Andrew Manze, The English Concert – Mozart: Night Music (2003) MCH SACD ISO

Andrew Manze, The English Concert – Mozart: Night Music (2003)
Classical, Orchestral | SACD ISO: DSD64 2.0, DST64 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Artwork | 3.35 GB
Label: Harmonia Mundi | Release Year: 2003

The title of this exceptional disc, “Night Music”, should not be taken to mean that the performances are in any way dark, mysterious, droopy, sluggish, or otherwise conventionally “nocturnal”. Rather, the term evokes its 18th century musical meaning: a time for fun, relaxation, parties, entertainment both indoors and out, and of course, romance. Indeed, “Romantic” is perhaps the best way to describe these virtuosic, impulsive, and extravagantly expressive performances by the inimitable Andrew Manze and his team of crack “authentic-instrument” players.

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Sharon Bezaly – Mozart: Flute Concertos (2005) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Sharon Bezaly – Mozart: Flute Concertos (2005)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & DST64 5.0 >1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Covers | 2.58 GB
FLAC tracks 2.0 24bit/88.2 kHz | Covers | 971 MB

Izrael-born Sharon Bezaly (who now lives in Sweden) has rightly risen to the top of her field with silky performances like this one which seemed universally rated highly by the music press (Gramophone, ClassicsToday, etc). Her repertoire extends to many Scandanavian composers who have written several flute concertos for her marvelously refined technique (she was a student of Aurele Nicolet). On this recording she plays a 24k instrument custom-made for her by Muramatsu Japan.

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Byron Janis, Kyril Kondrashin, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra – Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (2005) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Byron Janis, Kyril Kondrashin, Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra – Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff (2005)
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & DST64 3.0 >1-bit/2.8224 MHz | Covers | 2.83 GB
FLAC tracks 2.0 24bit/88.2 kHz | Covers | 1.32 GB

Legendary performances, no doubt. Nice sound in the original recording, the processed 3 channel sounds even better. Piano tone is wonderfull, full-bodied and detailed. Nice orchestra perspective.

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Monty Alexander Trio – Love Me Tender (2011) [Japan 2017] SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Monty Alexander Trio – Love Me Tender (2011) [Japan 2017]
SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 64:37 minutes | Front/Rear Covers | 2,6 GB
or FLAC(converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Front/Rear Covers | 1,36 GB

Veteran pianist Monty Alexander left Jamaica and came to the United States at age 17. This recording for Venus Records celebrates his 50 years in the land of jazz. Known for his straight ahead sensibilities and sometimes considered a successor of Oscar Peterson, his long career has widened his musical spectrum and brought maturity to his playing. For this recording, Monty is accompanied by bassist Hassan Shakur and drummer Willie Jones III on original songs like “Can’t You See”, “Got To Go” and “Sweet Lady”, as well as popular tunes such as “Come Fly With Me”, “I’ve Never Been In Love Before”, You Call It Madness” and “We’ve Only Just Begun”, plus the title song.

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Monty Alexander – Jamboree: Monty Alexander’s Ivory and Steel (1988) [Reissue 2003] MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Monty Alexander – Jamboree: Monty Alexander’s Ivory and Steel (1988) [Reissue 2003]
PS3 Rip | SACD ISO | DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 48:50 minutes | Scans included | 3,1 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | 53:19 mins | Scans | 965 MB

Pianist Monty Alexander’s “Ivory And Steel” group combines together bop-based jazz with Jamaican calypsoes and West Indian rhythms. On this quite enjoyable set, Alexander utilizes both Othello and Len “Boogsie” Sharpe on steel drums, either Marshall Wood or Bernard Montgomery on bass, drummer Marvin “Smitty” Smith and the hand drums of Robert Thomas Jr. Alexander contributed four of the rhythmic originals which are joined by some Jamaican folk songs (including “Sly Mangoose”), Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” and a couple of obscurities. The accessible results are often memorable.

