Sony Classical Celebrates The 125th Anniversary of Carnegie Hall With The Release of GREAT MOMENTS AT CARNEGIE HALL

Ever since its opening night in May 1891, Carnegie Hall has held sway as the undisputed shrine of classical music in America. It was and remains the essential venue for all great artists. To celebrate Carnegie Hall's 125th anniversary, Sony Classical in partnership with Carnegie Hall is proud to present an extraordinary new 43-CD box set of treasures from the RCA and Columbia archives featuring live recordings from many of the world's greatest musicians. Available April 29, this unique deluxe edition contains a complete previously unreleased piano recital by Sviatoslav Richter and is accompanied by a 104-page coffee table book, which includes notes by Director of Carnegie Hall's Archives Gino Francesconi as well as many facsimile documents and photographs.

This recorded chronicle of eight decades spotlights many of the artists who enjoyed historically close ties to Carnegie Hall. It begins with two performances of Beethoven's Fifth, from 1931 and 1933 by Arturo Toscanini and continues with a performance from 1934 in which Serge Koussevitzky conducts Roy Harris's First Symphony, among the first works by an American-born composer to be recorded by a major orchestra. It was one of some 115 important compositions – by Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Bartók and others – that Koussevitzky and the BSO gave their USA premieres at Carnegie Hall.

Rick Wakeman Releases "Starhip Trooper" CD

On April 15th Purple Pyramid records via Cleopatra Records released an out of this world collection of extraordinary performances by legendary YES keyboardist Rick Wakeman!  For more than four decades Rick Wakeman has established himself as a visionary showman without peer, the creator of some of the most extravagant performances, breathtaking soloing and imaginative passages ever preserved on record, or executed on stage.

Aptly titled “Starship Trooper”, this amazing collection contains 2 previously unreleased tracks including a powerful rendition of Tool’s “Sober” plus several more brilliant cover songs of The Who, Pink Floyd, and The Doors including 5 never before heard versions! The compilation also includes performances by Gong’s Steve Hillage, Yes’s Billy Sherwood, Steve Howe and Tony Kaye, William Shatner, Colin Moulding, Jerry Goodman, Nik Turner, Carmine Appice and more!

“Over the last few years I have performed on many tracks as a ‘guest’ but never before has anybody put some of the best of those I played on into a compilation. It’s always challenging to be involved in tracks of other people’s music and other people’s arrangements as it often makes you think and play differently and certainly on many of these tracks I play in quite an unexpected way, but there again, much of my life has been pretty unexpected anyway!” Rick Wakeman said recently.

Aaron Nigel Smith is "ONE" with Families

For more than 15 years, Aaron Nigel Smith has been educating, entertaining and empowering youth around the world through music. His latest recording One (out on April 22) is a collection of lively, original reggae tunes, along with Jamaican and African folk songs. With his fifth album for children, Aaron Nigel Smith shares a message of peace and love for family, neighbors and community.This 11-track album features reggae music icon Ernie Smith along with appearances by Dub Tonic Cru, Ras I, and Grammy Award-winning children’s music performers Father Goose and Tommy Shepherd (Alphabet Rockers). Award-winning reggae music veteran Deleon “Jubba” White, co-produced this special project and helps to bring Aaron’s sound to a new level. Music videos will be out soon!   Aaron Nigel Smith is a music educator and recording artist, originally from Michigan and Los Angeles, and now based in Portland, OR. His children’s albums Let’s Pretend, Everyone Loves to Dance, B is for Bob and Celebrate Bob Marley (with Ziggy Marley’s TuffGong label) all won national acclaim and awards. Smith was a member of the cast of the acclaimed PBS Kids TV show, “Between the Lions” during 2008 to 2010. Since 2009, he and his wife Diedre have managed the 1World Chorus, involving more than 500 young voices from Portland, Los Angeles, New York, Kenya and Jamaica. On Monday, April 11, Aaron’s rendition of the Bob Marley classic song “One Love” will be the Music Monday selection for Week of the Young Child celebrations, an event presented each year by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

 

ON YOUR FEET! OCR Annnouced

MASTERWORKS BROADWAY proudly announces the release of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of ON YOUR FEET!. Recorded live from Broadway's Marquis Theatre, the album is produced by seven-time Grammy Award-winning global superstar Gloria Estefan and her husband, 19-time Grammy -winning producer, musician, and entrepreneur Emilio Estefan. The Original Broadway Cast Recording of ON YOUR FEET! will be released April 29, 2016.

