CD-Charts Position 1

Monteverdi: L'Orfeo

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from: Eclectra Records

Release Date May 01, 2001

CD-Charts Position 2

Verdi: Aida

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from: Sony

Release Date January 01, 1991

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Verdi: Aida / Millo, Domingo, Zajick, Morris, Ramey; Levine

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by: Giuseppe Verdi, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Samuel Ramey, Hei-Kyung Hong, James Levine, Aprile Millo, Plácido Domingo, Dolora Zajick, James Morris

Release Date April 19, 1991
If there were any Aida today that could compare with the greats of the past such as Tebaldi and Milanov, it would be the American soprano Aprile Millo. Most Verdi operas after Verdi's early phase were no longer centered around the main soprano, and of course one would need an excellent cast to make the opera ring with life. This recording does not disappoint the listener in any way, and while conductors like Abbado and Muti know how to better conduct the score, Levine was too an excellent Verdian and delivers the score with passion and spontaneity. I would wish that the pacing of Verdi's score were somewhat faster, but there is so much lyricism and beauty in Levine's conducting that one could forget his shortcomings.

The cast ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Compact Jazz

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by: Johnny Hodges & Wild Bill Davis

Release Date October 30, 1989
If there were any Aida today that could compare with the greats of the past such as Tebaldi and Milanov, it would be the American soprano Aprile Millo. Most Verdi operas after Verdi's early phase were no longer centered around the main soprano, and of course one would need an excellent cast to make the opera ring with life. This recording does not disappoint the listener in any way, and while conductors like Abbado and Muti know how to better conduct the score, Levine was too an excellent Verdian and delivers the score with passion and spontaneity. I would wish that the pacing of Verdi's score were somewhat faster, but there is so much lyricism and beauty in Levine's conducting that one could forget his shortcomings.

The cast ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Play It Where It Lays

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by: The Kerry Strayer Quartet

Release Date November 07, 2006
If there were any Aida today that could compare with the greats of the past such as Tebaldi and Milanov, it would be the American soprano Aprile Millo. Most Verdi operas after Verdi's early phase were no longer centered around the main soprano, and of course one would need an excellent cast to make the opera ring with life. This recording does not disappoint the listener in any way, and while conductors like Abbado and Muti know how to better conduct the score, Levine was too an excellent Verdian and delivers the score with passion and spontaneity. I would wish that the pacing of Verdi's score were somewhat faster, but there is so much lyricism and beauty in Levine's conducting that one could forget his shortcomings.

The cast ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

More Blues and the Abstract Truth

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by: Oliver Nelson

Release Date March 11, 1997
True, there's no "Stolen Moments," no Bill Evans, Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard. But this sequel to Oliver Nelson's classic "Blues and the Abstract Truth" is every bit as enjoyable and, in some respects, is an even more impressive display of Oliver's compositional-arranging brilliance while leaving even more blowing room than its predecessor.

This time only half of tunes are originals: Dave Brubeck deserves credit for two of the numbers, Hefti gets the honors for the familiar "Midnight Blue" (never sounding better than with this arrangement featuring Ben Webster), and "Goin' to Chicago Blues" receives a fresh and welcome facelift.

It could be argued that pianist Roger Kellaway is more suited to Oliver's extrovertish tailorings ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Play It Where It Lays

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by: The Kerry Strayer Quartet

Release Date February 06, 2007
True, there's no "Stolen Moments," no Bill Evans, Eric Dolphy and Freddie Hubbard. But this sequel to Oliver Nelson's classic "Blues and the Abstract Truth" is every bit as enjoyable and, in some respects, is an even more impressive display of Oliver's compositional-arranging brilliance while leaving even more blowing room than its predecessor.

This time only half of tunes are originals: Dave Brubeck deserves credit for two of the numbers, Hefti gets the honors for the familiar "Midnight Blue" (never sounding better than with this arrangement featuring Ben Webster), and "Goin' to Chicago Blues" receives a fresh and welcome facelift.

It could be argued that pianist Roger Kellaway is more suited to Oliver's extrovertish tailorings ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

More Blues and the Abstract Truth

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by: Oliver Nelson

Release Date July 23, 2007
As the album's title implies, this recording had a more highly-praised predecessor. I know I risk a good deal of purist flogging when I say I've always preferred 'More Blues' for a couple of reasons. First, this is a top-drawer exploration of post-war blues technique as codified by the likes of Charlie Parker in the hands of a first-class modern arranger. Secondly, the first album included the crack quasi-avant garde alto man Eric Dolphy, which was fine for fans, but the aural shock of his well-rendered solos made the recording less accessible to the average listener. I don't much like stars, but I subtracted one here because the normally-desirable 24-bit processing doesn't come up to snuff in this instance. In addition to being flat-out fun, this recording has ... Read More: