Double vinyl LP pressing. By 1991, the world's most celebrated trumpeter could look back on five decades of musical evolution - his own, and that of the world around him. Miles Davis had found ways of marrying jazz with classical ideas, then later R&B, rock and funk, producing hybrid offspring that shaped the course of popular music and had come to define his legend. In 1985, he'd left Columbia after thirty years to sign to Warner Bros. Records, a label riding high with best-selling artists like Madonna, Van Halen and Prince, with whom he had a mutual admiration and friendship. Miles Davis's lifelong love for France is well-documented, and in July 1991, he became a Knight of their Legion of Honour. Davis received the award from French culture minister Jack Lang, who described him as: "The Picasso of jazz." A few days before, he played this electrifying set at the Vienne Jazz Festival with the Miles Davis Group. He passed away two months later in September 1991. Miles Davis' performance at Jazz a Vienne on July 1, 1991 became one of his final live performances before he passed away on September 28, 1991, and this previously unreleased set includes two songs written by Prince, "Penetration" and "Jailbait".

Christina Pluhar states: "Monteverdi's most admirable trait is the enormous diversity of compositional techniques that he masters and interweaves with supreme skill. Our aim in this recording is to bring out the variet� of his secular compositions. The modernity that runs like a constant thread through his pieces and makes his music seem timeless even in the twenty-first century is selfevident if one considers, for example, his use of ostinato basses. Jazz musicians are supposed to have 'invented' the walking bass in the 1940s, but already in Monteverdi we find ostinato basses which diverge from the standard ostinatos of the seventeenth century, that are unique of their kind and sound extremely modern." The BBC Magazine reviews the performance as "technical perfection". The easy informality with each other and the music, with which these pieces are performed, makes for a captivating listen. One of the most exciting Baroque performances to hit the record shelves this year. A Must Listen."

Roy Hargrove's Crisol - "Grande-Terre" / In April of 1998, fresh off their Grammy win for Best Latin Jazz Performance for their debut effort, Habana, Roy Hargrove's Crisol went into a studio in Guadalupe to record their follow-up album. Until now, that album, Grande-Terre, has never been heard. Featuring an all-star band of Roy's long-time collaborators, Grande-Terre showcases Hargrove's fiery playing, his exquisite writing and the band's incredible power and unique sound. Verve Label Group; Verve; Jazz

Roger Eno releases his second solo album the skies, they shift like chords on Deutsche Grammophon. His new album the skies, they shift like chords builds on the soundscape of piano and strings that Eno first introduced on his first solo album The Turning Year. With instruments such as electric guitar, clarinet, bass clarinet, vibraphone, flute organ and electronica, he creates an emotional thread that accompanies you as you listen. He draws his inspiration from his connection to his home in East Anglia. / Most of the pieces were created from improvisations, the musical "snapshots" Eno speaks of. "They are best captured by foregoing detail".

V�kingur �lafsson - "Philip Glass: Piano Works" [Crystal Clear 2 LP] Icelandic pianist V�kingur �lafsson pays tribute to the master of minimal music, Philip Glass. �lafsson was one of a handful of young pianists selected by Glass to perform all his Etudes together in London, and the reviews were ecstatic. The Financial Times claimed, "Best of all was �lafsson in the supersensitive stillness of Etude 5." In addition to the Etudes for solo piano, Piano Works (originally released in 2017 around Philip's 80th birthday) includes reworks of the originals for piano and string quartet. 2 LP set on crystal clear vinyl. Limited Edition.

