Two cracking late-‘70s albums from Blues Rock guitarist Johnny Winter.

Unlike Mozart's Clarinet Quintet (with masterly descendants by Brahms and Reger), Mozart's Oboe Quartet (one of the most distinguished works of oboe literature) remained without successors for over one and a half centuries. ….. So it was only natural that I should ask two of my closest friends to write something for this at once problematic and fascinating formation. Both composers had already made very significant contributions to the oboe literature: Elliott Carter (who, as a student, played the oboe himself) with such works as the Oboe Concerto, the "Trilogy" for Oboe and Harp and the Italian song settings "Tempo e Tempi"; Isang Yun with his Oboe Concerto, the Double Concerto for Oboe and Harp, the Sonata for Oboe, Viola and Harp, the Inventions for Two Oboes and many other works.
Heinz Holliger

from the attached booklet

Long overdue - and totally great! This beautiful 2CD set brings together all the early jazz recordings of Sacha Distel - an artist who went onto become a pop vocalist in 60s France, but who was a great jazz guitarist in his early days! Distel was a key part of the transition in French jazz of the 50s - as he took the guitar, and played in a style that was much more modern than that of older Parisian players - especially Django Reinhardt. His playing had a clean and clear approach that was really great, and which shines anew again in this excellent package. The set features work from the following sessions: an orchestral date with backing by Billy Byers; a quintet session with Bobby Jaspar; another quintet date with Hubert Fol on piano; the soundtrack to the Roger Vadim film Les 7 Peches Capitaux; and a stunning album recorded in 1968 with Slide Hampton. This last session is especially great, as it was a "back to jazz" date for Distel, and featured some great orchestrations that mixed together light orchestrations from Hampton, breezy guitar, and even a bit of bossa. The set's got a total of 26 tracks on 2CDs, and titles include "Saki", "Marina", "Blue Waltz De L'Orgueil", "Half Nelson", "Stop & Go", "No Sad Song For Sacha", "Competition", "Scotch Bop", and "A Piece Of Pizza". (From the Jazz CD (A-D) page.)

Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex
DVD ISO | NTSC | Region 1 | 1992 | Picture Format: NTSC 4:3 | Audio Format: PCM Stereo | Duration: ~57 min | 3.12 GB
Subtitles: Multi-Language

After the Lion King, is there any more famous or lauded director today than Julie Taymor, a status confirmed again by her magical production of Magic Flute for the Met this season? Add in Euripides, Stravinsky, Jessye Norman, Seiji Ozawa and a young(er) Bryn Terfel - if this isn't this an all-star lineup made in heaven, what is?

Bassey's fourth EMI/Columbia album is regarded as the magnum opus of her pre-Goldfinger career, bringing her together with conductor/arranger Nelson Riddle.