A Timeless Form, Reimagined for Today With Ya Man Itha, Lebanese singer Rima Khcheich brings to life an album she has carried in her heart for decades. It is a deeply personal tribute to the late Egyptian composer Fouad Abdel Majeed, whose music shaped her artistic voice from an early age. In this recording, Rima revisits ten of Abdel Majeed's Muwashahat-classical Arabic vocal compositions often set to poetry and marked by intricate rhythms and modes-and places them in dialogue with the colors and sensibilities of French chanson. At first glance, chanson may seem far removed from the Arabic Muwashah, yet both traditions share a deep commitment to poetic expression, lyrical nuance, and the marriage of words and harmony. This cross-cultural resonance became the spark for the ensemble's refined arrangements, created by Maarten Ornstein, Tony Overwater, and Juan Rodriguez.

With It's All About Love, seasoned jazz vocalist Donna Byrne makes a radiant return to Challenge Records, delivering her ninth studio album and reaffirming her place among the great interpreters of song. Spanning a rich career of nearly four decades, Byrne remains true to her roots, offering a heartfelt collection that honors the traditions of jazz while showcasing her timeless artistry. This 16-track album brings together a thoughtfully curated blend of jazz standards, bossa novas, blues, and contemporary gems. Each performance reveals Byrne's effortless storytelling, exquisite phrasing, and unerring sense of swing.

AMARe is a musical tribute to the sea, to love, and to the ever-shifting tides of inspiration between Brazil and Europe. The title blends a mare (the tide) and amar e (to love is), capturing the album's essence: movement, emotion, and surrender. Vocalist Celine Rudolph, pianist Henrique Gomide, and guitarist João Luis Nogueira come together in an intuitive dialogue where Brazilian rhythms and jazz improvisation meet in perfect flow. The trio moves seamlessly between original compositions and fresh interpretations of classics by João Donato, Gilberto Gil, Toninho Horta, and Candeia. Each track resonates with freedom and connection whether in the poetic depth of Itacimirim, the rhythmic interplay of Toca da Arara, or the quiet beauty of Preciso Me Encontrar. AMARe is not a reconstruction but an organically grown musical language where tradition and modernity converge. With guest appearances by Toninho Horta and Teco Cardoso, this is a contemporary ode to Brazilian music authentic, exploratory, and timeless.

She's the Poem is a series of ten poetic portraits varying from someone you could run into on the streets to an icon like Frida Kahlo. It's an ode to realness: the beautiful and the ugly, raw and unpolished. With this album, Sara Bax shows she is a composer and musician, but mostly feels like an artist through music. She wants to take you to the centre of being, she wants to make you feel the sparkles of magic that flow right there. If you put your head under water, your thoughts go still. Just like when you listen to this band. Bax utilises the power of every band member so, that the group together sounds like a single strong organ that paints the air with a rich color palette.

Three main elements thread through the compositions and arrangements of this collection. Firstly, the presence of irregular time signatures. Secondly, I am captivated by the magic that happens when a melody is accompanied by words: lyrics seem to emancipate a melody from the composer's original intent; what has been a tune becomes a song. And thirdly, I am fascinated with textures, with the changing colours of intertwining wind instruments.

The Kaiju Project is a Japanese inspired jazz group formed by the half Japanese-Austrian pianist Aseo Friesacher. Their initial idea was to bring old folk songs into a new modern context, but in addition to their compositions, this group has found their very own musical direction: a perfect blend of traditional Japanese music and meditative-creative jazz.

This album is all about Tadd Dameron (1917 - 65), one of the most important American jazz composer/musicians. The master baritone saxophonist and perennial pole winner Gary Smulyan conceived the brilliant idea of recording Dameron compositions with lyrics. The vocal part is phenomenally rendered by the young talent Anaïs Reno. Three songs including the lovely This Night Of Stars have hitherto never been recorded. “While Smulyan solos brilliantly throughout, Reno is the real treat here.” (Bill Milkowski – DownBeat on SCCD 31936). “Smulyan here brings to light Dameron’s heretofore unknown Library of Congress trove of standard-quality off-Broadway gems.” (Fred Bouchard – NYCJR on SCCD 31936) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Polyphony, contrast, expression - these timeless Baroque qualities find new life in Klara Cloud's latest work with The Vultures. This album unfolds as a deeply human journey through emotion, memory, and rebirth - a musical tale spanning from the first spark of life to the quiet afterglow of death. Each track opens a new chapter of introspection and feeling, the serene melancholy of Peony blossoms beside the flowing energy of Waterfalls, Se Tu Me Dimentihi brings Pablo Neruda's poetry to life, while Funeral transforms loss into light - a meditation on the kind of silence that already knows the way forward, at it's heart shines Stephanie - a symbol of endurance and wonder - framed in a soundscape as vivid and intricate as a Baroque painting. With contributions from an ensemble of masterful musicians - Mateusz Smoczynski (violin), Mateusz Gaweda (piano), Adam Tadel (double bass), Piotr Budniak (drums), and guest violinist Bartosz Dworak - Cloud's vision achieves both intimacy and grandeur. Produced by Klara Cloud and recorded in Poland's Sound & Wave Studio, this record captures the essence of transformation: fragile yet fearless, lyrical yet raw. Dedicated to her children, Stefania and Julian, the album stands as both a personal diary and a universal reflection - an echo of beauty born out of silence.

There are good reasons why the names of all those involved in this album are listed as equal partners. "Moving Times" is the result of real teamwork and is the first production of a newly formed group in which everyone acts on an equal footing. This is not self-evident, because singer Esther Kaiser and guitarist Axel Fischbacher represent two established big names in the German jazz scene, who have been independently leading their own bands for many years and have released a large number of their own albums. The two belong to different generations while bassist Genevieve O'Driscoll and drummer/vibraphonist Michael Knippschild represent another one. That means three generations, two women and two men, and it fits as if there were nothing more normal in the world.

The Swiss born, London based jazz improvisational singer-composer Sarah Buechi in her second release with her quartet in a set of songs that combine the breadth of Buechi's stylistic influences which range from her early success in musical theatre to studying at the Karnataka College of Percussion in Bangalore and with the great Ghanese balafon master Bernard Woma to work shopping with New York saxophonist Steve Coleman.