The third album from Levon Eskenian’s remarkable ensemble is its most adventurous to date. As well as reclaiming the music of esoteric teacher G. I. Gurdjieff for folk instrumentation, Zartir situates Gurdjieff in a tradition of Armenian bards and troubadours including Ashugh Jivani, Baghdasar Tbir and the legendary Sayat-Nova. In parallel, an emphasis on pieces for sacred dance reaches its apex in The Great Prayer, an entrancing collaboration between the Gurdjieff Ensemble and the National Chamber Choir of Armenia, which draws upon ritual music of multiple faiths. Arranger Eskenian says, “I believe The Great Prayer is more than a mere ‘composition’. It is one of the most profound and transformative pieces I have encountered in Gurdjieff’s work.” Zartir was recorded in Yerevan in 2021 and mixed and completed in Munich in November 2022 by Levon Eskenian, Tigran Kuzikyan, and Manfred Eicher.

There probably isn't a recording anywhere of Johann Sebastian Bach's six Brandenburg Concertos that can match the breakneck speeds of the performances by early music specialist Marek Stryncl and his virtuoso period ensemble Musica Florea. In cases where a jaunty Allegro or Allegro moderato can be assumed, Stryncl opts for Presto, or even Prestissimo, apparently with sound scholarship to back up his choices. This may be a legitimate Baroque practice (lay listeners could not know otherwise, without access to Stryncl's research), but there is a point where the rapid tempos will seem unduly hasty and become irritating to anyone who wants to linger over such niceties as instrumental color, articulation, harmony, and counterpoint.

The Warmth And The Freshness 1969 CD The goal here was to include the best aspects of all the familiar releases, presented to create the illusion that you're right in the room with the band as they give ideal performances of the Get Back/Let It Be material. This continuously playing lineup begins with an idealized version of the January 30 rooftop concert (same sequence of five songs), then moves indoors for the January 31 songs. Mixes were chosen that include all the vocal and instrumental parts that were played, with minimal apparent overdubs and reverb. This compilation is arguably more cohesive and consistent with the original vision of the project than any previous release. Editing was used restore abrupt fades, repair mistakes and mixing problems, stitch together sections of different mixes, and include the familiar chatter from the various releases. The only effects used were occasional EQ, time and pitch correction. No noise reduction or reverbs effects were applied.

William Smethergell's oeuvre presents an intriguing challenge. Since little more is known of his life than his birth date and the fact that he worked as an organist at two London churches and as a violist at the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, we must form our impression of him solely through his music. That impression is certainly favorable–at least if we go by the two sets of six overtures published as Op. 2 (1778) and Op. 5 (1780): "Brilliantly scored, richly orchestrated works–ingenious, lively, and full of variety, bearing witness to Smethergell's great melodic inventiveness," was the verdict of klassik-heute on Op. 5 (CD 555 540-2), which Douglas Bostock and the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim introduced to us in 2023. The same ensemble now completes the dozen with the equally attractive Op. 2, a collection widely admired in late 18th-century London and beyond, and is now winning new friends.

When Johann Heinrich Rolle was born, Bach was 31 years old; when he died, Mozart, then in Vienna, was nearing his 30th birthday. In retrospect, it is tempting to count him among the countless "transitional" musicians who distanced themselves from the Baroque, embraced the fashionable galanteries of the time, and thus helped pave the way for the Classical era–as if they had foreseen what was to come. Rolle's career was indeed typical of his era: organist in Magdeburg, student of law, later active in Berlin–first as a legal advisor, then as a violinist and violist in the service of Frederick the Great–before returning to Magdeburg as organist, cantor, and municipal music director. In addition to a wealth of oratorios and cantatas, he produced a substantial body of instrumental music which, as this symphonic-concertante selection shows, places him firmly within the stylistic currents of his time: light-footed, elegant, spirited, and transparent–in short, so galant that the listener is delightfully engaged from start to finish.

azz By Sun Ra (later titled Sun Song) is the debut album by Sun Ra. The record label for the first pressing says "07-12-56", presumably when it was recorded. The LP originally appeared on Tom Wilson's short-lived Transition Records. In the mid-1960s it was purchased (along with much of the Transition catalog) by Delmark Records owner Bob Koester, finally being reissued in 1967.

Recorded during the band's foray into what was referred to as "the happiest barrack," Queen brings rock to the Eastern Bloc on their live album/concert film Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest. Though the set they rip through is more or less the same as the one captured on the legendary band's Live at Wembley '86 album, the historical significance of the performance makes it an event worth documenting. Performed in Budapest in 1986, the show feels like a portent of things to come for Eastern Europe.

