Under the title ODYSSEY, the French-Dutch violinist Cosima Soulez Lariviere and the Austrian pianist Philipp Scheucher lead us through a legendary world, as it were, beginning with Karol Szymanowski's "Myths" op. 30. The three movements "Arethusa", "Narcissus", "Dryads and Pan", which are strongly influenced by Impressionism, refer to motifs from Greek mythology and are considered a milestone in the duo repertoire for violin and piano due to their various innovative playing techniques. The following two-movement Sonata in E-flat major op. 11 No. 1 by Paul Hindemith is also influenced by Impressionism, although Hindemith's very specific, simple and "classical" musical language clearly shines through at all times. The Sonata for Violin and Piano by the American composer John Corigliano from 1962/63 captivates with it's diverse moods, which are underlined by impressively virtuoso as well as lyrical or complex rhythmic elements. The final piece is the breathtaking "Aria" by his compatriot Kevin Puts, described as a "master of polystyle", who has enjoyed great success in recent years with his latest opera "The Hours".

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

Hjalmar Borgstrom has been well on the way to being rediscovered since the beginning of the new millennium. Several of his most important works were performed in his native Norway until the Second World War, after which his name long disappeared from public consciousness. Until his death in 1925, he had also played an important role as a critic. With the premiere of his two operas and above all the rediscovery of his extraordinarily picturesque symphonic tone poems, a new page has turned. This contemporary of Richard Strauss who studied with Johan Severin Svendsen and Carl Reinecke among others, proves to be a legitimate descendant of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner; it is difficult to escape the captivating boldness of his programmatic concepts and their unconventionally beautiful realisation.

In this, the final volume of his landmark survey of the piano works of Elisabeth Lutyens, pianist Martin Jones presents further world premiere recordings from this undeservedly neglected composer. Featuring works from across the span of Lutyen’s career, the earliest works to be included on this album are the short pieces Overture, Berceuse, Barcarolle and Dance Souvenance from 1944. The unpublished Holiday Diary from 1949, Helix from 1967, and Three Books of Bagatelles from 1979 complete the set.

Avant de devenir le maestro des bandes originales cultes comme Mission: Impossible ou Bullitt, Lalo Schifrin etait un virtuose du piano et un grand innovateur du jazz et de la bossa nova. Avec un sens de l'arrangement dej� exceptionnel, il arrange et compose pour Dizzy Gillespie ou Quincy Jones. Ce coffret 3 CD, realise par Olivier Julien reunit les premiers enregistrements publies sous son nom et nous plonge dans les debuts eclatants d'un jeune pianiste de jazz argentin lumineux, en passe de devenir l'un des plus grands compositeurs d'Hollywood. Patrick FReMEAUX Before he became the maestro of iconic film scores like Mission: Impossible or Bullitt, Lalo Schifrin was already a piano virtuoso and a major innovator in jazz and bossa nova. With an already exceptional knack for arrangement, he arranged and composed for Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones. Curated by Olivier Julien, this 3-CD box set brings together the first recordings released under Schifrin's name, offering a captivating glimpse into the brilliant early days of a young, luminous Argentine jazz pianist on the cusp of becoming one of Hollywood's greatest composers. Patrick FReMEAUX CD1 : RENDEZ-VOUS DANSANT � COPACABANA AVEC LALO SCHIFRIN, SON PIANO ET SES RYTHMES - MOULIN ROUGE - LES OIGNONS - FASCINATION - CABELLO ROJO - MON HOMME - MAMBOP - PIGALLE - SeReNADE MeDITERRANeENNE. SPECTRUM - RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET - AZURE - THE MOON WAS YELLOW - RUBY - BLACK BEAUTY - WHEN THE WIND WAS GREEN - BROWN PRELUDE - WHITE ORCHIDS - BLUE IS THE NIGHT - SCARLET RIBBONS (FOR HER HAIR) - PURPLE PASTEL. CD2 : PIANO ESPA�OL - FRENESI - THE BREEZE AND I - CAPRICHO ESPA�OL - MY SHAWL - CARAVAN - MALAGUENA - CHA CHA CHA FLAMENCO - WARSAW CONCERTO - HULABLUES - JUNGLE FANTASY - ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE - EL CUMBANCHERO. LALO = BRILLIANCE (THE PIANO OF LALO SCHIFRIN) - THE SNAKE'S DANCE - AN EVENING IN SAO PAULO - DESAFINADO - KUSH - RHYTHM-A-NING - MOUNT OLIVE - CUBANO BE - SPHAYROS. CD3 : BOSSA NOVA, NEW BRASILIAN JAZZ - BOATO - CHORA TUA TRISTEZA - POEMA DO ADEUS - APITO NO SAMBA - CHEGA DE SAUDADE - BOSSA EM NOVA YORK - O AMOR E A ROSA - O MENINO DESCE O MORRO - MENINA FEIA - OUcA - SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO - PATINHO FEIO (UGLY DUCKLING). PIANO, STRINGS AND BOSSA NOVA - THE WAVE - INSENSATEZ - YOU AND ME (VOCE E EU) - LALO'S BOSSA NOVA (SAMBA PARA DOS) - SILVIA - MURMURIO (MURMUR) - MARIA - RAPAZ DE BEM - SAMBA NO PERROQUET (PARROT SAMBA) - RIO AFTER DARK - TIME FOR LOVE - I'm LOOKING OVER A FOUR-LEAF CLOVER. BONUS CD3 : QUINCY JONES ET LALO SCHIFRIN - SOUL BOSSA NOVA - LALO BOSSA NOVA. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

