The absolutely bizarre career path of Morgan Fisher led him from '60s London pop group the Love Affair through deranged progressive rock during the early '70s in his own group, Morgan. Through the mid-'70s he was a member of glam stars Mott the Hoople and the Young Lions, and standing in with Queen was even on the agenda for the keyboardist. This is only the start of a tangent that would go through the punk wave (producing the Dead Kennedys no less) to settling in Japan and producing minimalist ambient music of almost cringe-worthy sweetness. Few other artists - although Eno springs to mind - have led such a diverse life in music, making it actually confusing to assess his work based upon past projects…

The Best Is Yet to Come is a 1982 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a studio orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. The last of Fitzgerald's six collaborations with Riddle, their work together on the Verve label more than fifteen years earlier is considered some of Fitzgerald's finest, both musically and critically. Fitzgerald's performance on this album won her the 1984 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female, one of three Grammies she won for her work with Riddle.

Manifold Records present Maretimo Records - Masterpieces Vol. 1. 33 excellent Chillout tracks and a continuous mix with mixing duties handled by DJ Maretimo.

While they have taken a different approach with each album, Opeth has a very distinct and instantly recognizable sound: somber, mysterious, and very serious. Their style falls at a meeting point between melodic Swedish death metal and '70s progressive rock, though without any of the technical busyness that description might imply. Morningrise is, as far as the metal scale goes, possibly their least heavy album; it also contains their longest songs - just five of them, ranging in length from ten to 20 minutes. The tracks all take their time developing, shifting back and forth from full-on metal sections (marked by distorted dual guitar riffs and growling vocals) to calm, acoustic guitar-based passages with more softly sung vocals…

The restored and re-worked tracks discovered among Medwyn Goodalls private recordings belonging to the original Great Spirit album. Never before released.

Drummer Jon Hiseman seemingly had low expectations for a Colosseum reunion. The group decided to re-form at keyboardist Dave Greenslade's 50th birthday party, although Hiseman wasn't sure the timing was right. He was hopeful his German bookers could maybe put together six shows; they swiftly found 30, with Colosseum going on to play over 100 gigs during 1994-1995. And why not? In their three-year lifespan, the group racked up three U.K. Top 20 albums, while simultaneously blowing the socks off of Germany and much of Europe. And coming back together after two decades was, judging by the music here, a lot like coming home…

A decade after they delivered Okie Dokie It's the Orb on Kompakt on…Kompakt, Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann return to the stalwart Cologne label with an album bearing a less sportive title and it sounds like serious sci-fi business. The standard edition consists of four tracks, each one between nine and 15 minutes in length. Not one of them is humorously titled "Captain Korma" or "Komplikation," unless "God's Mirrorball" triggers a recollection of the first Tad album. Unlike Okie Dokie, this is all new, not an amalgamation of tweaked, previously released tracks and new material…

Illness, exhaustion and a national recording ban imposed by executives heading the American Federation of Musicians forced Stan Kenton to disband and withdraw from the music scene in December 1948. The hiatus lasted until February 1950, when he resumed making records for the Capitol label (see Classics 1185, Stan Kenton & His Orchestra 1950). Classics 1255, 1950-1951, which is the seventh volume in the Classics Kenton chronology, contains all of the recordings he made with his big band between May 18 1950 and March 20 1951. By and large, Kenton's music sounded better than ever during this period…

British keyboard player and singer Roy Young played in rock & roll idol Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers in the '60s. When they broke up in early 1970, he formed his own Roy Young Band but they never really made it. They struggled on, with several line-up changes, until June 1974 when they finally called it a day.

A caressing homage to the recent passing of his father, Nibana’s “Earth from Above” is a heavenly psybient project overflowing with emotional composition and powerful melodies. As touching as it is interesting, this hour-long voyage is a climatic dubdream of tear-jerking electronica and adventurous synthscapes. Hidden betwixt an atmospheric world of colorful drum kits, charming saxophone, and deep pads lies a soulful story straight from the heart. Each chapter of this orchestral concourse flows together in a conceptual ideaology, one that will satisfy old school audiophiles and auditory newcomers alike. Prepare yourself for an ethereal journey through the cosmos, for the sublime rhythms of this hypnotic release are strikingly beautiful, and one may find themselves drifting into another realm.

Recorded using techniques sympathetic to the 1970s Canterbury-style Progressive Rock sound. The Kentish Spires collectively bring a vast wealth of musical experience - weaving woodwind and reed instruments over beautifully crafted songs with the stunning eccentric English vocals of Lucie V.

The press release manages to write several paragraphs about Roger Eno without mentioning his brother. We will though. It's our Brian's brother. But really he should be seen in his own right as a composer of note and here collaborates with producer Youth (Killing Joke, Embrace etc). The pairing of Roger’s melancholic piano lines and Youth’s cinematic production gives the album a deeply moving quality. Wistful piano melodies twist and turn through vast, yet sparse, soundscapes, dipping through a myriad of influences. Orchestral swells rise throughout the mysterious track, Velvet Minute, whilst Salty Tears brings out a soft and sombre side to jazz, and closer Forgotten Song showcases an inspired take on merging Roger’s minimalist piano with Youth’s organic and synthetic sound design…

An early jazz singer with a sweet voice, Mildred Bailey balanced a good deal of popular success with a hot jazz-slanted career that saw her billed as Mrs. Swing (her husband, Red Norvo, was Mr. Swing). Born Mildred Rinker in Washington state in 1907, Bailey began performing at an early age, playing piano and singing in movie theaters during the early '20s. By 1925, she was the headlining act at a club in Hollywood, doing a mixture of pop, early jazz tunes, and vaudeville standards. Influenced by Ethel Waters, Bessie Smith, and Connie Boswell, she developed a soft, swinging delivery that pleased all kinds of nightclub audiences in the area. After sending a demonstration disc in to Paul Whiteman in 1929, she gained a spot with one of the most popular dance orchestras of the day…

On their third album - and first to be released simultaneously in Europe and the U.S. - Opeth continue to refine their epic, progressive death metal style, replete with harmonized leads and acoustic passages. My Arms, Your Hearse flows logically from one composition to the next, and the mostly long songs have enough variation in texture and mood to hold the listener's interest fairly consistently.

Colosseum's debut album is a powerful one, unleashing each member's instrumental prowess at one point while consolidating each talent to form an explosive outpouring of progressive jazz-rock the next. Those Who Are About to Die Salute You is coated with the volatile saxophone playing of Dick Heckstall-Smith, the thunderous keyboard assault of Dave Greenslade, and the bewildering guitar craft of James Litherland. Together, Colosseum skitters and glides through brisk musical spectrums of freestyle jazz and British blues, sometimes held tightly in place by Greenslade's Hammond organ, while other times let loose by the brilliancy of the horn and string interplay. Each song sparks its own personality and its very own energy level, giving the band instant attention upon the album's release in 1969…