Reference Recordings LPs: The Reference Mastercuts Series
For more information and to Order


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On Sunday Feb. 13, Keith O. Johnson and David Frost won the Grammy® for Best Surround Sound Album
"Britten's Orchestra" (RR-120SACD) at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
For More Information

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Our Newest FRESH! Release and 33rd Annual Blues Music Award Nominee:
Acoustic Album: Brand New Eyes; Acoustic Artist: Doug MacLeod ---For more information
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Reference Recordings is proud to announce Brasileiro Soul, a Brazilian jazz/pop album from versatile singer/songwriter/guitarist Reinaldo Brahn.

Reinaldo Brahn
BRASILEIRO SOUL
RR-124

Talented young Brazilian singer-songwriter-guitarist, Reinaldo Brahn, plays rich and complex music, with a killer band and exotic percussion by famed Jim Brock!

• Brasileiro Soul is a collection of fourteen original songs penned by Brazilian guitarist and singer Reinaldo Brahn.

• The deep heritage of his guitar style, along with his rich unmistakable voice, makes Brasileiro Soul as provocative as the land that cultivated it.

• Veteran percussionist and producer Jim Brock refers to Reinaldo Brahn as “the new voice of Brasil.”

• Gorgeous lyrics in Portugese (with one song in English).

• Young guitarist Reinaldo Brahn grew up listening to the jazzy samba music of his native Brazil. On Brasilero Soul he weaves that heritage with new Brazilian pop styles.

• He left the renowned Brazilian vocal group Soul Makube to embark on a solo career. Gathering influences from Gilberto Gil, Djavan and Caetano Veloso, Reinaldo began touring his original music throughout Brazil, and then in 2006 brought his music to the United States.

• The sonics from Grammy-winning engineer Keith Johnson will ensure enthusiastic reception by audiophiles and music lovers

• Recorded at venerable Reflection Sound Studios in Charlote, NC, scene of several RR past successes.

Reinaldo Brahn, vocals & acoustic guitar; Jim Brock, percussion; Tim Gordon, winds; Steve Kim, electric bass; Al Sergel, drums; Mark Stallings, keyboards; Dustin Hofsess, electric guitar; Jon Thornton, trumpet/flugelhorn

Track Listing: Alma de atriz (Soul of an Actress); A Procura da Razão (Search for a Reason); Paisagem Ancorada (Anchored Landscape); Põe o pé na estrada (Sincere Love); Onde Está (Where is It ?); As lagrimas Consolam (Tears Console); Anjo de Julho (Angel of July); So Nos Dois (Two of Us); Toda Mulher (Every Woman); Tarde (Dusk); Out of the Blue; Wondering; No Colla da Serra (In the Lap of the Mountain); Tempo (Time)

RR-124HDCD - Reinaldo Brahn - Brasileiro Soul - $16.98

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Reference Recordings is thrilled to present a new release of virtuoso solo improvisations by David Bowie’s long-time music director!

MIKE GARSON
The Bowie Variations
RR-123

“Whatever Mike lends his hands to invariably becomes something magical.”–David Bowie.

Beginning in 1972, super-versatile pianist Mike Garson performed, toured internationally and recorded with one of the most creative figures in popular music, David Bowie.

Garson writes, “When I met David, I sensed that he was an immense artist and a songwriter with a flair for great melodies and unique harmonies. The Ziggy Stardust tour changed the course of my life in many ways and began a working relationship and a special friendship that has spanned four decades.”

Having played the Bowie songbook in concert countless times, Garson always had the ambition to record his own original variations on these well-known themes. This is the year it came to fruition!

Thanks to the advanced digital technology of the Yamaha Disklavier piano, Garson was able to create several exciting sonic overlays, without abandoning RR’s audiophile approach to recording. “It’s like having six hands!” he exclaimed.

Recorded in the fine natural acoustics of the Oxnard, California, Center for the Performing Arts (venue of several previous RR successes), this program has realistic spatial characteristics not possible with standard studio techniques. Grammy® award winning engineer Keith Johnson has created another touchstone piano recording.

