Much to the delight of old-school headbangers, the classic lineup of one of the great (yet usually underappreciated) bands of the '70s, UFO, regrouped in 1993. UFO's first new record since reuniting, 1995's Walk On Water, saw the quintet pick up exactly where it left off, not altering its formula much at all. The reunion (or at least the team of Phil Mogg and Michael Schenker) remained together for several albums afterwards, including 2000's Covenant and 2002's Sharks. The latter release sees bassist Pete Way return to the fold and, unsurprisingly, "the song remains the same." The boys can still lay down a hard-rocking thumper with no problem (albeit in more of an obviously Bad Company-like style), especially on such standouts as "Serenity" and "Fighting Man." But few tracks here approach the magnitude of, say, Lights Out or Obsession - something that the aforementioned Walk On Water surprisingly did.

Kenny Barron, whose duets with tenor great Stan Getz rank among the greatest achievements in that format, has recorded only a handful of duo albums with bassists. One of them, his 1986 encounter with Harvie S, Now Was the Time, came out almost by accident, years after it was recorded. (It was discovered among Harvie S’ belongings and released in 2008.) A mere five years later, in time for Barron’s 70th birthday, Witchcraft arrives as a rewarding sequel.
S’s melodic and temperate bass skates like Sonja Henie while Barron dances like Astaire on graceful tunes like “Deep Night” and “Witchcraft.” They pull an obscure Ellington piece such as “Wig Wise” and make you wonder why you’ve never heard it before as they play with it like a cat with a ball of string…

Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of Fred Durst (lead vocals), Sam Rivers (bass, backing vocals), John Otto (drums, percussion), DJ Lethal (turntables), and Wes Borland (guitars, vocals). The band's music is marked by Durst's angry vocal delivery and Borland's sonic experimentation…

In the past, Anneke van Giersbergen, former singer of The Gathering and mastermind of the Agua De Annique, featured on two Ayreon's albums: Into The Electric Castle and 01011001. The Gentle Storm is one of the many side projects of the Dutch multi-instrumentist Arjen Anthony Lucassen. Officially they are the only two band members, but in their first release they feature Ed Warby at drums, who was also in Into The Electric Castle and Johan Van Stratum (Stream Of Passion) at bass. The album is actually offered in two contrasting interpretations in the one package, a "Gentle" version that presents the pieces in a prettier and frequently orchestrated format, and a "Storm" version of the same core tracks that adds the heavier rock guitars perhaps more associated with Lucassen.

"More than any other art form, music touches people directly," is ACT founder Siggi Loch's credo. For nearly 30 years, the core of what the label does has been to find and to promote the artists who can inspire the mind, reach the heart and touch the soul, and who do so in ways that have a lasting impact. Perhaps this has never been more important than now in the time of the pandemic, when culture has been silenced, when people have felt emotionally isolated and – far too often – the only “reality” has been virtual.

SING A SONG OF BIRD is a collaboration of four New York jazz vocalists who are passionate about Charlie Parker’s music and have rendered new lyrics to six of his compositions. This is the 15th recording for Grammy-nominated vocalist ROSEANNA VITRO, who conceived and guided this project but chose not to sing on every tune. Instead, she hands the microphone to her mentors, bebop jazz legends BOB DOROUGH, SHEILA JORDAN and MARION COWINGS, each of whom take solo turns with their own unique and soulful interpretations on several compositions by Bird.

"Phantasmagoria, or A Different Kind of Journey" is the latest album by the Eivind Aarset 4tet, to be released September 2021 at Punkt Festival, Kristiansand. Featuring Eivind Aarset, Wetle Holte, Erland Dahlen and Audun Erlien, the album is no departure in terms of the compositional quality contained therein, as it remains gold standard. But sonically and texturally? This album features more traditional guitar sounds and techniques than can be found on almost all of his previous albums taken together, while still incorporating his signature tonal manipulations that render the guitar sound into almost unrecognizable forms. The album traverses the full gamut of the instrument's tonal possibilities, from Joe Pass tones to ambient textural soundbeds, from blistering shredding to controlled noise and signal. The line-up is augmented by Jan Bang and John Derek Bishop on several tracks, and Arve Henriksen on one.

Juno-winning saxophonist Chet Doxas is a guiding voice in the world of creative improvised music. Doxas, co-leader of Riverside with trumpeter Dave Douglas and a respected collaborator of Carla Bley and Paul Bley, joins Whirlwind for You Can’t Take It With You, his ninth album as a leader and first at the head of a trio. He’s joined by two stand-out collaborators, Ethan Iverson (piano) and Thomas Morgan (bass) – for a meticulously constructed album with playful positivity at its heart.

Deep and dubby ambient flow gently pulsating with atmospheric electro echoings: enter Granite. Inspired by natural rocks this opus is composed by Martin Van Rossum under his Martin Nonstatic moniker. A twelve-tracks album of smooth catchy drifts, hypnotic melodies and waves of subtle beats that contrast with lush soundscapes. Spiced-up blend of deep techno slash house, dub and downtempo, enhances clean-cut electronic rhythms and soothing rolling bass lines.

Cecilia Bartoli recreates the 1828 triumph of the legendary Maria Malibran - original star and dedicatee of Halévy's "tragi-comedy", Clari. Tracing the love of a callow country-girl for a duplicitous Duke, this hugely entertaining and first-ever modern production of Clari proved the overwhelming hit of the Zurich Opera season. Zurich Opera's own period-instrument orchestra, La Scintilla, under Adam Fischer, contribute a thoroughly researched, stylistically and historically well-informed accompaniment, yet without neglecting the liveliness and spirit of Italian opera.

Back to the Egg is Paul McCartney's attempt to get back to rock & roll after the soft rock of London Town. Assembling a new lineup of Wings, McCartney leads the group through a set of his most undistinguished songs, ranging from the forced arena rock of "Old Siam, Sir" to the formulaic adult contemporary pap of "Arrow Through Me" – and those are two of the more memorable cuts on the record…