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![The Blue Hour Sessions: Audiophile Jazz Recordings [Pure DSD]](http://www.nativedsd.com/cdn/shop/files/Rembrandt-Frerichs-1x.jpg?v=1790068729&width=3000)
2021 brought hundreds of new DSD albums from almost 80 labels to NativeDSD. Senior Reviewer Bill Dodd and Technical Advisor Brian Moura chose the nominees in 15 categories, and Bill added one bonus pick.
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- Vocals · Orchestral · New Orleans Jazz · Choral Music · Solo Piano · Classical Guitar · Chamber Music · Funk, Blues & Soul · Solo Instrumental · Swing Jazz · Jazz Duo · Opera & Operetta · Electronic Music · Vocal Solo · Jazz Piano · Bonus Pick
Vocals (Brian Moura)
Last year Jazz vocalist, pianist and composer Patricia Barber released her album Higher in Stereo and 5 Channel DSD & DXD at NativeDSD. The album was a top seller at NativeDSD for the balance of the year and was one of our nominees for 2020 Album of the Year.
Now Patricia Barber is back with her new album Clique! This album features 9 classic songs that will be familiar to music fans everywhere. My favorites on the album are This Town and All In Love Is Fair but there are several others that are also very fine. Barber and her Jazz ensemble have performed these tracks many times in Jazz clubs and it shows. The performances are warm and rich. Add in the recording and production team of Jim Anderson and Ulrike Schwarz and you have a Stereo and 5 Channel Surround Sound album that is easily one of the best of the year.
Carmen Gomes Inc. is a Jazz ensemble that features vocalist Carmen Gomes, guitarist Folker Tettero, bass player Peter Bjornild and drummer Bert Kamsteeg. This is their third album at NativeDSD – following Don’t You Cry, the first in Sound Liaison’s One Microphone Recording series of albums and Carmen Gomes Sings The Blues, a tribute to the album Belafonte Sings The Blues.
On Up Jumped The Devil, listeners will experience an album of 15 songs written by Blues legend Robert Johnson. What makes this album so interesting is that the songs move from one story to another without breaks. The album takes on the character of a long form story rather than a series of tracks, making for some compelling listening. Wonderfully recorded, this is a release you will want to experience.
Easy Living features singer Sinthia Horvath and the Balázs Elemér Quartet a Live to Pure DSD Stereo DSD 256 recording. The album contains performances of a host of standards from composers George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Lester Young, Abbey Lincoln, and Jule Styne. The album was one of the year’s best sellers at NativeDSD Music.
While I was not familiar with Sinthia and the BEQ before its release, I was curious about Easy Living’s popularity and downloaded the album in its recorded DSD 256 bit rate. The vocals and musical performances are very well done. When you add Hunnia’s excellent Live to Pure DSD 256 recording, this is an album that you will both enjoy – and use to show off your DSD 256 music system!
Orchestral (Bill Dodd)
Athletic! I see that word applied to many of Honeck’s recordings – strong, emphatic performances! Sometimes he has been accused of being a bit over the top, but I find this Brahms Fourth to be excellent in every way. If I had to choose just one recording of Brahms 4 to live with for the rest of my days, it could easily be this one. The orchestra is superb, as is the Sound Mirror recording. A bonus on this album is the Larghetto for Orchestra from Scottish Composer, James MacMillan. It’s contemporary, and it is lovely.
Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO blow the doors off with Vaughan Williams’ two most powerful and dramatic symphonies, the Fourth and the Sixth. When he had completed the Fourth, Vaughn Williams reportedly said, “I don’t know whether I like it, but it’s what I meant.” The Sixth, premiering after the end of WWII, is full of rage and heartache. If you think all of Vaughan Williams music is folkloric or pastoral, you’re in for a very big surprise. Pappano and the LSO are excellent.
Kleiberg’s Violin Concerto No 2, Cello Concerto DOPO, and Viola Concerto are all contemporary, but accessible. There is real emotional depth to these works, beautifully captured by soloists Eivind Ringstadt, Fredrik Sjolin, and Marianne Thorsen. Peter Szilvay conducts the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. This is music which will stand the test of time. I encourage you to listen.
This recording was originally released on an Exton SACD, but you’d be lucky to find a copy. Happily the high resolution DSD album was released on NativeDSD early in 2021. Some of the things that make this an outstanding recording in my mind are the amazing recording quality, and a somewhat “lighter,” more spacious interpretation by Martin Sieghart conducting the Arnhem Philharmonic. Yes, it’s a bit different, but it absolutely works. I find it a refreshing performance that I can enjoy along side of my old favorites. And for many who find the Sixth heavy going, it could well become a favorite.