Review: "...there's gorgeous sound, an exquisite recording and an intellectual challenge." —Ken Kessler, HiFi News

Review: "Garson doesn't just do straight jazz treatments; he moves through classical, pop and even avant-garde genres here and there. Most interesting." —John Henry,Audiophile Audition

Review: "...each and every track is surprising, involving, and just superb...and what a recording it is! This HDCD-encoded disc is perhaps the best-sounding piano disc I have ever encountered...If you're a Bowie fan, you should hear this disc. If you're a fan of jazz you should, too. And even if you just want to hear just how good a CD can sound, with a disc able to push your system to its limits, this is one you should have." --Andrew Everard,What Hi-Fi - complete review

Track Listing: 1 Space Oddity; 2 John, I’m Only Dancing; 3 Life On Mars; 4 Heroes; 5 Ashes To Ashes; 6 Variations on “Changes”; 7 Let's Dance; 8 Battle For Britain/Loneliest Guy/Disco King; 9 Tribute to David; 10 Wild is the Wind; Bonus Track: 11 Space Oddity–take 2

RR-123HDCD - Mike Garson - The Bowie Variations - $16.98

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The Concord Chamber Music Society

Premieres
Brubeck and Gandolfi works
for Reference Recordings
RR-122

“It gives me great pride to announce the release of the Concord Chamber Music Society’s first recording project. It was an exhilarating experience to play in Mechanics Hall, collaborate with Chris Brubeck and Michael Gandolfi, and work with the exceptional Reference Recordings team.” –Wendy Putnam, CCMS founder.

These new works by Chris Brubeck and Michael Gandolfi, two of America’s most-commissioned composers, are both accessible and adventurous. Grammy award winning engineer “Prof.” Keith Johnson did an outstanding job of recording this music in the superb natural acoustics of Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, an historic 19th-century landmark. Johnson’s approach exemplifies the label’s pursuit of the absolute sound: capturing special music in outstanding spaces.

Chris Brubeck (b. 1952) bears one of the most distinguished names in American music as the son of jazz musician and composer Dave Brubeck. Growing up with his father’s wide-ranging musical activities always present, it is not surprising that his own musical world is both wide and inclusive. He plays a number of instruments, sings, and composes in both jazz and classical genres. Danza del Soul is scored for a colorful sextet of violin, piano, clarinet, cello, acoustic bass and percussion. Its stylistic mixture of traditional chamber music with elements of jazz was cheered enthusiastically at its 2010 Tanglewood Music Festival premiere with these musicians.

A native and lifelong resident of the Boston area, Michael Gandolfi (b. 1956) began his musical involvement in rock and jazz improvisation as a self-taught guitarist. His increasing skill in improvisation drew him to composition, and he began formal study in his early teens. Gandolfi frequently finds musical inspiration in art and literature. Line Drawings derives its musical ideas from drawings of Pablo Picasso. He notes, “None of my pieces is tethered to a precise Picasso drawing but they are written in the spirit of the Picasso works: concise, clear, written with a sense of immediacy and sureness of ‘stroke,’ light and ‘airy.’ This trio for violin, clarinet and piano is full of variety and vitality, a rewarding listen.

In just its second recording, the Lukas Foss duo for violin and piano, Central Park Reel, hints cheerfully at a kind of musical twin bill. “Central Park” suggests a scene in New York but “Reel” hints at a characteristic dance often accompanied by a bluegrass band. The work was designed to represent American music overseas, so it is no surprise that Foss chose a vernacular style like bluegrass fiddle playing and converted it into a lively “country” piece that still hints, here and there, at the big city.

The Concord Chamber Music Society was founded by Boston Symphony Orchestra violinist Wendy Putnam in January 2000. CCMS presents a yearly series of chamber music concerts in Concord, Massachusetts, and sponsors a variety of educational outreach initiatives throughout the region. These accomplished, dedicated and hard-working artists include Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians, members of acclaimed chamber ensembles, and faculty members of musical institutions, including the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory of Music.

Mechanics Hall – an acoustical masterpiece – is internationally regarded as one of the world’s great concert halls for its superb acoustics and inspirational beauty. The elegant 19th building in the heart of New England is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Reviews:
"Chris Brubeck and Michael Gandolfi contribute genial works, jazz-and-pop-inflected, that work well together and are followed neatly by an 'urban bluegrass' piece by the recently deceased, constantly self-reinventing Lukas Foss... As one expects from RR, the recording is of very high quality, with a clear spatial sense of the players and warm, natural sound for each instrument." —Joe Milicia, EnjoyTheMusic.com --complete review

"The [musicians] play all three works with tremendous style and authority, abetted by gorgeously spacious and clean engineering...this disc is highly recommended to those seeking new chamber works that are accessible, clear and consistently interesting." —Jed Distler,Gramophone

