This release continued Abbey Lincoln's '90s resurgence. As with her preceding Verve releases, A TURTLE'S DREAM features notable guest musicians (including Pat Metheny, Kenny Baron, and Lucky Peterson), all of whom add grace to the proceedings. Her core backing trio comprises Rodney Kendrick on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. The set features primarily her originals, along with a pair of covers, including Eben Ahbez's "Nature Boy." The opening song, "Throw It Away," has a melancholy resonance that is utterly inviting as Lincoln pours herself into the lyrics with deep passion and subtle dramatics. The addition of a string section on a couple of numbers–especially "Down Here Below"–makes for some elegant blues.

Howard Jones - People (1998) {Ark 21 Records 61868 10031 2 0}
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© 1998 Ark 21 Records / Howard Jones Music | 61868 10031 2 0
Pop / Soft Rock / Pop Rock / Adult Contemporary

Howard Jones new album has all the right ingredients that make a great pop record, a nice mix of muscial styles and well written catchy songs that linger in your mind. Check out the acoustic guitar pop song "Tomorrow is Now" which was co-written with Jane Wielden formerly of the Go-Go's, a perfect song for summer. "Everything" is a reggae groove song and features Stewart Copeland on drums. Of course Howard always writes beautiful ballads as in the songs "If You Love" and "Sleep My Angel."

Experienced jazzmen often surround themselves by musicians considerably younger; in jazz the necessary know-how has always been passed from mouth to mouth. After Karel Velebný, the teacher of several generations of Czech modern jazzmen, Emil Viklický, one of his pupils, is following the same track. His present quartet joins together musicians of two different generations: Viklický’s and Josef Vejvoda’s partners are the trumpet player Juraj Bartoš and the bassist Robert BAlzar. The common denominator of this workshop in which the younger men can "pay their dues" is the living and vibrating modern mainstream of today…

This DVD is the first release of this legendary performance by a legendary artist. "Rubinstein's superb form is matched by the incredible musical sensitivity of Haitink and the orchestra… Sounds and images are expertly cued to the split second… Rubinstein's face, body and hands are captured in a smooth flow of shots and reflectionsThe Beethoven takes on an almost Mozartean delicacy, the Brahms is infused with all the power it requires." -The New York Times

Steve Hackett left Genesis in June 1977 (following the tour that would be documented on Seconds Out), and started his solo career in earnest with Please Don't Touch. Unlike Voyage of the Acolyte, which was a largely instrumental concept album steeped in the progressive rock idiom, this record is primarily a collection of songs featuring guest vocalists Richie Havens, Randy Crawford, and Kansas' Steve Walsh (their Phil Ehart also chips in here on drums)…

Fred Houn & The Afro-Asian Music Ensemble - Tomorrow is Now! (1985) {Soul Note 121117-2}
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© 1985 Soul Note | 121117-2
Jazz / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental / Modern Creative / Baritone Saxophone

Admittedly, I listened to this album under duress. It was part of a listening assignment, via a college I do research at, and I wasnt expecting much when I stuck it in the player. Well, boy was I surprized. - - Based upon the name of this group and the names of the tunes I was expecting something very out and off - - you know, like the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Sun Ra, even Zorn. Well.. what I got was a bop driven hard swinging somewhat avant garde big band with an energetic edge.

The Mission - London Shepherds Bush Empire (2008) {5CD Set, Eyes Wide Shut Recordings Limited Edition EWSR 002~006}
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© 2008 Eyes Wide Shut Recordings | EWSR 002~006
Rock / Alternative / Indie Rock / Neo-Psychedelia

The Mission are finally calling it quits and have been doing a "Farewell Tour" of Europe. The tour culminates at London's Shepherds Bush Empire end of february 2008 with four nights in succession, each night promising to deliver an entire performance of one the band's first four albums in turn. There was released 5 discs from this 4 days event, one is a bonus disc. The Mission where playing an exclusive four-show event at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London UK between 27th February and 1st March. Each show sees the band dedicate an entire album (covering the band's first four albums 'First Chapter', God's Own Medicine', 'Children' and 'Carved in Sand') plus favourite tracks from that era for that show.

Bassist Miroslav Vitous and Jan Garbarek (on soprano and tenor) are featured throughout this ECM CD on a set of introspective duets. Garbarek does emit some passion on soprano and Vitous augments the music at times with some percussive sounds made by hitting his bass; once in awhile he also adds brief samples from what he calls "the Miroslav Vitous Symphony Orchestra Sound Library." But in general this is a stereotypical ECM date, recommended to fans of that genre.

La collaboration entre les disques Barclay et Léo Ferré correspond au sommet de la carrière du chanteur. Il parvient, à cette époque, à concilier deux statuts que tout oppose : il est à la fois le poète anarchiste, défenseur des causes perdues, forcément marginal et un auteur reconnu, presque établi, qui obtient même des succès commerciaux avec "Jolie môme", "Avec le temps" et "C'est extra". Léo Ferré est insaisissable: rock avec le groupe Zoo ("La the nana"), arrangeur et chef d'orchestre précis ("L'Espoir"), il chante "La Complainte de la télé" mais il y fait pourtant son numéro, pleurant à la commande chez Philippe Bouvard…