Our latest reviews
Plaster and Paint: Jan Harper
This is a lovely and unusual book: the ‘twin’ biography of John Colquhoun, orthopaedic surgeon (1899 – 1974) and Joyce McGrath (his patient) Arts Librarian at the State Library of Victoria, and portrait painter, born 1925. The lives of these…
Rose For The Anzac Boys: Jackie French
We are in World War I and 16-year-old Midge Macpherson is in a conservative ‘finishing school’ in England. As the war rages in the trenches, she feels increasingly helpless and useless. With two brothers fighting, she is soon desperate to…
JS Bach - Die Kunst Der Fuge: Pierre-Laurent Aimard
French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s solo debut recording for Deutsche Gramophon is also his first recording of the music of J.S. Bach. Aimard is best known for having specialised in interpreting and recording music of contemporary composers, in particular Ligeti and…
JACARAS 18th Century Spanish Baroque Guitar Music of Santiago de Murcia
You want dance music? Real dance music? This is it! Paul O'Dette celebrates the baroque guitar with Andrew Lawrence-King (of the famed Harp Consort), two additional guitarists and percussion that sets toes tapping. Beginning with the hint of castanets, de…
Gurrumul: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Yunupingu has is a hugely talented indigenous performer and songwriter who has played with some of the best – Yothu Yindi and the Saltwater Band. He has one of the most soulful voices you will ever hear and provides delicate…
In the Moment; Alisdair Fraser and Natalie Hass
This CD come out just before Christmas, but with the flood of great new music released over the month, I’ve just managed to give it a good listen. A couple of customers who really know their Scottish music have raved…
Of Milkmaids and Architects: Martha Tilston
This recent visitor (she was a standout at the Port Fairy Folk Festival) finally gets a local release for an album that is nearly 18 months old. She was immersed in the British folk scene thanks to her performing father…
Holon: Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin
The most apt term, perhaps, for the music of Bärtsch’s quintet Ronin was offered by the pianist/composer himself: he described it as ‘Zen funk’. Bärtsch’s music possesses a combination of woven rhythmic patterns and funk for which they have been…
January: Marcin Wasilewski Trio
‘In the entire history of Polish jazz we’ve never had a band like this one. They just keep getting better and better.’ After the trio’s last album won critical praise, these comments by mentor and employer, the great Polish trumpeter…
Standards and Ballads
This collection encompasses the trumpet virtuoso’s interpretations of jazz standards and ballads between the early ‘80s and late ‘90s. Selected from Marsalis’ vast back-catalogue, the album highlights his romantic side, with slow tempos and ballad feeling prevailing. This is enhanced…
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