to buy this disc. The sumptious & heart-felt performances of Price & Tucker along with the flexible idiomatic orchestral performance have long made this a classic. Now we can hear it on CD in all its magnificence. For those who don’t have SACD capability, the CD layer is also derived from the new DSD master & is very fine, well worth the reasonable price. The packaging is bare-bones, with links to an online libretto for downloading. The booklet does reprint the original 1962 notes; but there are no photos or new notes regarding the artists, recording, or the remastering. There is just a generic technical essay that is included in all of the SACD releases. Still, at this price, who’s complaining? Highest recommendation!

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3 min read

SACD

Giovanni Mirabassi New York Trio – The Sound Of Love (2022) [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-375]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 82 Views

Title: Giovanni Mirabassi New York Trio – The Sound Of Love (2022)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO

Jazz trio and vocalist Tatiana Eva-Marie perform Michel Legrand compostions! A warmly intimate take on the music of Michel Legrand — one that takes all the majesty of his famous compositions, and brings them down to the level of a jazz trio with vocalist — all with a sound that’s really beautiful throughout! Unlike other projects of this nature, Tatiana Eva-Marie sings the originals lyrics in French, not the later translations that showed up on the American market — a quality that really gives the record a special vibe — as does the work of Giovanni Mirabassi on piano, recorded here with surprising use of echo that really gives the whole album a very moody feel. Other players include Alexander Claffy on bass and Joe Peri on drums – and titles include “Un Ete 42”, “Chanson De Maxence”, “Amour Amour Je T’Aime Tant”, “La Valse Des Lilas”, “Les Moulins De Mon Coeur”, and “Watch What Happens” — plus Mirabassi’s own “The Sound Of Love,” a tribute to Legrand.

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1 min read

SACD

Giovanni Marradi – The Romantic Piano Of Giovanni (2014) [SACD / Top Music International Ltd. – TM-SACD7020.2]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 74 Views

Title: Giovanni Marradi – The Romantic Piano Of Giovanni (2014)
Genre: New Age
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Giovanni is one of the most successful expressionist pianists of the 21st Century. Composer, recording artist, arranger, performer, inventor, and cartoonist. One hundred twenty thousand CDs sold in one 120 minute segment on QVC! A record that still stands as one of Giovanni’s outstanding achievements. Selling over four million CDs during his appearances on QVC and The Home Shopping Network alone.

Giovanni also produced, directed, and hosted “Giovanni’s World of Music,” a TV series broadcast on stations around the world. The show was distributed by Warner Brothers Television. Both “Giovanni’s World of Music” and Giovanni himself have been nominated for and received several awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, The Telly Awards, EMA, and the New York Festivals. His specials on PBS are still being replayed. Giovanni has recorded over 150 CDs and two DVDs from his TV specials. Today he continues to compose, teach, record, and perform for audiences around the world. While in Las Vegas, Giovanni developed a close friendship with Frank Sinatra that lasted until his death. – “One day Frank asked me what I wanted out of life. I told him that I wanted to touch peoples hearts as he does. He looked straight at me and said, ‘I know that you’ll do it. I can see it in your eyes'”, said Giovanni

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2 min read

SACD

Giovanni Guidi Trio – Tomorrow Never Knows (2006) [Japan 2019] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-337]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 85 Views

Title: Giovanni Guidi Trio – Tomorrow Never Knows (2006) [Japan 2019]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Italian jazz pianist Giovanni Guidi was born in Foligno in 1985. While attending the Siena summer seminars, he was noticed by Enrico Rava, who placed him in the Rava Under 21 group, which later became Rava New Generation. With this latter group he recorded three CDs for l’Espresso in 2006, 2010 and 2016. His first album as a leader is Tomorrow Never Knows, recorded by the Japanese label Venus, receiving five stars in a review by the Swing Journal magazine.
I heard 21-year-old Giovanni Guidi at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia last July, and was knocked out by his combination of advanced creativity and impulsive fearlessness. With the passage of time, you always wonder whether a player is as good as your first impression, and if so, whether a record can capture it. Guidi’s debut recording is here, and the answer is yes on both counts. He has the instincts to find great hidden material like Krzysztof Komeda’s ‘Sleep Safe and Warm’ (from the film Rosemary’s Baby), and the maturity to feel the darkness between its silences. In Perugia he did several Ornette Coleman tunes, and here he takes ‘Turnaround’ and smokes it. Guidi’s standards do not come from the traditional songbook but from places like Björk (‘Jóga’ is perfect for him, a hovering unresolved melody on which he can float and ascend) and Radiohead (‘Motion Picture Soundtrack’ is a stasis that deceptively evolves) and, especially, Lennon/McCartney. His versions of ‘Norwegian Wood’ and the album’s title track are anything but reverent, submerging the former in his own details and fracturing and spattering the latter… Tomorrow Never Knows is a stunning start. -— Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes

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2 min read

SACD

Gezz – Jazz Pop-Uped (2004) [Reissue 2009] [SACD / A-Records – SAAL 73236]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 78 Views

Title: Gezz – Jazz Pop-Uped (2004) [Reissue 2009]
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

The real thing about making improvised music is that you never know exactly what you’re going to do. The music takes you to places in your mind you never knew existed. Melodies come up as they disappear, rhythmic phrases seem out of reach ’till you know you’ve passed them on the way to a new one. It’s a never ending journey… When we started out we just enjoyed playing together. But as we went along we decided we had a special thing on our hands. During improvisations, themes would come up from songs from our shared musical past, sometimes we played things we knew but couldn’t name. Phrases and melodies from old and new pop songs that are embedded in our heads. This album is the result of our urge to make a statement in what improvisation means to us, therefore it is dedicated to all those great musicians who inspired (and inspire) us to do what we do best: improvise.

