Dinah Washington - As Duke Ellington would have said, Dinah Washington was "beyond category." Subtle and inventive enough to hold an honored place in the jazz pantheon yet tough and forceful enough to command the attention of blues, R&B and rock n' roll audiences.

Dinah Washington - As Duke Ellington would have said, Dinah Washington was "beyond category." Subtle and inventive enough to hold an honored place in the jazz pantheon yet tough and forceful enough to command the attention of blues, R&B and rock n' roll audiences.

The Otis Redding Now Playing compilation contains 10 tracks from across the legendary soul singer's catalog, including "These Arms of Mine," "That's How Strong My Love Is," "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Try a Little Tenderness" and "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay."

This Now Playing shines the spotlight on Donny Hathaway with a tracklist that spans soulful themes of love, hope, and introspection. It includes iconic songs like "The Ghetto - Part 1," "A Song For You," and "Where Is The Love" featuring Roberta Flack, showcasing his emotive vocals and poignant lyrics. This collection also delves into social issues with tracks like "Little Ghetto Boy" and ends on a hopeful note with "Someday We'll All Be Free," leaving a lasting impact with it's soul-stirring melodies and messages of resilience.

In Kehlani's words: "A crash, in any form, is the peak height of the moment. It isn't the anxiety of the before, or the lament after. It is the ever so imperative present. A space with no reminisce, no remorse, and no after thought. CRASH IS HERE. At my most free, most fun, most loud, most fueled, so far."CRASH notably marks Kehlani's first full-length release in over two years, since the release of her chart topping album, blue water road in 2022. LP-CRASH (Apple Color)

Double purple vinyl LP pressing. Platinum Best Of that's never been released on vinyl. Includes the holiday favorite 'This Christmas' as well as his famous duets with Roberta Flack 'The Closer I Get to You' and 'Where Is The Love'. This collection has been the go-to for Donny Hathaway fans old and new for 30 years.

Blu-ray With 192/24 Resolution Quadraphonic And Hi-Res Stereo Mixes Transferred From The Original Half-Inch Four-Channel Masters Quadraphonic sound, or 4.0 surround sound, utilizes four audio channels connected to four speakers positioned at the corners of a listening space. The multi-tracked audio is mixed dimensional, immersing the listener in an expansive soundscape. Donny Hathaway's final studio album, EXTENSION OF A MAN, released in 1973, was a collaborative effort with renowned musicians Stanley Clarke (Return to Forever), Fred White, Al Kooper, Billy Preston, and many more. The album featured the transcendent track "Someday We'll All Be Free," which featured lyrics from Hathaway's close friend and manager, Edward Howard.

The Essential is a testament to Melody Gardot's enduring artistry. This collection spans 14 years of her career and includes 25 tracks that showcase the breadth of her musical abilities. Featuring selections from her six studio albums, remixes, live recordings and previously unreleased tracks, the album captures the essence of Gardot's talent. Highlights include her multilingual performances, emotive renditions of classics like Elton John's "Love Song," and live recordings that convey the raw honesty of her concerts. Each track offers a glimpse into the diverse emotional landscapes Gardot can traverse, making The Essential a rich and compelling portrait of an artist whose music speaks for itself.

Chet Baker does what he does best; SINGS AND PLAYS. He was gracious enough to occasionally put down the trumpet to croon, his vocal ability as skillful as his trumpeting. Baker's effortless virtuosity transcended the bounds of jazz stardom, with both aficionados and mainstream audiences embracing him as the genre's coolest cat.

Pianist/composer Stanley Cowell at age 75 is having an on-going renaissance as a performer since his retirement from Rutgers University in 2013. The group presented here is scheduled to have a three-night stint at New York City’s renowned live jazz spot Smokes in May. This is Cowell’s 15th release from SteepleChase. “…Cowell’s recording career now spans more than thirty years….an impressive consistency of purpose and the highest level of musical thought.” (Richard Cook & Brian Morton – The Penguin Guide to Jazz)