New Orleans Jazz (Brian Moura)
NOLA is a tribute to New Orleans Jazz by the European band Red. Band members Bob Wijnen and Ellister van der Molen visited New Orleans, often referred to as the “birthplace of Jazz” as they planned this album. Along the way, the duo from Red also sat in on some Jazz performances in New Orleans. Their rendition of St. James Infirmary on this album, recorded Live with an audience using Sound Liaison’s One Microphone Recording technique captures the New Orleans Jazz sound perfectly. One NativeDSD customer referred to the album as “Phenomenal.” I agree – I love this album from start to finish.
Fone’s producer, recording engineer and creative leader Giulio Cesare Ricci assembled a Jazz ensemble to perform New Orleans Jazz at an Audio Show in Europe. He recorded Girl of My Dreams to Analog Tape and later transferred it to Stereo DSD for release.
The Jazz Makers pull out all the stops singing and playing 15 songs with Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Trumpet, Sousaphone and Banjo. The music is very enjoyable, and the musicians are having a great time singing and playing it. If you are looking for a Jazz album that is joyous and just plain fun, this is your album!
– Brian Moura
Choral Music (Bill Dodd)
More years ago than I’d care to remember I participated in a performance of the Berlioz Grande Messe des Morts hidden in the 1st Bass section of the chorus. Since then I’ve heard many recordings of the work, but none has pleased me more than this release from Sir Antonio Pappano with the Concertgebouworkest (The new official name of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), tenor Javier Camarena, and the Chorus of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Maria! The critics love it, and I love it. I think you will too. The recording and performance are unsurpassed.
The MDR Leipzig Radio Choir is quite fine in these motets from Bruckner and Michael Haydn. These Bruckner choral pieces are far less grandiose than his symphonies and are lovely. As the booklet notes suggest, finding these two composers together might seem like an odd pairing but there are many commonalities in their lives. Most importantly, the MDR Leipzig Radio Choir and the recording engineers have made this a must-hear release.
Solo Piano (Brian Moura)
Pianist Josep Colom has released several albums on the Eudora Records label at NativeDSD. On his 5th album in Stereo and 5 Channel Pure DSD 256 Colom performs Frederic Mompou’s Musica Callada on a Model D Steinway and Sons piano. Eudora’s Gonzalo Noqué calls the album a “reference recording of this iconic work”. When I listened to this album, I found it to be the one of the most realistic recordings of a pianist that I have ever heard. It is a fine performance by Colom and an amazing recording from Eudora.
The multi-talented Bart Koop (Qope) returned to NativeDSD in 2021 with his album Reverie. Koop is influenced by a variety of musical genres including Rock which he embraced with his album Paper Motion and a more reflective style on his prior album Nocturnal. Reverie is along the same musical lines as his last album. TRPTK calls it “meditative and often cyclical with a spontaneous character”. I found the album to be melodic and introspective. An interesting addition to his body of work at TRPTK.
In 2021, pianist Raffi Besalyan followed up his Sono Luminus debut album The Return with a new album, The Sound of Black and White. This album features tributes to the music of Aram Khachaturian, Oscar Levant, Earl Wild, and George Gershwin.
Besalyan is an exceptional pianist. His playing on Embraceable You, Rhapsody In Blue and Sabre Dance are highlights. But there are many more. A fine addition to the Sono Luminus catalog and the piano performances at NativeDSD.
Classical Guitar (Brian Moura)
On Tuhu we are introduced to French guitar virtuosa Gaëlle Solal. The album is her debut on Eudora. It features the music of Pixinguinha, Nazareth, Jobim and Dyens in what the music label describes as a merger of “Brazilian Folk with Classical Music”. Eudora’s Producer and Recording Engineer Gonzalo Noque is a Classical Guitarist himself and has brought us several excellent Pure DSD 256 recordings by Classical Guitarist Ricardo Gallen.
With Tuhu, there is a lot to highlight and praise. Solal’s performances of this music which features her own arrangements is joyous, sensitive and a treat to just relax and listen to. Adding in the state of the art, direct to Pure DSD 256 recording and you have an album of memorable guitar music. Not to be missed.
This album was a bit of a surprise. Classical Guitarist Jesper Sivebaek says that he had two guitar heroes in his youth – Andres Segovia and Danish Rock Musician Kim Larsen. On Take Me Along (Ta’ Mig Med), Sivebaek brings us the product of 10 years of his work – arranging Kim Larsen’s music for Classical Guitar. The album is an enjoyable journey into Larsen’s music presented by a fine Classical Guitarist. Take Me Along is a very enjoyable album and listening to it quickly demonstrated why it was a popular one with NativeDSD listeners in 2021.