"Here's an attractive trio of contemporary American chamber works that make use of tonality in various guises, as well as jazz and other vernacular influences, but explore both novel concepts and rigorous formal devices and could not in any way be called crossover pieces. [The Foss] is a sparkling finale to an enjoyable program." --James Manheim, AllMusic .com - complete review

"The outstanding audio is the equal of any CD quality that I have ever heard and plays on any regular player... This release is receiving my top recommendation..." --Karl Lozier, PositiveFeedback.com

"Best of all is Gandolfi’s Line Drawings, a 2009 commission that consists of five short pieces for violin, clarinet, and piano. Inspired by Picasso’s drawings, Gandolfi set himself the task of writing quickly and spontaneously (as Picasso drew), and the results are highly enjoyable and playful." --David Perkins, The Boston Globe

"The CD with music by Chris Brubeck, Michael Gandolfi and Lukas Foss is wonderful... The sextet of violin, piano, clarinet, cello, acoustic bass, and percussion sounded gorgeous." --Steve Guttenberg, The Audiophiliac

Track Listing and links to mp3 sound samples: BRUBECK - danza del soul - 1 Introductions and Flirtations; 2 The Loneliness of Secrets; 3 Celebraçion de Vida; Wendy Putnam, violin; Thomas Martin, clarinet; Vytas Baksys, piano; Owen Young, cello;Lawrence Wolfe, bass; Daniel Bauch, percussion; GANDOLFI - line drawings - 4 Canon, Cut and Paste; 5 A Farewell to Old Friends; 6 Hidden Variable; 7 Obbligato Aria; 8 Chickens; Wendy Putnam, violin; Thomas Martin, clarinet; Vytas Baksys, piano; FOSS - 9 central park reel; Wendy Putnam, violin; Vytas Baksys, piano

RR-122HDCD - CCMS - Brubeck, Gandofi, Foss- $16.98

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Announcing FRESH! from Reference Recordings

This new offshoot of our 34-year-old independent classical and jazz audiophile label will offer productions from all music genres. We want you to enjoy them! Talented artists and producers have often offered us masters but before this we didn’t have a way to release them. Unlike Reference Recordings releases, most of FRESH! offerings will not be recorded by the RR team. RR will endeavor to have input prior to recording, and have a hands-on role in editing, post production and/or mastering phases of production.For more information and to order

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Our Newest FRESH! Release
33rd Annual Blues Music Award Nominee:
Acoustic Album: Brand New Eyes
Acoustic Artist: Doug MacLeod

BRAND NEW EYES
with Blues Master
Doug MacLeod
FR-703

MacLeod has been a beacon of unquestionably honest roots-music since the 1970s. On Brand New Eyes, he presents 11 original songs. He is the rare artist who writes and sings songs that are based on his own life and experiences. A 2011 Blues Music Award nominee and an American troubadour. Glenn Nishida at Pacifica Studios was the recording engineer, and our own Keith Johnson did the final mastering. Keith states it has very good sonics and sends it out with his blessing! Doug's music and recordings are beloved by blues fans and by audiophiles alike (he had several hits in past years on the Audioquest label) and we are proud to present Brand New Eyes to you! Visit Doug's Website

New Review: MacLeod uses his ability as a storyteller to enable us to briefly see the world through his eyes. His spellbinding performances will captivate you, just as he does on a live stage. And the superb sonic qualities of this recording are exactly what you would expect from a label that is part of the Reference Recordings group, a label with a long history of audiophile-quality releases. No questions here – this one comes highly recommended!!!! ---Mark Thompson - Crossroads Blues Society Music and Video Reviews - complete review
also a video of "Brand New Eyes."

Track Listing: Brand New Eyes, Something Dark is Walking, The Train of Change, Midnight in Memphis, Zu-Zu Woman, One Eyed Owl, Somewhere South of Somewhere (instrumental), I Rolled a Nickel, The Nature of the Man. Some Old Blues Song (aka I Can Count on My Blues). Welcome In Your Home

FR-703CD - Brand New Eyes - $14.98

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Announcing Our First HRx Sampler: HR-2011 - For More Information and to order
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THE ABSOLUTE SOUND Magazine Selects
RR CDs for their 2011 High-End Audio Buyers' Guide
BEST AUDIOPHILE LABEL RECORDINGS: (More Information)

