Better Than TV
Doug Rosenberg
Jazz
UPC: 884501992503
Doug Rosenberg is a member of the new generation of jazz musicians composing and improvising music for the next century. The Chicago Tribune hails his “fearlessness of spirit and a robustness of tone that seem likely to win him a devoted following in coming years.” Rosenberg’s work on saxophone has an instantly recognizable sound and personal melodic language. He is best known for his work with Eastern Blok and Goran Ivanovic. Doug Rosenberg has also collaborated with great musicians like Sam Barsh, Maurice Brown, Kelan Phil Cohran, Robert Glasper, Robert “Baabe” Irving III, Rakalam Bob Moses, and Kendrick Scott.
All music on Better Than TV is composed by Doug Rosenberg.
Published by Shalantdoro Music/ASCAP. Recorded and mixed by Anthony Gravino
at Joy Ride and The Drake.
This recording was made using analog tape.Doug Rosenberg – Tenor Saxophone
Rob Clearfield – Piano
Matt Ulery – Bass
Makaya McCraven – Drums
Marquis Hill – Trumpet
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Arlene Bardelle
Jazz
UPC: 850710001107
"Arlene's command and presence in a room makes you hope that the evening never ends.
She really swings!"
- Chicago Jazz MagazineArlene Bardelle has been dazzling audience with her tasteful vocal styling for the past several years. Chicago is her home base, where she works with some of the finest musicians in town. She was a mainstay at the famed Coq D'or in the Drake hotel for many years and has performed at many other top notch Chicago venues such as the Pump Room, Andy's Jazz Club, Pops for Champagne, Fitzgerald's and the Jazz Showcase.
Kickstand
Peter Schwendener
Jazz
UPC: 800492210068
“Chicago pianist Peter Schwendener has a fine quintet outing on “Kickstand,” mostly of cannily arranged standards. He sets the pace and the interpretive manner for the group, something that’s a secret of leadership involving a delicate balance…”
-Jay Harvey, Indianapolis Star.Peter Schwendener has been part of the Chicago jazz scene for nearly three decades. He moved to the city in 1979 after receiving formal training in Boston at the Berklee College of Music. Since then, Schwendener has played at such Chicago jazz institutions as The Green Mill, Pop's for Champagne, The Jazz Showcase, and the fondly remembered Leslee's, where he held down that venue's first regular job.
Guitar Duo
Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic
Jazz - World
UPC: 884501110921
The underground guitar prodigy Andreas Kapsalis of the critically acclaimed Andreas Kapsalis Trio and Megitza Quartet, has juxtaposed his one of a kind finger tapping style with the world renowned Serbian compositional and improvisational mind, Goran Ivanovic of Eastern Blok. This highly acclaimed cinematic musical experience has been winning over the ears of the harshest critics world wide.
Now for the first time, steel string ten finger tapping guitar prodigy Andreas Kapsalis, and nylon string Balkan folk guitarist Goran Ivanovic are fusing their Serbian and Greek folk music roots with modern, classical, world, jazz and beyond in this experimental duo.
Folk Tales
Eastern Blok
World Music
UPC: 837101373517
The Los Angeles Times calls Eastern Blok’s music “relentlessly innovative work.”
Downbeat Magazine claims that “the ensemble playing is often breakneck and consistently challenging.”
Acoustic Guitar Magazine raves that Eastern Blok plays with “blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty.”
After performing over 100 shows a year and selling thousands of records, the band formerly known as The Goran Ivanovic Group has recorded a new album, changed their name, and has been successfully packing venues throughout the country since the release of their self-titled debut album in 2005.
Eastern Blok’s “extraordinary pan-cultural ensemble effortlessly blends classical and jazz music with the rich folkloric traditions of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Serbia. The resulting music is as alluring as it is complex. Exotic Middle Eastern motifs merge gracefully with the evocative sounds of Eastern European Klezmer music. Beautifully conceived folk passages are followed by perfectly executed Mahavishnu-inspired pyrotechnics. The passion and urgency at which this group plays is heard in every note on this remarkable musical offering” (Minor 7th Magazine).
Seven Boats
Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haquee
World Music
UPC: 821254403726
Ivanovic and Haque sound like committed internationalists. Their disc's liner notes emphasize the duo's mixed background -- Ivanovic has Balkan parents and he studied classical music in Salzburg; Haque is part Pakistani, part Chilean, and is as much of an eclectic as his musical partner. While their compositions draw from Macedonian folk songs and pay homage to Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, it's the pair's intricate harmonies that make Seven Boats an impressive recording. Both of these guitarists have impeccable technique, yet they are astute in choosing to go the route of minimalism and evocative uses of space. Ivanovic's title track is a great example of how to move dynamics with the right amount of subtelty.
