It is often the case that the creation successful art comes down to basic factors. For jazz music, talent and creativity are obvious essentials. But what usually drives music further is trust between performers and a sense of spontaneity in performance. Keyboard master Gary Versace aimed to harness all these elements on his new recording, Three Track Mind, a vibrant collection of fresh arrangements of standards and favorites by a fledging trio, featuring bassist Francois Moutin and drummer Rudy Royston. Versace has long been admired for his incredible touch on piano, organ, and accordion, appearing alongside a tremendous and eclectic of collaborators. His playing has adorned the work of artists as diverse as John Scofield, Maria Schneider, John Hollenbeck, and Madeleine Peyroux. Versace is also an accomplished composer and educator. In his catholic approach to musical collaboration, Versace has been fortunate to perform with some incredible musicians, including Francois Moutin and Rudy Royston. Though, opportunities came often to appear on stage with both, the trio had never played all together. Versace first met Royston in performance with the dearly departed trumpeter Ron Miles in Colorado. Once Royston relocated to New York City, the two began performing more and more, including Versace as accordionist in Royston's Flatbed Buggy. Versace and Moutin regularly found themselves on the bandstand, especially behind vocalists. Versace knew that the two would be ideal in trio, as their musicality and energy were ideal for his style of playing. It was with this in mind that Versace invited Moutin and Royston to a two-day session at Chris Sulit's Trading 8s Studio in July of 2024. Versace wanted to create an environment that replicated the feeling of a live set, just interpreting standards and tunes in an open way to provide fresh takes and opportunity for improvisation, delivering a true sense of the music being able to go anywhere. The pieces the trio played were not planned. Versace would introduce the piece and Moutin and Royston would join in as they recognized it. As fantastic individual orchestrators, Moutin and Royston were able to help Versace make incredible, instantaneous arrangements. With all the takes being so different, Versace provided two takes of Joseph Kosma's standard, "Autumn Leaves," to show just how vastly different the trio could play them. Finding just the perfect balance of elements, Gary Versace brings to fore an openminded and expressive trio with Francois Moutin and Rudy Royston. Together they present, Three Track Mind, an intimate and explorative recording of a trio that should not be missed.

Gary Moore - "Bad for You Baby" [2 LP] Bad for You Baby is the 17th studio album by legendary Irish blues guitarist and singer Gary Moore. Released in 2008, it was the final album to be released in Moore's lifetime. Includes "Down the Line," "Did You Ever Feel Lonely?" and the title track. 2 LP set with printed inner sleeves.

Major Keys return with another jazz funk gem that has never before been released on a 12 inch. We go back to 1977 for one of the era defining albums, Gary Bartz magnificent 'Music is My Sanctuary'. The title track from the double Grammy award winning saxophonist's LP is an evergreen floor filler, finally seeing it's long overdue 12 inch debut; a remastered, high volume DJ's delight. Featuring Syreeta Wright on vocals, Bill Summers & James Mtume on percussion, with arrangement by the one and only Larry Mizell, we have an assembled players list at the top of their game. The lyrics, joyful and heartfelt sum up exactly what music means to people, all underpinned by that glorious sax. One for the heads and the feet, it's a record that you will go back to time and again. On the flip is the lesser known 'Carnaval de L'Esprit', a masterclass in jazz funk, this truly is the sunshine sound. It will lighten the weariest of souls and signals Major Keys as a buy on sight label. Tracklisting: A1. Music Is My Sanctuary B1. Carnaval de L'Esprit

Ju Ju Man (1976) showcases altoist Gary Bartz at his finest, delivering a mostly straight-ahead jazz session amidst a period of seeking commercial success in the late 70s. Teaming up with pianist Charles Mims, bassist Curtis Robertson, and drummer Howard King, Bartz crafts here a stimulating set that includes the standout Coltrane-inspired "Ju Ju Man". The album also features swinging tracks like "Straight Street" and "Pisces Daddy Blue," and rare solos on soprano and clarinet in "Chelsea Bridge". Remastered and reissued for 2024, this album solidified Bartz's reputation as a distinctive reedman, despite the rarity of original Catalyst label LPs.

