Ou Phrontis means "Who Cares" in Greek. Inscribed on the lintel above the door of T.E. Lawrence’s cottage at Clouds Hill it symbolized a place where Lawrence felt at home, free from the cares of the world. This fourth CD from the dynamic piano trio of Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith (“Suite for Piano,” “The Fourth Way,” “Ballades”), presents eight challenging Zorn compositions inspired by stoic philosophy and science. The telepathic interplay and virtuosity of these remarkable musical masters is on full display here—a stunning collection of music that makes you think as much as it makes you feel.

Eight years after Blue Maqams, Anouar Brahem returns with a poignant project, titled after a line of verse by poet Mahmoud Darwish, which asks “Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?” Graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass subtly address the metaphysical question and its broad resonances in a troubled time. While drawing upon the traditional modes of Arab music, Brahem has consistently sought to engage with the wider world, too, and found inspiration in many sources from different cultures. Bassist Dave Holland and pianist Django Bates are again part of the Tunisian oud master’s international quartet, joined now by cellist Anja Lechner.

Lost celestial solo piano transmissions retrieved! “These unique works comprise a precis of Ra's portfolio. There are jovial romps through tradition and remarkable, thoughtful expansions of it. Small wonder his work continues to inspire today's leading pianists.” - Martin Johnson (WSJ, NPR, and beyond)

After a decade working as a jazz pianist in NYC, GRAMMY-nominated pianist and composer Pascal Le Boeuf took a leap of faith and enrolled in Princeton University’s PhD program to explore the boundaries of jazz improvisation and contemporary classical composition. Seven years later, “Ritual Being” is a compendium of his explorations featuring leading performers Linda May Han Oh, Justin Brown, Friction Quartet, Sara Caswell, Todd Reynolds, Jessica Meyer, Nick Photinos, Remy Le Boeuf, Ben Wendel, and others. The title track “Ritual Being” is about the effects of mankind’s behaviors on the planet and each other.

A great little record from Japanese guitarist Kiyoshi Sugimoto – a musician you might know from dreamier bossa-styled records in the 60s – but who here comes across with a sharper edge and a richer sound overall! Sugimoto plays both acoustic and electric on the record, in a way that's not rock at all – definitely jazz, with maybe some bluesy aspects in the phrasing – but which also features a set of tunes from the rock scene of the time – all taken here in instrumental readings that are pretty darn groovy overall! Instrumentation shifts a bit throughout – so that some tunes are gentle and open, others are full and fuzzy – and titles include "The Wizard", "Heart Of The Country", "Samba Pa Ti", "Deja Vu", "You've Got A Friend", and a cool "Beatles Suite".

A Time To Remember is a continuation of the special synergy that inhabited Elina Duni’s acclaimed Lost Ships and finds her regrouping with that album’s quartet of guitarist Rob Luft, Matthieu Michel on flugelhorn and Fred Thomas on percussion and piano. As the title suggests, the notion of ‘time’ pulls through the programme like a theme, connecting music from different parts of the world – traditionals, popular songs and original compositions – in performances of deep lyricism but also fleet-footed folklore. The repertory spans Albanian and Kosovan traditionals, American songs like the Broadway classic “I’ll Be Seeing You” and Stephen Sondheim’s musical ballad “Send In The Clowns” as well as originals by Rob and Elina. Commenting on the group’s last effort, Jazzwise said that “the sum of Duni and Luft’s work together seems greater than their individual achievements, where concept and conceptualisation have combined to produce a classic.” A Time To Remember should confirm that proposition and further expands on the qualities explored previously.

Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen, an ECM musician for more than fifty years, is a masterful player who has always welcomed a challenge. His first recording with his new quartet – including rising stars Marius Neset and Helge Lien (both bandleaders in their own right)– is almost entirely improvised. The players make the leap of faith together and find and develop forms in the moment, an object lesson in spontaneous group creativity. Affirmation was recorded in November 2021 at Oslo’s Rainbow Studio.

The indefatigable Antonio Florio, along with his associates from Cappella Neapolitana, has succeeded, with a work by Donato Ricchezza, in unearthing another major rediscovery from the Neapolitan Baroque. The labours of Florio – coupled with the ability to turn dry notes on a dusty manuscript into a sumptuous audio feast – can be no better demonstrated than with this release on Glossa of Los Santos Niños: “Oratorio di San Giusto e San Pastore”, written by a composer who was a pupil of the great Francesco Provenzale.

Composers Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler had great success with their songs, creating an unmistakable style that has remained unique with its mixture of popular music, supreme musical sophistication and political claims. Salome Kammer is a versatile artists and an ideal advocate of this music.

Le Concert de la Loge and Julien Chauvin continue the Haydn adventure with the Paris symphonies no.84 and no.86. The conductor and his period instruments orchestra complete the programme with the beautiful Stabat Mater, one of Haydn’s most performed ones during his lifetime. Composed in 1767 during the Sturm and Drang period, the Stabat Mater’s strikingly sober and plain expression (« Fac me vere tecum flere ») doesn’t exclude some outstanding passages, as in the « Sancta Mater, istud agas ».

Cheap Trick's comeback album is by no means a return to the creativity and vitality of their glory days. But even though Lap of Luxury is largely formulaic, the band's strongest collection of material in some time fills that late-'80s pop-metal formula quite well. Combining grandly romantic power ballads ("Ghost Town") with catchy hard rockers ("Never Had a Lot to Lose"), Lap of Luxury consistently delivers strong hooks and well-crafted songs, proving that Cheap Trick were still capable of outdoing many of the bands they helped inspire. The album produced two Top Five singles in a cover of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" and the band's first number one hit, "The Flame."