The late journalist/author Chris Sheridan’s liner notes for Sheila Jordan’s first album for SteepleChase “Sheila” SCCD 31081 declares, “This recording is an acutely personal statement. Only rarely in the history of jazz have a singer‘s feelings been so affectingly bared ... only a few vocalists have had the grit to subordinate technique and »style« to expressiveness ... And the experience is breathtaking.” Mr. Sheridan’s assertion from 1977 still rings true and even more so. Sheila Jordan at the age 92 does not show any sign of slowing down or taking it easy. Her intensely creative power is evident throughout this album presented in a cross-generational collaboration with trioTrio consisting of three young elite instrumentalists of the New York scene. “...a spiritual experience and heart-to-heart communion ... Jordan makes these tunes all her own, with personal, almost prayer-like readings...” (Down Beat - *****) “... Sheila Jordan personifies a song like no one has since Billie Holiday.” (Unicorn Times)

Duke Jordan’s early success came as member of the Charlie Parker Quintet contributing some of the most endearingly apt introductions of the jazz’ classic repertoires such as “Embraceable You”. He composed quite a few great jazz tunes that became standard numbers like “Jor-du” and “No Problem” among others. After a lengthy hiatus due to his drug problems in the 60s Jordan was rescued by a handful of Danish jazz enthusiasts and started resuming his professional career in Europe and Japan. The featured young tenorist Bent Jædig had shared the bandstand with Jordan during the years into the 80s. Along with Jædig two guest players were sitting in: bassists Eddie Gomez (in town with Bill Evans), and South African Johnny Dyani. This live recording finds Jordan at the famed jazz club Montmartre in the heart of Copenhagen the night before the (studio) recording session of his best-selling album “Flight To Denmark” SCCD 31011. Duke Jordan made Denmark his permanent home until his death in 2006.

Dutch pianist and composer Joep Beving is a leading neo-classical artist, garnering fans worldwide with his warm, contemplative music, which is evident on his 2017 album, Prehension. Pressed on EcoRecord, a sustainable record made from PET instead of PVC and, thanks to an innovative production process, saves up to 85% energy compared to conventional vinyl production, without compromising on sound and product quality. 2-LP set.

Johnny Mbizo Dyani (bassist/composer) was born in East London, South Africa November 30, 1945 to grow up to be one of the most internationally acknowledged musicians. Since his arrival in England in 1965 as a member of South African jazz group called The Blue Notes Dyani had chosen Scandinavia as his home base and had built an active career until a rare disease shortened his life all too soon. He died in Berlin, Germany in 1986. This album recorded in the summer of 1978 with the powerful front line-up of Don Cherry and Dudu Pukwana. The album was dedicated to the martyred South African activist against apartheid Steve Biko (1946-1977) with whom Dyani shared a cultural and linguistic heritage of Xhosa. “Dyani wrote all of the material for this record and it proves to be a vital factor in the success of the date. Both Cherry and Pukwana react favourably, while bringing their own personalities strongly to bear... this fine record can be recommended without reservation.” (Barry McRae, Jazz Journal International July 1979) “...there are possibly a handful of albums every year which are worth living with. This is one of them.” (Brian Case, Melody Maker June 1979) 180g Audiophile Vinyl

Solipsism is the 2015 debut album by contemporary Dutch pianist and composer, Joep Beving. Inspired by the philosophical idea that reality only exists in one's mind, Beving composed these introspective and often filmic piano pieces and recorded them at home in the still of night. Rejecting the often over-produced and layered music styles of today, Beving keeps the music of Solipsism stripped back to it's essence: simple sounds to express complex emotions. Pressed on EcoRecord, a sustainable record made from PET instead of PVC and, thanks to an innovative production process, saves up to 85% energy compared to conventional vinyl production, without compromising on sound and product quality.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra has long been known for championing British contemporary music and, following two albums entirely dedicated to Thomas Wilson, the orchestra now turns to other leading composers of the contemporary scene. Devised by conductor Rory Macdonald, the programme includes works that share the themes of loss, love and life: Jay Capperauld's�Our Gilded Veins�takes centre-stage, alongside�Within Her Arms, Anna Clyne's 'fragile elegy' (The New Yorker), James MacMillan's legend-based�The Death of Oscarand the commemorative�For Zoe, Martin Suckling's�Meditation (after Donne)�- which features church bells from across Scotland - and Peter Maxwell Davies's�Farewell to Stromness�(in an arrangement for strings by Rosemary Furniss), which arguably features the composer's most recognisable tune.