Chamber Music (Bill Dodd)
A charming and deeply felt performance from Ona Cardona, Clarinet, and Josep Colom, Piano. These duets from Brahms, and both Robert and Clara Schumann are what I call a perfect rainy Sunday afternoon concert. There is an intimacy in the presentation that make you feel that the artists are playing for you alone. The recording captures the sound of the instruments in that way as well.
The cover of this album is very appropriate: Rosanne Philippens standing between caricature silhouettes of Haydn and Stravinsky. She writes that the connection between the Haydn concertos and Stravinsky’s Le Baiser de la Fee is the “intelligence and humor” which is so evident in all. I believe that along with her obvious talents and abilities, Rosanne Philippens always seems like she is having a very good time. She is accompanied by the excellent Vondel Strings.
From the booklet notes: “La Muse features two completely different works by French composers both written in 1944:Trio à Cordes Op.105 by Florent Schmitt and Suite La Muse Ménagère’ by Darius Milhaud. One is turbulent and magnificent, the other intimate and poetic. The two composers could not be more different and might be said to clash. And yet, Prisma String Trio feel their works are a beautiful match and complement each other well.“ The first half of the 20th Century was an especially amazing time for music, including these two composers. The Prisma String Trio brings a personal touch to these works, and the results are quite enjoyable. Cobra’s recording is excellent.
Funk, Blues & Soul (Brian Moura)
This album is a Live to Stereo Pure DSD 256 recording featuring Blues Singer and Acoustic Guitarist Little G Weevil. Weevil is a multi-award-winning Blues Singer who has traveled throughout Europe and the United States. It features 17 tracks and almost 90 minutes of the blues – just acoustic guitar and vocals. The songs are heartfelt and the performances ripple with feeling. The excellent Stereo Pure DSD 256 recording is icing on the cake. A must have for fans of the Blues!
Tenor Saxophone player Arnett Cobb is a Jazz Legend who was known as the “Wild Man of the Tenor Sax”. His playing featured elements of Jazz, Swing, Soul and Stomps. On Funky Butt, 2xHD Mastering dips into the catalog of Jazzology Records to bring us a collection of Cobb’s tasty sax playing backed by Derek Smith, Ray Drummond, and Ronnie Bedford. From start to finish this album is exciting and entertaining, offering insight as to how Arnett Cobb influenced many genres of music in his day and for generations to come.
– Brian Moura
Sugar Hip Ya Ya is a Soul Album recorded in Stereo DSD 256 by singer-songwriter, producer, and radio personality Dionne Bennett. The album also features 7 original songs that were written or co-written by Blues Singer Little G Weevil.
The album features Dionne Bennett delivering a passionate performance of Tell Mama (made famous by Etta James) and a swinging edition of Yes We Can (originally sung by The Pointer Sisters). Bennett is known as a singer that has performed with many famed music stars in musical genres including Blues, Jazz to Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Reggae, Drum Bass Funk and Rock. Her versatility and musical chops are on full display here. Sugar Hip Ya Ya quickly became a best-selling album this year at NativeDSD. One listen and you will quickly find out why.
Solo Instrumental (Bill Dodd)
So many Goldbergs to choose from! This new one from Hannes Minnaar is a standout for clarity, phrasing, tonality, and a sense of letting a complete work flow from all of these variations. Excellent engineering captures Minnaar’s piano perfectly. Personally I’d rank this very highly next to my favorites.
Federico Mompou (1893-1987) is a Catalan composer known primarily for his songs and solo piano works. He was an accomplished pianist, but his extreme shyness caused him to devote himself exclusively to composition. Musica Callada (Silent Music) is a suite of short, deceptively simple piano pieces which become increasingly meaningful as one listens. Josep Colom is marvelous in these pieces. A very fine recording as well!
Anna Fedorova has the perfect touch for Chopin, and Channel Classics engineering captures is perfectly. Her program of “Waltzes, Mazurkas, and Nocturnes is absolutely delightful. She is delicate, she is strong, and she truly tells the story of each piece in her playing. All six (so far) of her Albums for Channel Classics are award-worthy.
Swing Jazz (Brian Moura)
This album by Jazz Sextet PapaJazz is a swinging tribute to the upbeat Jazz music of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s written by Mihály Eisemann. It is a Live to Stereo Pure DSD 256 recording from Hunnia Records. Eisemann Songbook is unique, not only for the period music that it brings to the listener, but also in the use of vintage instruments which provide added flavor to the songs. This includes the use of a C Melody Saxophone which ended production in the early 1930s but is played on this album by two PapaJazz members.
