W. guest vocalist Katherine Davis, 4 tracks, 1993 recording.

W. "Mad Dog" Lester Davenport & others. 1991.

Put Pittsburgh guitarist Jimmy Ponder in a recording studio & he acts like a magnet attracting the best names in jazz - Don Braden, John Hicks, Dwayne Dolphin & Cecil Brooks III join him, swinging, dreaming, grooving & making beautiful bossa nova - the session combines the excitement of a club date with the control of the studio & shows why the Pittsburgh Post Gazette hailed Jimmy as "the Segovia of jazz".

Drummer and bandleader Jim Black has been one of the most influential figures in progressive jazz since the nineties. In this new formation, Black brings together the young musicians Asger Nissen, Julius Gawlik, Felix Henkelhausen, who are among the most original and articulate voices of European jazz innovation, with the same basic instrumentation as two of the greatest bands Black has propelled and helped shape from behind the kit: Tim Berne's Bloodcount and the collective Endangered Blood. The music of this energetic quartet has a feverish intensity and from the first note the quartet's music goes straight for the jugular. Many influences and ideas come together without ever resorting to genre-hopping. "The music thrives on immediacy, and in some ways it's a visceral rejection of any kind of passivity", writes Peter Margasak in the liner notes.

Ain't No Sunshine is a previously unissued concert recordings from one of the greasiest and funkiest hammond b3 organists of all-time, Brother Jack McDuff. The album features his then working band saxphonists Leo Johnson and Dave Young, guitarist Vinnie Corrao and drummer Ron Davis. - The deluxe package includes an extensive booklet with essays by archival producer and label owner/producer/musician Cory Weeds, plus passages from Hammond organists Delvon Lamarr, Larry Goldings and Brian Charette; and rare photos and memorabilia. LP mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. - A marvelous bandleader and organist as well as capable arranger, "Brother" Jack McDuff has one of the funkiest, most soulful styles of all time on the Hammond B-3. His rock-solid basslines and blues-drenched solos are balanced by clever, almost pianistic melodies and interesting progressions and phrases. McDuff began as a bassist playing with Denny Zeitlin and Joe Farrell. He studied privately in Cincinnati and worked with Johnny Griffin in Chicago. He taught himself organ and piano in the mid-'50s, and began gaining attention working with Willis Jackson in the late '50s and early '60s, cutting high caliber soul-jazz dates for Prestige. McDuff made his recording debut as a leader for Prestige in 1960, playing in a studio pickup band with Jimmy Forrest. They made a pair of outstanding albums: Tough Duff and The Honeydripper. McDuff organized his own band the next year, featuring Harold Vick and drummer Joe Dukes. Things took off when McDuff hired a young guitarist named George Benson.

AIN'T NOBODY'S BUSINESS: THE SINGLES COLLECTION

Includes work(s) by Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner (Composer), Charles Gounod, Edvard Grieg, André Messager, Oskar Merikanto, Robert Schumann, Paul Vidal, Arthur Goring Thomas, Ruggero Leoncavallo. Soloist: Aino Ackté.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra joins Ukrainian pianist Svetlana Andreeva, conducted by Sergey Neller, to record works by French composer Christian Schittenhelm. The author of numerous musicals performed throughout France and Europe, he is also the creator of a rich symphonic and concerto output. The lush sonorities of Air, his fourth piano concerto, and his symphonic poem Dawn, to which the musicians of the RSNO lend their sumptuous color, meet here with Debussy's Pr�lude � l'apr�s-midi d'un faune, which completes this triptych.

Air & Ground

Air reveals the unbelievable game-changing partnership between rookie NBA superstar Michael Jordan and Nike's fledgling basketball division, which revolutionized the world of sports and culture with the Air Jordan brand. Air (Amazon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) takes listeners back to the '80s with favorites from Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, REO Speedwagon, The Clash, Night Ranger, Dire Straits, Squeeze and many more.

Air: Michala Petri / Lars Hannibal

Spooky sounds and ghostly wailings are usually what come to mind when people imagine the sound of the theremin. With “Air Électrique”, Thorwald Jorgensen and Kamilla Bystrova go beyond the novelty of the theremin and let the music speak for itself. With the premier recording of Lera Auerbach’s “10 Preludes for theremin and piano”, the standard of the album is set. This compositional tour-de-force presents colourful melodic music which exploits the unique characteristics of both the theremin and the piano. The angular modernism of Lydia Kavina’s “Suite for theremin and piano” and Olesya Rostovskaya’s haunting “Juliet” show more of the theremin’s unrivalled sonic possibilities, clearly illustrating what is possible with this combination of instruments. The album also presents two chamber music pieces. The first is the world premiere of Joseph Schillinger’s “Bury, Bury me Wind”, in which Thorwald and Kamilla are joined by mezzo soprano, Itzel Medecigo. The other is the spectacular “Fantasy for theremin, xylophone and piano” by Valery Beluntsov, in which Thorwald plays not only the theremin but also the virtuosic xylophone part. All in all “Air Électrique” is an album for both lovers of the theremin and piano, and lovers of music in general.