Ayant choisi de se referer � Ravel pour le nom de leur ensemble, il etait tout naturel que le compositeur francais figure au programme de leur premier enregistrement. Les musiciens du Trio Pantoum entendent bien, pour autant, ne pas s'enfermer dans une seule esthetique, mais se laisser guider par leur curiosite et explorer des repertoires aussi varies que contrastes. Ainsi, pour leurs debuts discographiques, temoignent-ils de multiples accents, associant leur partition fetiche � celles d'un romantique russe quelque peu oublie et de l'une des nouvelles figures de la musique tcheque.

Romantic guitar in the hands of a virtuoso of international renown absolutely guarantees extraordinary musical experiences. Milosz Maczynski tells the history of melancholy from the Renaissance to Romanticism, masterfully using time and melodious phrases. The album is full of hidden emotions, captivating with an atmosphere of intimacy and contemplation.

Dazzling as the Queen of the Night, deeply moving in Lucia di Lammermoor and La Sonnambula, Natalie Dessay also made her mark on the operatic stage in the roles of Olympia, Manon, Musetta and Cleopatra. After training at the Atelier Lyrique de l'Opera National de Paris and pursuing an international operatic career, Natalie Dessay decided to devote herself to spoken theatre, chansons and the song repertory. The duo she formed in 2011 with her artistic partner Philippe Cassard has given one hundred and thirty-five performances around the world, completely reinventing the song recital as a unique moment of expression, embodiment and shared emotion. Ten years after her last appearance at the Opera Bastille in La Fille du regiment, she has chosen to give her farewell performance on the stage of the Palais Garnier on 31 March 2025. This is the last album from this legendary duo, a fitting way to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of one of the greatest sopranos of her generation.

Gilles Binchois (ca 1400-1460), was one of the most eminent composers of the early Renaissance. Highly esteemed by his fellows, Binchois left a lasting legacy, notably through his polyphonic chansons and sacred works, although these remain unfamiliar to the general public. This selection of works by Binchois, born in Hainault, shows the evolution of his musical language from the beginnings of the burgundian style to the later instrumental transcriptions of some of his works, as these bear witness to the timeless beauty of his melodies and harmonic structures.

French lutenist Florent Marie presents his second solo album on Carpe Diem Records: A collection of Renaissance lute music by the famous John Dowland. Recorded in a small church in the normannic countryside, this album features both melancholic and more uplifting compositions of the great English master of the lute, creating an emotional and colorful rendering of these mostly well-known and loved pieces.

Given that not one of the Masses by Jacques Arcadelt was included in our boxed set that revealed his immense musical personality to the world, we now remedy this situation with an indispensable addition. Leonardo Garcia Alarcon chose the Missa Noe Noe, which is presented here in the context of the Christmas liturgy. We have also included motets not only by Arcadelt but also by Josquin Desprez, as he was the great model for musicians of his generation. The recording ends resoundingly with Josquin’s imposing Benedicta es coelorum regina for six voices, although in an expanded version for twelve voices by Jean Guyot de Châtelet (1512 – 1588): another Walloon composer to be discovered!

The central thread linking all the works featured in this recording is their assimilation of various elements of Jewish music, whether directly stemming from Chassidic folk traditions, or relating to material directly associated with religious worship. Each composer responds to this music in different ways, attempting in varying degrees to integrate it within the structural conventions of a Western European musical mainstream. By doing so, the music projects a multitude of emotions and feelings.

“There is not enough music which highlights and celebrates the diverse background of composers and the fact that this album focuses on Jewish musical traditions makes it a hugely important progression in how the classical music industry is moving into a more culturally representative industry.” -- Jocelyn Lightfoot, Managing Director of the LCO

When baritone Milan Siljanov decided to record his first song album, the composers to be immortalised on it were immediately clear to him. Even in his early youth, he had the desire to become a pianist, even though he realised early on that his talents lay in other musical areas. But it was during this time that he first came into contact with Schubert's piano works, in particular the Impromptu No. 4 in A flat major - a piano piece that still fascinates him to this day. The singer also finds the melancholy and pathos of the music in many of Schubert's songs. It quickly became clear that Schubert would be a focal point of the album, complemented by two weighty cycles by Johannes Brahms and Frank Martin

On Darknesse Visible, Inon Barnatan brings together French and British composers with works by Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy Thomas Ades and Ronald Stevenson. The album title is derived from Ades's piece of the same name and conveys some of the aspects that Barnatan finds most fascinating about the music on this album: all the pieces are inspired by stories or poems, and in all of them dark and light are intertwined. Ades and Stevenson both take their inspiration from existing pieces, by Dowland and Britten respectively. Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit and La Valse showcase the evocative power and colour of his music, while Debussy's Suite Bergamasque contains the world-famous Clair de lune.

