Title: Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado – Janacek & Hindemith – Orchestral Works (1989-1995/2020)
Genre: Classical
Format: SACD ISO
Title: Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra – Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, Marches. Overtures (2005)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Oh my God! Wow!!! Are you ready to be terrorized by a March that literally makes you feel as if you ARE the person being marched to the scaffold or a Witch’s Sabbath that makes you feel as if Witches are right there harassing you? For the longest time I merely listened to the Symphonie Fantastique as a disinterested onlooker of the proceedings depicted in the music. I never felt an involvement with the music because of the performers involved—UNTIL NOW!!
Title: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi – Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (2000/2001)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO
What, another Symphonie fantastique? How many do we need? Well, there’s always room for a new Fantastique when it’s as well played and beautifully recorded as the Cincinnati Symphony’s classy achievement here, under Paavo Järvi’s meticulous, thoughtful, and musicianly stewardship. While Järvi’s tempos veer toward the broad side of the boulevard, they allow the conductor’s clear textures to coalesce and take shape in ways that stress the score’s eloquent melodicism, as opposed to its opiated drama in the manner of Munch, Bernstein, and Thomas. The whirling bassoon runs and sharp rhythmic pointing throughout the Finale, plus the silver-coated string tone and sparkling harp commentaries in Un Bal make my point.
Moreover, Telarc’s gorgeous engineering balances Berlioz’s radical orchestration and wide range of dynamics in proper, three-dimensional perspective. There’s a stinging richness to the brass playing and spatial (as well as emotional) depth to the percussion that you seldom find on disc. I especially like how Järvi gradually builds the Dream of the Witches’ Sabbath up from a deliberate start to an exultant climax in the final pages. Elegant restraint and flowing long lines characterize the Love Scene from Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette, one of the finest individual performances of this movement since Giulini’s memorable Chicago Symphony recording for EMI. Warmly recommended.
Title: Olga Borodina, Wiener Philharmoniker, Valery Gergiev – Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique & La Mort de Cleopatre (2003)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Valery Gergiev turns in a generally fine Symphonie fantastique, one that really heats up in the last two movements, as any good performance must. The March to the Scaffold has an aptly menacing character, with very clearly voiced timpani and plenty of panache to the brass playing. The finale begins quite quickly and never lets up; it has the special Berliozian frenzy that so many versions never manage to capture. Elsewhere the results are a bit more variable. The first movement goes quite well on the whole, barring a pointless slow-down at one point toward the end, but the second-movement waltz is strange, with oddly Stravinskian accents disrupting its flow and a general lack of rhythmic tension. However Gergiev does find pretty much the ideal tempo for the slow movement, and the oboe and English horn solos have an appealingly plaintive, pastoral character. La Mort de Cléopatre makes a generous bonus, but not in this performance. Without getting hung up on the details, Gergiev certainly conducts it well enough, but Olga Borodina simply has the wrong voice for the part: thick, heavy, and often unsteady. She sounds dead before the music even begins–okay, maybe it’s not that bad, but compared to singers like Jessye Norman, Véronique Gens, or Janet Baker, she captures neither the nobility of the Egyptian queen nor the pathos of her predicament. Happily, given that many discs offer just the symphony, we can ignore this particular “bonus”, and the rating reflects this. Philips offers vivid live sonics that project the unique timbres of the Vienna Philharmonic horns and strings particularly well, though the harps in the second movement should sound more seductive. Fantastique collectors will find plenty to enjoy here.
Title: Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Litton – Prokofiev: The Symphonies (5xSACD Boxset) (2020/2021)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO
Celebrating the 130th anniversary of Sergei Prokofiev (1891 – 1953), the present box set brings together recordings of his seven symphonies made by Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra between 2012 and 2017. The symphonies appear with their original couplings, including the popular suites from the film score to Lieutenant Kijé and the ballet The Love for Three Oranges. As an added bonus, the set includes the team’s very first recording for BIS: an innovative and highly praised version of Prokofiev’s three suites from Romeo and Juliet, with the 20 movements reordered to follow the ballet score.
![Ben Webster & Tete Montoliu Trio - Gentle Ben (1972) [Analogue Productions 2011]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/08/27/JYuHmWh.jpg "Ben Webster & Tete Montoliu Trio - Gentle Ben (1972) [Analogue Productions 2011]")
Title: Ben Webster & Tete Montoliu Trio – Gentle Ben (1972) [Analogue Productions 2011]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
This recording was made 10 months before Ben Webster’s death in 1972. Webster, who had left the United States in 1965 to settle in Europe – first in Copenhagen and then in Amsterdam – was visiting fellow musician and friend Tete Montoliu in Barcelona. Webster and pianist Montoliu went back a ways, having played together regularly in Webster’s Copenhagen days. In fact, Montoliu cited Webster and Don Byas as his two chief musical influences. Webster and Montoliu understood each other deeply, and their comfort with on another is palpable in this recording. Their accompaniment of one another is seamless. On board with these two is Montoliu’s regular working trio-mates, Eric Peter on bass and Peer Wyboris on drums.
This aptly named set was recorded on November 28, 1972, in Barcelona, Spain. Although many of Ben Webster’s European sessions suffered when compared to his American ones, this outing is one of the exceptions, due in no small part to the fluid piano work of Tete Montoliu. Supported by a rhythm section of Eric Peter on bass and Peer Wyboris on drums, both Webster and Montoliu have plenty of room to breathe, and the result is a wonderful and pleasant set highlighted by the opening track, “Ben’s Blues,” and an easy, elegant version of “Sweet Georgia Brown.” Webster’s trademark breathy tenor sax tone is in full supply here, but the real revelation is Montoliu, who proves to be a marvelous jazz pianist, making Gentle Ben somewhat of an overlooked gem.
