Pat Benatar: Synchronistic Wanderings: Recorded Anthology 1979 to 1999

"It was Monday, March 6, 1977, audition night at Catch A Rising Star in New York City; it was about 1:30 in the morning. I was at the bar with some friends; I heard this voice coming from the showroom and it pulled me inside to hear her in person. Richard Belzer was the MC; I asked him to ask her if she could sing another song. She did, and I invited her to come back immediately. That voice was so incredible (a five octave range) that in a club which incubated the careers of many great comedic talents such as Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Andy Kaufman and a slew of other luminaries, one of the great talents of our time had people calling night after night to see if this 5 foot 3 inch person would be appearing that evening. Several years later I was her manager and it took no time at all to have a bidding war between record labels. We signed with Terry Ellis of Chrysalis Records. We were fortunate enough to find one of the greatest guitar players out there, Neil Giraldo, who immediately became her band leader/producer and put the band together. A year and a half later with the release of her first album In The Heat Of The Night, she earned her first (of four) Grammy Awards for 'Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female'" (CD notes foreword by Rick Newman, founder of Catch A Rising Star).

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Eurythmics: In the Garden

"Eurythmics were a British music duo consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, now disbanded but known to reunite from time to time. Stewart and Lennox were both previously in the bands The Catch and The Tourists. Their musical style ranged from new wave and synthpop to pop rock and soft rock. Eurythmics originally came together in 1980 and disbanded in 1990. They reunited in 1999 and split again in 2005. The duo released their first album, In the Garden, in 1981 to little fanfare, but went on to achieve global success with their second album Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), released in 1983. ... They recorded their first album in Cologne with Conny Plank (who had produced the later Tourists sessions). This resulted in the album In the Garden, released in October 1981. The album mixed psychedelic, krautrock and electropop influences, and featured contributions from Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit (of Can), drummer Clem Burke (of Blondie), Robert Görl (of Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft), and flautist Tim Wheater. A couple of the songs were co-written by guitarist Roger Pomphrey (now a TV director). The album received an indifferent critical reception and was not a commercial success (though the debut single 'Never Gonna Cry Again' made the UK charts at No. 63)" (Wikipedia).

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Susan Tedeschi: Just Won't Burn

"Tedeschi formed the Susan Tedeschi Band in 1994, featuring Tom Hambridge and Adrienne Hayes. In 1995 her then boyfriend, Boston musician Tim Gearan taught Tedeschi how to play blues guitar. It was then she really began to hone her skills on the instrument. In December the band released Better Days to regional audiences. Record contracts were difficult to keep together; however, recording sessions from 1997 were acquired by Richard Rosenblatt and the band was signed to indy label Tone-Cool Records and Just Won't Burn, featuring young guitarist Sean Costello, was released in February 1998 to very positive reviews, particularly from blues critics and publications. In 1999, Tedeschi played several dates in the all-woman traveling festival Lilith Fair organized by Sarah McLachlan. ... In 2000, Just Won't Burn reached Gold record status for sales of 500,000 in the United States, rare for a blues production. ... Susan Tedeschi's voice has been described as a blend of Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, which she maintains is not surprising given that both have been her influences. Her guitar playing is influenced by Buddy Guy, Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and Doyle Bramhall II" (Wikipedia).

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The Mothers of Invention: Freak Out!

"Ray Collins ... entered the national spotlight with the Mothers of Invention. ... In the mid-1960s Mr. Collins was singing falsetto in a rhythm-and-blues cover band called the Soul Giants when things soured between him and the band’s guitarist, Ray Hunt. ... Mr. Collins 'punched his lights out,' Mr. Zappa told the television host Mike Douglas in the 1970s. 'He was out of the band and they needed somebody to come in and take over for a while,' he added, 'so I went down there and sat in with them and I thought they were real good.' In Mr. Collins’s version of events, no punches were thrown but Mr. Zappa did indeed take over the band. Mr. Zappa urged his bandmates to perform original material — his own — and the Soul Giants changed their name, first to the Mothers and later to the Mothers of Invention. The shift in direction led to recognition, a recording contract, some truly original music and a devoted following, if not rock stardom. Mr. Collins was the lead singer on the band’s first two albums: 'Freak Out!' (1966), which mixed satirical lyrics with music that ranged from straightforward rock to atonal experimentation, and 'Absolutely Free' (1967)" (William Yardley, "Ray Collins of the Mothers of Invention Dies," New York Times, 12/26/12).

