I love it when I get help with the things on my 101 Things in 1001 Days list. 🙂  Number 100: Buy a CD of a new-to-me artist.  Okay, so I didn’t exactly buy this one; they sent it to me, but it’s the same idea.  When I heard I’d been chosen by the One2One network for the Joshua Bell campaign, I was jazzed (pun totally intended).  I loooove violin music, and Joshua Bell is a violinist.

Joshua Bell: At Home with Friends

The music on this album is beautiful.  I hardly even know what else to say.  It’s just beautiful.  There’s a wide variety of genre here, from traditional “classical” music to classic Beatles.  And yet it’s all done as gorgeous violin arrangements.  The majority of the album is instrumental, but there are a handful of tracks with vocals.  The theme for this album is the people; Joshua is “celebrat[ing] the many musical friendships he has made over the years.” As a result, you’ll recognize some of the names here – although you may be surprised at the context in which you find them!

I’m not a huge fan of all of the vocals on “My Funny Valentine.” (Kristin Chenoweth has a particular voice quality that I personally just don’t care for, although she is clearly a well-trained, very good singer.)  Apart from that, there is honestly nothing on this CD I don’t love.  I could listen to this all day.

(Thank you, One2One, for introducing me to a great “new” artist!)

Album Tracklisting (Originally performed by):
I Loves You Porgy featuring Chris Botti, trumpet
Come Again featuring Sting, vocals
Oblivion featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Cinema Paradiso featuring Josh Groban, vocals
Para Tí featuring Tiempo Libre, various
My Funny Valentine featuring Kristin Chenoweth, vocals
Maybe So featuring Edgar Meyer Sam Bush and Mike Marshall, strings
Grieg: Sonata No. 3 featuring Sergei Rachmaninoff (Zenph re-performance)
Eleanor Rigby featuring Frankie Moreno, piano & vocals
O, Cease Thy Maiden Fair featuring Nathan Gunn, baritone
Il Postino featuring Carel Kraayenhof, bandoneon
Left Hand Song featuring Regina Spektor, piano & vocals
Chovendo Na Roseira featuring Dave Grusin, piano
Look Away featuring Edgar Meyer, bass and Chris Thile, mandolin
Variant Moods: Duet for Sitar & Violin featuring Anoushka Shankar, sitar
I’ll Take Manhattan featuring Marvin Hamlisch, piano
Left Hand featuring Regina Spektor, vocals