I must have listened to Keith Jarrett’s Koln Concert about 100 times, so I thought I’d put Jarrett’s Rio in the top spot of the Listening Station in the Library. This CD came out in 2011 and is a complete document of Jarrett’s show at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro. I’ve never been to Rio but I certainly get an impression of the place while listening to this evocative and imaginative CD. Beautiful. If you’re wandering by the Listening Station listen to track 5 and try not to think about Rio.

In the middle slot of the Listening Station I’ve chosen Voice by Hiromi. This 34-year-old, Japanese-born musician graduated from the Berklee School of Music and has already released nine CDs. That’s a lot. Per Allmusic.com, “Voice is best described as an electro-acoustic effort that is more post-bop than fusion but has its rock-influenced moments.” Right? Improvisational jazz can be difficult to define, which is part of its allure. Hiromi is praised for her eclectic taste and ability to incorporate different genres into her work. Listen to tracks 3 and 9 and you’ll get the idea.

Filling out the Listening Station we have Eric Reed and his CD Something Beautiful. Mr. Reed is in his early 40s and has been on the jazz scene since he was a teenager. A piano prodigy, he eschewed classical training for jazz. Can you blame him? Sorry Beethoven. He joined Wynton Marsalis’s band, replacing the great Marcus Roberts when he was only 19. He’s been inspired by Brubeck, Lewis, Blakey and a host of other geniuses. The CD is truly Something Beautiful. Tracks 1, 2 and 10 are favorites.

Rhonda began her music career at the age of five, playing drums with her family’s band, the Sally Mountain Show, and went on to learn the mandolin and fiddle, performing with the family band at bluegrass festivals. She has won a string of seven Female Vocalist of the Year Awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and has turned her group “The Rage” into a bluegrass institution.

As for Sunday Mornin’ Singin’, the New York Times notes that “it would have been easy for this impeccably gifted bluegrass singer to make her version of a gospel album in the studio, with a choice array of guests. Instead she recorded “Sunday Mornin’ Singin’ ” live at a historic Methodist church in Greentop, Mo., with no reinforcements outside of her working band, the Rage. Smart move: the album has a rough spark, against which Ms. Vincent’s composure shines all the more vividly.”

From Them, Through Us, to You is Madina Lake’s first full length album produced on the RoadRunner label, and the first album to tell the story of the fictional town of Madina Lake. The music is described as “alternative hard rock with pop undertones.” Some of the songs included on the CD are “Here I Stand,” which is about not giving up on your dreams, and “Adalia,” the fictional character created by the band who has “disappeared,” and needs to be found by the fans of Madina Lake. With their blend of rock and pop, guitars and drums, the band molds an entire town battling good and evil in the search for Adalia.

This post is from Joanna B., guest blogger from the the SCPL IT department.

The 2013 Grammy Nominees CD pretty much sums up pop/rap Grammys. We’ve got four copies on the way, so get your name on the list. What it doesn’t include are the nominees for everything else, i.e., jazz, classical, and musical theater.

Here are some of those folks:

And if,  after listening to all this music, you just need to relax, try this:

You may already be aware that with Freegal Music Downloads, that as a St. Charles Library cardholder you may download five DRM-free songs per week. (“DRM” stands for “digital rights management,” a type of access control technology.) Just log in with your card and PIN number, and get going downloading!

The Live Music Archive  (LMA) is a collection of over 60,000 concert recordings in lossless radio formats. (“Lossless” means that all the original data is there when the recordings are downloaded, resulting in high quality recordings.) This website is known for its extensive collection of Grateful Dead recordings, but contains music from many other bands. LMA features a daily “Spotlight Item,” and today featured the concert of the group “Of the Revolution,” playing at Madison Square Garden on January, 2006.

Come to play at Musicovery.com, a fun site that creates playlists for you based on your mood! Just mouse over the “mood pad,” to specify whether you are feeling “dark,” “energetic,” “positive,” or “calm,” and Musicovery will create a list for you. You can also specify certain genres, artists, and speeds.

Pandora bills itself as a  “new kind of radio,” and it’s like having a personal radio station that plays only music you like. Just enter an artist, song or composer in the Pandora Search box, and they will create a radio station featuring your music. It’s a great way to discover new music.

Check out Gramophone, “the world’s authority on classical music since 1923.” It’s like an online daily newspaper for the latest news from the world of classical music. You can also log on to the Gramophone Player to listen to tracks from Gramophone’s “Recording of the Month.”

We hope you will stop by soon and start exploring!

This year, as in any year, we’ve added some sure-to-be-classics to the collection. Come and behold them!

Yes, that’s an odd arrangement of CD covers. Consider it a holiday craft gone awry. If it turns out you can’t get your hands on any of the above CDs, please consider this gift of free music: Download Handel’s Messiah using just three of your five weekly downloads from Freegal.  You don’t even have to send me a thank-you note for that.

Check out our festive Holiday CD selection!

We have the renowned St. Charles Singers led by Jeff Hunt.  We have Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame bass, Eric Halfvarson.  American Idol semi-finalist Leslie Hunt, grew up near the mighty Fox River.  We’re blessed with Carl King, pastor of the Calvary Pentecostal Church on Walnut Avenue who just released a CD of hymns.  And, St. Charles is home to a young rapper, Jack Larsen, who is getting attention on the national level. You’ll have to search the digital marketplace for Jack’s music, but the other artists are can be checked out at the Library. Just click on the images below for availability.

Watch a music video for “A Road Song” below and check our catalog for the album!

A Chorus Line.

The Sting.

The Way We Were.

Liza Minnelli at Carnegie Hall.

Barbra. The Concert.

My Friends!

Frank did it, Ray did it, even Doris in her day did it! Did what? Duets.

There’s something irresistible about harmonizing with your homies.  From opera to bluegrass, there is an abundant array of musical collaboration to behold. Here are some CDs from the collection I recommend:

Under the Stars (CD 782.1 UND). Opera greats Renee Fleming and Bryn Terfel offer a thoughtful selection on this CD.  Yes, it’s annoying when opera folk venture out of their repertoire and overpower regular old songs with their big voices, but on this CD that thankfully doesn’t happen.  Best tracks: “So in Love,” ” Not While I’m Around” and “Wheels of a Dream.”

If, after listening to Renee and Bryn, you hanker for the highbrow, try Great Operatic Duets (CD 782.1 GRE), The #1 Opera Album (CD 782.1 NUM), or Placido Domingo’s gem, Duets (CD 782.1 DOM).

America’s top crooners have recorded duets. They all seem to pick the same succinct title: Duets. Sinatra is CD 781.64 SIN, Streisand is CD 781.64 STR, Bennett is CD 781.64 BEN.

The country singers have been very chummy. Emmylou Harris has CDs of duets and trios, (CD 781.642 HAR).  It seems everyone (Sting, James Taylor and Brad Paisley among others) wants to work with Alison Krauss:  A Hundred Miles or More (CD 781.642 KRA). Reba put a lot of thought into this title:  Duets (CD 781.642 MCE) and she got Justin Timberlake to help her out on one of the cuts.

One last suggestion: –Featuring Norah Jones (CD 781.65 JON). This CD is loaded with talent.  I love the Jones/Parton rendition of  “Creepin’ in,” but there are many tracks worth hitting the replay button on.