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SACD

Friedrich Gulda, Orchester des Wiener Staatsoper – Mozart: Piano Concertos 21 & 27 (1963) [Japan 2016] [SACD / Tower Records – TWSA-1011]

adminDecember 25, 2025 120 Views

Title: Friedrich Gulda, Orchester des Wiener Staatsoper – Mozart: Piano Concertos 21 & 27 (1963) [Japan 2016]
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Mozart was certainly among the “domestic deities” of Viennese pianist Friedrich Gulda. He repeatedly played Mozart’s piano music in his concerts and had it recorded. In so doing, this classically-trained musician, who had already played successfully in jazz bands at a young age, ignored the strict limits imposed by genres: he wanted to show audiences that there are no distinctions between musical styles whenever good music is played honestly and conscientiously. This Japanese reissue of Mozart’s Piano Concertos 21 & 27 features the 96kHz/24bit DSD Mastering from the analog master tape.

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SACD

Friedemann Witecka – Beauty And Mystery Of Touch (2001) [SACD / Biber Records – INAK 5701 SACD]

adminDecember 25, 2025 92 Views

Title: Friedemann Witecka – Beauty And Mystery Of Touch (2001)
Genre: Pop
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

West German guitarist Friedemann Witecka is a popular arranger, producer, & studio musician in his homeland. His U.S. releases for Narada prove he’s also 1 of the most imaginative composers of instrumental music influenced by rock & jazz fusion styles. This catchy, spirited music gracefully sidesteps most pop cliches. This is Friedemann’s 1st ‘Best-of’ compilation & contains favourite songs from the albums Indian Summer (1987), Aquamarin (1990), Legends of Light (1995) plus Passion & Pride (1999). Released by Vollton Musikverlag as part of “The Millennium Collection”.

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SACD

Free – Tons Of Sobs (1968) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014] [SACD / Island Records – UIGY-9564]

adminDecember 25, 2025 101 Views

Title: Free – Tons Of Sobs (1968) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Although Free was never destined to scrape the same skies as Led Zeppelin, when they first burst out of the traps in 1968, close to a year ahead of Jimmy Page and company, they set the world of British blues-rock firmly on its head, a blistering combination of youth, ambition, and, despite those tender years, experience that, across the course of their debut album, did indeed lay the groundwork for all that Zeppelin would embrace. That Free and Zeppelin were cut from the same cloth is immediately apparent, even before you start comparing the versions of “The Hunter” that highlight both bands’ debut albums. Where Free streaks ahead, however, is in their refusal to compromise their own vision of the blues — even at its most commercial (“I’m a Mover” and “Worry”), Tons of Sobs has a density that makes Zeppelin and the rest of the era’s rocky contemporaries sound like flyweights by comparison. The 2002 remaster of the album only amplifies the fledgling Free’s achievements. With remastered sound that drives the record straight back to the studio master tapes, the sheer versatility of the players, and the unbridled imagination of producer Guy Stevens, rings crystal clear. Even without their visionary seer, however, Free impresses — three bonus tracks drawn from period BBC sessions are as loose as they are dynamic, and certainly make a case for a full Free-at-the-Beeb type collection. Of the other bonuses, two offer alternate versions of familiar album tracks, while “Guy Stevens Jam” is reprised from the Songs of Yesterday box set to further illustrate the band’s improvisational abilities. As if they needed it.

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2 min read

SACD

Johathan Freeman-Attwood, John Wallace, Colm Carey – The Trumpets That Time Forgot (2004) [SACD / Linn Records – CKD 242]

adminDecember 25, 2025 102 Views

Title: Johathan Freeman-Attwood, John Wallace, Colm Carey – The Trumpets That Time Forgot (2004)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

…Outstanding and strikingly idiomatic ensemble music creatively reimagined for two trumpets and organ. In the expansive acoustic of Hereford Cathedral, these three musicians draw the listener into a late-Romantic world of outstanding and strikingly idiomatic ensemble music. Yet none of these pieces are, in fact, original trumpet and organ works. The transformation from a violin, cello and organ piece – in the case of the Rheinberger Suite – reveals an extraordinary new 19th-century sound world of dazzling dialogues, wide dynamic range and beguiling lyricism. As composers could not imagine the potential of the medium in the decades either side of 1900, The Trumpets That Time Forgot deliberately makes up for ‘lost time’ and re-establishes the trumpet as a solo protagonist in what is supposed to be barren land for all but the cornet showpiece.