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Monty Alexander with Ernest Ranglin – Rocksteady (2004) MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

Monty Alexander with Ernest Ranglin – Rocksteady (2004)
PS3 Rip | ISO | SACD DST64 2.0 & 5.1 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 57:14 minutes | Scans included | 3,58 GB
or FLAC 2.0 Stereo (converted with foobar2000 to tracks) 24bit/88,2 kHz | Scans included | 1,18 GB
Features 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 multichannel surround sound | Telarc # SACD-63581 | Genre: Jazz

Prior to becoming an ace mainstream jazz pianist in the U.S., native Jamaican Monty Alexander played on countless sessions at Studio One in Kingston — well before reggae, rocksteady, and even ska crossed the seas. Since 1998, secure in his jazz credentials, he has been reminding listeners of those roots, cranking out album after album and managing to unite jazz and reggae in a sometimes irresistible fusion. This time, Alexander reaches further back to pre-reggae Jamaican pop from the late ’60s/early ’70s, bringing along a guitar-slinging friend from the old days, Ernest Ranglin. On previous Jamaican-accented albums, Alexander sometimes sounded as if he was making an effort to hold back his prodigious technique in order to keep things simple. But here he sounds more comfortable paring down his playing to the basics while still throwing in an occasional sly quote or monster lick, now going more and more to his evocative melodica playing. Ranglin brings a brittle, staccato touch to everything he touches, and the rhythm section careens gently along, with only rare hints of a ska feel and without the overpowering dub-flavored bass of previous Alexander Jamaican outings like “Meets Sly and Robbie” and parts of “Goin’ Yard.” Desmond Dekker’s “Israelites,” one of the first genuine Jamaican hits in the U.S., moves and grooves much like the original while allowing for some jazz licks. Less well-known in America, perhaps, are some other choices like Ken Boothe’s “Freedom Street” and the Congos’ “Row Fisherman.” Moving up a bit on the time scale, Alexander and Ranglin include the Burning Spear signature tune “Marcus Garvey” and with heads bowed, they close the album with a dignified duo rendition of the Hon. Robert Nesta Marley’s “Redemption Song.” The six-channel surround mix on this hybrid SACD is simple and strikingly consistent, with Quentin Baxter’s drums and Junior Jazz’s scratching rhythm guitar coming from the rear channels, and Alexander, Ranglin, and occasional hand percussion coming from the front.

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Lucy Yeghiazaryan – Blue Heaven (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lucy Yeghiazaryan – Blue Heaven (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 44:05 minutes | 457 MB | Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Cellar Live

When listening to Yeghiazaryan, one is struck by the fact that despite her strong presence musically, each performance seems less about her, and more about the ongoing story of that song, to which she is but one contributor. Perhaps such an approach is not surprising given Yeghiazaryan’s upbringing in Armavir, Armenia, where, as she explained, there was nothing special about singing, portraying it instead as simply part of everyday life.

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Lucy Woodward – Til They Bang On The Door (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/48kHz]

Lucy Woodward – Til They Bang On The Door (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 50:43 minutes | 608 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © GroundUp Music LLC

The award-winning songwriter and vocalist returns to the Adult Pop spotlight with her long-awaited fourth album. Sandwiched in-between originals are classics from Nina Simone, Ruth Brown and Frank Sinatra. Billboard raves, “Lucy’s a ball, equally appreciable for fans of melodic sing-along baubles and highbrow aficionados of finely honed musical composition.” Lucy is touring with Rod Stewart and Snarky Puppy throughout 2016.

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Lucy Stevens – Ethel Smyth: Songs & Ballads (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Lucy Stevens – Ethel Smyth: Songs & Ballads (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:04:58 minutes | 1,08 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © SOMM Recordings

Somm Recordings continues its acclaimed championing of neglected British composers with “Dame Ethel Smyth: Songs and Ballads” – 17 vocal works with piano and chamber orchestra accompaniment composed between 1886 and 1913.