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"The Role of the Recording Engineer"
A Great Article in Ultra Audio
by Simeon Sandiford (complete article )

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NEW HDCD Release

PIED PIPER
Mike Garson / Jim Walker
RR-121 HDCD

Crystalline-pure recording of soothing, meditative jazz! Jim Walker, flute and Mike Garson, piano perform 12 original Mike Garson compositions. Jim Walker is a dynamic jazz soloist, legendary orchestral and studio musician, and an inspiration to countless students worldwide. Mike Garson is best known as long-time music director for David Bowie and is perhaps the most versatile pianist working today. PIED PIPER is a new high resolution HDCD digital remastering from the original analogue tapes. This project was previously issued as a 45-rpm audiophile LP in 1985 and a CD in 1992: RR-18 Reflections, long out of print and now collectible!

Track Listing: Portrait of a Friend; Love; First Song; Ethereal; Yearnings; Pied Piper; Syrinx; The Park; Magic Spell; You’re One Of A Kind; Reflections; Reason; Admiration

RR-121 HDCD - Pied Piper - $12.98 NOW AVAILABLE

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ADDITIONAL RR SACD RELEASES!!

FOUR New HRx Titles: HR-70 Stravinsky, HR-95 Respighi, HR-99 Reveries - Eiji Oue - MNO; and HR-101 Organ Sensation - Felix Hell
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NEW JAZZ SAMPLER

JAZZ KALEIDOSCOPE
RR-910 HDCD

Top tracks by Dick Hyman, Clark Terry, Red Norvo, Mike Garson, The Hot Club of San Franciso, Jim Brock and The Blazing Redheads.

Jazz covers a lot of musical territory, and many of its varied styles are represented here. Stride piano from the 1920s rubs shoulders with swing from the 1940s, classic combo sounds from the 1950s, salsa-flavored dance music, and recently-created pieces that stretch the very boundaries of jazz.

Don't miss this "cream" collection from the RR catalogue, at the bargain price of Only $9.98.

Track Listing:Red Norvo Quintet: Rhee Waahnee; Dick Hyman, piano: I’m Goin’ To See My Ma; Blazing Redheads: Tribute To Dollar Brand; Mike Garson Quartet: Nothin’ To Do Blues; Clark Terry/DePaul U. Big Band: I Want A Little Girl; Hyman Swing All-Stars: You’re Driving Me Crazy/Moten Swing; Jim Brock Ensemble: O Vazio; DICK Hyman, piano: I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart; Hyman Swing All-Stars: I Hope Gabriel Likes My Music; Hot Club of San Francisco: Lullabye; Dick Hyman, piano: In A Mist; Brock/Manakas Ensemble: Jordan

RR-910 HDCD - JAZZ KALEIDOSCOPE - $9.98

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THE EQUATOR REDUX

LETTERS FROM THE EQUATOR
RR-56 - newly remastered with HDCD

Master percussionist Jim Brock features the music of guitar wizard Van Manakas, with bass, drums, keyboards and winds.

From the Tango stylings of Argentina to the celebrations of Brazil, LETTERS FROM THE EQUATOR, takes the armchair traveler on an exciting journey into the furthest regions a sound system can reproduce. "Prof." Keith Johnson has made a new high-resolution digital transfer from the original analogue masters, with much-improved sonics. This has long been one of RR's highly-regarded studio productions, of dynamic and colorful originals with a Latin tinge. If the first release escaped you, don't hesitate about this significant re-issue, still only $12.98. NOW AVAILABLE!

Track Listing:Jumbie Dance; Cantina; Cholla; Lovers’ Eyes; Letters from the Equator; Smile Elis; Los Pompas; Twenty-Nine Palms; Jordan

Sound Samples / Downloads - HDTracks.com

RR-56 HDCD - Letters from the Equator - $12.98

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EXCITING SHOWPIECES BY BENJAMIN BRITTEN!

Britten's Orchestra

Michael Stern
Kansas City Symphony

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is a symphonic tour-de-force and audio spectacular, featuring all sections of the symphony, separately and together. Based on a famous theme by Henry Purcell, Britten writes in essence his “Concerto for Orchestra,” taking the ensemble apart, then reassembling it in a grand and jubilant finale. Dynamic range is extreme.

Britten was a dedicated pacifist, and the Sinfonia da requiem from 1940 is his musical plea for peace. It begins with stark and dramatic drumbeats that will be a test for even the finest sound systems, and builds to tremendous climaxes. This early work is regarded by many as the finest of all his orchestral scores.

