Born in Brooklyn, raised in Switzerland, resident of Toronto, and recording in Memphis, singer Shakura S'Aida turns in her second solo album, Brown Sugar, for the German Ruf Records label. On her first CD, UMI's Blueprint, she sang blues cover songs from the 1940s and ‘50s, but here she and her guitarist, Donna Grantis, have penned nine of the 11 songs themselves. They have done so in some familiar blues styles, starting with the opening trio of 12-bar blues tunes, "Mr. Right," "Walk Out That Door," and "Gonna Tell My Baby," then going on to less hardcore variations such as the blues-rock found on "(Did It)" Break Your Heart" and the bluesy piano ballad "Angel on High."

With a few changes in personnel, the Zawinul Syndicate continues to be Joe Zawinul's personal vehicle for pan-global fusions of jazz, Afro-Latin rhythms, rock and whatever world music he can lay his hands on. Again Zawinul keeps a configuration of vocalists on board, including his own gritty electronically processed voice, and he even dusts off his childhood accordion for a bit of Austrian local color on "Medicine Man." The leadoff track, a group remake of "Carnivalito" recorded live in Copenhagen, is, oddly enough, inferior to Zawinul's solo version – too cluttered. But with the South African freedom-fighting, percolating "Black Water," the Syndicate is back on track, empowered as always by Zawinul's unquenchable urge to swing right in the pocket.

Ex-Band songwriter/guitarist Robbie Robertson put together this soundtrack, which allowed him to collaborate with blues master Willie Dixon and jazz master Gil Evans, though it was his collaboration with Eric Clapton that produced the album's hit song, "It's in the Way That You Use It." Also featured: Don Henley, Robert Palmer (three tracks), and B. B. King.

Saigon Soul Revival has been on a quest to reawaken the raw, enchanting sounds of 1960s and 70s Vietnam; a time when passionate music resonated in Saigon's streets and clubs with messages of love, heartache, hope and freedom. Amongst the turmoil of war, there was a rich cultural climate that fused popular genres of the day like rock, soul and bolero with Vietnamese music and lyrics. This fusion of sounds that bridged east and west became forbidden after the fall of Saigon in 1975 and almost vanished. Four decades later Saigon Soul Revival was born with the initial purpose of bringing these dormant sounds back to the stage. After numerous live performances over the last 3 years, the band has developed their own sound and now, with the release of their debut album “Họa Âm Xưa”, they are ready to share it with the rest of the world.

In this recording entitled Enigma Fortuna, the ensemble La Fonte Musica, directed by Michele Pasotti, aims to shed light on the mysterious and eccentric personality of Antonio Zacara da Teramo (1355-1416). A contemporary of Boccaccio, Donatello and Brunelleschi, this composer from the Abruzzi region could almost be likened to a sort of musical Hieronymus Bosch, for the texts he set to music conjure up a ‘topsy-turvy universe’ where the obscene, the imaginary and the grotesque go hand in hand. In his ballata Amor ne tossa he writes ‘Let him understand me who can, for I understand myself’, foreshadowing the proud egotism of the Romantic artists who were to come 400 years after him. With this four-CD set presenting the world premiere of Zacara’s complete works, La Fonte Musica offers us an initial approach to understanding his music. And thereby, through the timeless character of art, to understanding a so-called ‘renascent’ era that seems as ‘topsy-turvy’ as our own.

Blues From The Inside Out is the most expressive project of Dave Specter’s 35-year career. Featuring his debut as a vocalist, the album is an exciting and timely celebration of blues, soul, jazz, funk and gospel. These are fine times to hear Specter, an evolving artist who embraces growth and discovery.

The legendary BORIS celebrate a 30 year career as one of experimental music's most forward-thinking, heavy, and innovative bands with the new album Heavy Rocks (2022). Continuing their series of Heavy Rocks records, BORIS once again channels the classic proto-metal sounds of the 70s into something all new.

For many recordings that fit thematically in the wintertime, it's all about Christmas. For the a cappella ensemble Schwersterhochfünf, this is going one step too far: The five sisters come from a family which placed special emphasis on singing during Advent. For their album German Advent Songs, the singers go back to their roots and pick up on this beautiful tradition. Here, old songs ranging from Johann Crüger’s Wie Soll ich dich empfangen to modern works such as Gottfried Wolter’s Ich brach drei dürre Reiselein evoke the contemplative mood of comfort and warm candles on the Advent wreath. Because there is little musical material for this unusual setting, a virtue was made out of necessity: Schwesterhochfünf invited befriended composers to write custom arrangements for the well and lesser known Advents songs anew. A additional tone color is given to several of these simple, beautiful songs when the brother of the five sisters accompanies the female voices with his rich bass.

A sequel of sorts to his earlier On the Beach, King of the Beach continues the laid-back mood of the earlier album but is (despite the goofy title) a more mature and unified work. It's one of his best albums and is a return to form after the film soundtrack La Passione and the more electronic sounds of The Road to Hell Part 2. Written primarily during a vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands, it's replete with lots of beach and summer imagery in the titles ("King of the Beach," "All Summer Long," "Sandwriting," "Sail Away") as well as the lyrics, which were originally written as poems. A remix of "All Summer Long" was a big dance hit in Ibiza and other Mediterranean hot spots. A good album for a summer day, with a soulful mellowness flowing through the tracks.