Title: Eric Alexander Quartet – Gentle Ballads VI (2022)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO
Sixth installment from the Gentle Ballads series! More stunning playing from tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander’s Gentle Ballads series. Included are “So In Love,” “Hush-A-Bye,” “What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life” and more!
Title: Eric Alexander Quartet – Gentle Ballads V (2011)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
The fifth installment of tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander’s “Gentle Ballads” series doesn’t disappoint. His unwavering, strong tone and unsentimental approach, combined with a certain peacefulness and strong spirituality of his playing, produce stunning results. For the first time in this series, master pianist George Cables joins the band and makes valuable contributions.
Title: Era – The Very Best Of (2004)
Genre: New Age
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Era (styled as +eRa+) is a New Age music project by French composer Eric Lévi. The band has sold more than 12 million albums. They use lyrics (by Guy Protheroe) which although similar to Greek or Latin are in fact deliberately devoid of any exact meaning.
Title: Era – The Mass (2003)
Genre: New Age
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
The Mass is an album released in 2003 by Eric Lévi’s musical project Era. It is Era’s third album. It achieved success in several European countries. The title track, The Mass, is an adaptation of O Fortuna, a classical piece by Carl Orff.
Title: Epica – The Score – An Epic Journey (Special Edition) (2005)
Genre: Symphonic Metal, Soundtrack
Format: MCH SACD ISO
How anybody can listen to Epica and dismiss them as a second rate nightwish is beyond me. This album shows how far beyond Nightwish, and similar bands, they really are. The Score – An Epic Journey is an almost fully-orchestral film soundtrack for a Dutch film called Joyride. Composed almost entirely by Mark Jansen and Yves Huts, this is a chance for them to not only show off the skills they possess regarding orchestration and composing, but to evolve on their past work, to increase their understanding. Although, this is certianly no practice album. It is hard not to be dazed by some of the songs on Score. On some songs, such as The Valley, I just sat there with my mouth open, listening to different sounds meandering into the foreground, and marvelling at the power and epic qualities that this soundtrack possesses. Some of the slow tracks were a little tiresome, but it is a soundtrack, so they have to be there. I can forgive that. The rest of them, however, were a joy to listen to. I’m not normally big on this kind of music, but it held my attention superbly. I have to concede that some of the tracks on this soundtrack are not as original as one would expect, with tracks that are surprising reminiscent of Pirates of the Carribean, Harry Potter or even Star Wars, but they are certainly not the same, and are still incredibly enjoyable to listen to. Besides, who am I to judge where Jansen and Huts draw inspiration from? There were hints toward what to expect on Score on Epica’s previous album, Consign To Oblivion, noteably the rather over-the-top prologue. And flashbacks to Consign To Oblivion can be heard in Score, with Trois Vierges making a comeback, this time in the form of a solo version, and reprise version. The single version of Solitary ground also makes an appearance. But, keeping the attention of metal fans is a special Score version of Quietus, which kicks off with electric guitar, before the original version did, but is more orchestral than the original, and in my opinion, more of a joy to listen to, and more refined. The Score – An Epic Journey is a must have for Epica fans. Not an ideal first album, simply because it is an unusual piece, but for any established fans it is an essential part of your collection. Epic to hear, and memorable, surpasses antying they have done before in sheer skill and prowess. A second-rate Nightwish Epica are not, and I expect that we will hear a much more mature, refined and orchestral sound in the upandcoming album The Divine Conspiracy.
Title: Epica – Consign To Oblivion (2005)
Genre: Metal
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Consign to Oblivion is the second studio-album by Dutch symphonic metal band Epica. Stylistically, the album is more focused towards orchestration than other Epica releases and features heavy use of a chorus. The album’s lyrics are heavily influenced by Mayan Civilization.
For all its ambitious plotting, baroque soundscapes, and unquestionable technical merits, Epica’s first album was distinctly lacking in the most crucial of categories: songwriting. In fact, it pretty much proved the point that musical education doesn’t necessarily guarantee musical inspiration, ultimately achieving surprisingly little purchase in one’s memory banks for an album so rife with Strum und Drang. In retrospect, it may also have been somewhat rushed in its construction, what with guitarist and creative leader Mark Jansen possibly being a little too anxious to prove his own mettle after quitting After Forever — the band founded with his sister Floor, and who in fact helped pioneer the symphonic/progressive/power metal style still on dominant display here. Longer preparation has certainly had a positive effect on the sophomore effort, but, if anything, Epica remain more committed to that original vision than the increasingly modern-sounding (though no less progressive) After Forever, insisting on employing human choirs and orchestras throughout Consign to Oblivion, and rarely letting mezzo-soprano Simone Simons stray from an operatically correct delivery. Jansen’s death growls have also taken a noticeable back seat this time around, but that’s not to say that typical offerings such as “Dance of Fate,” “Blank Infinity,” and “Force of the Shore” fail to provide plenty of heavy staccato guitar riffing and hyperactive double kick drums. Single candidate “Solitary Ground,” on the other hand, finds an adequate middle ground between rocker and ballad; “Quietus” pretty much waltzes away from start to finish; and the symphonic overkill is finally toned down for the surprisingly pop-campy, harpsichord-led ballad “Trois Vierges” (big-time Nightwish influence), on which Simons is joined by Kamelot vocalist Roy Kahn. And don’t forget the four different movements of a fatalistic suite subtitled “A New Age Dawns” (partly sung in Latin, and decrying man’s folly with nature — you know the drill), which are strewn about the album in somewhat arbitrary fashion, and may only confuse things further. Nevertheless, Consign to Oblivion’s overall presentation is as immaculate as its predecessor’s, and definitely an improvement from a compositional perspective, promising better things to come in Epica’s future.
