Harry's Bar is not a debut and Gordon Haskell is far from new to the world of music. Gordon is a former King Crimson bass player and journeyman pub crooner.
This album is full of great mellow blues and starts with the UK hit single "How Wonderful You Are." Really good for a cold winters night in front of the fire with a glass of wine or I'm sure it will equally suit a warm summers evening. I really like this CD and I play it regularly.

Adrian Belew is one of the world's most underrated guitarists, and his unique talents truly deserve more attention. He's played guitar with Frank Zappa and David Bowie, and also handled lead vocal duties with King Crimson. On his 1994 solo release Here, Belew not only wrote all of the material himself (co-writing one with Ross Rice), he also played every single instrument and served as the album's producer. His vocal style is quite similar to David Byrne, while his guitar style cannot be compared to anyone – it's completely unpredictable and off the wall. The album's biggest surprise is the calm, psychedelic track "Fly," with a stark arrangement (voice, acoustic guitar, and an effect here and there) only intensifying the song's spacious, haunting feel. The album's upbeat opener, "May 1, 1990," finds Belew telling about a date on which "something changed inside me," while "Never Enough" is a warped rocker in classic Belew style (on which he makes his guitar sound like a violin). Here is a good representation of present-day Belew, but as his longtime fans know, it's not by any means a permanent direction. AMG

…blue cathedral is one of the most-performed orchestral works by a living composer (150 orchestras have performed the work since its 2000 premiere).

Packaged in a sleeve that (not accidentally) reminds one of the Beatles' White Album, this first released collection of Belew's acoustic renderings is all around a pleasant listen. The classic Adrian Belew songs are great. It is refreshing to hear songs like "The Man in the Moon" and "The Rail Song" with new life breathed into them. Belew's delivery is a little subdued, which at times can have a postured to be included on an acoustic release feel to it at times, but, for the most part, the music sounds fresh and revitalized. He does include a couple treats on this outing. The first of these is a cover of the Beatles "If I Fell," which sounds like a dead-on impersonation of the John and Paul vocal harmonies from the original. Very cool. Also included is a Roy Orbison's "Crying," which is a nice as well. King Crimson's "Matte Kudesai" has some issues here – the verses are accompanied by a low somewhat seasick two-note guitar riff that at best is not very appropriate for the song. The final number on this collection is a tune called "Martha Adored," which is recording of "Dream Life" played backwards in its entirety. Unexpectedly and astonishingly beautiful. This track alone makes the whole set worthwhile. AMG

Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson (born October 27, 1978), known professionally as Vanessa-Mae (in Chinese: 陳美, Chén Měi), is an internationally known British pop and classical musician, especially noted for her violin skills. Her music style is self-described as "violin techno-acoustic fusion," as several of her albums prominently feature the techno style.
Childhood
Vanessa-Mae was born in Singapore to a Thai father (Varaprong Vanakorn, who is now a Thai monk) and a Chinese mother (Pamela Tan). After her parents separated, her mother married Briton Graham Nicholson, and the family moved to England when Vanessa-Mae was four years old, but they have separated many years ago. She grew up in London and is a British citizen. She was educated at the independent Francis Holland School in London.
Vanessa-Mae, born October 27, 1978, coincidentally shares her birthday with famed violinist Niccolò Paganini, who was born 196 years earlier on October 27, 1782.
Professional life
Vanessa-Mae began playing piano at the age of three and violin at five.
She was particularly famous in the United Kingdom throughout her childhood making regular appearances on television (for example on Blue Peter) mostly involving classical music and conservative style. According to Guinness World Records, she is the youngest soloist to record both the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky violin concertos, a feat she accomplished at the age of thirteen.[1] During this time she attended the Francis Holland School in central London.
Vanessa-Mae made her international professional debut at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany in 1988, and also during 1988 made her concerto debut on stage with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.
On entering adolescence Vanessa-Mae broke away from her traditional classical influences and became known for her flashy, sexual style appearing in music videos in stylish outfits. She appeared on the Janet Jackson album The Velvet Rope playing a violin solo on the song "Velvet Rope." Her first pop-style album, The Violin Player, was released in 1995.
She performed in the interval of the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest in Birmingham.
In April 2006, Vanessa-Mae was ranked as the wealthiest young entertainer under 30 in the UK in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006.[2] having an estimated fortune of about £32 million ($64 million) stemming from concerts and record sales of over an estimated 10 million copies world wide, which is an unprecedented achievement for a young female violinist.
Vanessa-Mae announced in 2006 that she would be releasing a new album sometime between 2007 and 2008. The album was said to draw inspiration from great ballets and opera themes. Her new album is now scheduled to be released in 2010
ebay.com/VANESSA-MAE.-Greatest-Hits-2008

Trollhammaren is a single from the folk metal album Nattfödd by the Finnish band Finntroll. It was released on April 13, 2004. It contains the popular song Trollhammaren as well as several songs that do not appear on the following full-length album, Nattfödd.