Three albums from jazz vibraphonist Gary Burton, dating from 1961, 1962 and 1968. 'New Vibe Man In Town' was his debut album for RCA with Joe Morello on drums. 'Who Is Gary Burton' again had Morello on drums with Phil Woods and Clark Terry amongst others. 1968's 'In Concert' features jazz guitarist Larry Coryell. Burton had a long and distinguished career, finally retiring in 2017. Digitally remastered and slipcased, and with extensive new notes by Charles Waring

Common Ground - Gary Burton - On Gary Burton's debut release on Mack Avenue Records Common Ground, the Grammy®-winning pioneer of the four-mallet technique of playing the vibes not only delivered his first studio album since 2005, but also introduced his latest band.

This rare and underappreciated 1973 Impulse! Title features a host of influential L.A. musicians and was an important element in the label's 'West Coast contingent' of the early 1970s. The album's distinct L.A. sound and energy continue to resonate in modern music circles, from the West Coast Get Down to Carlos Gabriel Nino to Mark de Clive-Lowe. Saracho became disillusioned and left the music business not long after this album was released. Now, his remarkable story and music are re-emerging, ripe for re-evaluation. 180-gram LP.

Founded in 1977 by Lionel Hampton, the Who's Who in Jazz label existed as a means to present to the world the best musicians that the jazz world had to offer. With Lionel chairing the recording sessions (and also featuring on several of the sessions himself), these recordings have truly earned their title featuring jazz greats such as Buddy Rich, Charles Mingus, Terumasa Hino, Sonny Stitt, Teddy Wilson, Stephane Grappelli and Dave Brubeck, amidst the many others. 730167321419 GODM14141794.2 41995785 9.79 13.98 .26 GOOD TIME COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/24/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/75/4006175-2740518.jpg 100 1 N HEAVY METAL / O.S.T. HEAVY METAL / O.S.T. 603497843541 RHI60619.1 41996218 29.91 34.98 1.06 RHINO VINYL LP POP SOUNDTRACKS & FILM SCORES 10/22/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/38/4006338-2740447.jpg 30 2 N RAFFAELE IL SOLE ALLE FINESTRE 793541325717 IMT4132571.2 41996799 18.04 27.99 .22 IMPORTS COMPACT DISCS POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC ITALY 09/03/2021 2 1 N CARRA,RAFFAELLA RAFFAELLA CARRA 194399338711 RCVE9933871.1 41997857 31.99 44.99 .05 RCA VICTOR EUROPE VINYL LP POP INT'L & WORLD MUSIC ITALY 09/24/2021 0 1 N NEW THREE STOOGES NEW THREE STOOGES 089218843593 ALVI8435DVD 41999301 8.63 9.99 .22 ALPHA VIDEO DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE COMEDIES 07/06/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/42/4006642-3364623.jpg 0 1 N ROLLINS,SONNY / DUKE,GEORGE / CLARKE / FOSTER LIVE UNDER THE SKY 81 3854917602225 IMT1760222.2 42002871 15.34 23.99 .22 IMPORTS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 10/01/2021 0 2 N LANDGREN,NILS NATURE BOY 614427993823 IMT2799382.2 42002970 19.85 30.99 .24 IMPORTS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 10/01/2021 0 1 N BABY ET LULU ALBUM TROIS Discover Baby et Lulu's ALBUM TROIS: a set defined by magnetic hooks and quiet intensity. Crafted with care and built for replay value. The songs balance layered arrangements and rhythmic finesse, moving from head-nod grooves to slow-burn builds. Perfect for listeners drawn to song-first perspectives, audiophile detail, and subtle complexity. 9324690177370 IMT9017737.2 42003366 17.14 26.99 .08 IMPORTS COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 09/10/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/64/4007264-3002170.jpg 10 1 N LIGHT SPIRIT: LIGHTHOUSES OF THE MAINE COAST LIGHT SPIRIT: LIGHTHOUSES OF THE MAINE COAST Some lighthouses usher the mariner in. Others warn him away. Yet all of them selflessly serve those who travel by sea. But for those lighthouses that have survived into the present, what will be their fates now that modern navigational technology has rendered many of them obsolete? And how do these ageless towers continue to cast such magical, mystical spells after centuries of use? Narrated by former NBC News correspondent and A&E Biography host Jack Perkins, this documentary attempts to answer those questions with visits - by land, by sea and by air - to each of the sixty plus lighthouses that still stand along the Maine coast, allowing you too to become enchanted by the magical spirit of the lights. 