Peter Grimes, Britten’s most popular opera, is heard most often in the orchestral Sea Interludes and Passacaglia, some of his most haunting and atmospheric orchestral music. “Prof.” Johnson’s transparent sonics allow one to “hear into” all these scores as never before.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of this new recording is the exceptional performance by Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony. RR has made many fine orchestral recordings, and we feel that this is one of our very best.

This new release was produced by four-time Grammy Award winner David Frost. Frost says he is honored to work with engineer Keith Johnson for the first time, and is full of enthusiasm for the sound quality of the masters.

REVIEWS: "In a brilliant display of orchestral power and poetry from the country's heartland, Michael Stern leads the Kansas City Symphony in an all-Britten programme that speaks eloquently . . . As always with this great audiophile label, the skill and commitment of Reference's recording team need to be accorded special recognition. In either stereo or HDCD, the sound is better than being in the hall: rich in detail, gold in colour and equal to any volume." --Laurence Vittes, Gramophone

"Britten's Orchestra...is not only deeply satisfying on a musical level, but will also, I predict, become an instant "demo" disc classic. Great music and great sound -- now that's my kind of "audiophile" recording." --Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound

“A new release from [RR] brings us Benjamin Britten’s best-known orchestral works in disciplined readings, dazzlingly recorded in HDCD sound… These are strong performances, and they sound great. What more do you need to know?” –Phillip Scott, Fanfare

“You immediately sense that this will be a musical and sonic treat… The opening of the Sinfonia da requiem is truly cataclysmic, with a powerful drumbeat that no other recording remotely approaches… This becomes the preferred recorded performance of the Sinfonia… Get this fine collection to complete a very basic survey of Brittten’s full orchestral music.” --Arthur Lintgen, Fanfare

“Time after time as I went through this disc I was struck by [Stern’s] fresh and interesting takes on this familiar music, and by his ability to clarify orchestral texture and draw exciting, committed playing from the Kansans. The orchestra is solid, with exceptional brass, expressive winds and precise, vigorous work from all the string sections.” –Wayne Donnelly, EnjoyTheMusic.com

"The (Guide) is a delight, a voyage of discovery through the resources marshalled by a modern symphony orchestra. . . The Kansas City Symphony...is pretty much flawless in its execution of music which depends so much on the beauty of the instruments... The sound is of great help as well... more than once the music and the sound gave me major goose bumps... Perhaps you'll have the epiphany I did, and if you do, it can change your life." --Gerard Rejskind, Ultra High Fidelity (Canada)

Sound Samples / Downloads - HDTracks.com

Track Listing: 1 The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra; 2–4 Sinfonia da requiem: 2 Lacrymosa, 3 Dies irae, 4 Requiem aeternam; 5–9 Peter Grimes: Four Sea Interludes & Passacaglia: 5 Dawn, 6 Sunday Morning, 7 Moonlight, 8 Passacaglia, 9 Storm.

RR-120 HDCD - Kansas City Synphony - Britten's Orchestra- $16.98

To order RR-120SACD or to order HR-120 (HRx)

Prepare to be AMAZED!

Dallas Wind Symphony
Sampler

conducted by
Howard Dunn
Frederick Fennell
Jerry Junkin

“The Dallas Wind Symphony is one of America’s elite cultural institutions, up there with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.” –Gene Gaudette.com

At last, a collection of the very best tracks from all RR releases with The Dallas Wind Symphony, America’s only full-time professional wind band! All wind music enthusiasts need to have these knockout performances, conducted by the legendary Frederick Fennell, Jerry Junkin and Howard Dunn. Recorded in the acclaimed acoustics of the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the great music and spectacular sonics are perfectly captured by RR’s world-renowned team of engineer Keith Johnson and producer Tam Henderson.

The Dallas Wind Symphony has recorded thirteen critically-acclaimed titles for RR. This first DWS Sampler, at the special-value price of $9.98, is a collection of “primo” tracks, one from each program, that can serve as an introduction to the exciting world of the extensive wind-band repertoire, and as an audio spectacular to give the finest high-end audio systems a workout!