This is a wonderful program of Latin American piano works, performed by Israeli pianist Gila Goldstein.

This 1998 recording of Paul Bley is here as 180g audiophile LP for the first time. It wholly dedicated to the music of Ornette Coleman, with whom Paul was the major participant of that exciting musical experimentation some 60 years ago. “…here is an intriguing and most stimulating date that does full justice to the writing of Ornette while showcasing the vitality and virtuosity of the creative Paul Bley in full flow with two top notch companions with him all the way…” (Mark Gardner) “…anyone who has ever enjoyed the pianist should seek out Notes on Ornette. Bley still enjoys throwing seemingly unrelated bits of improvised melody together, but here he often goes to the other extreme, spinning out lines that seem endless in which a few simple ideas continually transmogrify.” (Baker, D. – JazzTimes) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

One of the most original musicians of our time pianist Paul Bley passed away in 2016 at the age of 83. He left immeasurable influence on the generations of piano players behind him. He was married to Swedish-American pianist/composer Carla Bley in the 50s. Carla’s compositions occupied larger part of his repertoire then. “ …(This CD) features ten pieces by Carla Bley, his former wife, that he has been playing for thirty years but he’s still finding new things in them. Some of these tunes are surprisingly frisky given Bley’s austere reputation…this is another 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Pianist Mira Gill is of East-Indian descent. Born in Salt Lake City, she is now based in New York City. The piano works of Samuel Barber are a specialty of hers, and it shows in these superb performances.

