This compilation of early jazz and ragtime dates from a very early recording (Eli Green’s Cakewalk from 1898) to the 1920s. The sources are from pianola rolls, 78 rpm records and phonograph cylinders. The rolls on this recording were played on an Orchestrelle player attachment 65/88 note made around 1905. The first known player is thought to be the 1863 Furneaux ‘Pianista.’ As with the Orchestrelle this operated by striking the keys of an ordinary piano. The main difference was that it was operated by a handle in the manner of a street piano, while the later instrument is worked pneumatically by foot operated bellows. Early rolls were 58 and later 65 note. 88 notes became standard in the 1900s although the earlier sizes continued to be made. It was some years before manufacturers got together and standardized roll size and fitting so that any player could play any roll.

The selections Whiteman included in the 1924 Aeolian Hall Concert, which had that curious title An Experiment in Modern Music, were divided into various sections, such as The True Form of Jazz and Recent Compositions with Modern Score. The intention was that together they would be audible proof that jazz-inspired music had come of age. These performances of Gershwin classics and hard-to-find rarities capture the 1920's and 30's jazz age style and offers a gamut of lesser known keyboard works, as well as Gershwin's only known works for violin and piano and for string quartet. The three orchestral works include Mr. Peress' theater orchestration of Gershwin's Strike Up the Band Overture, and the I've Got Rhythm Variations recorded in its original orchestration for the first time.

Petter Bergander Trio is back with new energetic, melodious jazz and the album Kierkegaard's Waltz following up their praised 2015 debut The Grand Dance. They were called "innovative" and "raw fun" and the album "a brilliant debut". The group has since played both in Sweden and international stages and festivals. Constellation is partly new with Eva Kruse on double bass. For the new record, composer and band leader Petter Bergander has written music with the explicit aim to make space for the "playing, the sound and playfulness of the trio" and the ambition to reach out to listeners of a variety of different music genres.

William Thomas Dupree was born in 1909 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father was from the Belgian Congo and his mother was part African-American, part Cherokee. His parents ran a grocery store in the Irish Channel neighborhood and the family lived upstairs. When he was about one year old, the house was set on fire by the Ku Klux Klan and both his parents were killed. He grew up in the Colored Waifs Home in New Orleans where he received no schooling, but learned about music, cooking and fighting. When he came out of the orphans home, he learned to play barrelhouse piano, especially from a pianist called Willie Drive 'Em Down Hall. He made his living playing piano and fighting in the street for bets. He returned to Chicago in 1939 and joined a circle of recording artists including Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red, who introduced him to record producer Lester Melrose. After WWII he moved to New York, where he made multiple recordings for many labels, including his legendary 1958 album for Atlantic Records, Blues from the Gutter.

Described by critics as beyond category, to use Duke Ellingtons signature compliment (All About Jazz), Japanese marimba extraordinaire Mika Stoltzman brings her wealth of experience to her latest Mikarimba album, Big Round Records Taperebá. Vibrant and bursting with flavor (just like the Brazilian fruit which the album derives its title from), the jazzy Taperebá features performances by Stoltzman and a circle of legendary fellow artists. With over 25 Grammy Awards shared between the members on this record, a memorable listening experience is practically guaranteed. Taperebá brings notable names from around the globe and a spectrum of musical experiences into one collection. Featuring the likes of Stoltzman, her husband and Grammy Award-winning clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, and a lineup including the legendary bassist Eddie Gomez, iconic percussionist Steve Gadd and his son Duke, and Brazilian mandolin great Hamilton de Holanda, the album leads audiences through a lighthearted yet technically spellbinding listening experience with just the right amount of flare. Each piece on the album was either written or arranged for Stoltzman, such as the Paul Simon classic 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, arranged by Steve Gadd (who, not to mention, played drums on the original Simon version). From this, to Return to Bahia written specifically for Stoltzman by Bill Douglas, an arrangement of Chick Coreas Spain, and more, Taperebá altogether moves listeners through a kaleidoscope of 20th and 21st-century jazz, popular music, and more. Taperebá is many things: a collection of works by legends past and present, a celebration of rich and diverse styles, and a group of friends making beautiful music together. However one connects with the music most, Taperebá is an experience not to be missed.

