The Byrds - “Sweetheart of the Rodeo”

Before the Dixie Chicks, before Garth Brooks, before The Eagles, The Band, and even before Willie Nelson’s huge success in the 1970s and ‘80s, The Byrds, as they had throughout their career, paved the way for a new sound-in 1968, it was the fusion of country music and rock. Just as the Rickenbacker twelve-string electric guitar had been the backbone of The Byrds’ early career, the pedal-steel guitar became the heart of The Byrds’ sound on the landmark album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Prior to its release, The Byrds had flirted with country music, but once Gram Parsons joined the band, their path was laid out for them. Without dropping the influence of Bob Dylan (there are two of his songs on this album), The Byrds added songs by Merle Haggard and the Louvin Brothers, among others, to their repertoire.

This 1997 compact disc issue of Sweetheart of the Rodeo includes eight additional tracks not included on the 1968 release, five of them previously unavailable anywhere.  Learn more about The Byrds at their website.

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere          Hickory Wind
Pretty Polly               Life In Prison

Various Artists - “I Heard it on NPR - Jazz for Blue Nights”

For over 60 years, the Blue Note record label has been associated with great jazz. Folks talk about “The Blue Note Sound,” and artists like Dexter Gordon, Horace Silver, Miles Davis, and Cannonball Adderly. Recently, Blue Note has again proved itself to again be in the vanguard among jazz labels with artists like Cassandra Wilson and Bill Charlap on the roster.

This compilation of classic and contemporary Blue Note recordings is the first in a series of compact discs produced by National Public Radio, called “I Heard it on NPR.” The idea with each of these discs is to bring you a mix of artists and songs that have been featured on NPR programs. With Jazz for Blue Nights, they’ve gotten off to a great start! Enjoy classic cuts from Nancy Wilson, Sarah Vaughn, and Dexter Gordon, along with newer recordings from veterans like Ron Carter, and stars of today like Benny Green and Cassandra Wilson.

Nancy Wilson - The Masquerade Is Over
Benny Green - Time After Time
Dexter Gordon - Love For Sale

Operatica - “Shine”

Operatica has something for all music lovers: a combination of ethereal operatic voices, exotic instruments, and pulsating world beats. The four featured divas on Shine sing adaptations of the music of Grieg, Puccini and Debussy. Persian singer Shakila, noted for her warm and earthy voice, sings a couple of tracks in Farsi. This is a CD that will transport you to another level with its vocal gymnastics and thrilling instrumentals. 

Inva Mula - Mon Amour          Shakila - Khodoya

This year marks the 80th anniversary of composer and arranger Henry Mancini's birth, and the 40th anniversary of the Pink Panther movie franchise.  To celebrate the Year of Mancini, Concord Records has produced a CD as a tribute to the music of Henry Mancini, entitled Ultimate Mancini.  The album features Monica Mancini and special guest artists performing the greatest hits of the truly legendary composer.

Many of the players in the recording session were players with Henry Mancini on the original recordings, such as saxophonist Plas Johnson, who played the original theme on “The Pink Panther.” Joey deFrancesco, a new Jazz artist on Concord, played the organ on “Mr. Lucky,” and Tom Scott is featured on “Peter Gunn,” “Dreamsville,“ “Moment to Moment” and “Breakfast at Tiffany's.” Additional performers are Stevie Wonder on harmonica for "Moon River" with Take 6 singing the vocal.

Ultimate Mancini - The Pink Panther
Take 6 - Moon River
Monica Mancini - Days of Wine and Roses

Born in Moscow, the award-winning San Antonio-based pianist Valeri Grohovski is equally adept at performing both classical music and jazz.  He's performed extensively around the world, and has recorded many albums of music from both the classical and jazz repertoires.  Feather II is a jazz record, recorded in Moscow in 2003.  The album features Grohovski's interpretations of Rodgers & Hart, Gershwin, Victor Young, and Cole Porter, along with an original tune by the pianist.