655498638602 GEME98638602DVD 42004059 20.11 21.99 .19 GEMINI ENTERTAINMENT DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE DOCUMENTARY 09/28/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/42/4007342-3367749.jpg 0 1 N OVER DOWNEAST MAINE OVER DOWNEAST MAINE Beginning with Penobscot Bay and continuing eastwards to the Canadian border, the downeast area of Maine is a rugged, often desolate region. Sparsely populated and largely undeveloped, it is a place of rocky shorelines, vast blueberry barrens and a scattered assortment of small towns and villages. But downeast is also a region of spectacular, unparalleled beauty, as captured from a bird's eye view in Over Downeast Maine. Using helicopter-mounted cameras, this film captures the breathtaking sights of this extraordinary portion of the coast. No matter where in the world you may be, this unforgettable documentary will allow you to forever cherish and revisit this place of unique and remarkable beauty. 655498638565 GEME98638565BR 42004035 19.19 21.99 .15 GEMINI ENTERTAINMENT BLU-RAY MOVIE DOCUMENTARY 09/07/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/55/4007355-3367747.jpg 5 1 N QUEENS OF COMEDY QUEENS OF COMEDY They're loud, proud and outrageously funny they're The Queens of Comedy, captured live onstage in Memphis during their triumphant comedy tour! Miss Laura Hayes (Def Comedy Jam), Adele Givens (The Tracey Ullman Show), Sommore (The Hughleys) and Mo'Nique (The Parkers) launch a full-scale laugh attack that's not afraid to go over the top or below the belt. No one is safe from their merciless wit, as they take on such topics as skinny women, marriage, children and, most importantly, men. And you'll also go behind-the-scenes with The Queens, as they display the magical chemistry that made them a top-drawing concert act. So take a seat and buckle up because you're in for a roller coaster ride of laughter! 810072545268 PAHE72545268DVD 42004134 13.95 15.99 .20 PARAMOUNT DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE MYSTERY / SUSPENSE / THRILLER 09/14/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/64/4007364-2997571.jpg 2 1 N PASSEPORT POUR LE MONDE: TRAVERSEE DE L'ATLANTIQUE PASSEPORT POUR LE MONDE: TRAVERSEE DE L'ATLANTIQUE Suivez le quotidien et les peripeties inhabituels d'un equipage temeraire lors d'une traversee epique de deux mois de l'ocean Atlantique a bord d'un catamaran, le Lucia 40. Voguez avec cette famille intrepide et leur capitaine, de la prise de possession du bateau a La Rochelle en France, en passant par des escales a A Coruna en Espagne et Lisbonne au Portugal, ainsi que sur l'ile de Madere, jusqu'a leur destination ultime, l'ile de Saint-Martin au cœur des chaleureuses Antilles francaises. Des preparatifs de cette formidable epopee, aux vues splendides des cotes europeennes et africaines, sans oublier les imprevisibles et indomptables caprices meteo, vivez une proximite unique et authentique de cette aventure marine a la decouverte des cultures et de l'ocean. Suivez le quotidien et les peripeties inhabituels d'un equipage temeraire lors d'une traversee epique de deux mois de l'ocean Atlantique a bord d'un catamaran, le Lucia 40. Voguez avec cette famille intrepide et leur capitaine, de la prise de possession du bateau a La Rochelle en France, en passant par des escales a A Coruna en Espagne et Lisbonne au Portugal, ainsi que sur l'ile de Madere, jusqu'a leur destination ultime, l'ile de Saint-Martin au cœur des chaleureuses Antilles francaises. Des preparatifs de cette formidable epopee, aux vues splendides des cotes europeennes et africaines, sans oublier les imprevisibles et indomptables caprices meteo, vivez une proximite unique et authentique de cette aventure marine a la decouverte des cultures et de l'ocean. 810071441691 DMSP44169DVD 41995501 11.51 17.95 .17 DREAMSCAPE DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE DOCUMENTARY 12/28/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/71/4006071-2740278.jpg 0 1 N TYNER,MCCOY LIVE AT WARSAW JAZZ JAMBOREE 1991 Founded in 1977 by Lionel Hampton, the Who's Who in Jazz label existed as a means to present to the world the best musicians that the jazz world had to offer. With Lionel chairing the recording sessions (and also featuring on several of the sessions himself), these recordings have truly earned their title featuring jazz greats such as Buddy Rich, Charles Mingus, Terumasa Hino, Sonny Stitt, Teddy Wilson, Stephane Grappelli and Dave Brubeck, amidst the many others.