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Brad Mehldau Trio Live

"Over the past two decades, no artist has done more to extend and refine the piano trio’s possibilities than Brad Mehldau. With two brilliant Northern California-raised compatriots, bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, he’s forged a strikingly beautiful group sound distinguished by a flexible approach in which the players continuously trade roles, often eschewing traditional bass and drum solos while elaborating on the form of a song. Whether playing his own stunning compositions, Thelonious Monk classics, American Songbook standards, or more contemporary tunes by Nick Drake, Radiohead or the Beatles, Mehldau has a gift for long, emotionally arching improvisations. Last year, Carnegie Hall made Mehldau the first jazz musician ever appointed to the Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair. But wherever his musical travels take him, the pianist always returns to the creative cauldron of the acoustic trio format" (SFJAZZ).

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Scrapomatic: I'm a Stranger and I Love the Night

"Critically acclaimed eclectic roots outfit Scrapomatic released I'm A Stranger And I Love The Night via Landslide Records this summer. ... Mike Mattison, who also sings and writes songs for the Grammy Award winning Tedeschi Trucks Band, leads Scrapomatic. ... Mattison won a Grammy as lead singer with The Derek Trucks Band for 2009's Best Blues Album, Already Free, and in 2010, when The Derek Trucks Band announced a hiatus and he joined Tedeschi Trucks Band as a backing vocalist and songwriter, it resulted in another Grammy, this time with TTB, for 2011's Best Blues Album, Revelator. His compositions, 'Bound for Glory' and 'Midnight in Harlem,' received significant airplay and the latter was featured in the band's performance for the DVD of Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010" (Mike Ragogna, "Scrapomatic's 'Rat Trap' Video Exclusive," Huffington Post, 12/5/12).

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The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall

"Jazz at Massey Hall is a live jazz album featuring a performance by 'The Quintet' given on 15 May 1953 at Massey Hall in Toronto. The quintet was composed of several leading 'modern' players of the day: Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach. It was the only time that the five men recorded together as a unit, and it was the last recorded meeting of Parker and Gillespie. ... The record was originally issued on Mingus's label Debut, from a recording made by the Toronto New Jazz Society. ... Mingus took the recording to New York where he and Max Roach dubbed in the bass lines, which were under-recorded on most of the tunes, and exchanged Mingus soloing on 'All the Things You Are.' ... Jazz at Massey Hall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1995. It is included in National Public Radio's 'Basic Jazz Library" (Wikipedia).

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young: American Dream

"American Dream is the 1988 reunion album for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Released on November 3, 1988, there was great anticipation for the quartet's first studio album in eighteen years, but all four performers were at various ebbs in their songwriting. ... The title song, written by Neil Young, was a satire of sensational political scandals involving Oliver North, former presidential candidate Gary Hart, and televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. Other songs included 'Got It Made,' written by Stephen Stills with help from Young, and 'Compass,' David Crosby's lament on how much time he had wasted on drugs. ... American Dream peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard charts and went platinum. Young moved on and revitalized his solo career, while the remaining trio turned to touring and recording occasional albums together" (Wikipedia).