M�tier presents a landmark 4-disc box set from pianist Ian Pace in commanding performances of music by composer Michael Finnissy (b. 1946). Finnissy is widely regarded as one of Britain's most important living composers. Pace, one of the leading interpreters of Finnissy's work, presents an album focused around Finnissy's epic cycle for piano, The Verdi Transcriptions, alongside the second complete recording (after the composer's own) of the iconic English Country-Tunes, and works inspired by music of the late-18th and 19th centuries. The result is a broad view of Finnissy's extensive output of piano music in relation to Romantic aesthetics. The album is released in anticipation of the M�tier label's upcoming celebrations of Michael Finnissy's 80th birthday in 2026. Finnissy's four-book cycle of Verdi Transcriptions reimagines Verdi's operas through a modern lens. As Finnissy states in his liner notes: "Transcribing sound into a written form (notation) involves making significant choices. The choices can color the ongoing exploration of that sound as 'composition.'" The result of those choices is a monumental, late-Romantic epic. Finnissy's English Country-Tunes has long been considered one of his signature and most technically demanding cycles. There is a similar line of composition through transcription as The Verdi Transcriptions, only in these works the source material is English folk music. Written in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, the work can also be seen as a commentary on the spirit of British patriotism at the time. Ian Pace's readings reflect decades of study: he first performed English Country-Tunes in the 1990s and has played Finnissy's complete piano oeuvre in cycles (1996 and 2016). The set includes extensive liner notes by both Pace and Finnissy, offering rare insight into the compositional ideas and performance choices behind these demanding works. In Pace's recording of Michael Finnissy's other epic piano cycle, The History of Photography in Sound (MSV 77501), BBC Music raved: "Pace's intimate acquaintance with the totality of History is apparent in his commanding performance... this is a magnificent achievement for both composer and performer," and Gramophone hailed Pace as "Finnissy's David Bailey, each note shaded to perfection, structures translucently and sharply lit, defining sonic images of our time." Incomparable virtuoso, called the Paganini of the harp, F�lix Godefroid was also a composer and teacher. This recording, performed by Sophie Hallynck, highlights the composer's studies in high virtuosity. Designed for his own use and that of professionals, they partake of both "absolute music" - as with the deservedly famous �tude in B-Flat Minor, Op. 193 - and the character piece, picturesque or sentimental. These musical miniatures are pieces overflowing with musicality in a refined style, but they express a pedagogical program first and foremost. Godefroid conceived of his �tudes as a true school for harpists. Each technical problem becomes the medium for a musical expression - an approach that gives these �tudes exceptional richness and relevance. Often based on one of those melodies for which Godefroid had such a knack, each one is set apart by a strongly marked expressive character, ranging from laughter to tears, as well as by it's structure, rhythm, novel sonorities, and harmonic surprises not lacking in audacity. Sophie Hallynck has risen to the technical challenges specific to each �tude while staying faithful to the spirit of the era, with the aspiration to achieve a subtle balance between virtuosity and expression. Her essential objective has always been to make technique live through music, without ever obscuring that emotion that emanates from it. Shostakovich composed music for film throughout his life, from his teenage years as a pianist accompanying silent films in Leningrad until the early 1970s. New Babylon provoked a political and artistic storm upon it's release in 1929 but remains one of Shostakovich's finest film scores, performed here complete and uncut. Popular favorites The Gadfly and Hamlet are heard in premiere recordings of the complete scores. Also included is the music for Alone, The Girlfriends, Love and Hate, and The Fall of Berlin in premiere recordings that have garnered international critical acclaim. "This composer of the New Complexity movement admires avant-jazz. He also digs 19th-century classics. So, when adapting Verdi, he does it via the spirit of Cecil Taylor. Near the midpoint of Finnissy's "La Traviata" potpourri, you'll find dense fireworks as well as tenderness deriving from a motif Verdi once assigned to Violetta." - Seth Colter Walls, NYT

Missa Criolla, by Argentine composer Ariel Ramirez (1921-2010) is a Spanish vernacular setting of Roman mass liturgy. Navidad Nuestra, composed in 1964, is subtitled"A folk drama of the nativity based on rhythms and traditions of Hispanic America"

Sonatas is an album of great contemporary works for soprano and alto saxophones, with piano accompaniment and solo.