Founded in 1977 by Lionel Hampton, the Who's Who in Jazz label existed as a means to present to the world the best musicians that the jazz world had to offer. With Lionel chairing the recording sessions (and also featuring on several of the sessions himself), these recordings have truly earned their title featuring jazz greats such as Buddy Rich, Charles Mingus, Terumasa Hino, Sonny Stitt, Teddy Wilson, Stephane Grappelli and Dave Brubeck, amidst the many others. 730167320931 GODM14141703.2 41995662 9.79 13.98 .26 GOOD TIME COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/24/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/63/4006163-2740705.jpg 100 1 N BLAKEY,ART & JAZZ MESSENGERS ONE BY ONE One by One is a live concert recording of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers performing at Ciak, Milano Italy on November 4, 1979. Album personnel includes Art Blakey (drums), Dennis Irwin (bass), James Williams (piano), Bobby Watson (alto sax), David Schnitter (tenor sax), Curtis Fuller (trombone) and Valerie Ponomarev (trumpet).

Founded in 1977 by Lionel Hampton, the Who's Who in Jazz label existed as a means to present to the world the best musicians that the jazz world had to offer. With Lionel chairing the recording sessions (and also featuring on several of the sessions himself), these recordings have truly earned their title featuring jazz greats such as Buddy Rich, Charles Mingus, Terumasa Hino, Sonny Stitt, Teddy Wilson, Stephane Grappelli and Dave Brubeck, amidst the many others. 730167320931 GODM14141703.2 41995662 9.79 13.98 .26 GOOD TIME COMPACT DISCS POP JAZZ 08/24/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/63/4006163-2740705.jpg 100 1 N BLAKEY,ART & JAZZ MESSENGERS ONE BY ONE One by One is a live concert recording of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers performing at Ciak, Milano Italy on November 4, 1979. Album personnel includes Art Blakey (drums), Dennis Irwin (bass), James Williams (piano), Bobby Watson (alto sax), David Schnitter (tenor sax), Curtis Fuller (trombone) and Valerie Ponomarev (trumpet).

Though Gary Versace’s discography has so far been mostly occupied with his B-3 recordings, here his new album, the 5th on SteepleChase is the very first strictly piano trio which reveals Versace’s intuitively intelligent touch and inventiveness on piano. Fellow pianist Andy LaVerne who is the author of the liner notes sums up his commentary in saying, “It’s gratifying and inspiring to witness the ascension of Gary’s musical endeavors and creativity from his wide ranging exemplary sideman work (which includes my piano/ organ trio with five SteepleChase releases), to assuming the helm of his own forward leaning piano trio.”

Baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan brings here his trademark “contrafacts” (a music making method that shares the chord progressions with other compositions) approach to this first SteepleChase leader outing challenging us (maybe?) to guess the tunes he is employing. Smulyan whose professional career took shape by joining Woody Herman’s Young Thundering Herds at age 22 (1978) has won Critics’ and Readers’ Poll awards numerous times by Downbeat and JazzTimes, among others. England’s Penguin Guide to Jazz once described Smulyan as “the leading American exponent of post-bop baritone”.