Classical Music

Soloist and leader of the Camerata Bern, Antje Weithaas - "For any violinist, the Brahms Concerto is a special challenge and a precious gem, a piece one works on for decades. I studied it more intensely for the first time when I was 18-19; now I'm astounded to note how one's perception of such a work can change so radically. Amongst all violin concertos, Brahms, Beethoven and Mendelssohn play an essential role, and I would add Britten and Shostakovich. The Brahms Violin Concerto is part of our essential repertoire, and was composed at a time when the "customary" violin concerto no longer had any significance as virtuoso display for a soloist (incidentally, that's my own credo as a performer). This is a symphonic work, an aspect that relates it to the recording of Berg and Beethoven I made with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra a couple of years ago. Those two pieces from different stylistic periods are actually works for orchestra with obligato solo violin - and the same applies to the Brahms Concerto. The violin often plays passagework around the orchestra melody, as in the Beethoven Concerto, which is why I find the symphonic approach so important here as well...We tackled the challenge of performing and recording without a conductor. Of course, when I otherwise perform this concerto with a conductor, I intensely learn and think through the orchestra part in my head. It is a challenge I am aware of, and I thus probably would never have had dared to perform this concerto without a conductor. But since I've often performed the Beethoven Concerto with the Camerata Bern without a conductor, I started thinking that the Brahms Concerto just might work as well. Over teh past 7-9 years we have become so well-acquainted with one another on a musical and personal level that by now we manage to communicate with blindfolds on. I probably would not have dared to embark on this adventure with any other ensemble. The most important thing is that each musician should remain in a "chamber music" attitude while providing the necessary symphonic energy and assuming his/her share of responsibility.

Here, Sony Classical releases Buniatishvili's eagerly-anticipated new album 'Labyrinth.' As befits this dazzling, passionate and mercurial performer, 'Labyrinth' will cover a range of beautiful and haunting works for piano by composers ranging from Bach, Vivaldi and Scarlatti, to Chopin, Brahms and Satie to Glass, Ligeti and Gainsbourg. 'Labyrinth' was recorded in France at La Grande Salle Pierre Boulez, Philharmonie de Paris. Born in 1987 in Batumi, Georgia, pianist Khatia Buniatishvili began studying piano under her mother at the age of three. She gave her first concert with Tbilisi Chamber Orchestra when she was 6 and appeared internationally at age 10. Khatia studied in Tbilisi with Tengiz Amiredjibi and in Vienna with Oleg Maisenberg. Buniatishvili signed with Sony Classical as an exclusive artist in 2010.

THE NUTCRACKER SESSIONS

Vinyl LP pressing. In every artistic field it is hard to understand how critically important first impressions are. I am talking about those quick and uncontrollable connections, like an electric shock, that originate from the direct proportion between the work of art standing before US (a picture, a poem, a piece of music) and our feelings. The critical judgement as such requires a deep meditation and the artistic work in question should be examined probably in the microscopic detail of the cultural tradition, filtered through the aesthetical parameters and controlled as a sort of X-ray, giving a careful analysis of every overtone and undertone, spontaneity and trick. So I think it is right to say my first impression on listening to this record was skin-deep, on which the more meditative critics no doubt would respond correctly.

Handful of Soul, Mario Biondi's debut album - triple platinum at the time - and to this day still by far his greatest success, was released in the Fall of 2006: a bolt from the blue that immediately reached the top positions of the charts. To celebrate ten years of his recording career, the Sicilian singer has come back last November with a new project: ''Best of Soul'', a set that combines songs spanning throughout his entire discography and seven unreleased tracks produced by Schema Records. Since the very beginning, Mario's songs proved to be a perfect material for an electro / dance / dub rework, and ''Stay with Me'', the first single from ''Best of Soul'' i s no exception. This album is a must for both fans of Mario, as it contains the only ''physical version'' of the song ''Never Stop Dreaming'', and for any dancefloor DJ, who'll find outstanding material for their mixes in LTJ Xperience's work.

