Hooray for Hollywood: New Box Set Celebrates 100 Years of The Hollywood Bowl with Sinatra, Bernstein, Doors, Newman, Dudamel, More

2022 marks 100 years of The Hollywood Bowl.  The famous amphitheater nestled in the Hollywood hills has hosted luminaries of every genre of music from classical to rock in its instantly familiar bandshell (actually two bandshells, as the first one from 1929 was demolished in 2003 and replaced with a larger model).  The Bowl has been featured in movies including the original A Star Is Born, Double Indemnity, Xanadu, and Beaches and cartoons starring Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, and The Pink Panther.  Now, its resident orchestra – the prestigious L.A. Philharmonic…

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Release Round-Up: Week of December 4

Welcome to this week’s Release Round-Up! Cat Stevens, Mona Bone Jakon: 50th Anniversary Edition (A&M/UMe) 4-CD/Blu-ray/LP/12″ Box: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada 2-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Cat Stevens, a.k.a. Yusuf, revisits 1970’s Mona Bone Jakon with a new, 50th anniversary edition available in a host of formats.  The 4-CD/Blu-ray/LP 50th anniversary box set edition features a new remaster of the original mix (overseen by Paul Samwell-Smith) on CD 1, a 2020 remix by David Hefti on CD 2, and on LP, unreleased demos on CD 3…

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Something’s Coming: él Salutes “West Side Story” On New 2-CD Set

Last August, Steven Spielberg was asked to confirm rumors that he was planning to direct a new film adaptation of the Broadway musical West Side Story. The legendary filmmaker confessed, “Well, you know something, West Side Story is one of my favorite Broadway musicals and one of the greatest pieces of musical literature, my goodness, one of the greatest scores and some of the greatest lyrics ever written for a musical, so just let me put it this way: it’s on my mind.” The musical by librettist Arthur Laurents, composer Leonard Bernstein…

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One Little Spark: New Label Launches With Kate Bush, Ben Folds, Laura Nyro, “The Sound of Music”

With its upcoming roster boasting titles from Kate Bush, Ben Folds Five, The Dave Brubeck Quartet, Laura Nyro and Julie Andrews, the new audiophile label Analog Spark is pulling out all the stops for its debut this spring. Yesterday, Razor & Tie announced the launch of Analog Spark, a new imprint which will focus on reissued releases on both 180-gram vinyl and SACD. Razor & Tie co-owners Cliff Chenfeld and Craig Balsam commented, “We’re very excited about the launch of Analog Spark and the reissue of this important historical music. These albums…

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Review: Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck, “Bennett/Brubeck: The White House Sessions, Live 1962”

It was a Tuesday afternoon in Camelot when giants met. These giants weren’t the types who resided in the clouds atop beanstalks, of course.  These were giants of a decidedly more earthy variety.  It was at the behest of John F. Kennedy’s White House that Tony Bennett and Dave Brubeck came together.  On August 28, 1962, they shared a bill at the base of the Washington Monument as a parting gift to an audience of college-age interns who had served that summer in the nation’s capital.  Following two individual sets – Brubeck’s…

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