2017 release. Smulyan's expert service in the fantastic large ensembles of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Woody Herman, Dizzy Gillespie and the Village Vanguard Orchestra has made him a standout section player and soloist. A voice that is distinctive and also an important element to the given ensemble. It is a rare pleasure to hear Smulyan in a small ensemble performance, a setting where you can really hear his genius unabated. A terrific opportunity came about during the fall of 2016 as the saxophonist was on a tour through Europe. Smulyan invited producer Jacques Muyal to a gig in Lausanne, Switzerland, which Muyal wasn't able to attend. Knowing that Smulyan would be in Paris shortly thereafter, Muyal reached out to the world-renowned club, Le Duc des Lombards, to secure permission to record. The subsequent Royalty at Le Duc presents the brilliant Smulyan in a setting that allows his music to truly blossom, live in a jazz club. The European rhythm section that Smulyan assembled for the tour was composed of French pianist Olivier Hutman, Italian bassist Michel Rosciglione and Austrian drummer Bernd Reiter. The ensemble was more than capable of handling the diverse program of jazz classics, including Thad Jones's "Thedia" and "Elusive," Billy Strayhorn's "The Star-crossed Lovers," Pepper Adams's "Cindy's Tune," Joe Henderson's "Serenity," Raksin and Mercer's "Laura" and Johnny Green's "Body & Soul."

On GUIDED TOUR, jazz's most innovative and accomplished vibraphonist proves that the New Gary Burton Quartet which he premiered last summer on his Mack Avenue debut, COMMON GROUND was no one-trick pony. Featuring the prodigal guitar genius Julian Lage as well as two veterans, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Antonio Sanchez, GUIDED TOUR provides a road map to one of the most dynamic bands on the scene today.

The blind folk, gospel and blues musician made it to New York from South Carolina and made a name for himself as the "Harlem Street Singer." a Baptist minister and a teacher, Gary Davis was also an accomplished and influential vocalist, guitarist, and harmonica player. He was seventy years old at the time of this recording. "We Are the Heavenly Father's Children" is re-mastered and re-released on If I Had My Way: Early Home Recordings(SFW40123).

Track Listing
1. Samba Cantina - Paul Desmond
2. Our Waltz - Gary Burton
3. I'll Take Romance - Dominique Eade
4. Isfahan - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
5. Sweet Lorraine - Coleman Hawkins/Henry "Red" Allen
6. Lazy River - Hoagy Carmichael
7. Petals Danse - Tom Harrell
8. My Ship - Sonny Rollins
9. Blues for Bessie - Bud Powell
10. After the Rain - Don Braden

Personnel: Dominique Eade, Hoagy Carmichael (vocals); Romero Lubambo (guitar, acoustic guitar); Everett Barksdale, Jim Hall, Peter Leitch (guitar); Joe Venuti, Regina Carter (violin); Ron Lawrence (viola); Akua Dixon (cello); Greg Tardy, Jimmy Dorsey, Buster Bailey (clarinet); Johnny Hodges (saxophone, alto saxophone); Don Braden (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Paul Desmond (alto saxophone); Coleman Hawkins, Sonny Rollins, Benny Golson (tenor saxophone); Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn); Henry "Red" Allen (trumpet); Tommy Dorsey (trombone); Duke Ellington, George Colligan, Herbie Hancock, Marty Napoleon, Bud Powell (piano); Gary Burton (vibraphone); Dwayne Burno, George Duvivier (acoustic bass); Connie Kay, Cozy Cole, Joe Morello, Matt Wilson , Roy McCurdy, Art Taylor (drums).

Recording information: New York, NY (11/30/1930-??/??/1997).

Arranger: Dominique Eade.

