Régine Crespin Notwithstanding her great success in the German repertory, Régine Crespin was quintessentially a French artist. With an unmistakable sensuality betraying her origins in Mediterranean France, she was guided by an unfailing sense of elegance. Whether as Kundry, the Marschallin, Carmen, Didon, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, or Sieglinde, her large, lush voice was deployed with refined abandon. Her top register, powerful and soaring when it was working as the singer wished, sometimes emerged congested, as tones that began as clarion would cloud over and lose their cutting edge. As it became increasingly problematic, Crespin looked toward roles only equivocally soprano, where she could rely on the luxurious amplitude of her middle and lower registers. Her Carmen, presented at the Metropolitan Opera in 1975 after a period of vocal restudy and a loss of weight, was distinctive for its subtle danger and meticulous delivery of text and vocal line. Following studies at the Paris Conservatoire with Georges Jouatte and celebrated bass Paul Cabanel, Crespin made her debut in 1950 singing Elsa at Mulhouse. In August of that same year, she appeared for the first time at the Paris Opéra, the role once again being Elsa.

Lakeshore Records will release The Agency—Original Series Soundtrack digitally on February 28, featuring a score by Ivor Novello and BIFA-nominated composer Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch (All of Us Strangers). The music blends intense percussion, atmospheric analog synths, and extended string techniques to reflect the show's psychological tension and high-octane action. Starring Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Richard Gere, The Agency is streaming now on Paramount+ with Showtime. Levienaise-Farrouch aimed to create a unique sonic identity for the series, balancing driving pulses with emotional warmth.

John Eliot Gardiner C’est un des principaux acteurs du renouveau qui souffle si fort sur la musique des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles depuis une cinquantaine d’années dans le monde. Petits effectifs, instruments anciens ou recopiés, recherche des articulations et des modes de jeu en s’aidant des traités d’interprétation des époques concernées, telles sont les préoccupations des musiciens historiquement renseignés. C’est en 1964 déjà que John Eliot Gardiner crée le Monteverdi Choir. Il a tout juste 20 ans et sort de ses études d’histoire et d’arabe au King’s College de Cambridge. Il a travaillé en parallèle la musique avec Thurston Dart, un des pionniers de la musique ancienne en Angleterre, et est venu deux ans à Paris auprès de Nadia Boulanger ce qui a fait de lui un francophone, et un francophile, averti.

Tori is no ordinary child–her musical inspirations and talents are clear from a young age. But when her dad forces her to rehearse for her recital, Tori is unhappy. Tori has a secret: eleven Muses have visited her since she was a baby and inspire her to write and make her own beautiful music.

Available to pre-order from this Friday (28th February), the special edition marks the 25th anniversary of the singer's debut album and coincides with her ‘Not That Kind' 25th Anniversary Tour.

This Savoy CD is a duplicate of the original LP although it lacks the fine liner notes included on the Arista/Savoy 1978 LP. The four selections (which unfortunately total under 34 minutes) are excellent, particularly a fun version of Horace Silver's blues "Opus De Funk" in which vibraphonist Milt Jackson, flutist Frank Wess and pianist Hank Jones have a long tradeoff. The quintet (which also includes bassist Eddie Jones and drummer Kenny Clarke) swings nicely throughout the three blues and lone ballad ("You Leave Me Breathless"). This is not essential, but it is enjoyable music.

In the last 30 years alone, Mick Foster and Tony Allen have sold more than 3 MILLION units in the UK.
2025 is their 50th Anniversary and to celebrate the milestone, a new collection, “50 At 50”, serves up a selection of their best loved recordings, as well as 14 NEW tracks. Of the new recordings there are several duets, including Singer/Songwriter Derek Ryan, with the lead single from this collection ‘In The Good Old Old Days’ and the Dance zone Stage School Choir but the most noticeable and touching song on the album is the duet ‘Flying Without Wings’, with Martin Finn, who has severe non-verbal autism. The remarkable Martin, despite being unable to speak, can read lyrics and sing them back entirely in tune! Constantly touring and off the back of a successful sold-out Autumn 2024 UK Tour, Mick and Tony show no signs of slowing down, with a raft of dates set in place from December through to April 2025, prove how popular they remain for their fans who like to hear them at home and see them in a live experience.

