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Claire Martin with The Montpellier Cello Quartet – Time & Place (2014)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 47:44 minutes | Digital booklet | 2,67 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Digital booklet | 861 MB
Claire Martin has long been among the most versatile and wide-ranging of singers. Her latest venture, with the Quartet, is no exception. The listener marvels at Claire Martin’s ability and determination to create a wholly new pad of repertoire from zero.
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Claire Martin – Too Darn Hot (2002) [SACD Reissue 2004]
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 56:26 minutes | Scans included | 3,45 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound
Claire Martin concentrates on her core jazz-based strengths, delivering pithy, worldly-wise lyrics with warmth and intelligence, interacting with a sparky, vigorous band.
In 2004, Claire Martin’s bestselling album, ‘Too Darn Hot!’, has been re-issued on SACD.
From an exciting new arrangement of Something’s Coming from Bernstein’s West Side Story, to Joni Mitchell’s Blue Motel Room arranged by jazz singer Ian Shaw, the album mixes jazz standards with new arrangements to create an original showcase for Claire’s clever musicality and superb vocals.
Too Darn Hot! features an enviable line-up of some of Britain’s top jazz talents plus the Tapestry String Quartet.
Claire Martin – Secret Love (2004)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:16 minutes | Scans included | 2,98 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 52:20 mins | Scans included | 863 MB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound
Claire celebrates her jazz roots with a splendid line-up of some of Britain’s top jazz talents.
Originally released in 2004 ‘Secret Love’ features Gareth Williams and Richard Rodney Bennett on piano, Laurence Cottle on bass, Clark Tracey on drums and Nigel Hitchcock on saxophone. Re-issued on CD in 2011 and in Studio Master quality in January 2007.
Claire explores the classic songbook with a mature set of standards from Irving Berlin’s Cheek To Cheek to Bacharach and Costello’s God Give Me Strength, taking in Harold Arlen and Jimmy Van Heusen along the way.
Claire Martin – Perfect Alibi (2000) [Reissue 2008]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 48:08 minutes | Scans included | 2,89 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 939 MB
With 1998’s Take My Heart, Claire Martin made the transition from jazz to pop, and the British singer continues in a pop-oriented direction on Perfect Alibi. Even if you have a very liberal definition of jazz, this late-1999/early-2000 recording shouldn’t be considered jazz; Perfect Alibi is a pop album, although it’s a pop album with jazz, R&B, and rock references. Not surprisingly, many of England’s jazz enthusiasts are critical of Martin’s pop albums, she was among the most exciting and interesting young jazz vocalists of the 1990s, and they were sorry to see a talented improviser steering clear of improvisation. But from a pop standpoint, Perfect Alibi has a lot going for it. Martin doesn’t improvise on this album, although her performances of Jimi Hendrix’s “Up From the Skies,” the Rascals’ “How Can I Be Sure?,” and other rock and pop songs do have a personal quality. The jazz-oriented Martin of The Waiting Game and Old Boyfriends would have found a way to turn the Stylistics’ “People Make the World Go Round,” Al Kooper’s “More Than You’ll Ever Know,” and Todd Rundgren’s “Wailing Wall” into improvisatory cool jazz. The pop-oriented Martin of Perfect Alibi, however, personalizes those familiar songs without getting into improvisation. As far as Martin’s pop output goes, Take My Heart is a slightly stronger album. But Perfect Alibi is generally likable, although the jazz lovers of 1999 and 2000 hoped that she would get back to recording jazz.
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Claire Martin & Kenny Barron – Too Much In Love To Care (2012)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 57:48 minutes | Scans included | 3,33 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,06 GB
or DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,8 MHz | Time – 57:44 minutes | 2,29 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Linn Records # AKD 390
Too Much in Love to Care’ is Claire Martin’s first US studio recording for fifteen years and guest stars Kenny Barron, ‘one of the top jazz pianists in the world’ (LA Times). It was named ‘Best New Album’ at the 2013 British Jazz Awards.
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Claire Martin – He Never Mentioned Love (2007)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 60:24 minutes | Scans included | 3,56 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/48 kHz | Full Scans included | 733 MB
Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound | Linn Records # AKD 295
Claire Martin returns with this stylish tribute to the late and legendary American songstress Shirley Horn. “He Never Mentioned Love” sees the UK’s finest jazz singer investigate songs memorably performed by her greatest influence.
