Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Ten Recordings You Should Listen To - #4

Katie is our Director of Programming and Administration, a wonderful pianist, and my beautiful wife. And she is the co-founder of PMAC. I love her and her list - which has many of my favorite CDs. Here's what she wrote:

OK…Russ…here’s my list. And here’s what I discovered while making the list. This task is SO hard when I have grown so accustomed to grabbing my MP3player with my entire collection of cds and downloads and playing them whenever the mood strikes. I have been spoiled for sure!! So, I finally narrowed the list down and surrendered to the task…


1) The Dresden Dolls - The Dresden Dolls
Amanda Palmer’s stirring lyrics and Brian Vigilone’s incredible drumming make this pair a dynamic duo of punkedelic rock.









2) Jamie Cullum - Twenty Zero5 Live
Jamie is one of my favorite musicians because of how he captivates his audiences through his energetic piano playing, mellow voice and English charm.











3) U2 - War
Bono’s passionate and timely lyrics combined with the band’s rhythmic togetherness make this album solid from start to finish.










4) Fiona Apple - When the Pawn...
A good friend introduced me to Fiona Apple – thank you Tony! She rocks.











5) Ben Folds - Ben Folds Live
This incredible rock piano player demonstrates in this live album that he can create all of the sounds of a band by himself.










6) The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness
Russ discovered this album when we were living in Chicago, this band’s hometown. This 2-disc creation shows that this band’s genius peaked when they recorded this album.









7) Evgeny Kissin - Chopin: The Four Ballades, Berceuse, Barcarolle, Scherzo No. 4
Adam introduced me to Evgeny Kissin – this recording features Kissin at his best – interpreting these timeless, emotional and incredible pieces.









8.) Oscar Peterson - Live!
Oscar Peterson is one of the greatest jazz pianists of our time. This album shows off his brilliance.




9) Tokyo String Quartet - Debussy’s String Quartet Op 10 and Ravel’s String Quartet in F major

Both string quartets are incredible pieces of impressionist literature. The Ravel String Quartet is an amazing work and this quartet executes these pieces with precision.








10) Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis Bold As Love
Classic Rock at its finest. Need I say more?











Bonus Cd – The Poo Poo Platters – A Chinese Dish. Max and Jake would kill me if I didn’t mention their album. Check it out!


FROM RUSS: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, The Dresden Dolls and Oscar Peterson Live! are three of my absolute favorites. In fact, I can't believe I left Amanda and Brian off my list!

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