This impressive series continues with its incredibly 6-CD sets, this one yielding 100 masterful guitar performances! The heavy emphasis is on classical, from baroque to modern (with two discs devoted to Spanish guitar and another entirely to Rodrigo), but you'll encounter some Beatles along the way, too. Pieces by Bach, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Satie, Britten, Granados, Falla, Rodrigo, Albeniz, Villa-Lobos and others are played by Andres Segovia, Julian Bream, Eliot Fisk, Manuel Barrueco, Christopher Parkening and more!

Martha Argerich’s Ravel G major was for so long a reference recording that it’s easy to forget how idiosyncratic it actually is. I wouldn’t actually blame anyone who found it too garish in its colouring, with its volatility giving diminishing returns and its rubato too predictably appassionato for a sensibility as dapper as Ravel’s. Such a person might well find exactly what they want in Steven Osborne’s account, which is masterful in its own way but essentially self-effacing.

Tippett’s first two published symphonies are mature and confident works dating from the middle of the last century. Coruscating accounts from Martyn Brabbins and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra are sure to win new friends for this marvellous music.

Hermann Scherchen's performances of these Brandenburg Concerts avoids the normally expected exaltation of opening and closing movements conferred by most performances. Instead, he opts for a beautifully serene approach to the score, making it more reflective, thoughtful and expansive, hightlighting the lyrical flow that emanates from it.

Esoteric Recordings America is pleased to announce the release of a newly re-mastered and expanded clamshell box edition of the classic album, Turn of the Cards by Renaissance. Released in 1974, the album was an artistic triumph and heralded the band’s commercial breakthrough in the United States.
Featuring highly gifted vocalist Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford (acoustic guitars), John Tout (keyboards, vocals), Jon Camp (bass, vocals) and Terry Sullivan (drums, percussion), Turn of the Cards was recorded in March 1974 at De Lane Lea studios in Wembley, North London and featured the band incorporating symphonic orchestral arrangements into their material extensively on classic pieces such as ‘Running Hard’, ‘Things I Don’t Understand’ and ‘Mother Russia’…

Anders Jormin’s new Swedish-Japanese project returns the highly distinctive voice of Lena Willemark to ECM – it’s her first appearance on the label in more than a decade - and introduces koto player Karin Nakagawa. In this trio music the Japanese classical tradition and the stark, archaic sounds of the koto, allied to Jormin’s powerful and subtle bass playing, form a unique context for Lena’s sung poems, delivered in her native Älvdals-dialect. Traditions and non-idiomatic improvising are cross-referenced and new paths opened up in these compositions.

For her third ECM album, Israeli pianist Anat Fort augments her long-established trio – with bassist Gary Wang and drummer Roland Schneider – with a special guest: Italian reedman Gianluigi Trovesi. Fort and Trovesi have made a number of appearances together in recent years, to critical acclaim, and Birdwatching, with its lively, bright music, takes their rapport to the next level. There is an alertness and a joyful quality in the playing, both in the articulation of melodies and in the improvised passages. “I’d followed Gianluigi Trovesi on many records over the years,” says Anat, “and always loved his musical spirit.” Fort and Trovesi first played together in duo at Italy’s Novara Festival, after which Gianluigi came to Israel and participated for the first time in concerts with Anat’s trio at the Opera house in Tel-Aviv.

Shamans is the seventh album released by Azeri jazz artist Aziza Mustafa Zadeh. It was released in 2002. In the liner notes, Aziza left a comment about each song. The artwork also contains a number of paintings by Aziza. Around 2.000.000 copies of this album were sold worldwide.

Connecticut-born / New York-based Mike LeDonne, who divides his time these days between piano and organ, has begun to record more frequently on the Hammond B3, especially with his suitably named Groover Quartet which, according to Owen Cordle's liner notes to Keep the Faith, has been together now for more than a decade. And that's a good thing, as these gentlemen certainly know how to groove, and do so with abandon on an album recorded roughly a year after the quartet's well-received The Groover.

Kevin Tyrone Eubanks is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer. He was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short-lived The Jay Leno Show.

Kevin Tyrone Eubanks is an American jazz and fusion guitarist and composer who was the leader of The Tonight Show Band with host Jay Leno from 1995 to 2010. He also led the Primetime Band on the short-lived The Jay Leno Show. His first album as a leader, Guitarist, was released on the Elektra label when Kevin was 25. It documented a sophisticated, nuanced voice on the instrument, and was graced by the presence of some peers who are still performing with him today: tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore,(Tonight Show Band member) and his brother Robin. Kevin’s cousins, the late bassist David Eubanks and the pianist Charles Eubanks, also appeared on the recording, which was so well received that it lead to a seven record recording contract with the GRP label, owend by Dave Grusin and the late Larry Rosen.

The saving grace behind Everybody Up is the excellent "Don't Say Goodbye". Slow funk, sensual funk jam…backed by the wonderful guitarist/vocalist Sugarfoot and his excellent scat guitar delivery. The surrounding jams for the record boast nice funk, almost a return to form, and Everybody Up would serve as the last Ohio Players album to retain their signature vibe somewhat. The tunes here are still mostly forgettable, you would be buying the album primarily because you are a fan of the group and their history. The guys seem to be dipping into a Cameo bag a bit in 1979, but, the one trait that has always set them apart was Sugarfoot's guitar playing, and solid background ensemble vocals.

When Norman Connors made the transition from jazz albums to commercially successful R&B-oriented dates, the drummer found himself being lambasted repeatedly in jazz press (something Roy Ayers, Patrice Rushen, George Duke and George Benson could also relate to). Myopic jazz critics trashed Romantic Journey simply because it contains so much R&B/pop, as opposed to judging its merits as an R&B/pop-oriented album. Though not as strong as its predecessor, You Are My Starship, this decent offering has its strong points, including Philip Mitchell's vocal on the haunting "Destination Moon" and Eleanore Mills' performance on a likable cover of the Stylistics' "You Are Everything."

Listening to the new, self-titled album by the Steve Gadd Band, one thought comes immediately to mind: back-up bands are far more than back-up bands. Gadd himself is exhibit A. Perhaps the best drummer working today in pop music, his main gigs are in the bands of the world’s top stars: James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, and others. And the musicians featured on this album are veterans of Taylor’s touring band. Gadd, who produced the album, gives them all a chance to shine.

When Eddie Levert's two sons, Gerald and Sean, teamed with Marc Gordon to form their own trio, everyone in the R&B community expected great things. They didn't get off to a good start when they recorded for the tiny Tempre label, but once they moved to Atlantic, Levert began building their image and reputation. They earned a number one R&B hit with "(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind" and followed it with a Top 20 single in "Let's Go Out Tonight." Gerald's delivery, tone and approach mirrored his father's; their harmonies and production were contemporary, yet also reflected The O'Jays' influence.