Conrad Johnson Owners.com

I just discovered her and love it:

Melanie de Biasio "With all my love" ...

http://youtu.be/mttW8zto21c?list=PLa7t8 ... 4Kug_dN9HP

This is a hard one to answer. I find that I will spontaneously find a CD or an artist that I really like. Sure there are some classics that I like,.. ie Pink Floyd. But then I will hear something and it will turn me onto an album or artist.

Here are some examples of music that have had "substantial" play time in the last few months.

Jon and Vangelis [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__eZAuc2f-Q[/youtube]

Dire Straits [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu4oy1IRTh8[/youtube]

Cyndi Lauper [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LC7H17xkBc[/youtube]

Great choices Gabor. Sometimes I get stuck on a few artists or songs but try and keep it varied.

Ella Fitzgerald was the first artist signed by Verve. Any of the early recordings or re-releases are superb if you like female jazz vocals. Generally anything on Verve is going to be good because they were very careful about who and how they recorded.

I love what Mark Knopfler (sp?) did with Dire Straits ... Especially the Love Over Gold album which was at the end of the analog era. Brothers in Arms is a “go to” album for me. I have several versions, from original vinyl, remasters, CD, and SACD. It is fascinating to play them one after another.

Paula Cole’s a mixed bag, but some of her work during her touring with Peter Gabriel are incredible sonic and poetic performances.

Anything with Kenny Burrell as lead or side man is usually excellent.

Same with John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie to name a few.

Jack Wilkins is an exceptional guitarist ... perhaps the best of his generation. If you can get Windows or TrioArt, you are in for a treat. Jack’s version of Chic Coria’s Windows is the definitive arrangement and performance.

David Hazeltine’s Alice in Wonderland is another stellar piece of work. But most of his albums are wonderfully creative and sonically exceptional.

This isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list ... I may add to it later.

Today I think I’ve churned my systems into long term stable configurations. The main album that I’ve used for final tweaking is the Pentatone remastered SACD of the Boston Symphony Chamber Orchestra’s 1970 performance of Debussy’s Sonatas with Syrinx for Flute. I bought this on vinyl around 1975, and have loved it ever since. The Pentatone SACD is as good as anything I’ve ever played in the classical domain. It is powerful, subtle, and oh so lyrical. The performance is truly inspired.

And who can listen to Martha Argerich and not be moved by her renditions of Chopin’s piano works. Nothing compares, although Horawitz defines his own genre too.

And then there is Venkerov and his incredible violin. He always delights.

I have to give credit to Brian Kelly for introducing me to many of these artists. Friends helping friends discover artists and great recordings is a long tradition in this hobby. I’ve come at it from performers’ perspectives. I think the gear game has just naturally evolved as the recorded performances became more and more engaging.

Hola,
It is very difficult to choose those many wonderful musicians. I will start with classic violin. Anne Sophie Mutter, Salvatore Accardo, and please watch this prodigy:https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr9KmgDFwMc&t=756s Patricia is setting a new way to play the violin. She is awesome.

On Classical guitar I do like a lot John Williams, The Romero Bross, and this incredible guitar player:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU-RJD9qRlU Kyuhee plays a work by Agustin Barrios Mangore. My teacher was a direct pupil of Barrios. So, his music is into me...

The Cello, Jacqueline Dupree, Sol Gaveta, Mischa Maisky, Yo Yo Ma, and listen to these young musicians:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ff1vU6J0hA

Classical Piano: Mr Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, and many others, Valentina Lisitsa, and listen to Kahtia Buniatishvily with Zubin Mehta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efM91uXUP-A

On the clarinet, I love this woman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_gm0NCabPs She has a unique timbre...and I do like a lot the way that she plays it.

Oh boy, there are so many different artists and music, I am going to put to you to sleep.

I will continue with my jazz preferences later on.

Happy listening!

Great list! I may add more later, but for now, I want to draw your attention to a beautiful woman and her guitar.

http://www.virginialuque.com/

Segovia himself took interest in her.

Her wonderful Castilian accent is endearing.