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Ke$ha: Warrior

"In interviews over the last year she described the new music she was working on, with her executive producer Dr. Luke, as guitar-based rock ’n’ roll. That’s not quite what happened. It’s more Dr. Luke music: a vivid, synth-y throb with titanic vocals. In several songs ('Warrior,' 'Wherever You Are,' 'Supernatural') there’s a strong influence of the French electronic duo Daft Punk — not exactly a rock band — including very Daft Punk-like melodic interludes in the middle, crazy with digital micro-edits. There are some slim-lined rock aesthetics, in a Strokes-like song called 'Only Wanna Dance With You,' using that band’s drummer, Fabrizio Moretti, and singer, Julian Casablancas, and borrowing the narrow dimensions of their sound. And there’s Iggy Pop, who is a guest on 'Dirty Love,” with a rhythm reminiscent of his 'Lust for Life.' He lends it an abstract importance — a master thrill-seeker’s seal of approval, maybe — but the song has no weight, nothing recognizable as rock power; it seems to evaporate as it plays. There’s no revelation here, only strong fun. Always, she’s loud; using several different voices, she pins you. In songs like 'Die Young' and 'C’Mon,' in party-defiant mode, Kesha bellows her hooks, full and clear; the tone and body and trueness of pitch don’t seem to be faked" (Ben Ratliff, "Flip Side to Her Wild Side," New York Times, 12/3/12).

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Tift Merritt: Bramble Rose

"She was wearing a dress and cowboy boots, her blond hair was beautifully disheveled, her sound soft and vulnerable. But as you watch, she's in command on that stage, leading her talented, longtime band and singing to us with an ashy, quiet, 'I'm going to let you in now' style. ... In 2002, her first album, 'Bramble Rose' earned her a Top 10 ranking from Time magazine and The New Yorker and was selected as 'best debut album of the year' by the Associated Press. ... At the Beacon Theater in New York in 2007, Ms. Merritt joined bands like Yo La Tengo and My Morning Jacket for a Dylan retrospective. The New York Times critic Jon Pareles described her as having 'the night's purest voice.' ... According to Ms. Merritt’s Website bio, Emmylou Harris said after hearing Ms. Merritt sing in a small club, 'She stood out like a diamond in a coal patch...' The author Michael Lewis wrote, 'There really is something powerful about the combination of Southern lady and artist,' adding: 'It’s so refreshing when you find someone who’s that good who isn’t hiding behind affectations. There’s such a naturalness in her'" (Val Haller, "If You Like Bobbie Gentry, Try Tift Merritt," New York Times, 12/4/12).

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Stevie Nicks: In Your Dreams

"Between producing and recording music with Fleetwood Mac and relentlessly touring her own albums, Stevie Nicks is pretty busy. So busy, in fact, that her bandmates publicly expressed their frustration when she told them she wasn't going to tour as Fleetwood Mac last year. She had other priorities, namely supporting her latest and 'favorite solo album,' 'In Your Dreams.' But this is Stevie Nicks, so even prickly bandmate and former lover Lindsey Buckingham agreed to wait" (Kia Makarechi, "Stevie Nicks on Fleetwood Mac's Reunion Tour, Rihanna, Kanye West & Her Early Years in Music," Huffington Post, 12/3/12).

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Berio: Sequenzas II & VII, Differences, Chamber Music

"Is an instrument bounded by the reality of the individual piece someone happens to be playing on it ... ? And is a musical work like an island, cut off from the rest of music history by a sea of difference so that the perimeter of one piece never impinges on the coast of another? ... [B]oth of those propositions are of course philosophical bunk, and one of the composers who proved that most clearly ... is ... the Italian composer Luciano Berio, who was born in 1926 and died in 2003. ... [T]he Sequenzas for solo instruments that Berio started writing in the mid-1950s ... run through the rest of his life in music, from the Sequenza I for Severino Gazzelloni's flute in 1958 to number XIV for cello, composed in 2002. Each sequenza (sequence) is a compositional love-letter from Berio to the repertoires and possibilities of each instrument. But while a piece like the eighth in the, er, sequence of Sequenzas for violin refracts the virtuoso traditions of the instrument through a colourful modernist prism, it also opens up a new kind of soundworld in its volatile extremes of density and dynamic. ... Others of my favourites [include] number III for voice, composed in 1965 for his ex-wife Cathy Berberian" (Tom Service, "A Guide to Luciano Berio's Music," The Guardian, 12/10/12).