I was not familiar with the tracks on this album or the music from this period. But I will say that the music is upbeat, swinging, thoroughly entertaining and takes you to a different era. A surprisingly delightful album.
Rene Laflamme of 2xHD Mastering is best known for his Analog Tape to DSD remasters of classic Jazz recordings. On occasion, Rene also records original music for the 2xHD music label. Arrow of Gold is an example of one of these original recordings.
This album features the Swing Jazz group appropriately named Swingaro performing music composed by Django Reinhardt, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and George Ulmer. The recording uses the One Microphone Recording technique and was recorded to Analog Tape and then transferred from Analog to DSD and DXD. It is an enjoyable album that won over a number of NativeDSD listeners in 2021.
ArpiShow is a 6-member Swing Jazz orchestra formed in 2017 by clarinet and saxophone player Arpad Dennert (hence the name “ArpiShow”). The group’s motto is “Pure Swing, Nothing Else!”
Friends Talk features 13 tracks and almost 1 hour of Swing Jazz music. Some tracks are purely instrumental while others also include a vocalist. I found Friends Talk to be very entertaining, full of swinging performances captured in stellar Pure DSD 256 sound quality. One NativeDSD listener called it one of the best albums he has downloaded to date with excellent performances, music and sound quality that is a game changer. That says it all.
Jazz Duo (Brian Moura)
On Amulet, we have two talented Jazz musicians – Michael Moore on Clarinet and Paul Berner on Double Bass. Berner first appeared at NativeDSD with his band on a tribute to the music of John Lennon and Paul McCartney titled This Bird Has Flown.
Recorded with One Microphone by Sound Liaison’s Frans de Rond, Amulet is the kind of album that lends itself to this recording technique. Moore’s Clarinet takes the lead and Berner’s Double Bass follows along, with the two musicians participating in a very musical interplay. It is straight forward good music. A pleasure to sit back and enjoy.
This is another one of Sound Liaison’s minimally mic’d recordings. Soft Shoulders features flugelhorn player Ack van Rooyen accompanied by pianist Juraj Stanik. In this case, van Rooyen’s Flugelhorn appears in the Right Channel and Stanik’s Piano is in the Left Channel. The album features 10 well known standards played simply with just horn and piano. It is an excellent recording and a fine musical performance.
The list of people Ack van Rooyen worked with in his 75 year long career is endless, to name a few; Miles Davis (Montreux festival), Gil Evans Orchestra, Clark Terry Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Toots Thielemans, Steve Gadd, Jan Gabarek, Kenny Clarke, Niels Henning Ørsted Petersen, Aimé Barelli Orchestra (Paris), Peter Herbolzheimer Big Band, WDR Big Band, Dutch Jazz Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra, SFB Bigband, Süd-Deutscher Rundfunk Orchestra and the Clarke-Boland Bigband. Sadly, legendary Dutch jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist Ack van Rooyen just passed away in November 2021.
Opera & Operetta (Bill Dodd)
What a wonderful release this is, Lisette Oropesa in her solo debut album of Mozart arias! Everything you could expect: agility, breath control, wonderful range. She makes the lyrics live and breathe! Antonello Manacorda’s conducting is excellent as well. A sparkling program!
Also sparkling is Marin Alsop’s take on Leonard Bernstein’s operetta, Candide!
Lenny was Alsop’s mentor, and she does him proud. We are certainly used to Bernstein’s overture, a favorite orchestral lollipop, but when I heard the extra bit of tuba puffing going on in this rendition, I knew that we were in for something satirical and fun. A superb cast is doing something they obviously love. The London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus are, as you’d expect, excellent.
The first of three one-act operas Puccini combined into his Trittico, Il Tabarro is an extremely “forward-looking” work. As the booklet notes, “you will hear impressionist harmonies, allusions to Stravinsky, and dramatically significent self-borrowings.” I’ve always wished that Puccini had written more orchestral works, as he was a master of orchestration. Il Tabarro shines when presented by itself, and this recording is superb, both in recording quality and in the work of the artists involved. They make Il Tabarro shine all on its own.
Electronic Music (Brian Moura)
Time Capsule 2020 is an electronic music album celebrating the end of the year 2020. This is a Live to Stereo Pure DSD 256 recording from Hunnia Records. It features Endre Huszar (also known as “eNerd”), Luca Kezdy, Peta Lukacs and Dure.
The 5 tracks on Time Capsule 2020 are original compositions performed on a variety of instruments including Drums, Vocoder, Violin, Seven String Electric Guitar and the InstaDrum which merges the music of electronic drum pads and an acoustic drum kit. The album features some of the best sounding electronic music performances that I have heard. If experimental, electronic music is a musical genre that you enjoy, I would recommend giving eNerd IV a listen.
