Rogers re-emerged after a long layoff with a 1972 album for Leon Russell's Shelter label called Gold Tailed Bird. It wasn't the equivalent of his immortal Chess stuff, but the Shelter sides, here in their entirety, are pretty decent themselves (and no wonder, with the Aces, Freddy King, and reliable Chicago pianist Bob Riedy all involved). A few extra numbers not on the original Shelter LP make this 18-song set even more solid.

This album is the recording of the inaugural concert of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique at the Maison Symphonique in Montreal. For grandeur, majesty and sheer tonal opulence, few symphonies can stand beside the Third Symphony of Saint-Saëns. The prominent contribution from the organ, the “King of Instruments,” provides an additional measure of imposing sonority to the work. The entire symphony is based on the principle of continual transformation of a “motto” theme. This theme makes its first full appearance in the restless series of short detached notes in the violins, following the slow, mysterious introduction. The attentive ear will pick out this theme in its rhythmic and coloristic metamorphoses throughout the symphony – at varying times flowing and lyrical, detached and fragmented, broad and noble, or agitated and restless. Olivier Latry is organist at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and organ professor at the Paris Conservatory. His appointment to France’s premier cathedral in 1985 at the age of 23 propelled him onto the international scene: he has appeared in more than 50 countries and on all five continents, as a recitalist or with orchestra.

Andrew Hill returned to the Blue Note label (where he made many significant releases during 1963-80) for a stimulating quintet date with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, altoist Greg Osby, bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Ben Riley in 1989. The pianist's six originals (which are joined by three alternate takes on the CD) his dense chords behind the other improvisers and his own unpredictable solos are not all overshaowed by his talented sideman, even Osby who is heard in particularly inspired form. There are no weak performances on this superb post bop effort, Andrew Hill's strongest recording in several years.

Josephine Foster album Graphic as a Star is based upon the poems of the 19th century American poet Emily Dickenson. Josephine lays stairsteppy melodies beneath a collection of Dickenson gems and sings them with a burnished soulfullness like the purple sunsets so often described in the poems. Massachusetts mountains pearled spiderwebs and folk heroe William Tell are all present in this unforgetable meeting of Dickensons posey and Fosters music making a natural and inevitable whole. Ms. Foster is a Colorado-born artist whose songwriting draws from far corners of the musical spectrum to form a truly singular body of work. While sometimes compared to such singers as Shirley Collins or Tiny Tim, it is difficult to pigeonhole her arresting vocal style. She says her craft is strongly shaped by "Tin Pan Alley on my maternal side, rock and roll on my paternal side, Western folk music by birth, art-song and classical music via my adolescent passions".

This recording presents the chorale variations for solo viola da gamba by an anonymous 17th-century master, collected in the so-called Berlin Gamba Book. Only the initials of the arranger—‘J.R.’—are known, but this was clearly someone of passion and discernment who transformed hymns into instrumental music which preserves the solemnity and gravitas of the originals. Dietmar Berger’s recording of the Manchester Gamba Book (8.572863-64) was acclaimed as ‘a considerable achievement by any standard’ (Gramophone).

Heat, Dust And Dreams is a studio album by South African artist Johnny Clegg and his band Savuka, released in 1993, produced by Hilton Rosenthal, co-produced by Bobby Summerfield. The album received a 1993 Grammy Award nomination for Best World Music Album. The album would be the final work of the band Savuka. It was made in honor of member Dudu Zulu, who had been assassinated in the last years of the apartheid. Most songs of album are heavily influenced by the end of this dark period of South African history. "These Days", "When the System has Fallen", "In My African Dream" and "Your Time Will Come" all express hope for the future, while songs like "The Promise" and "Foreign Nights" talk of the problems people still have to face. "Emotional Allegiance" turns the attention to the Indian influence featuring Ashish Joshi on Tablas. It is the only Savuka album to receive the same degree of critical acclaim as the Juluka albums such as Universal Men, African Litany, Work for All and Scatterlings.

Led by John Kay, Steppenwolf's blazing biker anthem "Born to Be Wild" roared out of speakers everywhere in the fiery summer of 1968, John Kay's threatening rasp sounding a mesmerizing call to arms to the counterculture movement rapidly sprouting up nationwide. German immigrant Kay got his professional start in a bluesy Toronto band called Sparrow, recording for Columbia in 1966. After Sparrow disbanded, Kay relocated to the West Coast and formed Steppenwolf, named after the Herman Hesse novel. "Born to Be Wild," their third single on ABC-Dunhill, was immortalized on the soundtrack of Dennis Hopper's underground film classic Easy Rider. The song's reference to "heavy metal thunder" finally gave an assignable name to an emerging genre. Steppenwolf's second monster hit that year, the psychedelic "Magic Carpet Ride," and the follow-ups "Rock Me," "Move Over," and "Hey Lawdy Mama" further established the band's credibility on the hard rock circuit.

