In an era where it's not uncommon for a superstar act to wait three or four years between releases, it's astonishing to realize that Carole King wrote and recorded a strong follow-up to 1971's bazillion-selling "Tapestry" that was released before the year was up! "Music" was a big commercial success, but anything would pale next to the ecstatic commercial response to "Tapestry", which was still high in the charts when this follow-up was released. The generically-titled "Music" didn't spawn any hits as big as "It's Too Late" or "So Far Away," but with several decades' hindsight, it's clear that "Tapestry" was no fluke; in its more low-key way, "Music" is every bit as fine an album.
Highlights include two jazz-tinged tracks, "Brother Brother" and the waltz-time title track, which features a remarkable saxophone solo by Curtis Amy…

September 8, 1960 Oscar Pettiford, American bassist/cellist/composer with unparalleled recognition died abruptly at age 38 due to a virus disease in Copenhagen where he had made his permanent residence. He was one of American jazz players Denmark welcomed in in the 60s and 70s. A few weeks after Pettiford's passing a circle of Danish jazz fans organized a memorial concert presented here to raise funds for his children with a star-studded program that included Stan Getz, Alice Babs, among others.

To get an idea of exactly how many Ronnie Milsap collections are on the market, just turn to the back page of the booklet for RCA/Legacy's 2006 double-disc set The Essential Ronnie Milsap, where it lists other Ronnie albums you might also enjoy. There are ten listed, all but one of them a compilation (that would be his very, very good 2006 comeback, My Life). Which begs the natural question, is The Essential Ronnie Milsap needed? Especially since there is already another compilation called The Essential Ronnie Milsap (dating from 1995), and there already was an excellent double-disc set called 40 #1 Hits released six years earlier? The answer is, yes it is, particularly since 40 #1 Hits has fallen out of print. Of course, it also helps that Essential is an expertly chosen and sequenced collection of Milsap's best work, from 1973's "(All Together Now) Let's Fall Apart" and running all the way to 1989's "A Woman in Love."

To celebrate ABBA's 40th anniversary, Polydor released the 2012 compilation The Essential Collection, which includes 39 songs by the Swedish hitmakers and a 12-page booklet. The two-CD album is basically an update of the 2002 compilation The Definitive Collection, adding several Japanese A-sides to that collection's track list ("Bang-a-Boomerang," "That's Me," "One Man, One Woman," and "Happy New Year"). The Essential Collection is also available as a DVD with 36 music videos and promo clips (including two previously unreleased Spanish videos) and as a limited deluxe edition with both CDs and the DVD in a hardcover book containing a 24-page booklet with liner notes by ABBA biographer Carl Magnus Palm.

Remastered from original analogue tapes by Rinaldo Donati at Maxine Studio, Milan. Recorded just a year before he died (June 1982), this superlative release is an essential purchase for all Art Pepper fans and collectors. Recorded live at the Estate Jazz Festival, Genova, Italy on July 6, 'Art of Art' features five selections, four original compositions by Pepper, plus the popular standard "Over The Rainbow" by Harld Arlen. Bebop and the blues are at the forefront of this session, superbly delivered by the leader and his all-star accompanists George Cables, David Williams, and Carl Burnett.

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra completed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, the following year. It was his first-performed orchestral work, and (in its third performance) his first orchestral work performed to audience approval.

On this exceptional album, Dóra Kokas and Marianna Shirinyan focus on two great masters: Rachmaninov and Shostakovich. The record features their only cello and piano sonatas which have become two of the most significant works in 20th-century cello literature. Additionally, the program closes with a shorter, yet equally charming, lyrical piece by Rachmaninov.