In search of new music

[gellor]

I'm looking for some high-quality recordings of some specific musical types, for a little added variety. So I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the following:

1) Solo piano (non-jazz, non-blues)
2) Male a-capella ensembles - non-religious, not barbershop...small groups, not choral arrangements
3) Japanese drum ensembles (Taiko drum type stuff)
4) African drum ensembles

 

[Resident Loser]

Howza' bout...

...some Native American Flute music or Hawaiian Slack-key guitar...perhaps Mickey Hart's "Planet Drum" is more in keeping with your requirements...

jimHJJ(...talk about different...)

 

[Sheep]

1) Solo piano (non-jazz, non-blues)
2) Male a-capella ensembles - non-religious, not barbershop...small groups, not choral arrangements
3) Japanese drum ensembles (Taiko drum type stuff)
4) African drum ensembles

No, No, No, and No.

I Can recommend some nice, Rock. Hm? Do you like, Rock?

SheepStar

 

[gellor]

...some Native American Flute music or Hawaiian Slack-key guitar...perhaps Mickey Hart's "Planet Drum" is more in keeping with your requirements...

jimHJJ(...talk about different...)

Heh. Different = Not in my current musical collection.

 

[gellor]

No, No, No, and No.

I Can recommend some nice, Rock. Hm? Do you like, Rock?

SheepStar

Rock? What's rock? That's like Stevie Nicks or something, isn't it?

 

[twheeloc]

A Cappella

The best bet for what you're looking for in a cappella is probably going to be the college circuit. Check out

http://varsityvocals.com/boca/

and

http://www.a-cappella.com/

A lot of the college groups are recorded better than you might imagine and they don't tend to narrow down to one specific Genre as much as most of the "professional" groups out there.

 

[johndoe]

good and funny

I've heard good things about the mapleshade cds. There are some percussion cds in their catalog. you can listen to their mp3s on line, and you can return the cds if you don't like them. it's all supposed to be very well recorded, very purist, with no echoes, overdubs, effects, etc. On the other hand, If you're for a laugh take some time checking their "audio upgrades". I think the ripoff is how they pay for the cds.

 

[rschleicher]

A-capella - try getting one of the CDs from a group called "Cantus"

Piano music - "Goldberg Variations" by JS Bach (performed by Robert someone, maybe Silverberg????)

You can get both from Stereophile's web site, as they were both produced by their editor - Jon Atkinson. The recording quality and sound are excellent.


For a-capella recordings, you can probably find CDs for sale from groups at almost any university, but who knows which are the best ones?

 

[Tomorrow]

1) Solo piano (non-jazz, non-blues)

Classical or mood?

 

[gellor]

Classical or mood?

Probably prefer classical, unless there's something mood-wise that you have in mind specifically.

 

[jaxvon]

Probably prefer classical, unless there's something mood-wise that you have in mind specifically.

For mood, George Winston is some pretty interesting stuff. Pick up his Summer and Winter albums.

 

[philh]

http://www.runapacha.com/

Different, soothing, and relaxing

 

[Khorn]

I'm considering satellite radio just for the purpose of new music discovery. For me the fact that the title and artist are displayed means a lot. If I hear something I really like I can then try and find the highest quality recording available. That way you are sure you'll be investing your $$ in music you really want to listen to.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I highly recommend you check out Cantus if you like male singing. They're a wonderful group from Minnesota with music running the gamut from classical to jazz and pop, and from spiritual to secular. The editor of Stereophile recorded a couple of their CDs, too- the sound is wonderful. Two of their discs were recorded here in the Great Hall of the Washinton Pavilion.

If you haven't heard them I'd suggest "Let Your Voice Be Heard" as a good starting point.

 

[W_Harding]

The King's Singers

I highly recommend The King's Singers "Good Vibrations" RCA Victor 09026-60938-2. This collection of popular songs sung a cappella is outstanding for the singing. This sound of this disc is reference quality. Although I am not a great fan of a cappella singing, I find this collection to be compelling listening. If you like their singing you will be glad to know that they have released dozens of titles in a range of musical idioms from popular (like this disc) to classical.

 

[W_Harding]

Chopin / Rubinstein

Classical Piano:

The Chopin Ballades & Scherzos / Arthur Rubinstein / RCA Red Seal 82876-61396-2 / Living Stereo SACD. This originally recorded in 1959. The original three-track stereo recordings are now, thanks to the multi-channels SACD capabilities, available for playback in three channel stereo. This excellent recording by a great musician is especially recommended if you have a SACD player and the capability to play it back using the three front channels. Please note that there are many other excellent classical RCA Living Stereo releases that also are three channel stereo. A bonus is that they are very reasonably priced.

 

[highfihoney]

for a-capelle try a group called rockapella.

http://www.rockapella.com/

 

[a/v moron]

If you are a big fan of a capella groups the you probably know of "The Bobs"
They are pretty goofy (as far as their lyrics) but they are extremely talented. I can't attest to the quality of the actual recording. Sound good to me though.

 

[Rob Babcock]

Chanticlier is another excellent vocal group.

 

[gellor]

Well, I ordered "Let your voice be heard" from Cantus, and I found a Taiko drum CD. I tried finding the Goldberg Variations and couldn't find a good recording of it. The two I could afford right now are out of stock and won't ship until next month. *sigh*

I'll have to look into that Chopin next month for sure. Thanks again for all the suggestions...a lot of stuff mentioned that I'd never heard of.