Combined Joshua Bell Clips Oct 20 Report

AUDIOPHILE AUDITION web magazine for music, audio & home theater Classical CD Reviews

Joshua Bell At Home With Friends - The violinist’s guests include: Chris Botti, Sting, Josh Groban, Tiempo Libre, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Frankie Moreno, Regina Spektor, Dave Grusin, Chris Thile, Marvin Hamlisch - Sony Classical A relaxed and diverse compilation of inspired music-making. Published on October 14, 2009

Joshua Bell At Home With Friends - The violinist’s guests include: Chris Botti, Sting, Josh Groban, Tiempo Libre, Edgar Meyer, Mike Marshall, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Frankie Moreno, Regina Spektor, Dave Grusin, Chris Thile, Anoushka Shankar, Marvin Hamlisch - Sony Classical 8697-52716-2 **** [Release date: 9/29/09]: This is a wonderful crossover compilation, inspired by Bell’s practice of hosting informal musical get-togethers in his Manhattan home. The 16 tracks bring in some of his musical friends from many different areas, and I liked the effort to expose pop fans to a bit of classical - namely the two selections involving Rachmaninoff and the Renaissance song Come Again sung by String. The first may shock readers to see Rachmaninoff’s name as one of Bell’s friends, but this is one of the selections from the Zenph Re-Performance CD we just reviewed (twice) - the movement from the Grieg violin sonata he recorded in 1928, cleaned up for playback on a modern grand piano, with Joshua Bell taking the violin part. The other Rachmaninoff is a performance of his well-known song O, Cease They Singing, Maiden Fair, by baritone Nathan Gunn and Bell. There are also forays into world music with the Cuban group who recently recorded Bach with James Galway - Tiempo Libre, as well as a bit of a duet for sitar and violin with a daughter of Ravi Shankar. I loved the inclusion of the bandoneon in two of the tracks: Piazzolla’s Oblivion and the theme from Cinema Paradiso, beautifully sung by Josh Groban. Probably the most striking track on the album for me was a gorgeous arrangement of Eleanor Rigby with Frankie Moreno

(who was new to me) doing both the vocal and piano work with Bell on violin. There are several tracks with vocalists I've frankly never heard of either, but they're all very listenable. There’s no real gimmick to this crossover effort - just a relaxed celebration of some inspiring music-making by a bunch of musical friends. This disc will probably be a bigger seller than any of Bell’s previous recordings or collaborations. - John Sunier

Music Review: Joshua Bell - At Home With Friends Author: Fitz — Published: Sep 27, 2009 at 9:28 am 1

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There has always been something haunting and ethereal about a well-played violin for me. And Joshua Bell has to be among the most talented violinists I've heard playing today. Though I don't normally listen to classical music these days, Bell's album At Home With Friends caught my attention because of who Bell was playing with - Chris Botti (talented trumpet player for jazz and pop music), Sting (amazing solo artist and lead singer of The Police), Josh Groban (amazing voice), Kristin Chenoweth (talented actress with a beautiful voice), and many others. Evidently Bell has been holding ‘musical soirées’ at his New York residence for a while now, inviting over musicians, actors, comics, writers, and anyone else interested in sharing their talents with friends. According to Bell, the inspiration for these gatherings came from growing up in a home where such gatherings were commonplace. My own family did something very similar as I was growing up, and even today we still try to play together when possible. Bell and his friends cover quite a wide array of musical styles - from classical to pop, bluegrass to Broadway, jazz to ethnic. I always find it interesting to hear musicians cross genre boundaries in this way. There's a spark that occurs when such boundaries are crossed that always has the potential to create inspiration and beauty. That said, I have to admit that my favorite tracks are those that take Bell and his companions away from the realm of the classical and into the realm of Broadway and the Beatles. Kristen Chenoweth's sublime voice, accompanied by piano and Bell's violin, makes "My Funny Valentine" absolutely come alive. Bell's strings bring across the emotion of the history of this song. And listening to Chenoweth I couldn't help but think she would be perfect for the role of Christine Daae in Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. (She'll also be gracing the television screen with her beauty and talent in an upcoming episode of Glee on FOX.) My other favorite on the album is "Eleanor Rigby", pairing Bell, a piano, and Frankie Moreno's emotive, masculine voice. What surprised me was Bell's interpretation of the song - providing a beautiful introduction before Moreno's vibrato kicks in for the vocal parts. And then it builds... Changing speed and intensity, never

losing the feel of the original while giving it a new spin. Listening to streaming music on the Frankie Moreno Band's website has given me one more artist I may have to take a longer listen to. If you are looking for something a bit different to add to your classical collection, Joshua Bell's At Home With Friends might be right up your alley. The whole album is full of talented musicians and singers and Bell's virtuoso violin skills. Be sure to give it a listen when it is released on September 29, 2009!

JOSHUA BELL KEEN

TO AVOID 'WIFE' AT SHOWS

Violin virtuoso JOSHUA BELL fears he'll come face to face with the fan who lies her way into shows, telling venues she's the classical music star's wife. The Grammy Award-winning Indiana native loves his fans, who come in all shapes, sizes and age, but there's one "stalker" he'd rather not meet. He tells WENN, "One woman in particular goes around and tells the venues that she's my wife, which she's not. The problem is I think she actually believes it herself which is the scary part." The musician's favourite fans are kids and the 80 year olds who follow him around America: "It's kind of neat that I have followers that are very young because I like to attract younger people to classical music. I do have a lot of young kids writing to me on my website and showing up at concerts, and then some very old ones. "I have a few 80-year-old ladies that follow me around to various cities; it's fun to see them." 12 October 2009 22:01

Joshua Bell

Release Date: September 29, 2009

At Home With Friends

Produced by: Stephen Epstein Format: CD

WEBSITE 10/14/2009 Matt Rowe

The violinist known as Joshua Bell begins his latest album, At Home With Friends, with an extraordinary violin/trumpet tandem with Chris Botti. It rises with Bell's heart-wrapping violin and is joined by the elegiac trumpet of Botti to create a beautiful song ("I Love You Porgy") that you'll want to track over and again, likely before moving to the second song on this gorgeous collection of 16 tracks. Each song is one that is joined by a guest master, some of them surprising. On Morricone's perfect, "Cinema Paradiso," Bell is on stage with Josh Grobin and his piano. Bell's heart-rending violin on this tune leaves me with a desire to hear Bell's complete interpretation of the entire Cinema Paradiso collection. Bell pushes his talent by approaching several styles if music including Latin ("Para Tí" with Tiempo Libre), Pop ("Eleanor Rigby" with Frankie Moreno) and ("My Funny Valentine," sung by Kristen Chenoweth), and beautiful soundtrack material ("Il Postino" with Carel Kraayenhof). There's even a song that features Regina Spektor on piano and vocals ("Left Hand Song"). Bell proves himself with an amazing duet with sitarist, Anoushka Shankar on one of the best tracks of the album, "Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin," a 9minute work of the Ravi Shankar tune. Where Joshua Bell plays, there is a kind of unseen magic in the air. But it can be felt. Every track on this eclectic album is, without question, a reproduction of that magic in each of its songs. While it approaches various types of music with an eye to infusing violin, Bell is easily up to the joyous task of creating a collection that will put a smile on your face. At Home With Friends expands by one as each listener sits in with this varied set of intimate tunes, becoming party with the immeasurably talented Bell and each guest that performs with him.