One of the most significant musical figures in mid-17th-century Rome, Giacomo Carissimi was a prolific composer of motets and cantatas, who also greatly influenced the developments of the Latin oratorio. This set brings together his 28 motets that were published under the title Arion Romanus by Giovanni Battista Mocchi, a student and loyal admirer of Carissimi. Arion was an ancient Greek bard and musician, who, in Greek and Roman mythology, was thrown overboard by pirates and rescued by a dolphin. In the liner notes that accompany this collection, the authors draw fascinating parallels between Arion and Carissimi himself: both were accomplished, charismatic and influential artists and musicians, and just as Arion was plunged into the depths of the sea, Carissimi explored the depths of the sacred music tradition to create a perfect synthesis of spiritual contemplation and intense emotional expression. The motets from the Arion Romanus collection also showcase his mastery of a wide range of formal structures, from the concertato to the madrigal.

False Idols is the tenth studio album by English trip hop musician Tricky, released on 23 May 2013. It is Tricky's first release on his label False Idols, an imprint of !K7. The album features guest vocals by Francesca Belmonte, Fifi Rong, Nneka and Peter Silberman of The Antlers.

When first released in 1959, PERSUASIVE PERCUSSION was probably the first to put stereo discs on the map bringing to light the startling and innovative musical aspects of stereo sound on records. The music was brilliantly recorded and arranged with great imagination and infinite care to bring out the whole spectrum of sound on one's stereo equipment. Originated and produced by Enoch Light, the album presented an entirely new concept in the recording of percussion instruments performed by Terry Snyder and The All Stars which included talent such as Tony Mottola, Dick Hyman and Willie Rodriguez.

Juanita Hall is best-known for being a stage actress, playing Bloody Mary in South Pacific. However on this 1958 set for Counterpoint, she shows that she could effectively sing blues. Mostly sticking to songs from the Bessie Smith songbook (including "You've Been a Good Old Wagon," "Gimme a Pigfoot" and "Nobody Wants You When You're Down and Out"), Hall's extroverted and shouting style fit the music quite well. Pianist Claude Hopkins arranged for the sextet and gathered quite an all-star backup group that includes tenor-saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, clarinetist Buster Bailey and trumpeter Doc Cheatham. Well worth getting.

Tana Mana is an album by Indian musician Ravi Shankar, originally credited to "the Ravi Shankar Project" and released in 1987. The album is an experimental work by Shankar, mixing traditional instrumentation with 1980s electronic music and sampling technology. Tana Mana is an album by Indian musician Ravi Shankar, originally credited to "the Ravi Shankar Project" and released in 1987. The album is an experimental work by Shankar, mixing traditional instrumentation with 1980s electronic music and sampling technology.

These three magnificent works belong in the repertoire of cellists everywhere. They are full of Villa-Lobos’ signature exotic instrumental textures, folk-like melodies, and abundant invention. They are also harder than hell to play, and difficult to balance. Villa-Lobos was a cellist himself, and loved the instrument’s low, dark register. Penetrating his dense orchestration without making the instrument sound like a dying cow is just one of the many challenges facing cellists attempting to come to grips with this marvelously expressive music, though recordings can solve this problem with sensitive microphone placement. Antonio Meneses understands both the music and its performance problems, and his lower register manages to sound gruff without undue signs of bovine distress. He’s helped by some very sensitive accompaniments; Pérez projects the music’s lush timbres without laying it on too thick.

Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner have a unique musical companionship. Both artists bred the '80s British music scene into pop candy delight thanks to Marr's charming guitar hooks while fronting the Smiths, and Sumner, whose ingenuous lyrical poetry pushed New Order's dance-oriented sound into the new wave mainstream. But since their musical collaboration began back in 1991, the duo continues to make music for themselves, uninhibited by current norms and marketing success. Twisted Tenderness, the band's third album, is certainly a vast improvement over their sophomore effort, 1996's Raise the Pressure. Twisted Tenderness steps back into Marr's talented guitar work: carefree, a bit rollicking at times, but in classic Electronic fashion. The obvious rock-laden riffs carry the typical synth-generated backdrops, and Sumner's cheeky lyrics are stylish and breezy.

Kay Kay and the Rays are a Texas blues band with soul, funk, jazz and roots rock influences fronted by former gospel singer Kay Kay Greenwade. Living Blues recently wrote "Kay Kay Greenwade has established herself as a leading light of contemporary blues". The group first hit the blues charts with the 2001 release Texas Justice which reached #15 on the Living Blues radio airplay report for May 2002. Produced by Johnny Rawls, it was described by Blues Revue as "a seamless blend of blues, soul and funk…one of the most auspicious debuts of the year". The Texas Jusice album opens with the controversial song Lone Star Justice and gave notice the band was going to write about more than traditional blues subjects of lost love, drinking and cheating although they cover those bases as well. The 2003 release, Big Bad Girl, was produced by multiple Grammy winner Jim Gaines. It reached # 10 on the blues charts in October 2003 and was still on the charts at #22 in November. It was the November Bluesville Pick on XM Satellite Radio.