With a tradition going back to its formation in 1941, The United States Air Force Band has long been the Air Force’s premier musical organisation, inspiring audiences in America and all over the world. Many of the works on this album demonstrate the history and importance of flying, from Philip Wilby’s vision of a bygone era in Dawn Flight, Bruce Yurko’s Red Tail Skirmish dedicated to the heroism of Tuskegee Airmen in WWII, and the futuristic excitement of Asimov’s Aviary by Joel Puckett. The spectacular virtuosity of The United States Air Force Band can also be heard in Time Travels by the band’s chief arranger, Senior Master Sgt. Robert Thurston, and in the superb arrangement of three movements from Holst’s The Planets.

Classical Music

The work of an artist o2en suggests that of an alchemist. In her new album, Aire, Mexican singer and composer Magos Herrera transformed the grief, fears, and loneliness of a deadly plague into a luminous collection of songs representing "a celebration of our humanity and the healing power of music." Aire features twelve songs and includes her new compositions and gems from the Great Latin American Songbook, such as "Alfonsina y el Mar" and "Gracias a la Vida." Those two classics suggest bookends of the experience in Aire, "Alfonsina..." as an acknowledgment of impermanence and death; "Gracias a la Vida" as a prayer of gratitude for the many gifts of life. But for two exceptions - the voice and guitar duo of "Passarinhadeira" and the octet reading of the Vinicius de Moraes and Baden Powell's classic "Samba em Preludio" -Magos sings over a musical canvas provided by her jazz trio augmented by an orchestra under the artistic direction of Eric and Colin Jacobsen, of Brooklyn Rider fame.

Tenor saxophonist Halliday, who was a true veteran of the Hollywood, New York, Nashville & Chicago jazz scenes, passed away in early 1999, but this 1988 session reminds US of his artistry, joined by pianist Jodie Christian, bassist Dennis Carroll & drummer Tom Kronquist.

Edouard Ferlet has already explored intriguing byways for the Alpha label: in 2015 he and Violaine Cochard recorded ‘Plucked Unplucked’, an album associating piano and harpsichord – a successful venture that will soon see a follow-up. The bassist Stephane Kerecki has already made several recordings for Outhere, including ‘Nouvelle Vague’, a prizewinner at the Victoires de la Musique. The career of the trumpet player Airelle Besson has been on a high since 2015, when she won both the Prix Django Reinhardt of the Academie du Jazz and the ‘Revelation’ Award at the Victoires du Jazz. These three jazz musicians met and decided to form a trio in order to combine their universes and their ambitions. Here is the fruit of their first year of companionship, a programme presenting compositions by each of them, an album wearing the colours of jazz but featuring several tracks directly inspired by great standards of the classical repertoire, including ‘Es ist vollbracht’ from Bach’s St John Passion, the Pavanes of Ravel and Faure, the Valse sentimentale of Tchaikovsky, and Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance, which can be recognised behind the ‘Stances du sabre’. The refinement of the compositions and the playing and the musicians’ capacity for listening to each other are a source of endless pleasure and fulfilment.

With Airlines, flautist Emmanuel Pahud transports the music of composer Alexandre Desplat to new horizons. The album includes unreleased recordings including revisited versions of music from Desplat's films, including the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water (2018) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Pahud is accompanied by the National Orchestra of France, conducted by Alexandre Desplat himself.

Airmen of Note Live!

Airplay

Fan favorite “Airs & Dances” is finally available physically! Enjoy our Altissimo! compilation featuring traditional Scottish and Irish music by the United States Military bands including the United States Air Force’s premier Celtic and folk ensemble Celtic Aire.

