Mike

Author Archives: Mike

March 4, 2015

Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings Go Vinyl

Forty years ago, renowned entertainer Tony Bennett joined together with legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans for their first of two duet albums. The result was 1975’s The Tony Bennett / Bill Evans Album, followed by Together Again the following year. To celebrate this incredible coupling of talents, Fantasy Records, a unit of Concord Music Group, will release a deluxe, 180-gram vinyl box set. Venerated as a special moment in the history of jazz, the two albums, plus two discs’ worth of alternate takes and bonus tracks, are combined in this four-LP, 180-gram vinyl collection, The Complete Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Recordings. Included is a collectible 12×12 photograph of the two musicians, as well as a deluxe 12-page booklet featuring rare images and extensive liner notes by Will Friedwald (co-author of Tony Bennett’s autobiography, The Good Life).

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March 3, 2015

Opera Theatre Of St. Louis To Release 27

After a critically acclaimed run in St. Louis in June of 2014, composer Ricky Ian Gordon and librettist Royce Vavrek’s opera “27” will now be available to audiences around the globe, with the release of the world premiere recording of the opera on Albany Records. Recorded live in performance throughout the run of the opera, the album is the first commercial recording of a commissioned world premiere from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

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March 3, 2015

Pianos Become Teeth To Tour

PIANOS BECOME THE TEETH ANNOUNCE SPRING TOUR DATES Loma Prieta and Gates Join as Support Baltimore melodic post-hardcore band Pianos Become the Teeth has announced a headlining spring tour with Loma Prieta and Gates joining as support. Pianos Become the Teeth tour in support of their critically-lauded 2014 Epitaph release, Keep You. Keep You is […]

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March 3, 2015

Brian Fest And No Pier Pressure Coming

The Best Fest, sponsored by Jameson Irish Whiskey, is proud to announce the first-ever Brian Fest: A Night to Celebrate the Music of Brian Wilson, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member and legendary founding member of The Beach Boys. This special concert event will take place on March 30th at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. An incredible line up of artists has come together to pay tribute to Brian through performances of their favorite Wilson-penned classics. As always, the Best Fest’s acclaimed Cabin Down Below Band will host the illustrious cast of musicians. Brian Wilson will make a special guest appearance at the show.

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March 3, 2015

Ben Williams’s Coming Of Age Coming April 21st

Acclaimed bassist Ben Williams delivers his sophomore album titled Coming of Age, April 21, 2015, on CD and vinyl via Concord Jazz. Continuing to implore the common elements of jazz, hip-hop, rock and soul, the young bandleader embarks on a bolder journey in this album with more music by his own hand and a reflection of his new outlook as a seasoned musician. Coming of Age for the 30-year-old Williams means playing a lively role among his peers and a vital part in the music world at large. Winner of the 2009 Monk Institute Competition, Williams cites this as a turning point in his musical odyssey, “My career as a bandleader and composer started from the moment I won,” he says. “I had this opportunity to say something—and an obligation, too.”

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March 3, 2015

Andrew Combs Drops All These Dreams

Andrew Combs’ new album, All These Dreams, is out today on Coin Records/Thirty Tigers (iTunes). Released to widespread acclaim, NPR Music’s Ann Powers praises, “The arrangements on All These Dreams have a retro quality, evoking 1970s Laurel Canyon and 1980s Austin as well as 1960s Music Row. With the singer’s sagebrush-rough but always carefully calibrated vocals at the center, the album works on one level as a history of the troubadour figure from the classic-rock era onward, with Combs as charming antihero,” while the Boston Globe recently included Combs in their “10 bands and solo artists to watch in 2015,” asserting, “…an elegant singer and songwriter, spinning gold from tales about heartache and redemption and spirituality—all with a tasteful patina of pop and soul.” Moreover, NPR Music recently debuted the official music video for his song “Nothing To Lose,” declaring, “The video keeps Combs’ music at the center while opening up a flood of associations. It’s a classic performance perfect for right now.”

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