Noël Lee: John Field Nocturnes

Nonesuch – H-71195

This was in the dollar bin of a local store, in minty shape. Yet another well-regarded classical recording that hasn't been made available digitally. It's, by the way, a terrific sounding recording. Someone has digitized two tracks and posted them to YouTube. 

 

Art Hodes: South Side Memories (1984)

Sackville Recordings 3032

I picked this up used on discogs for $1.70, along with eight other similarly-priced Hodes titles, mostly solo piano albums from the 1970s and 80s. I was turned on to Hodes' work through his wonderful 1987 Christmas album, Joy to the Jazz World (also not on CD). You should pick up his records whenever you see them. 

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hodes "is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist, and he was also a noted jazz writer, historian, and teacher."

The LP has been posted in youtube:

Explorer (1967)

Explorer Records ‎– EXP-100

This was a gift from a friend, from her recently-deceased grandmother's collection. There were actually three copies (!), two of them still in shrink wrap, one of those looking minty. It is not on CD. 

Tom Hazleton plays the synthesizer and organ at the same time, and Gene Ciszek backs him up on drums. They run through some classic tunes like "Yesterday," "Take Five," and "Caravan." A couple of tracks appear on youtube. 

Gyorgy Cziffra: Franz Liszt Annees De Pelerinage, 2nd Year "Italy" (1977)

Connoisseur Society ‎– CSQ 2142

This was a thrift shop find, 80¢ (there was a 20%-off sale). 

From contemporary reviews: 

"Gyorgy Cziffra seems unexcelled as a Liszt interpreter. His complete Hungarian Rhapsodies are the best of the lot, while his new Années de Pélerinage (Connoisseur Society CSQ 2141, 2142, 2143) probe these fascinating pieces even deeper than Jerome Rose's excellent version for Vox." – Music Journal, 1977

"Cziffra's accounts of the complete Années de pèlerinage show the same prodigious virtuosity and keyboard command that make his set of Hungarian rhapsodies unforgettable. His account of the Dante sonata is enormously dramatic and produces the same fabulous digital dexterity that makes the Tarantella from the Italian Supplement, Venezia e Napoli, so breathtaking." – The Penguin Guide to Bargain Compact Discs, 1998

It has been digitized and posted on YouTube:

Audio-Technica AT-LP120X > Audicity > MacBook Pro

Warren Bernhardt - Solo Piano (1978)

                                                Arista Novus AN 3001

[Note: tracks were deleted from YouTube] This record was "stooped" (left out on the stoop for anyone to take, IOW, free) along with some Easy Listening & Classical records. It's in very good shape, still in the shrink wrap. The artist's name didn't jump out at me, but the song titles and the photo of the innards of his piano on the rear cover hinted at a musicality that wasn't New Age or Easy Listening, so I grabbed it. It turns out Bernhardt plays on three albums in my collection, including Art Farmer with Joe Henderson, Yama. 

The internet reveals that Bernhardt was mentored by Bill Evans, one of my (and everyone's) favorite pianists. This record is on the Novus label, which didn't ring a bell. Wikipedia (ugh!) says it "was an American jazz record label run by Steve Backer [who] worked at Impulse Records until 1974, when Clive Davis...asked him to oversee the jazz division at Arista." I searched my collection and saw that I'd picked up a copy of Hugh Masekela Uptownship (1989) on Novus in a dollar bin, but I gave it to a friend (you're welcome, M!).

According to discogs, this is Bernhardt's first solo record. It is Not on CD. Discogs listing here. 

Pretty Baby The Original Soundtrack (1978)

ABC Records ‎– AA 1076

This was in the dollar bin at a local thrift shop, in minty shape. It looked so clean, I put it on the turntable before running it through the Spin-Clean record washer (I just gave it a once-over with a carbon fiber brush). It sounds great.

According to wikipedia, this album "used many local New Orleans musicians" and "was nominated for the Academy Award for Original Music Score." It is Not on CD. Clip from youtube:

Art Hodes: Someone To Watch Over Me "Live At Hanratty's" (1981)

Muse Records MR 5252 

I picked this up used on discogs for $2.25 after hearing Hodes' wonderful 1987 Christmas album, Joy to the Jazz World (also not on CD). It's a winner, too.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Hodes "is regarded by many critics as the greatest white blues pianist, and he was also a noted jazz writer, historian, and teacher."

The LP has been posted in youtube:

Alexis Weissenberg: Schumann Album for the Young, Kinderscenen

Connoisseur Society CS2-2110

This was part of a small haul of classical LPs at a Salvation Army for 99¢ each. This is the second time I've been to this store, and both times I've walked away with about ten titles, around a third of them Connoisseur Society records.

I am always surprised when I see classical music unavailable digitally – it seems anyone with an interest in classical music has to have a turntable to hear many classical recordings. Or hope someone has put the LP on YouTube.

This is a 2-LP American release of Pathe Marconi recordings. The sample on Youtube doesn't contain the wonderful Opus 15 "Kinderszenen" from Side 4.