Listen to the ease that these two thrash through some classics and a few improvised blues numbers and wonder why the hell you ever took up the instrument. Listen closely and discern their individual styles, ellis playing staight chords while backing pass solos, pass distinctive backing (with single note runs and multiple chord forms) while ellis plays fluid solos. joe pass knows every possible chord form but how these guys manage to stay out of each others way amazes me with every playing.

DECOY is a vivid example of Miles Davis' unerring ear for identifying, casting and nurturing talent. Among those helping out Miles flesh out this modern vision of electric jazz: John Scofield, who ranks among the most progressive of jazz guitarists and composers; reedman Branford Marsalis, who fronted the Tonight Show Band; Darryl Jones, who held down the bass chair for Sting and subbed for Bill Wyman in the Rolling Stones; and drummer Al Foster, who went on to work with Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson and Ron Carter.

DECOY marks a milestone in Miles' thinking since returning to the jazz wars, and the trumpeter's keyboard abstractions over Jones' Kraftwerk-like bass groove on "Freaky Deaky" offers clues as to the style of spontaneous orchestration and interplay he wanted. Co-producer/keyboardist Robert Irving's title track depicts an opulent canvas of inter-connected modes, all doing a wheeling dance around Jones' spacious, behind-the-beat bass pulse; "Robot 415" is an Afro-Techno miniature; and "Code M.D." offers slick big band synth flourishes and contrasting rhythmic accents over a swampy, post-modern brand of southern funk.

"Although the Argentinean Gustavo Santaolalla has become famous in recent years for his film work, he is also one of the most important Latin music producers of the last two decades and has produced albums for Café Tacva, Juanes, Molotov, Dividido, and Julieta Venegas, among others. Now the musician makes a comeback as the brain behind Mar Dulce, the commendable second album from Bajofondo Tango Club. (Santaolalla is also a member of the group). As on its first album, this group mixes electronic music with tango, but this album is far from being a mere copy of its predecessor. –Ernesto Sánchez Customer Reviews on amazon.com "

Having visited the rougher side of life, "Home Is Where The Hatred Is" is sung as though Esther's soul is turned inside-out. Written by Gil Scott-Heron, it is achingly beautiful. The title song "From A Whisper To A Scream" is one of the rawest blues tunes ever! Written by blues great Allen Toussaint, he must have been thrilled with Esther's rendition. Esther's vocal has funky tones in "Til My Back Ain't Got No Bone" accompanied by a soulful sax solo. Her vocal expression is perfection! You can feel the wanting in Esther's heavy vocal "Baby, I'm For Real", a ballad which was written by Marvin Gaye. Nothing can compare to sultry Esther singing "Your Love Is So Doggone Good". This steamy number is so thick you could cut it with a knife. When Esther sings "How Blue Can You Get?" written by Leonard Feather she IS about as blue as it gets. Full-bodied blues, Esther's hot interpretation of "Scarred Knees" is thankfully over six minutes long. "Brother, Brother" is a soulful tribute like none other for its songwriter, Carole King. Completely tender, Esther's artistry is very fine when she sings "Don't Run And Hide". "A Beautiful Friendship" is a mature and beautiful ending for the album. The arrangements contained bass, drums, guitar, percussion, organ, piano, trumpet, flugelhorn and three saxophones: alto, tenor, baritone. In addition are such seldom used instruments (by today's standards): trombone, violin, viola, cello, and harp. This alone tells you how full-bodied these blues arrangements are.

Astrud & Stanley are just tremendous. Deodato and others artists included are fabulous. Each track will have indefinitely lasting sentimental value and each time it will sound better than the first. Enjoy it with someone you love by candelight or alone while reading or when driving down the coast (or countryside) with the top down!