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Claire Martin – A Modern Art (2009)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:46 minutes | Digital booklet | 3,11 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Digital booklet | 1,21 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound | Linn Records # AKD 340 | Genre: Jazz
Is jazz still a modern art? It’s a hundred years old, after all, and some performers and fans seem to ignore everything written after 1940. But as far as the work of Claire Martin is concerned the question has only one answer. Apart from being one of the finest singers on the current scene, Martin is constantly searching for new writers and new ways to interpret them, ensuring that her own approach to music stays resolutely in the present. A Modern Art, her thirteenth album, is an eclectic recording that showcases her talents and those of a superb collection of backing musicians-it’s possibly the best album of her career to date, which is saying something.
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Claire Martin and Richard Rodney Bennett – When Lights Are Low (2005)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:10 minutes | Scans included | 2,58 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Full Scans included | 921 MB
Features 2.0 Stereo & 5.1 multichannel Surround sound | Linn Records # AKD 260
Following their two previous duo albums, ‘When Lights Are Low’ and ‘Witchcraft’, ‘Say It Isn’t So’ presents a final third chapter in the remarkable musical partnership of Claire Martin and the late Richard Rodney Bennett.
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Cikada Duo – Nordheim (2007)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 59:39 minutes | Scans included | 3,23 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,08 GB
Genre: Classical | Features 2.0 Stereo & 5.1 multichannel Surround sound | Lindberg Lyd, Norway # 2L-039-SACD
Since 1960 the composer Arne Nordheim has enchanted both musicians and audience with a unique soundscape. His music may be considered a source to the later Nordic Sound of electronica. Today’s DJs might not willingly announce “Grandfather taught me this”, but that’s actually the case!
Nordheim’s music is recently re-vitalized by publications like Dodeka and Electric by the renowned Norwegian label Rune Grammofon, and Nordheim Transformed by Biosphere/Deathprod. CIKADA and 2L now bring you the world premiere recording in surround sound, as originally intended by the composer.
CIKADA DUO is Kenneth Karlsson (piano/synthesizer) and Bjørn Rabben (percussion). They are joined by Åke Parmerud (elektronics) and Elisabeth Holmertz (soprano) in this production of Arne Nordheim’s music. Take the stand within the percussion and let yourself be embraced by electronica, vocal and synthesizers in an extreme surround sound recording, produced by the GRAMMY-nominated Lindberg Lyd.
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Chuck Mangione – The Feeling’s Back (1999) [Reissue 2004]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 & DST64 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 57:02 mins | Scans included | 4,0 GB
or DSD64 2.0 Stereo (from SACD-ISO to Tracks.dsf) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Full Scans included | 2,26 GB
or FLAC 2.0 (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/96 kHz | Full Scans included | 1,2 GB
Features Stereo and Multichannel Surround Sound | Chesky Records # SACD 282
Charles Frank “Chuck” Mangione is an American flugelhorn player and composer who achieved international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, “Feels So Good”. Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960…
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Christy Baron – Steppin’ (2000/2001)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.0 (4.0) > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 52:46 minutes | Scans included | 3,05 GB
Genre: Jazz | Chesky Records
Once again, Chesky does it right….this album is absolutely wonderful. Great voice…sexy, sultry, presented with Chesky’s usual technical perfection. The music here is Jazz standard, with some numbers, of course, better known than others. Christy has a perfect voice for this material, and uses it marvelously. Naturally, the instrumental back-up and recording technique are up to Chesky’s usual high standard.
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Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Czech Philharmonic Choir Brno, Roman Kofman – Franz Liszt: Christus Oratorio (2006)
3xSACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 8,68 GB | 3x24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 2,49 GB | Full Artwork | 3% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: MDG “Gold” # 937 1366-6 | Country/Year: Germany 2006
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic, Sacred, Oratorio
This brand new recording of Franz Liszt’s massive oratorio, ‘Christus’ is doubly welcome as it is a new version for some years now and it enshrines some great singing and orchestral players all under the knowing guidance of Roman Kofman.
