This is a mightily expanded reissue of the 1969 album Alun Ashworth-Jones, containing everything from that rare LP, in addition to two 1969 songs that showed up on the 49 Greek Street compilation; nine live solo acoustic tracks from 1969 that were planned as part of a second LP that was not released at the time; and five studio solo acoustic tracks from 1971, again planned for a second LP, again shelved until the release of this CD. The chief attraction of the disc is the Alun Ashworth-Jones LP itself, which is beguiling, melodic, mild period British folk-rock. While it doesn't stick in the memory as much as what Donovan, Roy Harper, Al Stewart, John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, or Nick Drake recorded during the same era, it's a fair bet that fans of those acts will enjoy it. It has a similar mix of minstrelsy folk, a hint of blues, and imaginatively varied, understated backing from violin, flute, and some rock instruments…

Jeremy Pelt is two years away from his 50th birthday, and released his first album as leader (Profile) in 2002. In that time, he has created a prodigious body of work. This album marks his 25th album as leader, and he has been sideman to many artists including, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, Al Foster and Mingus Big Band. Stylistically, his playing is a mix of Clifford Brown, Freddie Hubbard and electric-era Miles Davis.
And like Miles, Pelt does not believe in simply going over the same old musical ground. ‘To me, my music is a living, breathing organism that is meant to grow,’ he states boldly in the album’s short liner note, ‘I’m not interested in “new” for the sake of “newness.” Rather, I’m infatuated with disparate perspectives which continue the story.’ Having said that, Pelt is not averse to reworking old tunes, and on this album there are four of them…

Very little is known about this four-piece French set who released one album at the tail end of prog's 'golden age', and then disappeared from the map. They were: Daniel Locci on drums, Jack Mlynski on guitars and vocals, Stanislas Belloc on bass and vocals, and Alain Coupel on keyboards and vocals. Some have described the album as the French "Larks' Tongues in Aspic", no doubt thanks to guitarist Mlynski's Frippian style which (precariously) straddles the line between homage and plagiarism. Alain Coupel's synth play, however, is noticeably un-Crimson like and the band does show some originality and an obvious desire for experimentation; yet the overall feel of the album is still 100% King Crimson, especially the 16-minute epic "Artcane I".

Self-described "rural folk piano" player George Winston was among the earliest and most successful proponents of the genre of contemporary instrumental music later dubbed new age.
Signing to the Windham Hill label, between 1980 and 1982 he recorded a trilogy of albums - Autumn, December, and Winter Into Spring - of impressionistic, seasonally themed piano musings that laid much of the groundwork for the new age boom to follow.
In a sense, this second seasonal album follows an opposite direction from Autumn, its hard, isolated notes and stop-and-start style gradually giving way from the stasis of winter to the growth and movement of spring. It's a good album for beginning your day.