Title: Enzo Pietropaoli – Solo (2015)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Enzo Pietropaoli is an Italian jazz bassist. In 1961 he moved to Rome and then debuted professionally in 1975 with “Trio Di Roma” (Danilo Rea and Roberto Gatto). As the title states, on this release Pietropaoli performs a collection of songs by himself. The album includes covers of Bob Marley, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, and more. Some originals are also peppered throughout.
Title: Enzo Pietropaoli, Julian Mazzariello, Alessandro Paternesi – The Princess (2018)
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Enzo Pietropaoli premieres his album The Princess in DSD from Fonè. A crescendo of songs that testify to the wide range of musical passions throughout a lifetime: from John Lennon to Bob Dylan, Cole Porter to Peter Gabriel, from Neil Young to Pearl Jam, topped off with The Beach Boys — all brought together and punctuated by Pietropaoli’s original compositions.
The Princess is among these — a metaphor for a dream pursued with determination and fully realized. Pietropaoli’s deeply-felt love for the piano-trio is made evident by the creation of a solemn yet ethereal atmosphere, oscillating between ancient and young in a place beyond space and time, underscored by the choice of the song’s title. Enzo Pietropaoli, at the double bass, is flanked by two extraordinary musicians: Julian Oliver Mazzariello on the piano and Alessandro Paternesi on drums, both of which contribute to an atmosphere which is simultaneously penetrating, delicate and lush.
![Enrico Rava - Renaissance (2002) [Japan 2016]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2025/11/21/OjNi4UC.jpg "Enrico Rava - Renaissance (2002) [Japan 2016]")
Title: Enrico Rava – Renaissance (2002) [Japan 2016]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC
Enrico Rava is a jazz trumpeter and arguably one of the best known Italian jazz musicians. In the 1970s and 1980s he worked with Pat Metheny, Michel Petrucciani, John Abercrombie, Joe Henderson, Richard Galliano, Miroslav Vitouš, Andrea Centazzo, Joe Lovano, Gil Evans and Cecil Taylor. He has also worked with Carla Bley, Lee Konitz, Jeanne Lee, Paul Motian, and Roswell Rudd. Chiefly an exponent of bebop jazz, Rava has also played in avant-garde jazz settings.
Enrico Rava is an Italian jazz trumpeter. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. With trumpeter Paolo Fresu, Rava recorded four albums on the influence of Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, and Miles Davis. Also of note are his albums Rava, L’Opera Va’ and Carmen, which are his interpretations of operatic arias and overtures. In 2001, he founded a quintet with pianist Stefano Bollani and toured with Gato Barbieri and Aldo Romano. In the trio Europeans, he worked with Eberhard Weber and Swiss percussionist Reto Weber. In June 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music at the twentieth anniversary of jazz education at the Umbria Jazz Festival, in Perugia, Italy.
![Enrico Rava - Italian Ballads (1996) [Japan 2017]](https://imghd.xyz/images/2025/06/08/sbrNMAn.jpg "Enrico Rava - Italian Ballads (1996) [Japan 2017]")
Title: Enrico Rava – Italian Ballads (1996) [Japan 2017]
Genre: Jazz
Format: SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC
Enrico Rava is a jazz trumpeter and arguably one of the best known Italian jazz musicians. He started on trombone, then changed to the trumpet after hearing Miles Davis. In the 1970s and 1980s he worked with Pat Metheny, Michel Petrucciani, John Abercrombie, Joe Henderson, Richard Galliano, Miroslav Vitouš, Andrea Centazzo, Joe Lovano, Gil Evans and Cecil Taylor. Chiefly an exponent of bebop jazz, Rava has also played in avant-garde jazz settings.
On this album, the lyrical trumpeter Enrico Rava performs themes from Fellini movies, operas and classical music, along with three originals by band members. Despite its title, not all of the selections are taken at slower tempos, but there is an emphasis on memorable and haunting melodies. The results, which do not quite fit in as avant-garde or world music, are certainly jazz. Rava, guitarists Domenico Carliri and Roberto Cecchetto, and guest Richard Galliano on accordion get some individual improvisations, generally remaining within the mood of each piece while stretching its boundaries a bit. Barbara Casini’s occasional vocals in Italian are a strong asset, and she comes across much closer to a bossa nova singer than to an opera star. Definitely an intriguing set.