Apres ses debuts remarques dans le jazz, Alexandre Sacha Distel, neveu du celebre chef d'orchestre Ray Ventura, s'oriente vers la chanson. Son charme et sa voix seduisent rapidement le public. en 1958, son tube Scoubidou le propulse au sommet des charts. de 1959 a 1962, Distel enchaine les succes. Il remporte le Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros en 1959, chante avec Maurice Chevalier, compose pour le grand ecran et devient une ic�ne de la chanson francaise, alliant talent musical et elegance naturelle. Patrick FReMEAUX After a stunning debut as a jazz guitarist, Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, the nephew of famous French bandleader Ray Ventura, turned to the world of songs, where his voice and good looks quickly attracted a large audience. In 1958 he had an enormous hit with the song "Scoubidou" that catapulted him to the top of the charts. In 1959 he won the "Grand Prix de l'Academie Charles-Cros", and for the next three years he enjoyed one hit after another. He would sing with Maurice Chevalier and compose songs for films before becoming an icon in popular music with a unique combination of musical talent and natural elegance. Patrick FReMEAUX CD1 (1957-1959) : Sacha Distel CHANTE : TOUT BAS (SPEAK LOW) - CHEVEUX DANS LE VENT - QUAND J'Y PENSE - LA FIN D'UN ROMAN D'AMOUR - MA CHeRIE SI JOLIE (TAMMY) - MALADIE D'AMOUR - INSENSIBLEMENT - FASCINATION - ROSE D'OR - LE TOUR DU MONDE (AROUND THE WORLD) - QUAND TU VIENS CHEZ MOI... MON COEUR - QUELQUE CHOSE EN TOI - L'eTANG - TIENS ! TIENS ! TIENS ! - UN AMOUR COMME LE N�TRE - QUE RESTE-T-IL DE NOS AMOURS ? - PARLEZ-MOI D'AMOUR - SI PETITE O MON AMOUR - GARDE cA POUR TOI (CATCH A FALLING STAR) - LE MUR - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - DORS MON AMOUR - BRIGITTE - a JAMAIS - BONJOUR CHeRIE. BANDE ORIGINALE DU FILM GIGI : C'EST LA BARBE (AVEC MAURICE CHEVALIER) - TOUT cA N'EST PAS POUR MOI - CEUX QUI INVENTeRENT LE CHAMPAGNE (AVEC MARIE FRANCE GIGI ET JANE MARKEN) - GIGI. CD2 (1959-1961) : Sacha Distel EN PERSONNE : SCOUBIDOU - POMMES ET POIRES - OH ! QUELLE NUIT (LONESOME ME) - QUAND ON S'EST CONNU - CE SERAIT DOMMAGE... (IMPATIENT LOVER) - OUI, OUI, OUI, OUI (GRAND PRIX DE LA CHANSON R.T.F. 1959) - DIS ! O DIS ! (EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER) - ET QUE cA DURE - JE N'AVAIS PAS COMPRIS. COQ D'OR DE LA CHANSON 1959 : SOPHIE. Sacha Distel N�2 : MON BEAU CHAPEAU - La, PReS DE LA FENeTRE (IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS) - LES CeLIBATAIRES - OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! OUAH ! - PERSONNALITeS - ELLE A LE... ELLE A LA... ELLE A LES... - DITES a L'ORCHESTRE (LA... LA... LA...) - MONSIEUR L'BARON - TOUT cA DEVAIT ARRIVER (EVERYTHING HAPPENS TO ME) - DR�LE DE ReVE (THE PREACHER) - ALLEZ ! VA ! (MY HEART IS AN OPEN BOOK). Sacha Distel N�3 : 20 MADAM' MADAM' - CALIN CALINETTE - LES CARIOCAS, ELLES SONT SI BELLES LES CARIOCAS - OUI, DEVANT DIEU (LA NOVIA) - LE BOOGIE DU BeBe (BABY SITTIN' BOOGIE) - ON DIT, ON DIT, ON DIT - cA C'EST DU POULET - a CAUSE DE TOI (I DON't KNOW WHY) - BYE BYE BABY (BYE BYE BLACKBIRD) - TROIS FOIS LA FRANCE. CD3 (1961-1962) : OUI ET NON - C'EST TOUT, C'EST TOUT (THAT'S ALL) - CATERINA - C'eTAIT PLUS FORT QUE TOUT (I CAN't STOP LOVING YOU) - J'AI UN RENDEZ-VOUS (I WANNA THANK YOU) - SANS TOI - QUE C'EST BON (WELCOME HOME TO MY HEART) - CHANSON SUR UNE SEULE NOTE (SAMBA DE UMA NOTA SO) - GUITARE ET COPAINS (A STEEL GUITAR AND A GLASS OF WINE) - DIS-MOI BARMAN - LES FILLES... MOI J'AIME cA - BON VENT MA JOLIE - PAILLASSE - RIEN DANS LA NUIT. SACHA BOSSA NOVA : ESO BESO - DESAFINADO - VIENS DANSER LA BOSSA NOVA (TING TOUNG) - LOIN DE TOI (RECADO). EVERYBODY LOVES THE LOVER : LET ME LOVE YOU - WHY DON't WE DO THIS MORE OFTEN - MY HEART STOOD STILL - ONCE IN EVERY LIFETIME - I'm IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - SPEAK TO ME OF LOVE - THE LOVER - IT'S BEEN A LONG, LONG TIME - EVERYBODY LOVES A LOVER - YOU DO SOMETHING TO ME - I CAN't GIVE YOU ANYTHING BUT LOVE - ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE. DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : OLIVIER JULIEN

