Chip Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [Audio Fidelity 2016] [SACD / Audio Fidelity – AFZ5 238]

Chip Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [Audio Fidelity 2016]

Title: Chip Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [Audio Fidelity 2016]
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Mannheim Steamroller is an American rock band, founded by Chip Davis, that is known primarily for its series of Fresh Aire albums, which blend classical music and rock, and for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the United States alone. Fresh Aire 8 is the final album in the Mannheim Steamroller Fresh Aire series, subtitled as “Eight Topics of Infinity”. Fresh Aire 8 has a full sound that offers a well-balanced blend of synthesizers and orchestra richly augmented by the London Symphony Orchestra. Always thematic affairs, the topic this time is Infinity and how it relates to all facets of human life, love, art, philosophy, mathematics and of course music. This allows for some rather bizarre musical pieces as classic Mannheim Steamroller riffs weave their way through the tapestry of new sounds.

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1 min read

Chip Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [Audio Fidelity 2016] [SACD / Audio Fidelity – AFZ5 238]

Chip Davis, London Symphony Orchestra - Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [Audio Fidelity 2016]

Title: Chip Davis, London Symphony Orchestra – Mannheim Steamroller: Fresh Aire 8 (2000) [Audio Fidelity 2016]
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Mannheim Steamroller is an American rock band, founded by Chip Davis, that is known primarily for its series of Fresh Aire albums, which blend classical music and rock, and for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the United States alone. Fresh Aire 8 is the final album in the Mannheim Steamroller Fresh Aire series, subtitled as “Eight Topics of Infinity”. Fresh Aire 8 has a full sound that offers a well-balanced blend of synthesizers and orchestra richly augmented by the London Symphony Orchestra. Always thematic affairs, the topic this time is Infinity and how it relates to all facets of human life, love, art, philosophy, mathematics and of course music. This allows for some rather bizarre musical pieces as classic Mannheim Steamroller riffs weave their way through the tapestry of new sounds.

(more…)

1 min read

Chie Ayado meets Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats – My Way (2010) [SACD / East House Records – EHSA-1005]

Chie Ayado meets Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats - My Way (2010)

Title: Chie Ayado meets Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats – My Way (2010)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Japanese unique music band, Nobuo Hara, Sharps & Flats, and a rare jazz singer who repainted the history of Japanese jazz over the past 10 years. Chie Ayado meets saxophonist Nobuo Hara and His Sharps & Flats for this recording of 13 standards. The No.1 “For Once In My Life” with special big band arrangement is sure to become a hot topic. Only Chie Ayado can sing George Gershwin’s famous song “Swanee” so expressively. A surprisingly performance!
As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with tens of millions recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, EWE, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings. Nobuo Tsukahara, better known as Nobuo Hara is a Japanese jazz saxophonist and bandleader. Hara played in a military band during World War II and in a Tokyo officer’s club after the war. He took leadership of the ensemble Sharps and Flats in 1952, which he would lead until the 1980s. This band recorded copiously and appeared at the Newport Jazz Festival. Sharps and Flats accompanied Chiemi Eri and included sidemen such as Norio Maeda, Shotaro Moriyasu, and Akitoshi Igarashi.

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2 min read

Chie Ayado – Prayer (2011) [SACD / East House Records – EHSA 1008]

Chie Ayado - Prayer (2011)

Title: Chie Ayado – Prayer (2011)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Chie is a New York-trained international sensation, performing to dozens of packed houses a year. Her unique phrasing and soulful playing is adored by millions of fans. As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with tens of millions recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, East House Records, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.

(more…)

1 min read

Chie Ayado – Fifty (2007) [SACD / East House Records – EHSA 1001]

Chie Ayado - Fifty (2007)

Title: Chie Ayado – Fifty (2007)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with more than 10 millions of recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, East House Records, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.

(more…)

1 min read

Chie Ayado – Time (2004) [SACD / EWE Records – EWSA 0098]

Chie Ayado - Time (2004)

Title: Chie Ayado – Time (2004)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with more than 10 millions of recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, East House Records, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.

(more…)

1 min read

Chie Ayado – Seven (2004) [SACD / EWE Records – EWSA 0101]

Chie Ayado - Seven (2004)

Title: Chie Ayado – Seven (2004)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with more than 10 millions of recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, East House Records, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.

(more…)

1 min read

Chie Ayado – To You (2003) [SACD / EWE Records – EWSA 0078]

Chie Ayado - To You (2003)

Title: Chie Ayado – To You (2003)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with more than 10 millions of recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, East House Records, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.

(more…)

1 min read

Chie Ayado – Shine (2003) [SACD / EWE Records – EWSA 0083]

Chie Ayado - Shine (2003)

Title: Chie Ayado – Shine (2003)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

As this is the case with many international stars, Chie Ayado is not a household name in America. In her native Japan, she’s a superstar jazz performer with more than 10 millions of recordings sold. She’s so in demand, she continues to play over forty large-venue concerts a year. Her label, East House Records, is making a name for itself with Three Blind Mice-style analog recordings of unbelievable accuracy and dimension. Vocals are listening-room immediate and the piano is detailed, full and beautifully balanced. Very little processing is used, so you hear Ayado’s unique vocal and piano playing without all the sonic distractions hiding many modern digital recordings.

(more…)

1 min read

Chick Corea – Return To Forever (1972) [Japan 2017] [SACD / ECM Records – PROZ-1088]

Chick Corea - Return To Forever (1972) [Japan 2017]

Title: Chick Corea – Return To Forever (1972) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

The legendary first lineup of Chick Corea’s fusion band Return to Forever debuted on this classic album (titled after the group but credited to Corea), featuring Joe Farrell on soprano sax and flute, the Brazilian team of vocalist Flora Purim and drummer/percussionist Airto Moreira, and electric bass whiz Stanley Clarke. It wasn’t actually released in the U.S. until 1975, which was why the group’s second album, Light as a Feather, initially made the Return to Forever name. Nonetheless, Return to Forever is every bit as classic, using a similar blend of spacy electric-piano fusion and Brazilian and Latin rhythms. It’s all very warm, light, and airy, like a soft breeze on a tropical beach – hardly the sort of firebrand approach to fusion that Miles Davis, Tony Williams, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra were exploring, and far less rooted in funk or rock. Corea also bathes the album in an undertone of trippy mysticism, not only in the (admittedly dated) lyrics, but in his cosmic keyboard wanderings, which remain melodic and accessible through most of the record. There’s one genuine pop song in the groovy samba “What Game Shall We Play Today,” and while “Sometime Ago” has similar elements, it’s part of an ambitious side-long medley that features a stream-of-consciousness intro and a jubilant, Spanish/Mexican-style closing section called “La Fiesta,” complete with castanets and flamenco modes. The title track is another multi-sectioned work, featuring Corea and Purim in wordless unison on two different, catchy themes, plus breezy work from Farrell and lots of Brazilian-flavored rhythmic interplay. And the dreamy, meditative “Crystal Silence” is an underrated gem waiting to be rediscovered. Certainly, this edition of Return to Forever wasn’t inclined toward high-voltage jazz-rock (as the next one was), but this group’s two albums still stand as some of the most imaginative and distinctive early fusion recordings.

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2 min read