We can thank the Lyon Opera for reviving the long-forgotten French version in January 2002 and it is that production upon which this DVD is based. With Patricia Ciofi in the title role and the splendid Roberto Alagna as Edgard Ravenswood, the production was recorded for TV under Don Kent's direction, with Evelino Pido ably conducting the orchestra and chorus of the Opera National de Lyon.

From its inception, John Potter’s Dowland Project has drawn upon different musical traditions, including those of ‘early music’ and improvisation. The Night Sessions album emphasizes the Project’s improvisational flexibility, as the players create new music, sometimes with poetry as inspirational reference and guide. There are also a number of ‘daytime’ pieces worked up, Potter says, from small amounts of notation: ‘Menino Jesus à Lappa’ is based on Portuguese pilgrim song fragments and ‘Theoleptus 22’ built around a Byzantine chant. Lute fantasias are taken from Dalza’s Intabolatura de Lauto (Venice, 1508) and Attaignant’s Tres breve et familiere introduction…a jouer toutes chansons (Paris, 1529).

Between 2005 and 2009, Paulo Moura created and recorded music with the Carioca group Teatro do Som, founded in 1985 by the flutist Paulo Martins, his friend and disciple. Alento became the first posthumous title of Paulo Moura's phonographic work and presents four themes from the musician, composed in partnership with Alex Meirelles and Ricardo Feijão, both members of Teatro do Som (Sound Theater): "Abertura 3D", "Road Movie," "O Portador do Segredo," and "Dia de Festa." It is an experimentation around modified music, which,the conductor and clarinettist spent many years working on among friends and experts such as Leandro Verdeal.

With a sparsely documented history to Funk, Ripple is a mystery to all but ardent funksters. But when you listen to the third track on this album you'll instantly recognise the tune: I Don't Know What It Is But It Sure Is Funky, and it is. You've probably already got this track somewhere in your collection, possibly on a home-made compilation tape somebody gave you ages ago-.-that's how I first heard this track, only now I know the names of artists. Sleevenote writer and funk connoisseur lan Clark remembers hearing Ripple for the first time in 1973, and the infectious vibes generated by this septet got him shaking his funky thang on the dancefloor, as the above mentioned track danced itself into a top 10 position in the R&B charts. Ripple were a Chicago-based interracial 'progressive soul' band.

Larry Polansky - The World's Longest Melody (2010) {New World Records 80700-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 311 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 165 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 25 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 New World Records / Anthology Of Recorded Music | 80700-2
Classical / Contemporary Classical / Experimental / Electronic / Process-Generated

The World’s Longest Melody is a collection of experimental music written for the guitar by composer/guitarist Larry Polansky (b. 1954). The guitar has long been an important component in Polansky’s musical explorations, and this CD has grown from the enthusiasm for his work by the musicians of the Belgian electric guitar quartet ZWERM. The acoustic and electric guitar are featured both solo and in small and large combinations; a few pieces not originally conceived for the instrument are also presented here in guitar-oriented guise.

Lionel Hampton & His Giants Of Jazz 1979 - Hamp In Haarlem (1979) {2015 Japan Timeless Jazz Master Collection Complete Series}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 271 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 107 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 257 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1979, 2015 Timeless Records / Solid Records Japan / Ultra-Vibe | CDSOL-6412
Jazz / Vibes / Drums

Reissue with the latest remastering and the original cover artwork. Comes with a description written in Japanese. Lionel Hampton was always at his best in a concert setting and this 1979 performance in Haarlem, the Netherlands, is not exception. Fronting a tentet consisting of both veterans and younger musicians, the vibraphonist's energy is contagious to both his band and the audience. The opener, "Glad Hamp" is a furious reworking of the chord changes to "I Got Rhythm," showcasing trumpeter Joe Newman.

Johnny Griffin & Matthew Gee - Soul Groove (1963) {2012 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27038}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 257 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 98 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (png) -> 183 Mb | 5% repair rar | 24-bit remaster
© 1963, 2012 Warner Japan / Atlantic / Rhino | WPCR-27038 | Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series
Jazz / Hard Bop / Soul Jazz / Saxophone / Trombone / Organ

Features 24 bit remastering and comes with a mini-description. The music seldom reaches ignition point on this undistinguished 1965 session. Co-leader Johnny Griffin has many more valuable items in his discography. While not as well-known as Griffin, the same can be said of trombonist Matthew Gee, whose resumé includes work with Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington and whose style straddles swing and bop (this was actually one of only two dates where Gee recorded as a leader).

Out there on the extreme fringe of the repertoire is Karol Szymanowski – the Polish modernist composer whose opera King Roger is occasionally revived by non-Polish opera companies. Somewhere further out past Szymanowski is Mieczyslaw Karlowicz – the Polish fin de siècle composer whose three-movement tone poem The Eternal Song is very occasionally recorded by non-Polish performers.

Countdown to Ecstasy wasn't half the hit that Can't Buy a Thrill was, and Steely Dan responded by trimming the lengthy instrumental jams that were scattered across Countdown and concentrating on concise songs for Pretzel Logic…