Connor McCormick

This collection, a triumph in the careers of both Tony Bennett and Bill Evans, was made at a time when these masters each seemed in relative decline. Bennett, considered of limited audience appeal in the heady adolescence of rock, was without a major-label contract while Evans, then well into his second decade of leading a…

GLASSCADING DELIGHT Sublime, emotional, inspiring, captivating, magical and dramatic, Canadian violinist Angèle Dubeau with her ensemble La Pietí  has released SIGNATURE Philip Glass on Analekta. This 16-track sensation is no mere tribute to the great minimalist composer, but a re-arranging for La Pietí , an all-female string ensemble featuring some of Canada’s best musicians, founded in…

Philip Glass takes a new look at some of his most enduring and beloved piano works in Philip Glass Solo, recorded at a time when the world was undergoing a major shift; for Glass, that shift manifested in going from a busy tour and premiere schedule to time spent at home during the COVID-19 pandemic….

HEPPED-UP, FUN, UPBEAT JAZZ AND SWING The Apollo Trio’s performances on the album released today — Straightaway  from ITI Records — is fun, fun, fun, and way groovy. The story of vocalist and bandleader James Apollo is as remarkable as any who perseveres against abject adversity. From a small frontier town, Apollo would wait at the…

There are certain bodily movements that humans do without thinking: the expansion and contraction of the lungs, the beating of the heart, or in this case, the tapping of the foot to a deliciously slow, swinging groove. On  CT!, baritone saxophonist and bandleader  Adam Schroeder  teams up with arranger  Mark Masters  to deliver a tasty baker’s dozen tunes in the…

The original cast album of Adam Guettel’s new Broadway musical,  Days of Wine and Roses, is now digitally available; it will be available on CD in the spring. Craig Lucas  wrote the show’s book and  Michael Greif  directs the production, which previously ran at the Atlantic Theater Company earlier this year.  Kelli O’Hara  and  Brian d’Arcy James  star in this searing musical, based…

THIS WILL PUT YOU IN PIANO HEAVEN Astor’s Place is a gorgeously rendered album that reveals the genius of Dimitri Landrain. The acclaimed French composer and pianist based in New York City has traveled the world and found inspiration among his adventures. This album is a tribute to all those wonderful musical worlds he’s experienced….

Veteran pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto debuts on prestigious Japanese label evosound with A Shade Of Blue, out on CD and vinyl now, and digitally on December 8, 2023. Famed for his light touch, exquisite musical sensitivity, and hard-swinging approach to the piano, master Yamamoto has enjoyed a long and storied career that has yielded over 50…

SUMPTUOUS ALBUM On Friday, November 10, 2023,  The Crossing, one of our greatest choirs, will release  SUMPTUOUS  PLANET,  a  virtuosic  and spectacular concert-length work by composer David  Shapiro  based primarily on the writings of the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins  (famous, in part, for his defense of  atheism).  Sumptuous  Planet  is  an expression of belief  about the nature of life  and the joy we can find in understanding it, paradoxically told through  a  Christian  Mass  and…