She is feisty, beautiful, and multifaceted.

I especially like the Christmas album she did with my friends. Paul Polycarpou produced it. Jack Pearson (my mentor) collaborated on it. It remains virtually unknown to most listeners, but is a gem that shines brighter and brighter every time I return to it.

Thanks AJ,

Another great musician to my list. She plays very nice and a lot of feeling.

I love to present to you, if you do know her, Berta Rojas. She plays all the Mangore works. Listen her playing Danza Paraguaya. Follow the rhythm. It is very complicated, even being a latino myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CRcSdb6MPs

Here is another wonderful player. Her name is Sharon Isbin. She plays with my dear friend Carlos Barbosa-Lima. Carlos too, is a wonderful guitar player.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMM9I8Nct-o

Here is Carlos playing Sambolero and Acuarela do Brasil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEpv6NjwdAM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvVUk_jn09w
A bonus track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtw4eLQDDIA

Happy listening!

Yes, I’ve always liked Sharon Isbin. I have several of her recorded works.

All these clips are great! You’ve inspired me to restring the classical guitar that has been waiting for me for about two months.

https://www.jackpearson.com/index.php?pg=bio

Jack is a gifted guitarist. He has a wider range and can play well in more genres than ANYONE else I know of.

https://www.davidgrier.com/

David is a gifted fellow too. He learned much of his initial understanding at the knee of Clarence White.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.guitar ... hite-byrds

https://simo.fm/

Another local guy with big licks. When JD was playing at Robert’s Western World on lower Broadway when he first arrived on the scene, Dweezil Zappa wrote that he was a “must see” guitarist.

JD can play in many styles. If you look at his hands, he will remind you of “The Octopus” (Tal Farlow, known for his hands that were so large he could span farther on the fret board than any of his contemporaries).

https://johnjorgenson.com/

John is another great player. He was cast as Django Reinhardt in a movie, and is the only guy I’ve ever seen who managed to truly master Django’s three finger left hand style.

He has made teaching videos for those who would like to learn how to play Gypsy Jazz.

Hint: you do not have to go out and buy a Django knock off guitar, but it is easier to buy one than it is to play like Django. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/sto ... =122865782

Pat was one of Chet Atkins close associates. He ended up with Chet’s one and only Super 4000 custom archtop.
He’s a “go to” guy, and really versatile. Charlie McCoy’s logical heir on the Harmonica too.
http://patbergeson.com/

I think I could post these Nashville favorites all day. I haven’t scratched the surface.

But here’s one more, and my last post in this thread I think, at least for a while.

https://tommyemmanuel.com/

Tommy is a displaced Aussie. RJ - is he famous at home?

Another child prodigy, now fully mature.

I cannot keep up with any of these guys.

Gotta add another ...

https://nashvillearts.com/2013/09/jim-oblon/

Jim played drums and toured as a multi-instrumentalist (he is an incredible guitarist) with Paul Simon from 2011 to 2018. He is another one of these more or less unknown masters of performance.

I've got to add another itinerant pair, Wil Maring and Robert Bowlin. Wil & Robert are a couple who live in Illinois. Wil handles the web site.

https://wilmaring.com/home

They are truly simple musicians who just love their craft. Wil spent 10 years in Germany playing as part of a Wild West Show, just for the love of developing the craft. She has a surprisingly wide vocal range, and if asked, can channel the great female jazz singers of the 40's and 50's.

I've seen them live many times, most often as part of the Crump Family's annual tribute to Blue Grass and Beyond at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theater. But I've also seen them in very small venues, including house shows.

I put on one of their CD's a couple of times this past week. The tapes were largely made by Robert as his own recording engineer. Sort of like the Jack Pearson tapes ... these guys do not have big music company contracts behind them. I enjoy playing these CDs, and the Wil & Robert CD was clearly capable of transporting me into the living room at a small house show.

Wil's art work is also quite creative and enjoyable. Visit her website if you're interested. There are quite a few free videos on YouTube that show off their work. Robert has won several awards for his flat picking, so if you're interested in acoustic traditional US music, check them out.