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Donald Fagen: Sunken Condos

"When the first single from Sunken Condos, 'I'm Not the Same Without You,' dropped in September, it only heightened anticipation. With its lush opening horns, propulsive groove, and delicious background vocal harmonies, it was a shiny new incarnation of Fagen at his most Fagenesque, with a brightness harkening back to The Nightfly. More than one fan noted that the song felt like 'going home.' Now that the full album is in hand, how does it size up? Sunken Condos delivers. Every quality we love and respect about Fagen is here: complex melodies, immaculate production, sophisticated arrangements, tour de force musicianship, not to mention witty, surface-upbeat lyrics that beg to be dissected for hidden meaning" (Joan K. Smith, "Once Again, Donald Fagen Delivers," Huffington Post, 10/17/12).

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Inon Barnatan: Darknesse Visible

"[T]he pianist Inon Barnatan’s most recent album, 'Darknesse Visible,' is intelligent and moving. ... Mr. Barnatan’s recital on Thursday evening brought the 'Darknesse Visible' program to thrilling life. Mr. Barnatan can do almost anything with tone. He moved in an instant from plush to pearly, giving subtly different colors to the iterations of a repeated note in the 'Peter Grimes' Fantasy, Ronald Stevenson’s eerie arrangement of themes from Benjamin Britten’s opera. ... When he played Chopin at Alice Tully Hall in November, his rubato sometimes felt artificial. ... But that slight exaggeration was invaluable in Mr. Adès’s work, a drastic elongation of the Dowland song 'In Darkness Let Me Dwell.' Mr. Barnatan brought immense anxiety to the quivering that underlies the piece’s glacial calm" (Zachary Woolfe, "Inon Barnatan at 92nd Street Y," New York Times, 12/9/12).

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Dan Deacon: Bromst

"Dan Deacon (born August 28, 1981) is an American composer and electronic musician based out of Baltimore, Maryland. ... Deacon is renowned for his live shows, where large-scale audience participation and interaction is often a major element of the performance. ... He ... attended the Conservatory of Music at State University of New York at Purchase in Purchase, New York where, in addition to performing his solo material, he played in many bands, including tuba for Langhorne Slim and guitar in the improvisational grindcore band Rated R, and had a small mixed chamber ensemble. He completed his graduate studies in electro-acoustic and computer music composition. He studied under composer and conductor Joel Thome and Dary John Mizelle. ... Spiderman of the Rings was Deacon's first commercially distributed full-length album, released by Carpark Records in May 2007. ... Deacon's next album entitled Bromst was released on March 24, 2009. It was produced by Chester Gwazda at Snow Ghost Studios in Whitefish, Montana and features live instruments including player piano and a variety of percussion instruments. The album was well received; Pitchfork gave it an 8.5/10, and it placed it into the 'best new music' section. Bromst also ranked #46 in Pitchfork's Best Albums of 2009" (Wikipedia).

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RCA Records Label: The 1st Note in Black Music

"The package, the first put together by RCA in recognition of its black music artists, contains individual tracks pulled from RCA, Novus, Bluebird, and Jive by more than 80 artist. Each CD is devoted to a different genre of music. 'Rock It in Rhythm: A Blues and Gospel Heritage,' compiled by Billy Altman, contains tracks by Fats Waller, Alberta Hunter, Tommy Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson, Leadbelly, Big Joe Williams, Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup, Roosevelt Sykes & His Original Honey Drippers, and others.  The second disc, 'Parade of Giants,' is a chronicle of big-band and jazz players who revolutionized their era. ... The third disc, titled 'Pop, Rock, Soul, and Beyond' ... spans the '40s to the present" (Janine McAdams, "RCA Unleashes Extensive Black-Music Collection," Billboard, 6/13/92).