- Aaron Cohen, Downbeat Feb. 2005
Macedonian Blues: Laments and Dances
Goran Ivanovic & Fareed Haque
World Music
UPC: 821254403122
This impressive album by Chicago based Fareed Haque and Croatian born Goran Ivanovic is an excellent example of the complex textures available to two acoustic guitars played by musicians with open minds and few technical limitations. Carefully arranged and well balanced between blazing virtuosity and sheer beauty, this collection of Macedonian melodies arranged for two nylon-string guitars ranges from simple folk melodies ("Lament") to adventurously modern sounding tunes ("Improv"). - Teja Gerken, Acoustic Guitar Magazine August 2002
The Sun is Love
Michelle Areyzaga & Jamie Shaak
Classical Music
UPC: 850710001527
This collection of song cycles and piano music by American composer Gwyneth Walker contains settings of poetry by E. E. Cummings, May Swenson, and the Sufi mystic, Rumi.
Michelle Areyzaga has been praised for her ravishing soprano in opera and song and Jamie Shaak’s piano artistry has been heard at the Kennedy Center and at Lincoln Center in New York.
This recording is a labor of love, as these two peerless artists team up to introduce a wider audience to the music of one of America’s most gifted composers.
Already well known for her choral settings, Gwyneth Walker here breaks new ground in these sensitive and lavish renderings for soprano and piano. The quality of Ms. Walker’s piano music is further highlighted in two original and fascinating piano solos.
New Choros of Brazil
Paulo Bellinati & Harvey Wainapel
World Music
UPC: 850710001626
Paulo Bellinati and Harvey Wainapel offer a rare opportunity to hear the latest additions to Brazil's century old musical genre, Choro (pronounced "SHO-rue"). This uniquely Brazilian sound derives from a combination of European classical and dance forms, Brazilian rhythms and melodies, and jazz improvisations, making it irresistible to listeners of all types of music.
Paulo Bellinati is one of Brazil's most accomplished contemporary guitarists. His active international career has taken him to Europe, Asia and the Americas. He performs and records with some of the world's top musicians, including Steve Swallow, Monica Salmaso, Renaud Garcia-Fons, Lucilla Galeazzi, Carla Bley, Gal Costa, Leila Pinheiro and Chico Buarque.
He won the Premio Sharp (Brazil's Grammy) for his arrangements on Gal Costa's CD "O Sorriso do Gato de Alice," and his landmark recording "The Guitar Works of Garoto" earned 5 stars in CD Review.
Clarinetist/Saxophonist Harvey Wainapel (pronounced "wine-apple") has performed with the likes of McCoy Tyner, Joe Lovano, Joe Henderson, Ray Charles and Johnny Coles. He has toured extensively, appearing in clubs, jazz festivals, radio/TV broadcasts, and music workshops in over 20 countries.
I'll Be Laughing Tonight
Jazz / Vocal
SONNY G.
UPC: 884501004947
Sonny G. is having the time of his life! He recently made his recording debut at the age of 67, singing the songs he loves with top musicians, making a set of standards and a few obscurities sound as if they were written for him. The joy he feels for the music is obvious and his sensitive interpretations display a deep understanding of the lyrics he sings.
Sonny G. is joined by organist Joey DeFrancesco on six numbers, pianist Tom Muellner on nine, guitarist Bill Klewitz, drummer Phil Gratteau are on every song, bassist Kelly Sill is on the selections on which Joey DeFrancesco does not appear. Three songs also have Sonny G. joined by horns with Bob Ojeda contributing some tasteful flugelhorn to "I Wish I Knew". Sonny G's voice is highly expressive, always in-tune, he swings at every tempo, and he does justice to all of the words that he interprets. There are spots for DeFrancesco, Muellner and Klewitz to stretch out, but the main focus is on the singer.
It's All About Time
Tommy Muellner
Jazz
UPC: 850710001046
"It's All About Time" is an elegant, high-energy jazz album. Tommy Muellner is a consummate keyboardist. While paying obvious homage to influences like Bill Evans, Tommy's style is contemporary and fully-realized. On this album, Tommy combines a myriad of jazz standards with several originals. It's an eclectic mix of lyrical tunes and uptempo arrangements. Tommy's rhythm section is impeccable, and the occasional guest trumpet hits the mark every time. All of this jazz craftsmanship is brought to life in a rich-sounding recording, with true-to-life soundstaging, terrific bottom, and clear, punchy acoustic bass. Whether your a jazz aficianado or a casual listener, "It's All About Time" is a jazz treasure.
I Know Where I'm Going
Classical Music
UPC: 821254402729
St. Charles Singers
Formed in 1984 by conductor Jeffrey Hunt, the St Charles Singers have won acclaim from musicians and critics alike. John Rutter has conducted them on numerous occasions, and they have collaborated with conductor Timothy Brown of Clare College, Cambridge, James Conlon and the Chicago Symphony and Jazz great George Shearing among others.
Christmas in St. Charles
Holiday Music
UPC: 821254900126
St. Charles Singers
"This is quite lovely…
The emphasis is on the impeccable vocal blend of the Illinois choir, named after their home town, and clear precise diction…
…there are a number of unusual pieces which will not be found on the usual seasonal recording… " - John Story, The GRAMOPHONE, February 2005