The oratorio is split into three distinct parts or acts lasting about an hour each with the first one designated as a Christmas Oratorio. The orchestra plays a hugely important part here with an extensive introduction lasting almost a quarter of an hour after the soloists and choir get a look in. I had been familiar with Erato’s excellent recording under James Conlon but that is currently unavailable and dates back to 1982, almost a quarter of a century and I must say that I hugely enjoyed Kofman’s brisk and unalloyed style.
In the second part described as ‘Epiphany’, we have some lovely interpretations, especially the magnificent ‘Entry into Jerusalem’ which is fairly apocalyptic in its intensity. What is most characteristic about this oratorio is the way it is built into huge blocks that are quite symphonic in their treatment. The third part is called ‘Passion and Transfiguration’ and almost resembles Mahler in its glorious intensity especially in the final ‘Et Resurexit’
I already indicated the excellent qualities of the soloists especially Franziska Hirzel and Birgit Remmert who sing with that important ethereal intensity. Kofman conducts with the ideal tonic and lets the music move along quite magically. The SACD sound comes out trumps on my Sony SACD-11 player and I really have nothing but an unqualified recommendation for this beautiful set.
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Christian Zacharias – W.A. Mozart Piano Concertos Vol.5 (2009)
Genre: Classical, Piano, Orchestral | SACD ISO: DST64 2.0, 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Artwork | 3.60 GB
Label: MDG | Release Year: 2009
Midem Classique Award winner Christian Zacharias continues his survey of Mozart Piano Concertos as both performer & conductor. Featuring arguably 1 of the most famous, the A Major.
MDG’s complete recording of Mozart’s piano compositions with Christian Zacharias in the double role as pianist & conductor of the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra continues with KV 488, certainly the most-performed piano concerto by the great Salzburg composer, complemented here by KV 246 & KV 175, Mozart’s very 1st piano concerto. Mozart himself regarded his 1st piano concerto of December 1773 as a gem. Five years later he continued to enjoy great success with it in Mannheim “because here it pleases quite well,” as he proudly reported to his father. Even at his Vienna academies of 1782-83 the concerto still figured significantly for him. When he sent its new finale, the Rondo (KV 382), to his father, he wrote, “I made it especially for me, & nobody but my dear sister can play it after me.”
Christian Zacharias – W.A. Mozart Piano Concertos Vol.4 (2009)
Genre: Classical, Piano, Orchestral | SACD ISO: DST64 2.0, 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Artwork | 3.13 GB
Label: MDG | Release Year: 2009
This volume in the series seems to have taken a step up, with playing which previously might have been a little cosy now edgier & with more contrast in light & shade. The overall ensemble is excellent, & these are very good Mozart concerto interpretations indeed. Sound quality is up to MDG’s usual high standard, with a well-scaled ambience in Mch, & the 2+2+2 channel setup with height channels works fine in my 5.1 setup, despite my not reassigning the centre & sub speaker.
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Christian Zacharias – W.A. Mozart Piano Concertos Vol.3 (2008)
Genre: Classical, Piano, Orchestral | SACD ISO: DST64 2.0, 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Artwork | 3.14 GB
Label: MDG | Release Year: 2008
In this 3rd volume, Zacharias’ Mozart becomes essential, if not quintessential, in a universe for piano & concerto that is fascinating. The Concerto for Piano & Orchestra #17 in G major KV 453 dates from 1784, & inspired the musician Alfred Einstein to say: “In a friendly key are hidden many mysterious smiles & painful wounds – words cannot be found to describe the permanent irisation of feelings in the 1st movement, the passionate interiority of the 2nd.” The Concerto for Piano & Orchestra #19 in F major KV 459 was also composed in 1784 right after “the 4th of the 6 Quartets dedicated to Haydn”, states Mihel Parouty. Three days after finishing it on December 14, Mozart became a Freemason. Leading from the piano the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne to heights of subtlety, Christian Zacharias brings out a thousand colors from these eternal scores. With exemplary phrasing he opens the doors to a world that is often approached but rarely captured with such intelligence. It is true that Zacharias’ Mozart is rarely flamboyant, but he brings forth unique beauty that only the deaf cannot hear. He allows his musical discourse to breathe, a reminder of days when music had universal meaning. This is a Super Audio CD that eclipses all others.
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