This is a wonderful program of works for cello and piano by composers such as Libby Larsen, Samuel Barber, and George Walker.

Magnificently iconic tenor player to come out of the post-Swing Era Eddie Lockjaw Davis (1922-1986) cut two albums for SteepleChase during his late years. This album was recorded in 1983 in Copenhagen, which earned superlative reviews all over the world. “Tenorman Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis had already been a potent force in jazz for 35 years when he recorded this set but as it turned out his SteepleChase date (his next-to-last session) was one of the strongest of his career. Accompanied by a trio led by pianist Kenny Drew, Lockjaw really tears into these standards which are highlighted by "I Only Have Eyes for You," "There Is No Greater Love" (the alternate version was released for the first time on its CD reissue), "Four" and the title cut. Davis was at the peak of his powers during this recording, making this SteepleChase outing one of his very best.” (Scott Yanow – AllMusic) “Nothing valedictory about this date. No signs of decline. It’s hard to believe it was Jaw’s last album as a leader. Just the thing if you didn’t miss your water until your well went dry.” (Cadence) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Mauricio Kagel "a"

Jean Langlais was born on February 15, 1907, in La Fontenelle, Brittany, France. He became blind from the age of two. Sent to the Paris National Institute for the Blind Youth in 1918, he studied piano, violin, harmony and organ with great blind teachers (among others Albert Mahaut and Andre Marchal). Later on, he entered the Paris National Conservatory of Music in the Marcel Dupre's organ class, obtaining a First Prize in 1930. In 1931, after studying improvisation with Charles Tournemire, he received the "Grand Prix d'Execution et Improvisation des Amis de l'Orgue". He completed his studies obtaining a Composition Prize in Paul Dukas' class at the Paris Conservatory in 1934. In 1945, he became the successor to Cesar Franck and Charles Tournemire at the prestigious organ tribune of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris. He gave countless concerts worldwide, and was a prolific composer. He died on May 8th, 1991 in Paris. Langlais' distinctive style combined traditional harmonies with contemporary techniques. His compositions often feature intricate organ textures and colourful harmonies, influenced by his background as a church musician. Langlais was also known for his use of modes and complex rhythms, which added to the unique character of his music. His works often have a strong emotional intensity and sense of drama, with frequent shifts in mood and dynamics. This is the third volume of the complete organ works includes sonatas, suites, Noels, the Symphony "Alla Webern", and many miscellaneous shorter works. Played by 3 excellent Italian organists: Giorgio Benati, Fausto Caporali and Alessandro Perin. The extensive booklet includes information on the organs used on this album.

