In 1956, when Toni Harper was just eighteen years old, she made her first album for Norman Granz’s Verve, the label he had started earlier that year.

Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll.

Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 1930 – 21 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross.

Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (July 16, 1920 — May 7, 1990) was a Brazilian singer. Known as a Divina, Elizeth is considered one of the greatest interpreters of Brazilian music and one of the most talented singers of all time, revered by the public and critics.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, which has its origins in a novella by E. T. A. Hoffmann, contains some of the best-loved music ever written. But its composer wasn’t very happy with it, perhaps because the plot he was given to work with allowed him to present only a series of dances, losing the moral basis of Hoffman’s surprisingly modern tale, with its messages of inclusivity and what is now called ‘women’s agency’ – here it is the little girl who saves the prince. Hoffmann’s aspirational story continues well after the ballet ends, with the little girl, now grown up, marrying the prince, who is now king.

The first of two albums recorded at the legendary final appearance of the Bill Evans Trio at the Village Vanguard, these recordings have long been recognized as capturing the unique interaction that characterized the trio of Evans, LaFaro and Motian. This new edition of Sunday at the Village Vanguard is released as part of the OJC Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. It is presented in a Tip-On Jacket. This reissue features remastered audio from the original master tapes and also is available on 192/24 hi res digital.

In 2020 I was approached by TRPTK to record an album. Due to the lockdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world looked very different and live music performances had come to a halt. The idea of using the time in lockdown well, by recording an album while waiting to get back on stage as soon as the circumstances allowed, sounded great.

“In under two years since the release of their debut LP Ultra, Kadabra has earned a reputation as a captivating and explosive live act through “passionate stage presence drawing you into their own world with lengthy, mesmerizing, songs building from a slow boil into full crescendos.” - Brian Lopez, New Noise Magazine

The Schumann Collection, Vol. 1 is the first album in that series, and features Carnaval, Op. 9, Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, and as icing on the cake, Arabeske, Op. 18.

The cover says: "Here is an album with an exciting difference. For the first time, by the use of carefully selected songs, this recording tells the complete story of a love affair–from the thrill of the first meeting, through the joyous times together and vows forevermore, to the lovers' parting and thoughts of days gone by".

Rusty Draper was one of the biggest crossover stars of the early '50s, selling over a million records to pop and country audiences before the rise of rock & roll derailed his career. In 1962, he left Mercury to sign with Fred Foster's Monument Records, with diminishing chart success as his style became more old-fashioned. However, he continued to have minor hits in the country charts through the 1960s.

"Portrait Of Sheila" is the jazz singer’s widely acclaimed debut. Joined by Barry Galbraith, Steve Swallow and Denzil Best, the recording is one of Blue Note’s first vocal albums. In the 1963 Down Beat magazine Critics Poll, she was ranked first in the vocal category for "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition". Her distinguished tone dazzles on tunes including “Hum Drum Blues,” “Falling In Love With Love,” “Dat Dere” and more. This pivotal classic is included on The Penguin Guide to Jazz’s “Core Collection” and remains one of the finest jazz vocal debuts ever recorded. She did not record again as a leader for more than a dozen years.

Adulated in his native Japan, drummer Hideo Shiraki led the most famous Japanese jazz group of the early 60’s. His combining jazz and traditional Japanese music brought him an invitation to the 1965 Berlin Jazz Festival and a record date. Three women playing Koto, the traditional Japanese stringed instrument, accompanied the quintet. The results: world music that works.

"Sweet Baboo" is the stage name of Stephen Black, a musician from rural North Wales now based in Cardiff. Before becoming a solo artist, he played with the band JT MOuse. On "The Boombox Ballads", his fifth release, Sweet Baboo wanted to explore more what it was to be a ‘singer’ as opposed to a ‘singer songwriter’, a term - that to him at least - seems to have picked up some negative connotations in recent years. With that in mind, there was a tentative channelling of Harry Nilsson and latter day Scott Walker in both his songwriting and by working with an arranger (Paul Jones) for the first time who helped him paint the most vivid accompaniments possible.

Bill Haley's Chicks was the eighth album of rock and roll recordings by Bill Haley & His Comets for Decca Records, Decca 8821.