Of the cast album, Emilio Estefan says, "Recording this live, we captured the emotion that transcends from the stage every night on Broadway. Listening to the cast album will take you right inside the theatre and makes you feel like you are in the audience with all the great energy."

ON YOUR FEET! is a new Broadway musical that follows the Estefans' journey to superstardom, set to their chart-topping, smash hits, including "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You," "Conga," "1-2-3," "Get On Your Feet," "Mi Tierra," "Don't Want To Lose You Now," and "Reach," in addition to an original song, "If I Never Got To Tell You," written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan.

Yo-Yo Ma And The Silk Road Ensemble Releases New Album Featuring Special Guests

 The latest album by Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble will surprise and delight, with guest performers and imaginative sounds that transform the traditional musical landscape. Sing Me Home is the sixth album by the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble and its founding member and guiding light Yo-Yo Ma — available from Sony Music Masterworks on April 22, 2016.
Sing Me Home is a companion album, developed and recorded alongside The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, a documentary feature from Oscar and Emmy-winning director Morgan Neville that tells the story of the Ensemble and Silkroad, its parent organization. The Music of Strangers is slated for theatrical release in June.

Produced by Silk Road Ensemble member Johnny Gandelsman and Grammy Award winner Kevin Killen (U2, Kate Bush, Elvis Castello, David Bowie), the album examines the ever-changing idea of home, with original and traditional tunes composed or arranged by members of the Ensemble's unique collective of global artists. Each piece invites listeners to explore the "music of home" through the individual experiences of Ensemble members, many of whom are immigrants. The result is a compelling collection of innovative and deeply moving tributes to the rich cultural heritage of the Balkans, China, Galicia, India, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Mali, people of the Roma, Syria, and the United States.

Masterworks Broadway Announces More Winter 2016 CD Releases!

Masterworks Broadway announces a slate of releases for Winter 2016 including the release of three classic albums from the archives – Sweet Charity (February 12), Salad Days (March 18), and Kismet (April 15). And, on February 26, Masterworks Broadway releases The Essential Stephen Sondheim, celebrating the 85th birthday year of the legendary theater composer and lyricist. Upon release, each title will be accompanied by new album pages and photos.

Winner of the 1967 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical, Sweet Charity stars Juliet Prowse as everyone’s favorite dance-hall hostess in the Cy Coleman/Dorothy Fields musical. Also featuring Red McLennan, Josephine Blake, and Paula Kelly, the production originated in Las Vegas at the newly opened Caesar’s Palace earlier that year. Sweet Charity – The Original London Cast Recording will be officially released for the first time on CD in the U.S. February 12, 2016.

Stephen Sondheim, the pre-eminent Broadway composer and lyricist of the modern era, has been awarded eight Tonys, eight Grammys, an Oscar, a Pulitzer Prize, five Oliviers and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Essential Stephen Sondheim spans this iconic artist’s unparalleled career, from West Side Story (1957) through Passion (1994), and also includes important works from his forays into television and film. This new 2-CD collection features performances by Bernadette Peters, Mandy Patinkin, Ethel Merman, Jason Alexander, Angela Lansbury, Elaine Stritch, Victor Garber, Barbara Cook, Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Dean Jones, Glynis Johns, Marni Nixon, Lee Remick, Jim Walton, Lonny Price, Peabo Bryson, Nancy Wilson and many more. The Essential Stephen Sondheim will be released on February 26.

IL Classic Rockers, CHEAP TRICK, Sign with Big Machine Records for New "Bang Zoom Crazy... Hello"

Celebrating a long-anticipated induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cheap Trick today also announces an

exclusive new deal with leading global independent record label Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift, Steven Tyler, Tim McGraw). The legendary band is currently hard at work finishing their Big Machine debut album titled Bang Zoom Crazy… Hello, slated for release on April 1, 2016 and distributed by Universal Music Group.   Produced by GRAMMY-winning producer Julian Raymond, the project marks Cheap Trick’s 17^th studio album and first in more than five years.

“We can't thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame enough for honoring Cheap Trick. Thanks to all the fans who have supported us for all these years and to the Hall of Fame members who cast their votes. We are excited,” said Cheap Trick bass guitarist Tom Petersson. 

“Coinciding with their entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I am beyond proud and excited to announce that Cheap Trick are the newest members of the Big Machine Records family,” said Big Machine Label Group President and CEO Scott Borchetta.  “As a band, they’ve never stopped rock’n the free world and they play every night with as much conviction as their first power-pop-punk club shows from the mid ’70’s. I can’t wait for Cheap Trick fans everywhere to have the new album.”