Although they never enjoyed the national fame, Linn County was one of the most musically sound, in-demand and highly admired outfits in the Bay area. To trace the roots of Linn County's genealogy, one must venture back to their early days to the home state of Iowa when they were known as the Prophets. An unusual late-'60s band that combined horn-embellished soul-rock with more interesting material utilizing jazz-colored arrangements and somewhat spacy songwriting. There were few parallels for this kind of thing at the time, other than perhaps the only slightly less obscure Insect Trust.
In 1968, the band signed with Mercury Records, moved to San Francisco, California, and changed its name to Linn County. ..

Some music stays with you for a lifetime — not just in your memory, but in your hands, your ears, your way of feeling the world. For me, that music began in Tbilisi, Georgia, where I was born and raised, and where these sounds first took root. The journey of this album begins with the music of Nodar Gabunia — a composer, mentor, and teacher who shaped my early musical voice. His musical language is deeply personal, yet unmistakably his — full of clarity, warmth, wisdom, wit, and beauty. The second half of the album gently shifts into the sound world of Giya Kancheli — a close friend of Gabunia’s.

Composer-pianist-producer Eunike Tanzil releases a third single Reverie from her upcoming debut album on DG The First of Everything. The project reflects the versatility, sense of freedom and spirit of adventure that are all part of Tanzil’s modern take on orchestral music.

With Songs of Passion, a collection of vocal and instrumental music by John Dowland and Henry Purcell – English composers born nearly a century apart – mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, lutenist Thomas Dunford and Ensemble Jupiter have created a companion to their previous Erato albums, Eternal Heaven, Idylle and Amazone. Making guest appearances on Songs of Passion are four further singers of the rising generation: baritone (and Erato artist) Huw Montague Rendall, contralto Jess Dandy, tenor Laurence Kilsby and bass Alex Rosen. Dowland is known for his intimate evocations of amorous melancholy in his writing for voice and for lute, while the music of Purcell – the greatest British-born composer of the Baroque era – encompasses a rich diversity of moods and emotions. To the fore on Songs of Passion are two of Purcell’s works for the stage: The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas. Dido’s famous lament, ‘When I am laid in earth’, forms the climax of the album.

Written for the wedding celebration in Venice of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska, Vivaldi's serenade La Gloria e Imeneo offers a marvelous synthesis of Vivaldi's style in the mid-1720s, championed here by two magical voices, Teresa Iervolino and Carlo Vistoli. A true delight! Continuing its exploration of a less popular facet of the Red Priest, the Vivaldi Edition once again ventures into the realm of serenades, entrusting the unloved La Gloria e Imeneo to Andrea Buccarella and his Abchordis Ensemble, who already championed the Serenata a tre published two years ago (OP7901).

The album “Femmes” (2023) delighted a wide audience with a musical kaleidoscope of female composers from the Baroque to the present day. Now Raphaela Gromes is continuing this success story with the double album “Fortissima”. The new double album (Sony Classical) with sonatas and cello concertos by female composers will be released on September 12, 2025, and the accompanying non-fiction book (Goldmann Verlag) will be published at the same time under the same title. Together, the album and book form a unique synthesis of music and text that finally gives long-forgotten female composers the attention they deserve.

One unmistakable sign of a true creative is an uncanny ability to find new ways to express themselves. Sometimes this manifests in new methods for exploring and developing their art. Pianist/composer Michael Wolff looked to beat-making and looping software to help him write new music, which he then arranged for his talented and dedicated Trio, featuring bassist Ben Allison and drummer Allan Mednard. The results are heard on Wolff’s new recording, Sunny Day, a fantastic example of jazz swinging in and out of the tradition.

Foreigner is bringing 4 to the fore with a new deluxe box set devoted to their blockbuster fourth album. Available September 12, this new edition of 4 will include a new remix of the original 1981 album and three discs of unreleased material, including studio outtakes, unheard songs from the recording sessions, instrumental mixes and selections from the band's world tour of 1981-1982. A Blu-ray Audio will include the album remix (plus the newly-released "Fool If You Love Him," available as the new single from the set below) in high-resolution stereo, as well as a new Dolby Atmos mix of the original 10-track LP. The stereo mix will also be available on a separate vinyl pressing. The digibook packaging includes more than 60 unreleased photos from the period.