It’s time to celebrate an incredible decade in pop music – and with so many huge hits to choose from we had to make this a 100 track selection across 5 CDs – including more than 40 #1 singles… immerse yourself in rock, glam, disco, punk, new wave, soul, easy listening and pure pop gold … ‘NOW That’s What I Call The 70s’!

CLASSIC '71 SABBATH BROADCAST FROM DENMARK'S CAPITAL CITY Formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath are the pioneers of heavy metal music in the UK, a position long-now established and accepted by the rock cognoscenti. The band helped define the genre with their first three albums Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). Sabbath were touring heavily in 1970 - 1971, promoting their second album, Paranoid, and recording Masters Of Reality while on the road across the US and Europe. On 14th April ‘71, they began a short Scandinavian leg of the tour, which took them to Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Generally considered the very finest of these concerts, their gig at Copenhagen’s Faulkner Theatre – the fifth performance of the jaunt on the 18th, and recorded for live radio broadcast - was a classic Sabbath show. Ten days later, the Paranoid tour was over, culminating with another dynamic gig at London’s Albert Hall on 26th April.

DE’WAYNE DIDN’T JUST WRITE AN ALBUM — he summoned a version of himself the world hasn’t met yet. With june, the Houston-born, LA-based rocker sheds past personas and steps fully into his most honest self. More than just a record, june is a character—what DE’WAYNE calls the embodiment of divine femininity—coming from themes of love, truth, vulnerability, and self-discovery. His third studio album, june, arrives July 30 via Fearless Records.

England's Deep Purple is bona fide classic rock royalty with a body of work spanning nearly seven decades. Along with Cream, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, they defined hard rock and early heavy metal. Though their lineup has constantly evolved, Deep Purple effectively made music a career for guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Roger Glover, vocalists Ian Gillan and David Coverdale, drummer Ian Paice, and organist/composer Jon Lord. Shortly before his death in 2012, Lord attributed Deep Purple's success in selling more than 100 million albums to "musical restlessness." Their early singles were cover-heavy exercises in psychedelic pop and included "Kentucky Woman," "Hush," and "Might Just Take Your Life," as well as the 1968 long-players Shades of Deep Purple and The Book of Taliesyn. In 1970, after releasing the grandiose Concerto for Group and Orchestra, Deep Purple were dishing out molten, riff-heavy slabs of hard rock. 1970's Deep Purple in Rock and 1972's Machine Head showcased the loud, proud, proto-metal riffs that fueled "Smoke on the Water," "Highway Star," and "Woman from Tokyo," all performed to extremes on the live classic Made in Japan.

The most underrated of Tyrannosaurus Rex's four albums, Prophets, Seers & Sages was recorded just six months after their debut and adds little to the landscapes which that set mapped out. There is the same reliance on the jarring juxtaposition of rock rhythms in a folky discipline; the same abundance of obscure, private mythologies; the same skewed look at the latest studio dynamics, fed through the convoluted wringer of the duo's imagination - the already classic pop of the opening "Deboraarobed" is further dignified by its segue into the same performance played backwards, a fairly groundbreaking move at a time when even the Beatles were still burying such experiments deep in the mix. But if the album itself found the duo rooted to the musical spot, still it delivered some of Marc Bolan's most resonant songs…

Tony Mathews was a sideman for Little Richard and Ray Charles, where he finely honed his guitar chops. This album is his solo debut on Alligator Records. It features great songs, soulful vocals and some really smooth jazz-inflected blues guitar. A very strong album from start to finish. Stand out tracks are "White Powder", "Ann Marie" and "Let Me Know When You're Coming".

It was quite fitting that Ken McIntyre had an opportunity to record in a quintet with Eric Dolphy, for his multi-instrumental approach was similar to Dolphy's, although he always had a very different sound. On this CD reissue, McIntyre plays alto on four tunes and flute on two others (his work on bassoon, oboe, and bass clarinet would come slightly later), while Dolphy mostly plays alto but doubles on flute on one number and switches to bass clarinet for "Dianna." With pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., bassist Sam Jones, and drummer Art Taylor offering concise solos and swinging support, McIntyre somehow almost holds his own with Dolphy on a variety of originals and George Gershwin's "They All Laughed." A very interesting date.

The popularity of dance music and of clubbing in the 1980s exploded. With its roots in 60s R&B and 70s soul and disco, the new grooves were an eclectic mix of styles: house, jazz-funk, pop, hi-NRG, electro and rare soul classics being re-discovered for the 80s clubber, all of which are represented here. Includes legendary acts continuing to find dance floor success - Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Earth Wind & Fire, Marvin Gaye, Barry White and Aretha Franklin who all enjoyed huge hits in the 80s.