“The DWS matches every varied mood with skill and spirit. And RR, known for super-duper sonics, again captures the ensemble, and the generous acoustics of the Meyerson Symphony Center, with reach-out-and-touch-it realism. –Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News

Track Listing - Conducted by HOWARD DUNN: H. OWEN REED: La Fiesta Mexicana, Prelude and Aztec Dance; GUSTAV HOLST: Suite #2 in F – excerpt; Conducted by FREDERICK FENNELL: RUBIN GOLDMARK: Rustic Wedding Symphony – Scherzo; ISAAC ALBENIZ: Feast-Day in Seville; JAROMIR WEINBERGER: Polka and Fugue from Schwanda the Bagpiper; MORTON GOULD: Pavanne; LEON JESSEL: Parade of the Wooden Soldiers; Conducted by JERRY JUNKIN: MALCOLM ARNOLD: Scottish Dance; RON NELSON: Rocky Point Holiday; JOHN PHILIP SOUSA: Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; PAUL HINDEMITH: Kammermusik #7–finale; PERCY GRAINGER: Gumsuckers March; DAVID MASLANKA: Symphony #4–finale

RR-909 HDCD - Dallas Wind Symphony - Sampler - $9.98

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A new release with piano virtuoso Joel Fan

Joel Fan

West of the Sun

Joel Fan’s second album for Reference Recordings, further solidifies his reputation for innovative programming and dazzling keyboard technique. Drawing on composers from North and South America, Fan makes brilliant work of major sonatas by Ginastera and Barber, along with “entertainments” by Gottschalk, Piazzolla and Villa-Lobos. Of particular interest are two little-known works by Amy Beach and the African-American composer Margaret Bonds. Another highlight is the world premiere recording of a recent suite by William Bolcom! Any piano enthusiast will enjoy this wide-ranging recital, recorded at Skywalker Sound by RR’s renowned technical guru, “Prof.” Keith O. Johnson.

REVIEWS: "Fan is hardly a child prodigy. Despite his youthful looks he is now 40, and he has a lot of playing time behind him. That experience explains his awesome musicianship, but also his natural sensitivity to the emotional side of music, and control of fine nuances... The sound is clearer and more detailed than if one had good seats to a concert." --Gerard Rejskind, Ultra High Fidelity (Canada)

"[Fan] offers nine stunningly brilliant renditions drawn from a wide range of styles and sources... Capping it all off is an arresting interpretation of Samuel Barber's fearsome 1949 Piano Sonata. Wow." --John Terauds,Toronto Star - [Artistic Quality:10, Sound Quality 10] - Complete Review

"Fan is just marvelous... A well-curated, excellently engineered program of this caliber warrants our highest recommendation." --Jed Distler,ClassicsToday.com - [Artistic Quality:10, Sound Quality 10] - Complete Review

"Fan's piano textures are worth hearing in themselves, for he is an exceptionally fluent, lyrical player with a fine sense of mystery in the slow movements of the piano sonatas by Ginastera and Barber... The result is a program that alternates very gracefully between simpler and more complicated pieces; the music almost seems to breathe and ruminate on the nature of Americanness... With fine engineering, this is a masterful performance." --All Music Guide - (****1/2 performance/****1/2 sound) - Complete Review

"Fan's rendition of Barber's technically challenging sonata, whose knockout last movement was written at the insistence of Vladimir Horowitz, is the performance by which most listeners will judge his achievement. He acquits himself wonderfully, even when compared to Horowitz and speed demon Marc-Andre Hamelin. The adagio is especially touching, and becomes more moving with repeated listening." --Jason Victor Serinus,San Francisco Classical Voice - Complete Review

"His playing was the picture of textural clarity... The program's highlight was the New York premiere of William Bolcom's Nine New Bagatelles, a set of aphoristic, vividly drawn character pieces... Mr. Fan gave it an agile reading, with delicacy and heft carefully balanced." --Allan Kozinn, The New York Times (about the CD release recital, 4/2009)

Sound Samples / Downloads - HDTracks.com

Track Listing - (sound samples are MP3 files) NAZARETH: Vem cá, Branquinha; GOTTSCHALK: Suis Moi! Caprice; PIAZZOLLA: Flora's Game – Milonga Prelude; GINASTERA: Piano Sonata #1; Allegro marcato ; Presto Misterioso; Adagio molto appassionato; Ruvido ed ostinato; VILLA-LOBOS: Chôros No. 5, “Alma Brasileira”; BEACH: Fire-flies, Op. 15 #4; BONDS: Troubled Water; BOLCOM: Nine New Bagatelles; (“...and then what happened?”); (...what happened); (...a bird comments–to another bird?) 0:55 14 (...Lord Lovell’s trunk); (...a little story); (...take no prisoners); (...valse oubliable); (...benediction); (...pavane for the dead/hope’s feathers; BARBER: Piano Sonata, Op. 26; Allegro energico; Allegro vivace e leggero; Adagio mesto; Allegro con spirito.

