Old Fashioned Gal, the title of Kat Edmonson's fourth record, certainly describes the singer. Edmonson doesn't truck with modern styles, whether they're musical or technological, but that doesn't mean she's stuck in the past. She's working an older style – one that's rooted in the first half of the 20th century – but she's adding to tradition by writing a set of original songs that blend modern lyrical sensibilities with the style of the Great American Songbook. It's a sly, subtle accent on a record that could be mistaken for an old-fashioned LP – the music and the arrangements are intimate, yet lush; the tempo is never hurried, which gives Edmonson plenty of time to luxuriate in her melodies – and that helps give this cabaret music an air of welcome freshness.

This is, like the others in the series, deserves the warmest possible recommendation.

Willie "The Lion" Smith was one of the last remaining giants from the stride piano era when he made this studio recording for Decca in 1965. Although seven of the 15 tracks are Smith's compositions, they are not his better known works, adding to the value of this release. One can hear how a performance like the driving "In a Minor Groove" could have influenced Duke Ellington early in his career. There are also strong takes of oldies like "Ain't She Sweet" and "Some of These Days," along with an elaborate arrangement of George Gershwin's "Summertime" that likely dazzled the composer if he had the opportunity to hear it during his many visits to Harlem. Smith delves into the works of his comrades in stride, including James P. Johnson's demanding and unjustly obscure "Steeplechase" and protégé Fats Waller's well-known "Honeysuckle Rose"…

Sir Elton John, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, has been for a great part of the past five decades, one of the dominant forces in rock and pop music, especially during the 1970s, when he produced hits like "Your Song," "Rocket Man”, "Bennie and the Jets," and "Crocodile Rock." He has sold more than 250 million albums and over 100 million singles, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. He has also won five Grammy awards and one Academy Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him number 49 on their list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. John has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In The Many Faces of Elton John we will embark on a journey that will give us a profound insight into the career of one the pop music's most legendary superstars.

With gallant style and romantic virtuosity, this album illustrates the exceptional technical brilliance of the flute in late classical chamber music.

Orange Mountain Music proudly presents the release of the new album ICONS: Philip Glass, John Adams, & John Corigliano by renowned violin virtuoso Robert McDuffie and pianist Elizabeth Pridgen. Long champions of new music, McDuffie and Pridgen fix a spotlight on three masterpieces of the violin/piano repertoire, by three of the most celebrated American composers of the past half century.

Musician and teacher, Francesco Durante was so known at his time, that his name was given to a compositional school (that of the "durantisti"). He composed mostly vocal music, especially sacred, of which his keyboard works make up a limited part, where virtuosity is extremely common; elements like the very rapid scales, the arpeggios or the crossing of the hands are also widely found in other contemporaries from Naples, but his writing preserves characteristic features which are absolutely personal.

The Dacapo label enters the graphic territory of its rival ECM here, with clean black-and-white graphics and sans serif fonts and equally crisp contemporary music that makes no concessions to popular taste but nevertheless offers a kind of accessibility. It is easy enough to imagine Schnee (snow in German – not Danish, interestingly) in composer Hans Abrahamsen's work, which fills the entire album. The music begins with an almost imperceptible high violin note as if to suggest sub-sensory beginnings of a period of snow. Abrahamsen has evinced a fascination with snow in other works, but it is perhaps reduced to its essence here.

This recording emphasizes (although does not stick exclusively to) the blues. The sextet has impressive players (flutist Herbie Mann, Charlie Rouse on tenor, guitarist Kenny Burrell, pianist Mal Waldron, bassist George Joyner and drummer Art Taylor) and the material (originals by Waldron, Burrell and Calvin Massey in addition to a brief "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid") is reasonably challenging but the musicians never really come together as a group. The straightahead jam session has its strong moments and, as long as one keeps their expectations low, the music will be enjoyable despite the lack of major sparks.