The story of “The Revelations” is part of a fruitful and unique period of Italian Discography. A moment of great creativity and innovation, when the boundaries between music, cinema and television were uncertain. A story of great orchestras, film directors and inspired composers which were endlessly producing in a country getting back on its feet after the Second world war. “The Revelations”, released in 1970, is a gem that emerged from this period. A record amongst many that although relatively unknown, remains highly sought after by record collectors world over. Adventurous is probably the most appropriate word to describe those fantastic years that we fondly remember for famous film scores and the birth of the Italian pop scene. Help!, the Rome based record label which released “The Revelations”, was the first music business run by the young producer Gianni dell’Orso. Conceived by Dell’Orso, appearing here under his alter ego Proluton, and his brother Giacomo, “The Revelations” LP was produced as Library Music for television and manufactured in a very limited number of copies. It was a peculiar recording within the label context, with musical intuitions that sparked great interest in this release which in turn has made it both valuable and highly collectable. The LP blends diverse inspirations and heterogeneous moods, since its aim was to offer many options to television producers. Giacomo Dell’Orso, musician, composer and orchestra director, signed most of the tracks under the moniker Oscar Lindok. His music takes the listener into a journey through cinematic atmospheres and funk influences with a beat background – a world of moving melodies and strong grooves. Giacomo’s life is an example of dedicating one’s existence to music for we can’t avoid the underlying connection of his private life, music and cinema without also remembering his marriage to Edda Sabbatini - better known as Edda Dell’Orso, Ennio Morricone’s favourite singer. The musicians featured on this record are great session men with glorious careers: Silvano Chimenti, Giovanni Tommaso, Enzo Restuccia and Mario Scotti - all famous for their work on film scores and as featured musicians who enjoyed great Italian Pop success as well. “The Revelations” arrives back on record store shelves in this remastered version – a must-have for all Library Music lovers and vinyl collectors.

Composed by multi-award-winning artist Michel Legrand and written by American poets Alan & Marilyn Bergman, this album is made up of a cycle of songs. It tells the story of a woman’s life from birth to death, passing by all of its highlights: childhood, adolescence, first love, and motherhood. Composed and written in the 70’s, the project was never completed. Thanks to Natalie's input, Michel Legrand rewrote the score and Alan & Marilyn Bergman rewrote the lyrics especially for her in order to give a second life to this project. This masterpiece was recorded last September in London at the Air Studio with the London Studio Orchestra, conducted by Michel Legrand.

Vladimir Misik is back with a new album, Vteriny, mesice a roky (Moments, Months and Years). The album is Misik's third collaboration with the producer Petr Ostrouchov and follows the prize-winning projects, Jednou te potkam (Once, I Will Meet You; 2019) and Nocni obraz (Night Image; 2021). The album is comprised of fifteen new songs, with lyrics by Vladimir Misik and Michael zantovsk�, songs based on poems by Jan Skacel, Jiri Dedecek and Frantisek Gellner, and one text tailored directly for Misik by Tomas Belko, a one-time fellow band-member of Ostrouchov in Sto zvirat. In the studio, Misik surrounded himself by ten musicians, with the Blue Shadows quartet at the core, which also performed on the previous recordings, featuring Josef stepanek and Petr Ostrouchov on the guitar, Matej Belko on the bass guitar and Martin Novak on the drums. The other players include pianist Jan Steinsdorfer and Hammond organist Ondrej Pivec (now living in the USA), who both were involved on the album Nocni obraz as well, guitarist Lukas Martinek, double bassist Tomas Liska and two special international guests - the Cuban-American percussionist Michito Sanchez and the British performer on the pedal steel guitar B.J. Cole - who both have featured in projects of illustrious colleagues such as Sting, Rolling Stones, Elton John, Depeche Mode, Crosby, Stills and Nash, James Taylor, David Gilmour, R.E.M., Bjork, Stevie Wonder, and others. The album is released on CD and as a 2LP and includes a comprehensive booklet with studio session photos and the lyrics.

Newly available on high quality heavyweight 180g vinyl. Bruce Wolosoff is a formidable pianist, lauded for his integration of classical, jazz, blues, and contemporary influences in his compositions. His new magnum opus, Rising Sun Variations, is an extended and innovative set based on the American traditional folk song, best known for a version recorded in 1964 by British rock band the Animals. Wolosoff's "Prelude and Theme" are followed by 39 Variations ranging from sonorous to serene, encompassing a multitude of styles united by the well-known refrain.