RR-119 HDCD - JOEL FAN - West of the Sun - $16.98

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Jean-Philippe Rameau’s PIÈCES DE CLAVECIN EN CONCERTS, from the new and exciting period-instrument ensemble Baroque Nouveau (Charles Sherman, harpsichord; Anthony Martin, violin; Stephen Schultz, baroque flute; and Josh Lee, viola da gamba). All of these superb musicians perform with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and other specialist groups.

This repertoire is a collection of Rameau's most appealing, tuneful compositions with improvisational embellishments galore! We recorded this project in June 2008 at famed Skywalker Sound.

NEW REVIEWS - "What more can be said about these delightful pieces?...The only pity is that there aren't more to devour... [Baroque Nouveau] turns in lively, virile readings, full of energy and sparkle. I look forward to hearing future outings from this fine group." --Tom Moore, Early Music America

"The results are wonderful: fresh, full of verve and creative spirit. This may not be a live recording, but it’s a recording that is refreshingly alive... I recommend without reservation that this [CD] become a part of every listener’s library." --Jonathan Rhodes Lee, San Francisco Classical Voice --complete review

Review: "The instrumental balance among the four instruments is perfect -- especially as regarding the harpsichord -- and the noise floor is extremely low, the recording having been made in the renowned studios of Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California." --John Sunier, Audiophile Audition --complete review

Sound Samples / Downloads - HDTracks.com

Track Listing - RAMEAU: Pièces de Clavecin Concert

RR-118 HDCD - Rameau's Pièces de Clavecin Concert - $16.98

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Percy Grainger
LINCOLNSHIRE POSY
performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony

Showcases the wind band music of Percy Grainger, including favorites Lincolnshire Posy and Irish Tune from County Derry ("Danny Boy"). Australia considers Grainger its greatest composer; the U.S., where he lived most of his life, praises him as a music educator, composer and arranger of band music; and England considers him supremely important in the preservation and arrangement of British folk songs.

Grainger's gems are performed to perfection by America's only full-time professional wind band, conducted by Jerry Junkin. Grainger specified many unusual, optional, instruments, and this recording has them all. Hear these "original instrument" performances in the spectacular sonics captured by Reference Recordings' world-renowned team of engineer Keith Johnson and producer Tam Henderson.

"How could you not enjoy this disc? The sound has the clarity, timbral fidelity, floor-shaking dynamic range, and spatial reality that we’ve come to expect from Reference. The performances are first-rate... this CD offers playing of prodigious quality—and no one who purchases it will be disappointed. Strongly recommended." --Peter J. Rabinowitz, Fanfare

"The sound of Reference's disc is simply fantastic... If one is looking for a single disc of Percy Grainger's wind band music that contains a good amount of his "hits" in addition to some surprises, in great sound and well played, then you can hardly go wrong... it's terrific in every way." --Uncle Dave Lewis, AllMusic.com -- complete review

"Wow. Just plain wow. Out of left field comes one of the best classical CDs of the year — an all-Percy Grainger program... The strongest impression left by this disc is the spectacular playing of the Dallas Wind Symphony — the best overall playing I have yet heard from such an ensemble on recorded media of any kind. This disc is proof positive that the DWS is one of America's elite cultural institutions, up there with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Don't believe me? Then get a copy of this disc and judge for yourself. If you're not saying to yourself "Wow, just plain wow," then you need to clean your ears out." --Gene Gaudette, Synaphaï (Artistic Impact: 11 - Sound Quality: 11) -- complete review

"They're all played with appropriate gusto but also, where required, delicacy of spirit... The excellent sound quality is augmented by fine detail..." --Jonathan Woolf, Music Web International -- complete review

"Led by artistic director Jerry Junkin, the DWS matches every varied mood with skill and spirit. And RR, known for super-duper sonics, again captures the ensemble, and the generous acoustics of the Meyerson Symphony Center, with reach-out-and-touch-it realism; the bass drum will give your subwoofer a workout." --Scott Cantrell, Dallas Morning News