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Lucy Spraggan – Today Was a Good Day (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lucy Spraggan – Today Was a Good Day (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 45:59 minutes | 516 MB | Genre: Indie Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Cooking Vinyl Limited

This fifth album from the former X Factor contestant is the follow-up to 2017’s I Hope You Don’t Mind Me Writing and is her debut for Cooking Vinyl. Produced by Jon Maguire (Calum Scott, Kodaline) and featuring the chirpy single “Lucky Stars,” the album, filled with more of Spraggan’s trademark melodic folk-pop, coasts along on a wave of positivity, with the singer sounding more confident and polished than ever.

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Lucy Spraggan – Choices (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lucy Spraggan – Choices (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:46 minutes | 472 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Cooking Vinyl Limited

It has been twelve months since singer-songwriter Lucy Spraggan chose to go sober, and life has changed a lot. In fact, the present day Lucy Spraggan is, in a multitude of ways, unrecognisable from the person of yesteryear. Control – both relinquishing it and taking it back – plus rediscovering oneself, is a recurring theme of the past year and Spraggan’s forthcoming album Choices. Aptly named, the songs that comprise the collection offer insight and introspection that saw her let go of alcohol, embrace exercise and a healthier lifestyle, move onwards through a divorce and find solace in its wake. Needless to say, it may have been necessary, but it was by no means easy. In conclusion, “it’s really just been an enlightening thing.”

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Lucy Rose – Work It Out (Deluxe) (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lucy Rose – Work It Out (Deluxe) (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:02:20 minutes | 687 MB | Genre: Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Columbia

Lucy Rose Parton, known as Lucy Rose is an English singer-songwriter from Warwickshire, England. Her debut album, Like I Used To was released in September 2012. Lucy Rose released her second album Work It Out in 6 July 2015 on Columbia Records.

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Lucy Rose – No Words Left (2019) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Lucy Rose – No Words Left (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 34:56 minutes | 645 MB | Genre: Alternative
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Communion Music

British singer-songwriter Lucy Rose dropped new single “Conversation” today, off her upcoming fourth studio album No Words Left. The emotional and heartfelt cut blends Rose’s mesmerizing vocals and poignant lyrics alongside a sweeping melody.

On the new album, due out March 22nd, she elaborates that No Words Left “reflects the reality of my life, the toughness life throws at you, and for a period of time it did become too much for me to handle alone,” noting “sincerity really is the key to this record.” Additionally, Lucy Rose released the music video for “Conversation,” which will make up part of a longer 36-minute film created to accompany the entire album. Speaking to NME, Rose explained “it’s a kind of anti-video.. I didn’t want to act, I wanted to capture the essence of the song and the feeling I had writing it.”

“Conversation” follows up Rose’s previous collaboration with Logic on track “YSIV” as well as her remix album for Something’s Changing.

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Lucy Railton – Lament in Three Parts (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lucy Railton – Lament in Three Parts (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 40:19 minutes | 333 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Takuroku

Lament in Three Parts was improvised and recorded on April 30th in the quiet bunker-esque venue, Ausland, just 20 doors down from where I live in Berlin. Additional processes and editing were completed on May 1st 2020. Special thanks to Cafe Oto, Ausland, Billy Steiger and Petter Eldh for their part in the making of this release, and especially to Sophie Fetokaki for her generous writing in response to the music. Her foreword and Billy Steiger’s artwork accompany this release. I would also like to acknowledge Catherine Lamb, Rebecca Lane and Johnny Chang whose music, playing and friendship has made a significant mark on my own meanderings in to new musical territories in recent years.

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Lucy Dacus – Home Video (2021) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Lucy Dacus – Home Video (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 45:41 minutes | 505 MB | Genre: Folk, Folk Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Matador

This new gift from Dacus, her third album, was built on an interrogation of her coming-of-age years in Richmond, VA. Many songs start the way a memoir might— “In the summer of ’07 I was sure I’d go to heaven, but I was hedging my bets at VBS” — and all of them have the compassion, humour, and honesty of the best autobiographical writing. Most importantly and mysteriously, this album displays Dacus’s ability to use the personal as portal into the universal.

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