"One of the finest classical pianists in the world, Valeri Grohovski accomplishes what few others would even attempt when he crosses freely from classical into jazz - without an accent!" -- Christopher Wilkins, Music Director Emeritus, San Antonio Symphony

Just One of Those Things           The Man I Love

Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon has long been known amongst those "in the know" for his witty, cynical songs.  But ironically, it was his diagnosis of inoperable mesothelioma that brought him to the forefront of the musical world again, many years after his hit song "Werewolves of London."  In 2002, Zevon began work on what he must have known would be his last album, The Wind.  Enlisting friends and guest artists such as Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, and Don Henly, The Wind is less an elegy and more of a celebration.  The album landed on many critics' "Best of 2003" lists.  Nominated for five Grammy awards, the album won two, for Best Contemporary Folk Album, and Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal (song "Disorder in the House," with Bruce Springsteen).  Warren Zevon died in September 2003.

Disorder in the House           Keep Me In Your Heart

Marcelo Alvarez and Salvatore Licitra - “Duetto”

This newly released Sony CD showcases the extraordinary talents of opera’s newest generation of superstars, tenors Marcelo Alvarez and Salvatore Licitra with a sublime collection of romantic ballads created especially for the two singers.  Argentinean tenor Marcelo Alvarez has been acclaimed in the most important theatres throughout the world including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala and Royal Opera, Covent Garden; and the response of the sold-out house to Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra’s debut at the Met when he stepped in for ailing Luciano Pavarotti was described by The New York Times as ‘the starry anointing of a potential successor”.. capped with “an ecstatic standing ovation.” 

“It is impossible not to be bowled over by the singing” – Robert Levine, Amazon.com

“a more gloriously fresh…sound that any tenor has produced since Pavarotti’s heyday” – Daily Telegraph 

Audio Sample 1         Audio Sample 2

Camille Saint-Saëns - “Concertos”

1. Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
Composed by Camille Saint-Saens
with Philippe Entremont 
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy 

2. Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor, Op. 44
Composed by Camille Saint-Saens
with Philippe Entremont 
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy 

3. Cello Concerto No. 1, in A minor, Op. 33
Composed by Camille Saint-Saens
with Leonard Rose 
Conducted by Eugene Ormandy 

4. Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, for violin & orchestra in A minor, Op. 28
Composed by Camille Saint-Saens
with Pinchas Zukerman 

Audio Sample

Sidney Bechet - “Spreadin’ Joy”

Sidney Bechet was a true jazz pioneer, a clarinetist who took up soprano saxophone later in his career, bringing it to the attention of the jazz world well before John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter.  Born in New Orleans in 1897, Bechet’s music is full of joy, much in the style of Louis Armstrong, with whom he worked in the 1920s.  These recordings are from the 1940s, and are sure to make your toes tap!

China Boy          Lazy River

Olivia Revueltas - “Angel of Scissors”

Local pianist Olivia Revueltas is a self-taught jazz musician whose playing is passionate, and reminiscent of Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor.  This new CD was recorded with the late drummer Billy Higgins, a legend in the jazz world who passed away in May of 2001.  Revueltas offers this album in tribute to him.
A note from Olivia Revueltas about Angel of Scissors: “Since I was a little girl, the thing that most caught my attention is the capacity of the human race to overcome obstacles, even if they are devastating. This capacity of the human race is what I most love and appreciate in the drama of history, when man sublimizes his pain and problems and rises to the highest level and with great hope enlarges his thinking to the most wide and elevated horizons, higher than his own circumstances, and becomes so noble. The music in this recording generally talks about this matter. I try to express with my music the values of the spirit, its beauty and yes, to express that there is hope even inside the drama with which my music is impregnated. This recording, Angel of Scissors, is dedicated to the memory of Billy Higgins”
       - Olivia Revueltas

Fables of Faubus         What Is This Thing Called Love?

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