I have an old HMV LP with a youthful looking Andre Previn on the sleeve (9/74 - nla) and coupling the Ravel Trio and Shostakovich E minor Trio, and very good it is; the other artists were Young Uck Kim and Ralph Kirshbaum. Now an older Previn returns to the Ravel, and with new colleagues brings to it the same affection, together with a chaste quality wholly appropriate to this composer who evinced an honourable bashfulness yet whose passion is unfailingly genuine and moving - surely one reason for his immense popularity today. The Trio is one of the largest and grandest of chamber works, yet its rhetoric is without hollowness (and how rare that is in French music!) and it somehow just stays within the bounds of chamber music: oddly enough, one of the most shattering climaxes comes in the slow movement. A rich yet un-glitzy recording helps this intensely felt yet refined performance, and altogether the artists offer a memorable musical experience.

Debussy's long lost piano trio is a youthful work that I'm certain he would have hated to have played at all, but scholars don't always mind about that sort of thing. Having come to light fairly recently, this jejune piece now has several performances on disc. Undoubtedly it needs skilful playing to avoid seeming embarrassingly weak alongside the Ravel, and the present artists do a very decent job, presenting its naIvety without apology. Their disc is not generous at 48 minutes, but the performance of the Ravel above all makes it value for money.

-- Gramophone [11/1995]

Benchmark recordings of Tchaikovsky -- many aspiring pianists may think of changing professions after hearing Graffman soar through these iconic works with such dazzling élan.

At last. Gary Graffman's recordings of Tchaikovsky's Second and Third Concertos were the ones which introduced me to these works. They have remained my benchmarks ever since, the admirable couplings by Haas, Douglas, Gilels, Pletnev and others notwithstanding and despite the second movement of the Second being in the truncated Siloti edition. As Graffman makes clear in his entertaining memoir I Really Should Be Practicing (Doubleday: 1981) — among the best of pianists' autobiographies — Ormandy was a prince of accompanists. The two artists had known each other for 20 years and it shows. There are many memorable passages, among them the conclusion of the Second Concerto's volcanic central first-movement cadenza when the orchestra re-enters with the opening subject (15'58"), initially failing to subdue Graffman's ecstatic quasi-trill at the top of the keyboard; and a similar moment in the Third Concerto when Ormandy introduces (11'05") some crunching off-beat cymbal crashes.

Szell also proves a convivial, alert partner in the First Concerto, providing deft touches that lift this account above the ordinary. Listen, for instance, to the syncopated brass figure beneath the apotheosis of the last movement's second subject. If Graffman eschews the demonic brilliance of Horowitz, his reading is all about Tchaikovsky. Horowitz's is more about Horowitz.

To complete this all-Russian programme, there is Graffman's compelling Mussorgsky where once again he creates, well, pictures that live in the memory: 'Bydlo' appears in the misty distance, lumbers by and vanishes again (superb), while the unhatched chicks are played with a rare sense of fun. Finally, there is Islamey. Many aspiring pianists may think of changing professions after hearing Graffman soar through this iconic barnstormer with such dazzling élan.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone [1/2006]

No New York area organist of the present day is more in demand than Gary Versace, who makes his Criss Cross debut with a quartet comprised of Criss Cross Label veterans: tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin, guitarist Adam Rogers, and drummer Clarence Penn. Versace guides his group of New York cutting-edge players through a program of eight originals with strong melodies, challenging harmonic structures, and intoxicating grooves.

The special interest here is the ''world premiere recording'' of Schumann's first Piano Quartet in C minor, completed in March, 1829, when he was still only 18. Though his Leipzig piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck, and other discerning music-loving friends found much in the work to praise after a domestic performance by Schumann and some fellow-students, he himself lost faith in it and the score remained unpublished until the Schumann scholar, Wolfgang Boetticher, prepared a performing edition in 1979. The gem of the four movements is the nimble Minuetto, with a trio (its leading theme reappears in the fourth of his Op. 4 Intermezzos for solo piano) subsequently picked out by him as the moment when he first recognized himself as a ''romantic... departing from the former musical style''. The tenderly spun Andante is winning too, and even though the Beethoven-cum-Schubert-inspired faster flanking movements (the last dominated by an obsessively reiterated dotted rhythm) need—and I think in this performance receive—some pruning, both have an irresistible youthful elan. Andre Previn and his three colleagues cannot be over-praised for coming to the Quartet's rescue with such immediacy and warmth of sympathy.