The protagonist of this new album is the Fairy Guitar Quartet, a group born in 2020 from the meeting of four guitarists united by a strong passion for chamber music. Volver, the album that marks their recording debut, explores the great Argentine musical repertoire with a new research approach, offering an evocative musical journey along the multiple ties that unite Italy to the South American country and allowing you to experience and rediscover intense emotions. In a story of continuous departures and returns, complex fee- lings emerge, chapters with great evocative power that belong to the shared cultural heritage. A precious opportunity to rediscover a world that is always full of charm, a reflection of the creative encounter of dif- ferent cultures (African, indigenous, Spanish and Italian), through a listening journey that develops along the subject of Volver, a theme that resonates deeply in Italian and Argentine culture but also, more generally, in every corner of the southern hemisphere: the sadness of separation from what you love and the hope of re-embracing your roots. With the surprising arrangements of Gianvincenzo Cresta and Francesco Fausto Magaletti, the album features songs by Carlos Gardel, Anibal Troilo, Ariel Ramirez, Gustavo Leguizamon, Daniel Toro and Astor Piazzolla.

Collegium Vocale Gent and it's founder Philippe Herreweghe continue their recordings of the works of Carlo Gesualdo with 'Silenzio Mio', which contains the Fourth Book of Madrigals, published in 1596. Regarded as one of the most eccentric composers of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but also one of the most creative, he experiments here with new melodic and harmonic effects that enthralled listeners of the time. These innovations are applied to poems by Alessandro Guarini and several anonymous writers, all of which focus on the expression of personal feelings, particularly a 'pathos' new on the literary scene. A veritable historical testimony to the artistic turning point that occurred at the court of Ferrara in the early seventeenth century, this fourth book takes it's place in the long-term recording project of Collegium Vocale, hailed by critics for it's 'homogeneity, contrapuntal transparency and luminosity, strikingly evident even in the most tormented pieces' (Diapason).

First recording of this special collection of very early chamber music. Several pieces are world first recordings. Beautiful acoustics of a church of the time when the music was composed. Very diversified instrumental settings. Use of some nstruments that are nearly unknown today.

Presented as 'An Experiment in Modern Music' when it was premiered in 1924, Rhapsody in Blue made George Gershwin famous, and he soon set to work on a version for solo piano, recorded here by Claire Huangci. In her first solo disc for Alpha Classics, Claire was keen to celebrate this centenary alongside her roots in America, where she was born, studied music and made her debut as a concert artist at the age of nine. The brilliant improviser and transcriber Earl Wild (1915-2010) took Gershwin's songs (Liza, Fascinatin' Rhythm, Somebody Loves Me, I Got Rhythm, Embraceable You, Oh, Lady Be Good, The Man I Love) to form the basis of his Seven Virtuoso Etudes for solo piano. Equally virtuosic is the Op. 26 Sonata by Samuel Barber, whom Vladimir Horowitz (who premiered the work in Havana in December 1949) regarded as one of the few Americans capable of writing for the piano. The New Hampshire-born composer Amy Beach took her inspiration from the folk music of both the New World and the Balkans, while retaining her harmonic language inherited from the Romantics. Her Variations Op. 60 (1904) bear witness to these influences.

On his second Pentatone album Sogno, tenor Javier Camarena pays tribute to Francesco Paolo Tosti, together with pianist Ángel Rodríguez. Camarena and Rodríguez have curated a collection of Tosti’s songs that not only include some of his greatest hits but also highlight lesser-known works, including songs in French and English.

The songs selected for this album give us an overview of the different facets of Tosti’s style. Some are deeply sentimental, exemplified by 'Vorrei morire!' — one of the composer’s most famous pieces — while others, such as ‘Marechiare’, draw inspiration from folk traditions. Although Tosti is not often remembered in the history of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century music, Javier Camarena is inviting us to rediscover the enchanting world of his songs. Javier Camarena stands as one of the preeminent tenors of our time, and Sogno marks his second album following the successful Signor Gaetano (2022). Pianist Ángel Rodríguez makes his Pentatone debut.