In 2023, shortly after the unfortunate passing of Savoy Brown's founder & leader, "Kim Simmonds", Chambers teamed up with the Savoy Brown rhythm section consisting of Pat De Salvo on Bass, and Garnet Grimm on drums, recording Live From Daryl's House Club in 2024. Chambers and the members from Savoy Brown all became friends after playing a festival together in 2019. Being that Savoy Brown and Sean Chambers are on the same record label together, Quarto Valley Records, this change made sense and felt right to all three musicians. Kim Simmonds was in full support as well and gave the three his blessings shortly before his passing on December 13th, 2022.

A fine Febbraio 2025 verrà pubblicato da La nave di Teseo un libro di Rita Pavone dal titolo ‘Gemma e le altre, donne ferme donne che camminano’ ispirato all’omonimo album ‘Gemma e le altre’ pubblicato nel 1989. Si tratta di un concept album dedicato all'universo femminile, in cui la cantante esplora diverse sfaccettature delle esperienze e delle emozioni delle donne. Rita Pavone ha scritto i testi delle canzoni, affrontando tematiche sentimentali e sociali, inclusa l'omosessualità, un argomento piuttosto inusuale per l'epoca, come nel brano "Gemma"; le musiche scritte da Carolain.

From the very first note, Norway's Jon Balke proposes a new sonic dimension with Skrifum, continuing a line of inquiry begun with Warp (2016) and Discourses (2020), solo piano albums which also processed the acoustic environment in which the music was heard. Skrifum (the Icelandic word for "write") takes things a step further. With the aid of electronic audio tool the Spektrafon, which he helped develop, Balke is now able to directly manipulate ambient audio sound from the piano while playing - pulling out frequencies and sustaining them as chords of harmonics. This activated reverberation becomes new material for improvised dialogue, often with quite beautiful results. Jon Balke: "The Spektrafon's sound feeds back in ways that demand space. I take that opportunity to play mostly monophonically and to focus on every single note and its position in the soundscape." Skrifum was recorded in November 2023 at Village Recording in Copenhagen and edited and mastered at Bavaria Musikstudios in Munich. The album was produced by Manfred Eicher and Jon Balke.

Considered the pinnacle of Wes Montgomery’s career, “The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery” is a classic of the jazz genre, and since 2017 has been included in the National Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. This new edition of the album is released as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series and features remastered audio on 192/24 hi res digital.

Jimmy Smith wasn't the first organ player in jazz, but no one had a greater influence with the instrument than he did; Smith coaxed a rich, grooving tone from the Hammond B-3, and his sound and style made him a top instrumentalist in the 1950s and '60s, while a number of rock and R&B keyboardists would learn valuable lessons from Smith's example.

This new album of Beethovens late String Quartets by the prestigious Tetzlaff Quartett offers a fitting tribute to Beethovens 250th anniversary year. These monumental works which are given fresh interpretations by the quartet are among the greatest achievements in the history of Western art music written by a composer who had already largely lost contact with the world. When writing his final String Quartets (Op. 127135) Beethoven was quickly becoming increasingly ill and understood that he would never be able to recover fully.

'Ulysse' by Jean-Fery Rebel (1666-1747), with its prologue and five acts, was given at the Paris Opera on January 23 1703. The libretto by Henry Guichard, after Homer, recounts the return of Ulysses to Ithaca, where Circe, still in love with him, attempts to regain him by magic. The opera ends in the triumph of love over evil. Rebel followed the formal framework of the lyric tragedies of his master Lully, including some scenes to marvel at. But his orchestral writing also announces Rameau, especially in the depiction of battles, earthquakes or storms.

All the Colours of the World in the Black Forest ‘High quality music to be enjoyed by many people all around the world, no matter where they are’ Andreas Brunner-Schwer, MPS Records The German SABA and MPS family of labels extended this sentiment to include music from musicians all around the world, no matter where they were from - and here on Spiritual Jazz 17 SABA MPS we explore that very theme. Throughout the ‘60s & ‘70s both labels released a wealth of music from a wealth of international jazz musicians coming from both North and South America, Europe, the Caribbean and the Far East. The aim was to release jazz that was exciting, innovative and interesting, regardless of style: there was swing, blues, bop, avant-garde, fusion – and spiritual jazz. Plurality became a defining feature and the immense breadth of their output made both SABA and MPS worthy European counterparts to American imprints such as Blue Note and Impulse.