En reaction aux resonnances neo-classiques qui dominaient le paysage musical francais de l'apres Seconde Guerre mondiale, quelques compositeurs - emboitant le pas au groupe Jeune France (Messiaen, Jolivet...) - ambitionnerent de mettre en lumiere les grandes figures de la tradition moderne, Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berio et quelques autres. Pierre Boulez fut sans aucun doute le plus celebre representant de cette nouvelle orientation. Compositeur mondialement reconnu, pedagogue, initiateur et directeur de nombreuses institutions (Ircam), il fut egalement l'un des plus respectes meneurs d'orchestre, mettant sa baguette au service du repertoire de son temps. Christophe LOINTIER & Patrick FReMEAUX. In reaction to the neoclassical resonances that dominated the French musical landscape post-World War II, a few composers - following in the footsteps of the 'Jeune France' movement that included Messiaen and Jolivet - made efforts to throw light on the great figures of the modern tradition, namely Webern, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Berio and a few others. Pierre Boulez was no doubt the most famous of this new orientation's representatives, a world-renowned composer and teacher who initiated and directed numerous institutions such as the Ircam for example. He was also one of the most respected conductors to wield a baton over the repertoire of his day. Christophe LOINTIER & Patrick FReMEAUX

Blind from the age of two, a prodigiously gifted student, Jean Langlais (1907-91) produced an immense quantity of music. His organ works alone exceed in number those of JS Bach. Many have hardly ever been performed. Perhaps not more than half a dozen works are regularly played or recorded today, which is what makes this new complete survey of his organ music so invaluable, as the authoritative document of a high point in the distinguished lineage of the French organ heritage. The second volume of this complete survey opens with the third and last of his organ symphonies, among the most imposing and yet overlooked of his major works. More familiar are the Gregorian-inspired Suite medievale, the Triptyque, and the Triptyque Gr�gorien, whose flowing melodies share a spirit of Catholic mysticism with briefer meditations such as the Pri�re des Mages, the Incantation pour un Jour Saint and the Palm-Sunday voluntary Dominica in Palmis. As a collection of character pieces, Mosaique shows off Langlais's versatility, by turns solemn and joyful, songful and stormy. This sheer variety of form alone makes him stand out among French 20th-century composers for the organ. Throughout his life, Langlais wrote in many different styles and, true to his ideal, still retained the ability to surprise. This major project has been undertaken jointly by the Italian organists Giorgio Benati, Fausto Caporali and Alessandro Perin. Benati is a former student of Langlais, and Caporali has a string of successful French organ recordings to his credit. They have made these new recordings on Italian instruments, lending Langlais an 'Italian accent' while faithfully observing his expressive and registration markings in his scores. Booklet notes for each piece have been written by Giorgio Benati.

Commissioned by the Propaganda Department of the Soviet State Music Publishing House to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, the Symphonic Dedication to October eventually became Shostakovich's Second Symphony, and was first performed, in Leningrad, in 1927. It is a short, through-composed work of around twenty minutes, it's structure involving four sections. It opens with a Largo meant to portray the primordial chaos from which order emerged, and ends with a choral setting of To October, a poem by Alexander Bezymensky, praising Lenin and the October Revolution. The symphony shows a marked departure in style from Shostakovich's first symphony, and is far more modernist and avant-garde. The Second Symphony made little impression, in Russia or the West, and is rarely performed. In contrast, the Fifth Symphony received a standing ovation at it's premi�re, one that lasted for over half an hour, and was acclaimed both by state officials (for delivering everything that they had asked of Shostakovich) and by the public (who heard it as an expression of the suffering to which it had been subjected by Stalin). The Fifth Symphony is one of Shostakovich's best-known and most performed works, and has become standard repertoire for orchestras around the globe.

� Je me souviens de l'epoque o� Sacha Distel etait guitariste de jazz. � Georges PEREC, Je me souviens, Hachette, Paris, 1978. Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, neveu du celebre chef d'orchestre Ray Ventura, emerge comme une figure cle du jazz dans les annees 1950. Influence par son oncle et les musiciens qu'il cotoie, il apprend la guitare avec Henri Salvador. Considere comme l'un des meilleurs guitaristes francais des 1956, il collabore avec des geants du jazz tels que Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz et Lionel Hampton avant de connaitre le succes dans la chanson. Alexandre "Sacha" Distel, the nephew of famous French bandleader Ray Ventura, emerged as a key figure on the jazz scene in the early fifties. Under the influence of his uncle and the musicians alongside him, he learned to play the guitar with Henri Salvador and by 1956 he was considered one of the best guitarists in France. Before going on to become a successful singer, Sacha played with such jazz giants as Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz and Lionel Hampton.