"An exquisitely well-played collection of Grainger's folk-flavored compositions and arrangements for concert band... What he didn't know about scoring for concert band wasn't worth knowing. This might just be the best Grainger album to come along since Benjamin Britten's 1969 Salute to Percy Grainger." --Terry Teachout, Arts Journal -- complete review

"All of the pieces sparkle and captivate . . . Sonics are excellent, an audiophile gem." --John Sunier, Audiophile Audition -- complete review

Sound Samples / Downloads - HDTracks.com

Track Listing - The Duke of Marlborough Fanfare; Lincolnshire Posy; The Merry King; Children’s March; Colonial Song; Mock Morris; The Gum-Suckers March; Molly on the Shore; Spoon River; After-Word; Lads of Wamphray; Irish Tune from County Derry; Shepherd’s Hey.

RR-117 HDCD - Lincolnshire Posy - $16.98

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Thinking About Bix

DICK HYMAN
solo piano

Dick Hyman, one of the most accomplished and versatile musicians alive, is especially known as an authority on early jazz. After a lifetime of playing and studying the music of Bix Beiderbecke, Hyman announced he’d like to record for RR a solo program of music associated with Bix, including all five original pieces Bix wrote for piano. (Most likely, these are a recorded first.) Hyman arranged other numbers Bix performed with various groups, and plays and improvises upon these in his distinctive, brilliant style. The title track is an infectious Hyman original reminiscent of the period. An attractive bonus is a piano four-hands performance with Hyman’s friend and stride authority, Mike Lipskin

Listen to Dick Hyman on NPR

"Dick treats us to his take on songs written performed and inspired by Leon Bix Beiderbecke. Bix was an amazing self-taught musician who amazed audiences on piano and later on cornet from childhood to his early death at 28. There's a ragtime bounce to the music, a style that influenced the signature of Hyman. We hear it unencumbered, as this is 100% solo piano captured in all of its glory. This session gives us a clear view of Bix as well as Hyman's talent both as a performer, composer and historian."Performance: 4, Sound: 5 out of 5 --O's Place

"This is a real winner... There are few people around, be they musicians or engineers, who could have made such a wonderful CD as this." -- Andre Gauthier, StereoMojo - complete review and more RR reviews ( you must scroll way down!)

4/5 Stars "There's a ragtime bounce to the music . . . We hear it unencumbered, as this is 100% solo piano captured in all its glory. This session gives us a clear view of Bix as well as Hyman's talent both as a performer, composer and historian." --Oscar Groomes, O's Place Jazz Newsletter

"The musicianship is dazzling. At times, I just shook my head and laughed out loud at his level of virtuosity and musical invention — all in the service of the song. And the sound is swooningly beautiful." —Wayne Garcia, FI magazine (about Dick Hyman In Recital, RR-84)

"Throughout a busy musical career that got underway in the 1950s, Dick Hyman has functioned as pianist, organist, arranger, music director, and composer. His versatility in all of these areas has resulted in film scores, orchestral compositions, concert appearances, and well over 100 albums recorded under his own name. While developing a masterful facility for improvisation in his own piano style, Hyman has investigated ragtime and the earliest periods of jazz and has researched and recorded the piano music of Scott Joplin, Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Zez Confrey, Eubie Blake – and for RR, programs of Duke Ellington and Fats Waller."

“Prof.” Keith Johnson recorded THINKING ABOUT BIX in the renowned facilities of Skywalker Sound in California, using as always his own custom-made microphones, electronics and high-resolution digital converters. The compact disc is encoded with the High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) process, and the 176.4 kHz/24-bit masters will be released soon in RR’s HRx series, for computerized music servers.

Sound Samples / Downloads - HDTracks.com

Track Listing - 1 Thinking About Bix; 2 Singin’ the Blues (Till My Daddy Comes Home); 3 Ostrich Walk; 4 I’m Coming, Virginia; 5 Jazz Me Blues; 6 Candlelights; 7 ‘Tain’t So, Honey, ‘Tain’t So; 8 Since My Best Gal Turned Me Down; 9 In the Dark; 10 Clementine (From New Orleans); 11 Lonely Melody; 12 In A Mist; 13 Sweet Sue (Just You); 14 Wringing’ and Twistin’; 15 Flashes; 16 Davenport Blues; 17 You Took Advantage of Me, with Mike Lipskin (piano four-hands).

RR-116 HDCD - Thinking About Bix - $16.98

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