Meditation, mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca's 2014 release on Deutsche Grammophon, is an album of serene vocal and choral works that express religious feelings with an operatic touch and showcase the Latvian singer's warm and radiant voice. Choosing pieces from the early Baroque era to contemporary works, Garanca presents a soothing program that is consistent in its comforting tone and gentle treatment, though as a purely musical consideration, it tends to flow a bit too evenly and predictably. Insofar as the selections represent the Christian tradition, including settings of the Ave Maria, the Salve Regina, the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei, and the Regina Coeli, the character of the collection admits little variety, except for the general alternation between penitential and quietly ecstatic moods.

'Holly' embodies the struggle of his early forays. During “This Is a Game,” Waterhouse sets up a snarly, post-surf guitar solo with a succinct statement of a cynical outlook: “This is a game / Please remember my words / And don’t get upset when you don’t get what you think you deserve.” And on the gothic-soul strut “Let It Come Down,” he meditates on the inevitability of pain. “If there’s gonna be rain tonight,” he sings in a stoic croon. “Let it come down.”
It’s clear from this material that Waterhouse is in the midst of his own becoming. He isn’t the type to let ecstasy take over, like Van Morrison, or to drawl away in a consum- mately laid-back register, like Mose Allison. In the tension between his wry lyrics and crisp arrangements, you hear the expression of a worldly skeptic who’s also—when it comes to his art—a sanctified believer. Whoever it was that Nick Waterhouse wanted to be matters less now; these days, he just sounds like himself.

With Jim Black we are used to the most different sounds. Paul Motian is one of his main influences, therefore it is not surprising for insiders that he now leads his own troika of piano, bass and drums. In the same way Paul Motian has formed the famous Bill Evans Trio, Jim Black does not find himself in the role of a simple time keeper, but plays melodies on his drums and cymbals interrelating closely with the piano and bass. Comparisons can only be misleading, but Jim Black's analog recording seems to be the continuation of 'Somewhere Before' to another place and into a new time; a great album of the first Keith Jarrett Trio with Charlie Haden on bass and Motian on drums. Music that is the godfather behind the creations of Winter & Winter. Black finds with young pianist Elias Stemeseder and bassist Thomas Morgan, who has worked with Motian, the perfect line-up. The three musicians open their innermost self and have an intimate dialogue captivating the listener. These three artists still have to tell themselves and us a lot of unheard stories.

The Pink Panther: Music from the Film Score Composed and Conducted by Henry Mancini is a soundtrack album from the 1963 movie The Pink Panther starring David Niven and Peter Sellers. The music was composed and conducted by Henry Mancini.