Exciting “Dubb” Notes
Doug MacLeod to Play at the Blues Music Awards For the second year in a row, Doug MacLeod will perform during the Blues Music Awards festivities on May 7, 2015 in Memphis TN. Below is a video from last year’s Blues Music Awards: Live Concert Radio Broadcast East Grinstead (UK) community radio station Meridian FM will present its first-ever live concert broadcast from The Red Barn in Blindley Heath featuring acoustic blues master Doug MacLeod!…
Pittsburgh Symphony’s Bruckner A New Favorite
MusicWeb International review has third review for the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s new recording of Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony: “My keenness to review this release was engendered by the enthusiastic critical acclaim generated by the two previous offerings. … Any newcomer, who sets forth on the well-trodden road of a work such as this, will be expected to bring something new to the score. Honeck succeeds admirably, to my mind, in furnishing his reading with…
Dances for Piano and Orchestra is Superb
The Classical Reviewer‘s Bruce Reader declares Joel Fan’s performances on Dances for Piano and Orchestra “superb”: “Some superbly laid out chords open Gabriel Pierné’s (1863-1937) Fantaisie-ballet, Op. 6 showing, immediately, Joel Fan’s fine technique. He brings a great breadth and assurance before the orchestra enter to take the music forward. … Mexican concert pianist and composer Ricardo Castro Herrera’s (1864-1907) Vals Capricho, Op. 1 brings an opportunity for Joel Fan to display his lovely touch…
Exactly Like This Will Leave A Lasting Memory
UK independent music blog, Bluesdoodles, gives Doug MacLeod and Exactly Like This high praise (and high “paws”): “Doug is a blues player that sings and writes the songs telling stories he wants to share with you. …Heaven’s The Only Place the penultimate track following a blues take on rock N’ roll again is stripped bare with vocals that are full of yearning and soulfulness leading to the closing number You Got It Good (And That…
Bruckner in The Absolute Sound
The Absolute Sound‘s Andrew Quint hails Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck’s Bruckner recording as “an unqualified success.” “…this performance of Bruckner’s ‘Romantic’ symphony is an unqualified success. … The sound is gloriously full and dimensional, both in stereo and surround. Not only is there layered depth and good imaging, the full orchestral sound has mass of its own, expanding to fill Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall at the symphony’s grandest moments.” —Andrew Quint, The Absolute Sound Find…
Download a track from Woman at the new Piano!
Nadia Shpachenko’s Woman at the New Piano gets a great feature in I Care If You Listen‘s “Spring 2015 Mixtape”! Click the image to download! Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013 Nadia Shpachenko World Premiere recordings of new works for piano, chamber instruments and electronics from 4 notable modern composers. Featuring Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman: piano, percussion; with Genevieve Feiwen Lee: piano, toy piano, electronics The new works were composed as a celebration of…
Living Blues Reviews “Exactly Like This”
Living Blues has a new review for Doug MacLeod’s Exactly Like This release: “Exactly Like This, Doug MacLeod’s latest offering in a career that spans nearly 30 years. MacLeod considers Exactly Like This to be a tribute disc of sorts—the guitar riff in Vanetta is an obvious nod to John Lee Hooker, while Jerry Reed’s influence can be heard on Ain’t It Rough? Others songs, according to MacLeod, reflect the influences of his other musical…
Delmarva Public Radio Says to Pick Up Joel Fan’s Dances for Piano And Orchestra
Delmarva Public Radio‘s Kara Dahl Russell says don’t wait any longer to get your copy of Joel Fan and the Northwest Sinfonietta’s Dances for Piano and Orchestra: “…just go pick this one up! These are works for piano and orchestra, played magnificently. These are delightful works that are so often overlooked in the repertoire, only because they are not the big Concertos. Overdue, and very welcome, is this program of works filled with melody, many…
International Acclaim for Doug MacLeod’s Exactly Like This
Reviews are coming in from around the globe for Doug MacLeod’s new Exactly Like This recording: UK Reactions “…one of the very best acoustic blues exponents in the world…..strongly recommended.” —Lionel Ross/Blues In The Northwest “…definitely not your regular audiophile lift (elevator) music. This is partly because it’s played live without overdubs, but largely because he’s a very capable blues guitarist and singer with some fine backing. Sound: 10 Music: 8” —Jason Kennedy/HiFi+ “…Doug is…
Joel Fan Dances For Piano and Orchestra a “Riveting” Recording
Audiophile Audition‘s Steven Ritter says Joel Fan’s Dances for Piano and Orchestra “is riveting stuff!” “Joel Fan seems to relish these pieces as he attacks them all as if living in another age—crisp, vitally engrossing pianism that will set your feet tapping and your vocal chords humming. The Northwest Sinfonia plays with expertise and rousing commitment in a recording of exceptional analog-ish warmth and sensitivity. This is truly fine stuff.” —Steven Ritter, Audiophile Audition Read…
Doug MacLeod is a Musical Storyteller
Blues critic Eric Campfens has a new review for Doug MacLeod and Exactly Like This in both Blueszine and Maxazine. Read the English translation below and see the reviews in the original Dutch using the above-mentioned links. “A musical storyteller is a way you could describe Doug MacLeod best. And after nineteen studio albums, several live CDs, DVDs, various awards and nominations, and songs covered by several artists, he is a singer-songwriter of importance. His…
HiFi+ Rates Exactly Like This a 12!
HiFi+ Magazine critic Jason Kennedy says Doug MacLeod’s Exactly Like This release is off their scales: “Once in a blue moon a recording comes along that warrants a rating for sound quality above nearly all the rest, and more often than not Reference Recordings releases fall into this category. I can’t give this album 12 for recording quality, but that’s what it warrants; it makes your system sound as though it costs at least twice…
Exactly Like This Is More Than A Good Title
“Exactly Like This” is more than just the title of Doug MacLeod’s new recording says radio host Ian McHugh: “Doug MacLeod is a man who understands that performance is the cornerstone of music. He gets the fact that no matter what studio trickery is involved, what instruments are played and all the other ephemera that other musicians obsess over means nothing if a song isn’t delivered with soul, commitment and honesty. It was a fact…
EnjoyTheMusic Praises Organ Polychrome Across The Boards
With 4.5/5 stars for performance and enjoyment and 5/5 for sound quality, Enjoy The Music‘s Joe Milicia praises Jan Kraybill’s Organ Polychrome across the board: “Jan Kraybill has impressive credentials as an organist, clinician and educator in the Kansas City/Independence region, with performances across the US and abroad as well. For the present release in addition to performing she writes the enlightening CD program notes on the ten French composers represented. … it’s a fascinating…
Making A Scene Nominates Doug MacLeod for 2016 BMAs
Making A Scene‘s Richard Ludmerer says Doug MacLeod’s Exactly Like This “almost guarantees him two more [Blues Music Award] nominations in 2016.” “Doug MacLeod has been nominated for thirteen Blues Music Awards. He finally won in 2014 for both Acoustic Album of the Year, “There’s a Time”; and more importantly as Acoustic Artist of the Year. His song “The Entitled Few”, from that album, also received a 2014 nomination as Song of the Year. ……