Ahead of the 80th birthday of one of Britain's most singular compositional voices, this double album presents the complete organ works of Michael Finnissy a body of music as rich in intellectual depth as it is in imagination. Performed with careful nuance by acclaimed American organist Forrest Eimold, these works span over six decades and chart the evolution of a composer constantly challenging himself to think beyond presumed forms. At the heart of the collection are Finnissy's four Organ Symphonies: bold, searching works that pay homage to and wrestle with the legacies of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler, while also evoking the French organ tradition of Vierne and Widor. "Why even write a Symphony?" Finnissy asks in a personal note for this release. "To explore and learn. To challenge oneself with the abiding presence of awe-inspiring history... to locate a rhetoric which fearlessly approaches the 'higher world of knowledge.'" From the youthful drama of�... ere the set of sun... �(written as incidental music for�MacBeth�in 1965) to the industrial solemnity of�Blackburn�(2022), the album presents not just a body of work but a kind of inner autobiography. The�Hymn-Tune Preludes - transformations of Sacred Harp and Norwegian folk melodies - offer a striking contrast: intimate, harmonically volatile, and unhitched from convention. Even the earliest works here, like the student piece�Xunthaeresis, reveal the seeds of a language already driven by risk and complex expression. Forrest Eimold, a formidable interpreter of 20th and 21st century keyboard music, brings dazzling technique and interpretive depth to this music. His command of registration, colour, and pacing allows each piece - from the vast landscapes of the symphonies to the epigrammatic preludes - to speak with clarity and conviction. Recorded on a range of instruments, including the organ of the UK's Blackburn Cathedral, this is a release release which anchors Finnissy's contribution to the organ repertoire as one of bold imagination and philosophical depth. It also continues Metier's retrospective celebrations for Finnissy's 80th year, with further releases to follow.

Recorded on the same day after the quintet session (SCCD 31046 Duke’s Delight) in a New York studio in 1975 this attractive trio recording “comprises nearly 40 minutes of sheer unpretentious enjoyment.” (Mark Gardner - Jazz Journal UK) Duke Jordan’s long association with SteepleChase started with Jordan’s visit to Copenhagen in 1973. The collaboration yielded impressive hoard of highly acclaimed albums including SCCD 31011 Flight To Denmark). This session with the very best sidemen New York could offer - the veteran bassist Sam Jones and the great drummer Al Foster (who joined Miles Davis shortly after this session - enabled Jordan to display his attractive personal touch featuring Jordan’s own melodious compositions. 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Both these violin concertos have been long-neglected for the same reason: their composers were much better-known for their achievements in musical theatre rather than for their works for the concert-hall. Robert Russell Bennett studied composition in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, and his output includes seven symphonies. He also orchestrated some of the highest-profile musicals in Broadway history, including works by George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Rodgers and Hammerstein. (Richard Rodgers modestly claimed that Bennett's skills in instrumentation had made his music 'sound better than it was'). Vladimir Alexandrovich Dukelsky changed his name to Vernon Duke at the suggestion of his friend Jacob Gershovitz - better known as George Gershwin. Duke received a rigorous training in classical music at the Kyiv Conservatory; was friends with Prokofiev and composed ballet scores for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris, as well as three symphonies. He remains better known as the creator of hit shows, such as Cabin in the Sky, and as the composer of numerous songs that became jazz standards, including 'April in Paris'. Chloe Hanslip, Andrew Litton, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra perform both concertos with aplomb, and Andrew Litton also takes the role of pianist in Bennett's Hexapoda.