The results bring not merely classical respectability but a stunning aural feast of Gothic splendour and surprising intimacy. The Strauss movements provide a trio of light vignettes between the significant four-movement Rheinberger Suite (a Concerto in all but name) and Elgar’s Sonata. In the case of the latter, this version provides a new dimension to a work which Elgar composed originally as the Severn Suite for brass band and reworked as his 2nd Organ Sonata. Here, the two worlds meet in the middle.

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SACD

Free – Free Live! (1971) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014] [SACD / Island Records – UIGY-9565]

adminDecember 25, 2025 104 Views

Title: Free – Free Live! (1971) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Although Free made excellent studio records, Free “Live” is perhaps the best way to experience the band in all its glory. Led by singer-guitarist Paul Rodgers and lead guitarist Paul Kosoff, the band swings through nine songs with power, clarity, and a dose of funk. Of course, the hit single “All Right Now” is gleefully extended, much to the audience’s and listener’s delight. Superbly recorded by Andy Johns, this is one of the greatest live albums of the 1970s.

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1 min read

SACD

Free – Free (1969) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014] [SACD / Island Records – UIGY-9569]

adminDecember 25, 2025 125 Views

Title: Free – Free (1969) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2014]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Free’s second album was recorded with the band itself in considerable turmoil as principle songwriters Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraser demanded strict discipline from their bandmates, and guitarist Paul Kossoff, in particular, equally demanded the spontaneity and freedom that had characterized the group’s debut. It was an awkward period that saw both Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke come close to quitting, and only the intervention of label chief Chris Blackwell seems to have prevented it. Few of these tensions are evident on the finished album — tribute, again, to Blackwell’s powers of diplomacy. He replaced original producer Guy Stevens early into the sessions and, having reminded both warring parties where the band’s strengths lie, proceeded to coax out an album that stands alongside its predecessor as a benchmark of British blues at the turn of the 1960s.

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SACD

Free – Fire And Water (1970) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2010] [SACD / Island Records – UIGY-9048]

adminDecember 25, 2025 99 Views

Title: Free – Fire And Water (1970) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2010]
Genre: Rock
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Features the 2010 DSD mastering based on Japanese original analog tape. Reissue features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (fully compatible with standard SACD player, but it does not play on standard CD players). DSD transferred by Manabu Matsumura. If Fleetwood Mac, Humble Pie, and Foghat were never formed, Free would be considered one of the greatest post-Beatles blues-rock bands to date, and Fire and Water shows why. Conceptually fresh, with a great, roots-oriented, Band-like feel, Free distinguished itself with the public like Black Sabbath and Deep Purple did (in terms of impact, only) in 1970. Free presented itself to the world as a complete band, in every sense of the word. From Paul Kossoff’s exquisite and tasteful guitar work, to Paul Rodgers’ soulful vocals, this was a group that was easily worthy of the mantle worn by Cream, Blind Faith, or Derek & the Dominos.

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SACD

Fred Jackson – Hootin’ ‘N Tootin’ (1962) [APO Remaster 2009] [SACD / Analogue Productions – CBNJ 84094 SA]

adminDecember 25, 2025 157 Views

Title: Fred Jackson – Hootin’ ‘N Tootin’ (1962) [APO Remaster 2009]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Unjustly ignored at the time of its release, Fred Jackson’s lone album, Hootin’ ‘N Tootin’, is a thoroughly enjoyable set of funky soul-jazz with hard bop overtones. It is true that Jackson doesn’t try anything new on the set, but he proves to be a capable leader, coaxing hot, infectious performances out of guitarist Willie Jones, organist Earl Vandyke and drummer Wilbert Hogan, all of whom were collegues of Jackson in the Lloyd Price band. All of the songs on the album are Jackson originals, and while there are no substantial, memorable melodies, they provide an excellent foundation for the group’s smoking interplay. Both the uptempo R&B numbers and the slower blues give the musicians plenty of opportunity to flaunt their chops while working the groove, and the result is a modest but highly entertaining set of earthy, bluesy soul-jazz that should have been heard by a wider audience.