This is one of the more unusual releases this year at NativeDSD. The album indicates that it was composed and produced by Cask Thomson of AudioDefine Records. But there is no information about the members of Empty Triangless – the name of the band playing on this self-titled debut album. I guess we will have to keep wondering who the members of the “triangle” are.
That said, the album features an enjoyable mix of electronic and rhythmic rock music with a space theme. It is an Analog Recording that has been transferred to Direct Stream Digital (DSD) for release at NativeDSD. I have listened to Empty Triangles a number of times, enjoying it more each time. Electronic Music and Rock fans will want to give this album a listen.
– Brian Moura
Vocal Solo (Bill Dodd)
Chanson! A style that is recognizable world-wide for being uniquely French! But the Dutch operatic and concert baritone Thomas Oliemans grew up hearing the great French Chansons we all know. On this album, Oliemans proves that he is equally adept at the piano and singing these marvelous “Chansons”.
In addition to Brel, Legrand, Becaud, and Barbara, you will hear an overture from Franck, and interludes from Debussy, Faure, and even a little of Ravel’s Bolero to introduce some of the songs. This is an album to be cherished.
What a treasure this album is! Miriam Meghnagi sings Jewish songs, accompanied by Guitarist Domenico Ascione. The words are Hebrew, Yiddish, or Ladino, and the songs are from Spain, Italy, and Eastern Europe. These songs are rich in tradition and history of a people scattered across many places, but hearing them for the very first time, with no expectation, I hear so much that reminds me of simple folk songs, some Yiddish Theater, and even French Chanson. Great sound, marvelous singing, I love it!
Composer Gisle Kverndokk writes: “Summer is the main theme you’ll sense here. The bright summer. The light that gives life, but which eventually turns into darkness – the summer that passes into autumn. (…) Summer is short. Life is short.” World class soprano Marianne Beate Kielland is accompanied by pianist Nils Anders Mortensen. Wonderful music, with an excellent recording.
Jazz Piano (Brian Moura)
Pianist Bob James is best known as the composer of the theme to the TV Show “Taxi” and the artist that released a series of Smooth Jazz albums on Columbia Records and Tappen Zee in the 1970s and 1980s. On The Lost 1965 New York Studio Sessions we hear an earlier and different side of Bob James.
Playing music that some have described as Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz. It is different from the Bob James that many knew – or thought they knew. But it is very enjoyable Jazz and well worth adding to your Jazz collection.
2xHD Mastering dips into the Jazzology Records catalog to bring us Explosive by Jazz Pianist and Vocalist Dorothy Donegan. Donegan was said to be a protege of legendary pianist Art Tatum. This album certainly bears that out. Donegan’s playing, backed by bassist Jerome Hunter and drummer Ray Mosca, is energetic, forceful, and yes – explosive! Add in her vocals and you have a fast paced and enjoyable journey into her world of Jazz piano.
Pianist Monty Alexander is well known for his unique piano style which mixes Jazz with the music of Jamaica where he was born. Many listeners are familiar with his recordings on Concord Jazz and Telarc.
Love You Madly hails from an earlier time, back in 1982 when Alexander played a 13 track, 92-minute set at Bubba’s. The album was recorded to Stereo Analog Tape by Mack Emerman, the legendary founder of Miami’s Criteria Recording Studios. Emerman was a big Monty Alexander fan and brought in a mobile recording setup to record this session. It is a fine album full of excellent Jazz performances. Love You Madly quickly became a #1 Best Seller at NativeDSD Music in 2021. When you listen to the album, there is no doubt why.
Bonus Pick (Bill Dodd)
One more album Bill Dodd believes more people should hear, although it fits none of the categories:
I really like the Holst’s suite, The Planets. It’s no Beethoven’s Fifth, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s always a good listen, and a good time. I’ve heard a few lackluster recordings, but I’ve heard many good ones. However, this one is totally unexpected: 5 brass players and one person at the organ taking the place of an entire orchestra with an amazing performance. The key is the arrangement by Enrico O. Dastous which has the organ taking the role of various instruments, but never the whole thing. It’s unique, it’s a hi-fi showpiece, but it’s a very enjoyable Planets as well.
NativeDSD Music would like to thank Bill Dodd and Brian Moura for countless hours of careful listening to the hundreds of albums that were released during the year 2021. Selecting just a few albums for each category has been a daunting job for them. And we appreciate it a lot that they decided to go for it again this year!!! Thank you very much Brian & Bill.
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