Catalog

Saxophonist Adam Estes and pianist Adrienne Park share transcriptions of master works by Beethoven, Chaminade, Burhans, and Saint-Saëns on their LYRICAL BARITONE, VOL. 1. Borrowed from the flute, bassoon, and cello repertoires, this album celebrates this captivating music reimagined for baritone saxophone and piano duo. While the lowest note of the cello and the baritone saxophone is the same, the common playing range isn’t: the cello’s stretches an entire octave further, rendering literal transcriptions fiendishly difficult to play. This considerable challenge seems to pose no difficulty to Estes and Park at all: with great lightness and delicacy, they navigate calmly and confidently through even the most treacherous musical waters. A virtuosic feat and feast.

Stephen Page saxophone Alexandre Maynegre-Torra piano Saxophonist Stephen Page returns to Navona Records with EARTHLY ROUND, a selection of chamber works that showcase the saxophone's capacity to traverse diverse styles, emotions, and cultural influences. The title piece from composer Miriama Young serves as a poignant musical meditation on [...]

The name for Bruce Stark's album VIBRANT could not be more aptly chosen: if ever there was the acoustic equivalent of fireworks in solo piano music, this would be it. Interpreted to perfection by Indonesian pianist Isabella Jie, virtuosic sparks fly and rich colors blossom. The apparent formality of Stark's compositions — a sonata, a kind of suite, a set of dances, a toccata — betrays the innovation that lives and breathes within these pieces: there's a similar spirit at play here as in the works of Prokofiev or Takemitsu. The language is tonal, yet never commonplace; but most striking is the level of energy, with a firepower that is off the charts. An exhilarating experience.

It is no secret that John Rommereim harbors an immense love for vocal music. Known for his choral compositions as well as his conducting of choirs, it would be easy to pigeonhole the man — were it not for the existence of his instrumental works. INTO THE STILL HOLLOW juxtaposes both talents, and offers a glimpse at Rommereim's multifarious accomplishments. The variety is astounding. There are intimate lieder, accompanied by piano or an evocative string quartet; a three-part suite for solo guitar; and unconventional duos, one for organ and saxophone, the other for organ and oboe. Stylistically, the pieces walk the fine line between Western tradition and its ritual annihilation. Cerebral, yes, but also impassioned.

THAT’S A DIFFERENT GROOVE from Marcus Eley presents clarinet works from jazz legends Alvin Batiste, David N. Baker, Yusef Lateef, and Oliver Nelson. Eley deftly reimagines these compositions in a chamber music setting. The album’s unifying theme is “groove,” the term musicians use to describe that elusive feeling of finding the rhythmic sweet-spot. Alvin Batiste’s Swing in the Abstract gives listeners a taste of New Orleans, while Yusef Lateef’s reinterpretation of Brahms invites us to consider new ways of hearing a centuries-old work. Transcending genre boundaries, THAT’S A DIFFERENT GROOVE is a bold, yet nuanced, series of performances spotlighting the jazz clarinet.

Few things are as shrouded in mystery as the process behind the conception of an idea — partially because verbal explorations of cognition are seldom fruitful. But where words fail, music steps in to enlighten: and this is the aim of Kevin Bobo's ORIGINS & EXPANSIONS, a philosophical reflection scored for wind ensemble and steelpan. Bobo musically examines the turbulent process of creation, from uncertain beginnings to victorious transformations. ORIGINS & EXPANSIONS evokes the tentative emergence of an idea, winding through obstacles and moments of introspection, and eventually captures the fragile resilience of inspiration forming. It's a cerebral, immersive exploration of existence itself; metaphysical, yes, but also richly narrative.

Not long ago, the West developed an overwhelming love for all things Korean: cuisine, romance dramas, pop groups. Much less notorious is the emerging Korean scene of serious music composers. Internationally-acclaimed pianist Eun-Hee Park aims to shed light on its abundance with her new release, KOREAN SOUNDSCAPES.