Though never enjoying the popularity of the Piano Quintet, the E flat Piano Quartet, written some 13 years after the C minor work, has rarely lacked dedicated protagonists. These players hold their own with them all, especially the very lively pianist with his keen ear for textural clarity.

-- Joan Chissell, Gramophone [5/1993]

A vibrant selection of pictorial-impressionist exotica.

This disc made little impression when first issued and the undertow caused by the fall of Conifer delivered the coup de grace. It certainly deserves better if you have a taste for Russian nationalism.

Mtzyri is a nice piece of Russo-Oriental pictorial-impressionist exotica. Its elements include a Sheherazade-sinuous song for solo violin and the minaret and the muezzin are never far away. Think in terms of a more lucidly orchestrated brother of Balakirev's Tamara and the tragic-tormented aspects of Tchaikovsky’s Manfred. It’s all done with real conviction and soprano Barainsky (13:20) holds an impressive high note with throbbing invincibility.

The Symphony is lively enough and wends its way between Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov - nearer to Tchaikovsky. The quiet shuddering footfall in the third movement recalls the Capriccio Italien.

The booklet notes - now standard in ArkivMusic licensed discs - are by Toccata's Martin Anderson and are therefore a rewarding read in their own right. They are in English, French and German. They paint in the details of the life and music with a fine brush.

A minor gripe is that despite there being plenty of space we have only one attractive segment of the Caucasian Sketches - the composer's only claim to popularity. There was room for the whole suite.

This is a handsome offering and something to tantalise until we can hear his other works. There are six operas including The Last Barricade (1933-34) which has as its subject the Paris Commune. We would do well in our safety and superiority not to hold against him that, as the times dictated, ‘patriotic’ pieces were required and were delivered: Song of Stalin, Hymn to Work, Voroshilov March, The Year 1917. Further afield there is a Catalan Suite and a four movement work, Karelia - possibly intended as his Second Symphony. Other folk-influenced material include An Evening in Georgia, Musical Pictures of Uzbekistan, On the Steppes of Turkmenistan and Turkish Fragments.

If you would like to delve beyond this disc try Naxos 8.553405 (Caucasian Sketches – suites 1 and 2), Marco Polo 8.223629 (Yar-Khmel, Ossian Tableaux, Jubilee March and Episode from life of Schubert etc) and Marco Polo 8.220217 (Symphony 1 and Turkish Fragments).

Gary Brain is a sensitive and confident advocate for this largely unknown music. It is to his credit that he continues to champion the wilder periphery. His discography includes the Truscott Symphony (Marco Polo) and a cycle of orchestral discs presenting music by Polish-Swiss composer, Czeslaw Marek (Koch International).

-- Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International

The Graffman/Szell recordings of Prokofiev's First and Third Piano Concertos gained "classic" status almost from their original release, and they still hold up very well. While the First Concerto may not have quite the glittering edge that Martha Argerich brings to it, there is certainly no want of virtuosity on Graffman's part, and it practically goes without saying that Szell and Cleveland are terrific. They are particularly wonderful in the Third Concerto's central variations, whose dry wit seems tailor-made for these performers. The two sonatas are equally impressive, with Graffman's unfailingly intelligent shaping of the Second Sonata's big opening movement and his romp through the single-movement Third Sonata obstinately memorable. The sonics have dated a bit in the four decades since original release, but hardly so as to distract from the interpretive excellence on hand, with the DSD remastering very sensitively accomplished.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Gary Smulyan stands out among the handful of baritone saxophonists of the modern jazz era. He has recently been a featured soloist with the Vanguard Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Joe Lovano Nonet and the Dave Holland Big Band. "The Real Deal" gives Smulyan the opportunity to step into a leader role with his first CD in several years. He's assembled a quintet featuring the outstanding trumpeter Joe Magnarelli and the top shelf rhythm section of pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist Dennis Irwin and drummer Kenny Washington. In this empathetic setting, Smulyan is able to relax and stretch out with a nice mix of seldom heard standards and two of his own originals.