Star pianist and acclaimed composer Joel Lyssarides releases new album. "Joel's compositions are small masterpieces that he performs with a virtuosity and timing I haven't heard in Sweden for a long time, if ever" wrote Johan Norberg about pianist Joel Lyssarides' debut album, "Dreamer", which now has over 2.5 million streams on Spotify. The sequel, "A Better Place", is a conversation with Esbjörn Svensson, Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett with inspiration from Bach and Rachmaninov. "The creative process of this album was very different from my previous one, where I could pick and choose from songs that I had had years to complete. This time the music was created during mere hours over the course of a few evenings. There is a magic in the moment when improvising that I’ve found difficult to recreate afterwards. ”A Better Place” consists mostly of written down improvisations and then recorded with the trio without further processing. I think one tends to make better musical decisions on the spot, instead of at the desk where time is unlimited.”

Reverso is a transatlantic group of outstanding improvisers, equally at home in both jazz and classical music. 'The Melodic Line', the group's second album, is set against the backdrop of Paris in the Années Folles and is inspired by the aesthetic of the composers of the Groupe des Six (Poulenc, Milhaud, Honegger, Auric, Tailleferre and Durey). Jean Cocteau said that the only common point between these composers, apart from their friendship, was their 'salvation of melodic line'. Frank Woeste, co-leader and composer of the group, has developed, in the course of his albums and tours, a unique language that makes him an unclassifiable and polymorphous artist, a sideman with prestigious musicians but also a producer. Vincent Courtois, a stunning cellist, is as comfortable in the classical repertory as in free improvisations or indeed in chanson. Ryan Keberle, the trio's other co-leader and composer, is one of today's key trombonists on the New York scene, whether with his group 'Catharsis' or with Maria Schneider and Dave Douglas. All three pursue, with new points of reference, the same ambition, to 'take music lovers out of their compartments and tune them to an unclassifiable "elsewhere", impossible to label, where a certain French elegance meets American energy' (Le Télégramme).

Caprice presents the highly anticipated re-release of Rena Rama's live album from the Stockholm jazz club Fasching in 1975. Formed in 1971, Swedish jazz band Rena Rama was noted for mixing jazz, unusual time signatures, and African and Asian folk themes. It's original lineup included Lennart Aberg, Bobo Stenson, Palle Danielsson, and Bengt Berger. Stenson and Aberg had previously worked with Red Mitchell, and Danielsson with Steve Kuhn. Berger had previously studied percussion in India. Stenson had already recorded his first trio LP. This production features Leroy Lowe on drums.

Swedish jazz pianist Emil Ingmar presents his newest release, Karlavagnen. Emil Ingmar is a pianist, composer, and freelance musician who lives in Uppsala, Sweden. A former piano student at KMH, he is the Chairman of the Uppsala Jazz Club and organizer of the Live Jazz Bar at Uplands Nation and the Jazz Corner at UKK. He is also active in Orphei Drangar as a singer and accompanist. Ingmar is joined for these twelve original tracks by an all-star lineup of musicians, including Fredrik Jonsson, Calle Rasmusson, Jonas Knutsson, and more.

This release is the second in a series of three albums presenting Jazzpar winners, a prestigious Danish jazz award. Roy Haynes is a living legend and is considered one of the most influential drummers in jazz ever. He has played with Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Chick Corea and Michel Petrucciani. Just about all of the greatest in jazz. Roy Haynes is known for his very personal style, as a drummer and in fashion being both elegant and cutting edge in everything he does. A true master and artist in his own right. This all-star group featuring Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen plays both beautiful ballads and jazz in honor of Roy Haynes great achievements as drummer, bandleader and African American jazz icon.