![Ben Webster - See You At The Fair (1964) [Analogue Productions 2010]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/08/27/Jck2Cey.jpg "Ben Webster - See You At The Fair (1964) [Analogue Productions 2010]")
Title: Ben Webster – See You At The Fair (1964) [Analogue Productions 2010]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Ben Webster’s final American recording was one of his greatest. At 55, the tenor saxophonist was still very much in his prime but considered out of style in the U.S. He would soon permanently move to Europe where he was better appreciated. This CD has the nine selections originally included on the LP of the same name, a quartet set with either Hank Jones or Roger Kellaway on piano, bassist Richard Davis, and drummer Osie Johnson. Webster’s tone has rarely sounded more beautiful than on “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay”.
![Ben Webster - My Romance (2003) [‘Ampzilla 2000’ Demonstration Reference Disc]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/08/27/h5dGcED.jpg "Ben Webster - My Romance (2003) [‘Ampzilla 2000’ Demonstration Reference Disc]")
Title: Ben Webster – My Romance (2003) [‘Ampzilla 2000’ Demonstration Reference Disc]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
This was quite a surprise, coming from the Asian label specializing in various audiophile CDs and SACDs of more middle-of-the-road material. The two sessions that produced these dozen tracks both were recorded in Copenhagen in 1965, and for most of the tracks – as you can see – Webster’s band was mostly local musicians. Ben Webster was one of many black American jazz men who moved to Europe in the 1960s or later. Denmark and Holland were his main bases of operation. Earlier he had been a mainstay of Norman Granz’ Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts, and had also played with Ellington for a few years. Nobody else achieved quite the rich, warm, soulful and caressing tenor sax sound so distinctively laid down by Ben Webster. And I don’t believe I’ve ever heard it so cleanly and realistically as on this reissue disc. In the booklet remastering engineer Povee Chan lists some of the gear involved, and it’s obvious no effort was spared to transfer these old stereotapes with the very highest fidelity humanly possible. The European players are right up to American standards in playing proficiency. This is great stuff. The CD layer doesn’t sound seriously compromised either. – Audiophile Audition Review by John Henry
![Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (1959) [APO Remaster 2011]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/08/27/1sxbRR4.jpg "Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (1959) [APO Remaster 2011]")
Title: Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson (1959) [APO Remaster 2011]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Saxophonist Ben Webster is joined by legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. Webster, known for his association with Duke Ellington’s Jazz Orchestra playing lead tenor, frequently played with Peterson in the 1950s and are joined here by some of the best jazz musicians of the time. Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson was originally released in 1959, and this studio album is a compilation of seven great jazz tracks, including “How Deep is the Ocean”, “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning”, and “Bye, Bye, Blackbird”.
Another fine Webster release on Verve that sees the tenor great once again backed by the deluxe Oscar Peterson Trio. In keeping with the high standard of their Soulville collaboration of two years prior, Webster and the trio – Peterson is joined by bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen – use this 1959 date to conduct a clinic in ballad playing. And while Soulville certainly ranks as one of the tenor saxophonist’s best discs, the Ben Webster Meets Oscar Peterson set gets even higher marks for its almost transcendent marriage of after-hours elegance and effortless mid-tempo swing – none of Webster’s boogie-woogie piano work to break up the mood here. Besides reinvigorating such lithe strollers as “Bye Bye Blackbird” (nice bass work by Brown here) and “This Can’t Be Love,” Webster and company achieve classic status for their interpretation of the Sinatra gem “In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.” And to reassure Peterson fans worried about scant solo time for their hero, the pianist lays down a healthy number of extended runs, unobtrusively shadowing Webster’s vaporous tone and supple phrasing along the way. Not only a definite first-disc choice for Webster newcomers, but one of the jazz legend’s all-time great records.
![Ben Webster and Harry 'Sweets' Edison - Ben and 'Sweets' (1962) [Reissue 2015]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2022/08/27/86CdBqX.jpg "Ben Webster and Harry 'Sweets' Edison - Ben and 'Sweets' (1962) [Reissue 2015]")
Title: Ben Webster and Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison – Ben and ‘Sweets’ (1962) [Reissue 2015]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
The two jazz giants Ben Webster and Harry “Sweets” Edison had long wanted to record an album together, and in 1962, they did. Although associated with two different orchestras (Edison was with Basie and Webster was with Ellington), these two swing kings found that they had a lot in common. This album features both horn men on three medium tempo blues, “Better Go”, “Kitty”, and “Did You Call Her Today”. Other than this, Webster gets two tenor features, contributing absolutely luscious solos on both “How Long Has This Been Going On”, and “My Romance”. Newly remastered for Hybrid SACD. “Wanted to Do One Together” (also released as Ben and “Sweets”) is an album by Ben Webster and Harry “Sweets” Edison that was recorded in 1962 and released by the Columbia label. Webster had previously recorded with Edison on his albums Sweets (Clef, 1956) and Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good to You (Verve, 1957).
Tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison, both veterans of the swing era (although associated with different orchestras), had long wanted to record a full album together. The results, a swinging quintet set with pianist Hank Jones, bassist George Duvivier, and drummer Clarence Johnston, are quite rewarding. There are two ballad features for the tenor (“How Long Has This Been Going On” and a beautiful version of “My Romance”) and one for Edison (“Embraceable You”), along with three medium-tempo collaborations. Nothing unexpected occurs but the melodic music is quite enjoyable.