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SACD

Fred Hersch Trio – Everybody’s Song But My Own (2011) [Japan 2015] [SACD / Venus Records – VHGD-118]

adminDecember 25, 2025 99 Views

Title: Fred Hersch Trio – Everybody’s Song But My Own (2011) [Japan 2015]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Fred Hersch is one of the greatest jazz pianists of our generation. Equipped with Bill Evans-esque lyricism, boundless imagination and fierce creativity, he has recorded many beautiful albums for various labels. His career was almost cut short by AIDS, but he came back from a near-death experience and began recording again. From this background comes his surprising first album for Venus Records. Unlike his recent releases, this album consists entirely of standards. Aided by John Herbert on bass and Eric McPherson on drums, Hersch displays his prestine tone, elegant interpretations of the standards, and his improvisational flair which often climaxes towards the end of a tune. An inspirational, strong trio album from the contemporary master of jazz piano.
Proclaimed by Vanity Fair magazine, “the most arrestingly innovative pianist in jazz over the last decade or so,” 6-time Grammy nominee Fred Hersch balances his internationally recognized instrumental skills with significant achievements as a composer, bandleader, and theatrical conceptualist, as well as remaining an in-demand collaborator with other noted bandleaders and vocalists. As a solo pianist (he was the first artist in the 75-year history of New York’s legendary Village Vanguard to play week-long engagements as a solo pianist – his second featured run is documented on the 2011 release, Alone at the Vanguard); as leader of a widely praised trio whose Whirl found its way onto numerous 2010 best-recordings-of-the-year lists; and as the impetus behind the ambitious 2011 production, “My Coma Dreams,” a full-evening work for 11 instrumentalists, actor/singer and animation/multimedia – Hersch has fully lived up to the approbation of the New York Times who, in a featured Sunday Magazine article, praised him as “singular among the trailblazers of their art, a largely unsung innovator of this borderless, individualistic jazz – a jazz for the 21st century.” He was nominated for two 2011 Grammy Awards for Alone at the Vanguard – for Best Jazz Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo.

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SACD

Fred Hersch – Personal Favorites (2006) [SACD / Chesky Records – SACD324]

adminDecember 25, 2025 93 Views

Title: Fred Hersch – Personal Favorites (2006)
Genre: Jazz
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Fred Hersch is an American jazz pianist and educator. He has performed solo and led his own groups, including the Pocket Orchestra consisting of piano, trumpet, voice, and percussion. He was the first person to play weeklong engagements as a solo pianist at the Village Vanguard in New York City. He has recorded more than 70 of his jazz compositions. Hersch has been nominated for several Grammy Awards. This compilation of celebrated pianist’s best-loved recordings for Chesky culls material from three discs-1991’s Forward Motion, 1993’s Dancing in the Dark and 1994’s The Fred Hersch Trio Plays.
Pianist and composer Fred Hersch has been called a “one of the small handful of brilliant musicians of his generation” by Down Beat magazine and has earned a place among the foremost jazz artists in the world today. From the late 70’s onward as a sideman to jazz legends including Joe Henderson, Art Farmer and Stan Getz, he has solidified a reputation as a versatile master of jazz piano, as well as a relentlessly probing composer and conceptualist. He is widely recognized for his ability to steadfastly create a unique body of original works while reinventing the standard jazz repertoire – investing time-tested classics with keen insight, fresh ideas and extraordinary technique. Whether unaccompanied, in duo, working with trios and quintets, Hersch has explored the jazz tradition to its fullest even as he opens new and undiscovered doors. Hersch’s numerous accomplishments include a 2003 Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for composition, two Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance and a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition. He has appeared on over one hundred recordings, including more than two-dozen albums as bandleader/solo pianist.

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