Named a 'Choice' recording by BBC Music Magazine upon release, this popular recording of seventeenth century vocal music features mezzo-soprano Catherine King and lutenist Jacob Heringman with tenor Charles Daniels. Originally released in 1999, 'Airs de cour' has been re-issued as part of Linn's ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label's award-winning catalogue. The listener is transported to the French court in a program of courtly airs and solo lute pieces, the latter a suitable complement to the airs and the lost ideals of the courtly society they reflect. Both the self-indulgent texts of these songs and their suave and rhythmically evasive melodies, reflect a society rich in excess, intrigue and dissembling, all the more fascinating for being so distant, no less impressive for being so introverted. Well schooled in period performance, all the performers pay due attention to the authenticity of pronunciation and ornamentation for which scant records remain. 'O dieux je ne s�ais pas' is a rare example where an ornamented variant of the melody is included in the manuscript revealing a further level of riches in these songs. Catherine King is acknowledged as one of the most versatile mezzo-sopranos of her generation with an impressive breadth of repertoire. Jacob Heringman has established himself as one of the world's most respected and most innovative solo lute players. Catherine King and Jacob Heringman have made numerous appearances together in festivals throughout Europe, as well as broadcasting frequently for the BBC and for WDR in Cologne. Charles Daniels is an English tenor, particularly noted for his performances of baroque music. He is a frequent soloist with The King's Consort, and has made over 25 recordings with the ensemble.

For more than a century, from the last Valois kings to the early years of the reign of Louis XIV, the air de cour was truly the emblematic genre of French secular music. The term bears witness to the influence on and transformation by worldly and literate circles of vocal genres of popular origin such as the vaudeville, combined with Italian influences (the villanella), based on the principles of a simple strophic musical setting that facilitated understanding of the poetic text. Three composers dominated the production of airs de cour in the reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIII, bringing the genre to it's peak: Pierre Gu�dron (1565-1620), Antoine Boesset (1587-1643) and �tienne Moulini� (1599-1676). To mark the twentieth anniversary of his ensemble, Vincent Dumestre has chosen to celebrate the air de cour by bringing together excerpts from his five recordings devoted to the genre. A book accompanies this double album, including an article written by Thomas Leconte of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, a rich array of illustrations and an article on the historical context by Alexandre Maral, Curator General at the Mus�e National du Ch�teau de Versailles.

Includes courante(s) for lute by Robert Ballard. Soloist: Lutz Kirchhof.

The “Historiques” collection is devoted to reissuing historic recordings linked to particular performers. This time the focus is on the singer Pierre d’Assy (Liège 1868 - Lyon 1910). Although he died young, this bass achieved a remarkable international career. The quality of his voice is here magnificently restored in a typical operatic repertoire from the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries – Verdi, Gounod, Massenet - plus Mozart, Meyerbeer, Rossini, Berlioz and others, in recordings dating from 1908 and 1909. Meticulous remastering work and the restoration of the correct pitches (the speed of 78 rpm was far from consistent) make it hard to believe that all this dates from more than a century ago. The booklet in four languages is lavishly presented and generously illustrated with rare documents.

This recording is in the DVD Audio format and will only play on hardware specifically compatible with the DVD Audio format. Standard CD players will not play this CD.

Aka Balkan Moon and AlefBa are two projects, the core of which is the Aka Moon jazz trio. • The Aka Balkan Moon project draws its inspiration from the Balkan gypsy tradition. • With assistance from a pair of fellow musicians, the trio went in search of musical fellow travelers, finding four virtuoso Bulgarian musicians. • The result is a unique contemporary jazz and traditional folk music blend. • The AlefBa project brought together 12 artists, half from Europe, half from Syria, Egypt and Lebanon, to create what could be called a Musical and Poetic Suite in Arabic Languages.

Antonio Forcione, Seckou Keita and Adriano Adewale Itauna come from three different continents - Europe, South America and Africa. All virtuosos in their own right, they grew up in three different landscapes, speaking three different languages, and were formed by three different cultures and musical traditions. All these differences have converged in AKA Trio, and the product is 'JOY'. Italian guitarist-composer Antonio Forcione has been travelling the world for over two decades, releasing twenty albums and collaborating with many major artists along the way, including such names as Charlie Haden, Trilok Gurtu, Angélique Kidjo and the Bulgarian Voices, amongst many others. Seckou Keita from Senegal is one of the world’s foremost kora players, involved in many international projects including his ground-breaking duo with Welsh harpist Catrin Finch, Africa Express with Damon Albarn and his Transparent Water project with Cuban pianist Omar Sosa. Brazilian percussionist and composer Adriano Adewale has collaborated with Bobby McFerrin, Joanna McGregor and Benjamin Taubkin and has composed music for orchestras and dance theatre.

Spirit of Ecstasy has been out-of-print for more than two decades which makes this reissue highly important. The album consists of the works Spirit of Ecstasy (1977) and the Way to Nepal (1971). Spirit of Ecstasy is lively, being serious and humorous at the same time - ingeniously dramatized and well constructed, the history of the car is used to tell of the most important events in the history of the 20th century. The Way to Nepal (1971) is an exploration in sound, which confronts the listener with a dramatic process shifting between a meditative soundscape and disturbing motor noise.

AKHENATEN SUITE: LIVE AT VISION FESTIVAL XII