This new album presents three major orchestral works by British composer William Mival, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins. Spanning two decades, the album features the expansive new symphony Vale, the contemplative Tristan - still, and the Welsh-themed Pluen (feather). Together, they trace Mival's engagement with tradition and landscape. From the concentrated focus of Tristan - still to the folk-song variations of Pluen and the broad, five-movement design of Vale, the recording offers a clear overview of Mival's approach to writing for large forces.

If gospel music was a corporation and not a music genre, James Cleveland would have been it's big boss. He was certainly America's greatest gospel music star, and he reigned over the circuit for almost 40 years. He fostered the mass choir boom that is so popular today, and instigated such major events as Aretha Franklin's "Amazing Grace" album (a worldwide best-seller). This selection of Cleveland's best recordings finally highlights the work of a great musician about whom we know too little.

It is safe to say that the latter half of Dexter Gordon’s European years (1961-1976) found him most inspired and productive. This album recorded in a Copenhagen studio in September of 1975 precedes to Gordon’s most publicised homecoming to the States. With his favourite rhythm section of Montoliu, NHØP and Billy Higgins Dexter is in his pinnacle. It is also noteworthy to know that this is the only studio recording Dexter Gordon and the formidable Catalonian pianist made together. “... Today, more than 30 years after he made his first dates for Savoy, he is playing better than ever... From the opener, Billie’s Bounce, the record settles into a beautiful groove and the interest never lets up...” (Mike Hennessey, Jazz Journal International) “…Almost all Nils Winther’s Danish SteepleChase label releases have been better than the CBS albums, and this is certainly no exception.” (Michigan State News) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Legendary American piano player/composer Andrew Hill (June 30, 1931 – April 20, 2007) lived an active and fruitful life leaving us a legacy of unique, enigmatic music. Hill, however disappeared from the scene for about a decade in the late 60s. This album and its predecessor SCCD 31026 “Invitation” released in the mid. 70’s paved his way back to the limelight he deserved. Andrew Hill received numerous awards including Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Foundation of America (1997). “... Divine Revelation certainly earns its title, for it reveals to any newcomer to his music… Hill at his most inspired, and most enigmatic ....” (Simon Adams, Jazz Journal International, March 1995) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Sinfonia of London and John Wilson start a new series of recordings of works by Sir William Walton with this album featuring Charlie Lovell-Jones as soloist in the Violin Concerto. Lovell-Jones has soloed with major orchestras internationally, broadcasting on radio and television. As leader of the multi-award-winning Sinfonia of London, he has performed at the BBC Proms and recorded numerous albums, and is the winner of a number of significant international competitions. Commissioned by Jascha Heifetz, the Concerto was premiered in 1939, in America, and was enthusiastically received. Inspired by Walton's friend and lover Alice Wimborne, the work is extremely lyrical and passionate in nature, sporting a wild, virtuosic Tarantella as the second movement. Alice was also a driving force behind the inception of Walton's first grand opera, Troilus and Cressida, composed over almost a decade, largely after her untimely death. Here we hear the four-movement orchestral suite compiled in 1987 by Christopher Palmer, at the instigation of Lady Walton and his lifelong publisher OUP. Walton's overture Portsmouth Point is the earliest work on the album, premiered in 1926.

Kenny Drew (August 28, 1928 / New York – August 4, 1993 / Copenhagen) spent the last three decades of his life in Copenhagen as a stalwart of vibrant European jazz scene. He left quite a number of outstanding recordings both as leader and sideman on SteepleChase. Here on his first trio recording for the label, Kenny Drew is backed by – to quote Melody Maker – Danish bass wizard Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and intelligent purveyor of rhythm Albert “Tootie” Heath. Dark Beauty whose album cover is graced by a portrait photo of his daughter Sabrina is one of the most popular albums of his recording career. “...extremely charming main stream jazz..” (Swing Journal) “...brilliant!” (Jazz Magazine) “Kenny has a relaxed, attractive style, free from embellishments or dramatic devices, but capable of generating happy swing…” (C.W. Meloday Maker on SCS 1016) 180g Audiophile Vinyl