Mainstream jazz’s leading trumpeter and arranger Buck Clayton was the main figure in the Count Basie Big Band. After leaving Basie, Clayton formed his own group and toured Europe extensively. “This was probably the best band Buck Clayton has ever had. ...This concert seems to have been the only one recorded and is therefore an invaluable document....” (Graham Colombé, Jazz Journal International)

Classical Opera continue their series of the complete Mozart operas on Signum with Zaide - a new completion of Mozart's unfinished work by conductor Ian Page. Composed during his early 20's, Mozart began work on the opera in Salzburg but later left the work to compose Idomeneo, subsequently leaving no overture or third act. The opera is set in a totalitarian regime where a couple have fallen in love, incurring the jealous of the ruling sultan.

The Myrthen Ensemble has been praised for their “irresistible combination of arresting programing and vocal flair assembled around pianist Joseph Middleton.” (BBC Music Magazine) Consisting of Mary Bevan, Clara Mouritz, Allan Clayton, Marcus Farnsworth, and Joseph Middleton, the recently formed ensemble specializes in art-songs and Lieder. All of the tracks on this new release focus around the moon. Composers include Brahms, Barber, Duparc, Faure, and more.

Classical Music

On Slow Motion Miracles, Sachal delivers a full set of multilayered gems steeped in a variety of styles, including indie pop, hip-hop, electronic, Brazilian, Afro-beat, old-school jazz and new-styled jazz. The album is produced by Michael Leonhart, best known for his work with Steely Dan and its co-founder Michael Fagen. Slow Motion Miracles is Sachal's most accomplished recording as an artist.

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Tolstoy’s War and Peace – those works of art that are truly part of the canon of global culture are few and far apart. In music, one work that holds significance for people all over the world is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and especially its choral finale. Even today, as we are getting ready to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of its creator, the sheer size and complexity of the symphony is daunting. There are some eyewitness accounts from the first performance, at the Kärntner-Tor-Theater in Vienna on 7th May 1824: we know for instance that Beethoven was on stage himself throughout the performance, but that owing to his deafness he did not notice the audience’s overwhelming enthusiasm. What the Ninth sounded like that evening in Vienna is something we will never know, however – which is why hearing it in a historically informed performance on period instruments is all the more interesting. With impeccable credentials from their 65-album series of Bach’s complete cantatas, and acclaimed recent recordings of Mozart’s Requiem and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Bach Collegium Japan and Masaaki Suzuki now give us their rendering of Beethoven’s last and greatest symphony, joined by a fine quartet of vocal soloists.

There are relationships that always remain fruitful. Maybe it is because the discourse never lags or there is unflagging affection. Vocalist Jay Clayton and percussionist Jerry Granelli have been making music together for forty years and their musical connection continues to surprise as their affinity deepens. Their new recording, Alone Together, shows how the spark of creativity has only brightened over the duo's long affiliation.// Separately, the two have had remarkable and eclectic careers. Clayton came up as a jazz singer, only to be recruited into the modern classical worlds of Steve Reich and John Cage before becoming one of the great vocal improvisers in any genre. Granelli was a first call drummer in the Bay Area, playing regularly with piano greats Vince Guaraldi, Mose Allison, Denny Zeitlin and the guitar wizard Ralph Towner.// Clayton and Granelli's relationship stemmed from a recommendation of the great percussionist Collin Walcott. Granelli was running the summer music program at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, an important Buddhist institution where many important voices in creative arts and music came together. Walcott suggested that Granelli invite Clayton to their workshop in 1979.// Upon arriving, and having never met Granelli before, Clayton was asked to perform an improvised concert with Walcott and Granelli in a local planetarium. The rapport between Clayton and Granelli was immediate and deep. Clayton return to Naropa each of the following three summers. Then when Granelli relocated from the Bay Area to Seattle to teach at Cornish College, he invited Clayton to join the faculty.// The two really began to develop their language in Seattle. Meeting regularly in Granelli's basement rehearsal space, the improvisers made a core sound that would drive many future projects, including their group Quartett, featuring trombonist Julian Priester and bassist Gary Peacock. But it was their connection that was the heart of these endeavors. They were true musical soul mates.// Their first foray into recording was a duo recording entitled Sound Songs that was released in 1986 on JMT Records from Germany. Apart from Charles Mingus's "Goodbye Porkpie Hat," the entire album was improvised, showcasing the captivating talents of these two masters as they created new music together.// Thirty years later, Clayton and Granelli have revisited the integral duo setting they perfected so long ago. They reconvened along with engineer Darren Von Niekerk at the Sonic Temple Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia for three hours in July 2014. The music was later mixed and edited by longtime friend Sascha Von Oertzen.

2017 release. An air of mystery surrounds the work of Emily Dickinson. The beloved writer spent most of her time away from the public's eye amassing a collection of poetry that has fascinated readers for decades. Her short, gnomic verses are a perfect fit for vocalist Jay Clayton and composer Kirk Nurock. On Unraveling Emily, Nurock weaves Clayton's innovative vocalizing into surreal compositional soundscapes.

HARRY WHO

This is the second volume of the former 2-LP release of Buck Clayton All Stars, featuring the great shouter Jimmy Rushing. Mainstream jazz’s leading trumpeter and arranger Buck Clayton was the main figure in the Count Basie Big Band. After leaving Basie, Clayton formed his own group and toured Europe extensively. “...The Basie reunion is completed by Jimmy Rushing, interpreting a familiar repertoire with a spontaneous vitality that drives the band along with fresh incentive....” (Sally-Ann Worsfold, Jazz Journal International)