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1 min read

SACD

The Gewandhaus Quartet – Mendelssohn: String Quartet, Op. 44, Nr. 3 – Schumann: String Quartet, No. 3, Op. 41 (2008) [SACD / New Classical Adventure – 60176]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 92 Views

Title: The Gewandhaus Quartet – Mendelssohn: String Quartet, Op. 44, Nr. 3 – Schumann: String Quartet, No. 3, Op. 41 (2008)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

The Gewandhaus Quartet (German: Gewandhaus-Quartett) is a string quartet based in Leipzig. It was founded in 1808 by members of the Gewandhaus Orchester, as one of the first professional quartets in the world. In its more than 200-year history, they played many world premieres. The Gewandhaus Quartet celebrates its two hundredth anniversary in 2008 making it the oldest string quartet in the world. The quartet stands for the very highest level of chamber music, a fact underlined by its worldwide success. With this release the quartet presents the second volume of recordings of string quartets by Mendelssohn and Schumann (Volume 1 catalog no.60108): Mendelssohn’s String Quartet in E-flat major op. 44 Nr. 3 (1838) and Schumann’s String Quartet in A major op. 41 Nr. 3 (1842). Both works enjoyed resounding success at their respective Gewandhaus premiere performances Mendelssohn’s quartet in 1838, Schumann’s quartet in 1848.

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1 min read

SACD

The Gewandhaus Quartet – Haydn: Famous String Quartets (2005) [SACD / New Classical Adventure – 60148-210]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 129 Views

Title: The Gewandhaus Quartet – Haydn: Famous String Quartets (2005)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

The Gewandhaus Quartet (German: Gewandhaus-Quartett) is a string quartet based in Leipzig. It was founded in 1808 by members of the Gewandhaus Orchester, as one of the first professional quartets in the world. In its more than 200-year history, they played many world premieres. On this recording the Leipzig Gewandhaus-Quartett is dedicated to the famous string quartets by Joseph Haydn. Haydn, who is considered the “father” of the string quartets, is also the composer of the melody of the German national anthem which can be heard as part of the “Kaiserquartett” on this release. In addition to this it includes also the compositions “Quintenquartett” and “Der Sonnenaufgang”.

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1 min read

SACD

Gerry Mulligan – Supreme Jazz (2006) [SACD / Supreme Jazz – 223265-207]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 85 Views

Title: Gerry Mulligan – Supreme Jazz (2006)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The most famous and probably greatest jazz baritonist of all time, Gerry Mulligan was a giant. A flexible soloist who was always ready to jam with anyone from Dixielanders to the most advanced boppers, Mulligan brought a somewhat revolutionary light sound to his potentially awkward and brutal horn and played with the speed and dexterity of an altoist.

hraudio | allmusic | discogs

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1 min read

SACD

Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton – Soft Lights & Sweet Music (1986) [MFSL 2006] [SACD / Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab – UDSACD 2017]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 77 Views

Title: Gerry Mulligan Meets Scott Hamilton – Soft Lights & Sweet Music (1986) [MFSL 2006]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Starting in the late ’50s, Gerry Mulligan recorded a series of encounters with fellow saxophonists that included such immortals as Stan Getz, Paul Desmond, Johnny Hodges and Ben Webster. In 1986 he resumed the practice for this one date on which his baritone is matched with the tenor of the young great Scott Hamilton. The music, which includes warm ballads and fairly hot romps (five of the seven songs are Mulligan originals), consistently swing and are quite enjoyable.

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1 min read

SACD

Geri Allen – The Life Of A Song (2004) [SACD / Telarc – SACD-63598]

adminJanuary 20, 2026 88 Views

Title: Geri Allen – The Life Of A Song (2004)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Life of a Song is Geri Allen’s first recording under her own name in six long years. She teams with the rhythm section of bassist Dave Holland and drummer Jack DeJohnette, whom she worked with on the late Betty Carter’s stellar live date Feed the Fire in 1993. Allen composed eight of the album’s 11 cuts, and the covers include Bud Powell’s “Dance of the Infidels,” Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life,” and Mal Waldron’s “Soul Eyes.” This last selection is augmented by the participation of Marcus Belgrave on flugelhorn, saxophonist Dwight Andrews, and trombonist Clifton Anderson.

The album’s title reflects the depth of commitment to the song forms inherent in jazz. Allen is in fine form here, and one can hear her various instrumental and vocal influences. The album swings, but looks underneath swing for its subtleties and its edges, too. The set opens with a playful, pianistic dissonance on “LWB’s House (The Remix)” – and lest punters be alarmed, the tune is not “remixed” at all, but is actually an earlier composition reworked. The bluesy funk here is augmented with Afro-Cuban rhythms and a series of tonal shifts where Allen is trying to emulate the African stringed instrument, the kora. Swing is inherent in every chorus, and Holland and DeJohnette keep the pace relaxed yet deeply focused. The interplay between Holland and Allen on “Mounts and Mountains” – particularly during the bassist’s solo passage – are remarkable as she responds with a contrapuntal solo that draws on both Herbie Hancock and Ahmad Jamal. Elsewhere, on the Powell tune her facility to usher it in a relaxed, easy way, and then dazzle with her two-handed counterpoint in the solo showcase Allen’s quick wit and dazzling chromatic command. The title cut, with its obvious Hancock homage in the head and swinging head, is one of the album’s many high points. This is a trio date that has all the elements: an indefatigable lyricism and honesty of emotion, as well as beautiful colors and deft, even uncanny engagements among the three principals. What a welcome return for Allen, who expertly displays she’s been refining her chops and listening deeply to her Muse these past six years.

hraudio | allmusic | discogs

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2 min read