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Pat Benatar: Gravity's Rainbow

"Pat Benatar (born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski; January 10, 1953) is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She is a mezzo-soprano. She has had considerable commercial success, particularly in the United States. During the 1980s, Benatar had two RIAA-certified Multi-Platinum albums, five RIAA-certified Platinum albums, three RIAA-certified Gold albums and 19 Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits, 'Hit Me with Your Best Shot', 'Love Is a Battlefield', 'We Belong' and 'Invincible'. Benatar was one of the most heavily played artists in the early days of MTV. ... Patricia Mae Andrzejewski was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City. Her Polish father, Andrew, was a sheet-metal worker, and her Irish mother, Mildred, a beautician. ... Training as a coloratura with plans to attend the Juilliard School, Benatar surprised family, friends and teachers by deciding a classical career was not for her and pursued health education at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. At 19, after one year at Stony Brook, she dropped out to marry her high school sweetheart Dennis Benatar. ... In 1973, Benatar quit her job as a bank teller to pursue a singing career after being inspired by a Liza Minnelli concert" (Wikipedia).

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Beethoven: String Quartets Op. 127 & Op. 131

"'A Late Quartet' has an important point to make about classical music. For the musicians who play it, especially intimate chamber works in which the group members have to think, feel and breathe as one, their instruments are vehicles for conveying strong emotion. Without passion, a performance, no matter how impeccable, is just a technical feat. In concert, high-strung artists must put aside their disagreements to work toward a common goal of seamless unity. The paradoxical drives for individual self-expression and for group harmony — along with questions of who will lead and who will follow — are a profound theme that resonates, especially in this year of savage electioneering. The film’s musical centerpiece, Beethoven’s Quartet in C sharp minor (Op. 131), is a tumultuous 40-minute string quartet whose seven movements are to be played without a pause. The ravishing version heard in the film belongs to the Brentano String Quartet, whose recording is piercingly intense" (Stephen Holden, "The Strings Play On; The Bonds Tear Apart," New York Times, 11/1/12).

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Slash: Apocalyptic Love

"Dust off the top hat and get to Wallingford Sept. 15, as Slash, featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, will play The Dome at Oakdale.The Guitar Hero entrepreneur (and guitarist for G&R and Velvet Revolver) is touring on his album 'Apocalyptic Love,' released in May" (Nick Caito, "Upcoming Shows," Sound Check, 8/1/12).

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Matisyahu: Spark Seeker

"On Tuesday, he releases his fourth studio CD, 'Spark Seeker,' a fresh sound produced by Kool Kojak with reggae, hip-hop and electronica layered over Middle Eastern instruments and rhythms. It is as hard to pigeonhole as the artist who made it. The album, recorded in Los Angeles and Israel, veers from the pure pop of 'Sunshine' – a song Katy Perry would happily release – to the acid hip-hop of 'Tel Aviv'n' and dancehall in 'Searchin.' The rapper Shyne – whose conversion to Judaism has been widely noted – appears on two songs. 'It got more groovy,' says Matisyahu, with a smile. As always, there is depth to Matisyahu's lyrics, a man who, naturally, writes of constantly seeking answers. One line – 'They say I'd inspire but I'm still looking for my fire' – stands out. 'When you write a record and you go back and think of what are the real key moments? That's one of them,' he says. 'That's the idea that you're never giving up on that as an artist or someone who's trying to be creative and create music that's inspirational for people.' Kojak likened working with the singer to playing street ball in New York – both were guided by instinct and played to each other's strengths. He says he admired how his friend handled the challenges that came with balancing faith and his own life" (Mark Kennedy, "Matisyahu, Former Hasidic Reggae Star, Continues Evolution with 'Spark Seeker'," Huffington Post, 7/16/12).

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Usher: Looking 4 Myself

"Looking 4 Myself, Usher's seventh studio album, is poised to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, reports Billboard. The magazine also projects that the album will sell around 120,000 to 130,000 copies by the end of the tracking week. If Looking 4 Myself does top the Billboard 200, this will be Usher's fourth No. 1 album" (Crystal Bell, "Usher, 'Pumped Up Kicks'," Huffington Post, 6/14/12).

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