Red Vinyl LP pressing. Holiday release from the Matchbox Twenty frontman. The 10-track album includes original songs, covers of Ray Charles' 'That Spirit of Christmas' and Bryan Adams' 'Christmas Time' and duets, with collaborators on the album including Bebe Winans, Robert Randolph, Ingrid Michaelson, Brad Paisley, Forest Blakk & Abby Anderson.
Sometime in 2020 I listened to Canto Ostinato for the first time, and my enthrallment with the piece had begun. I was transfixed by it's particular amalgam of harmony, repetition, and pacing. By the spring of 2023 I had constructed and released my own solo interpretation, and I assumed at that point my working relationship with the composition had run it's course. But I underestimated it's magnetism. The following year I was back in it's grips, having been invited by Metropolis Ensemble's Andrew Cyr to expand on the foundation I had laid with the piece. Soon I was in Brooklyn, on a team of six with Cyr and the members of Sandbox Percussion, humbled and thrilled to be helping architect a brand new large ensemble arrangement of Canto Ostinato for a summer solstice performance at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. We did so, our cohort growing to include the students of The New School's Sandbox Percussion Summer Seminar, as well as composers David Leon, Ben Wallace, and Ledah Finck and the Bergamot Quartet. It was a day we will all remember-sweeping, dreamlike, and what felt like a quintessential culmination. But even then... The piece still beckoned, and it became clear this new orchestration called for the embarkment on a studio album. A permanent document of our now collective ardor. Refined over a year and recorded in New York, 2025, this performance recasts the piece anew in a towering framework of mallet percussion, woodwinds, strings, and piano. It is our truest attempt at conveying Canto's beauty and magnitude in all it's kaleidoscopic harmony, dynamism, tension, and release. I stand once again in awe of Simeon ten Holt's monumental creation; to be a thread in it's sonic fabric is one of the great honors of my musical life. I don't assume we might be so fortunate again... but who knows.
With "Collateral Flow," Leipzig-based pianist Clemens Christian Poetzsch and German guitarist, percussionist, and composer Reentko Dirks present their first joint album for piano and guitar. This unique work combines the romantic and melancholic elements of Poetzsch's sensitive piano melodies with Dirks' romantic and soothing guitar sounds to create a captivating musical journey."La Bicicleta Roja" opens the collection as a heartfelt homage to the unforgettable moment of learning to ride a bike, symbolizing the transition from security to independence. "Tidewater" unfolds as a dialogue between the artists, comparable to the repetitive waves rolling comfortingly onto the beach, an image of movement and transformation."Pendulum" interweaves with the visual narrative of an abandoned house and the inevitable passage of time. The gentle tones of "Riverine" reflect the tranquillity of a morning riverbank, while "Kleines Silber" celebrates the harmonious fusion of piano and guitar."Reflexion" becomes a canvas for emotional and creative expressions, while "Veer" reaches a fascinating dimension with it's unique sound experiment between prepared guitar and piano."Collateral Flow" is an invitation to immerse yourself in the beauty of sound and emotion. Immerse yourself in this musical masterpiece
The internationally acclaimed 12 Ensemble return with their third studio album Metamorphosis, recorded at the iconic Abbey Rd studios. From the divine nature of transformation to alien visions of new worlds and rebirth, the conductor-less 12 Ensemble explore Renaissance hymn reborn as futuristic prayer, ancient Japanese ritual, otherworldly operatic arias and a monumental elegy that sees the ensemble harness it's biggest forces to date. This deluxe double-vinyl package has been created in collaboration with celebrated Art Director Ben Ditto, featuring photography by Greta Ilieva. Recorded in London's Abbey Road Studio 2, this high-quality edition is pressed in France from a bespoke lacquer cut by Cicely Balston. Presented in a double gatefold package with gold-foil embossing and UV gloss to the front cover, the record includes a foreword by author Charlie Fox and liner notes by Hugh Morris. The luxury 300g cover contains two slide-out double-sided record sleeves featuring further artwork from the series, and a double-sided foldout poster on 150g fine-art paper.
The entire project is both spare and impossibly lush. While this may sound like a contradiction, it has everything to do with the virtuosic musicianship of pianist Art Hirahara and Jim Tomlinson, as well as Stacey's elegant and unadorned vocal approach. The opening track, Lucky To Be Me, works as an invitation to the theme of the album and uses the open space between vocal phrases to draw us in. And, while all of the tracks are worth an unadulterated listen, I'm going to list a few of my favorites, starting with La Javanaise, which is delivered with an almost offhanded musical precision and sung in Stacey's pitch-perfect French. The surprising warmth of Stacey's lower vocal range makes A Time For Love the intimate ballad it was meant to be. Jim's tenor sax does the same, so that his playing is the ideal complement to Stacey's voice. The entire album is a joy to listen to both musically and sonically. It was lovingly recorded and mixed by Jim (yet another of his talents) at their home studio in Virginia. - Cliff Goldmacher Stacey Kent is an American jazz singer in the mould of the greats, with a legion of fans, a host of honors and awards including a Grammy® nomination, album sales in excess of 2 million and more than one billion streams, and Platinum, Double-Gold, and Gold-selling albums that have reached a series of chart-topping positions. Stacey, a comparative literature graduate with a passion for music, travelled to Europe to further her studies after receiving her degree from Sarah Lawrence College in NY. Through a series of twists of fate, she found herself in London, where she enrolled in a graduate music program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she met her future husband and musical partner, Jim Tomlinson. Kent's musical journey began with childhood piano lessons. A keen ear and true voice led her to search out opportunities to express her love of music. However, nothing suggested the shift from the academic path to the one that propelled her to international recognition as one of the foremost jazz singers of her generation. With a catalogue of 13 studio albums, including the Platinum-selling, Grammy®-nominated Breakfast On The Morning Tram (Blue Note/EMI 2007) and an impressive list of collaborations, Stacey has graced the stages of nearly 60 countries over the course of her career. Her worldwide fan base is testimony to her ability to express the emotional heart of her songs with delicately nuanced interpretations that transcend borders and defy categorization. Her unique multi-lingual repertoire includes standards, chanson, Bossa Nova, and originals written by Jim Tomlinson, her saxophonist/producer/composer/arranger husband, in collaboration with the Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro, with whom they have worked since 2006. She has also recorded with Brazilian legends Marcos Valle, Roberto Menescal, and Danilo Caymmi, and the celebrated French string quartet, the Quatuor Ébène. Stacey's last studio album, Summer Me, Winter Me, was released in November 2023 on Naïve Records. A collection of fans' requests from her as-yet unrecorded concert repertoire, Summer Me, Winter Me entered the French jazz charts at number 1 and has quickly established itself as a new highlight in her discography. She now returns with A Time For Love, set to appear on April 3rd, 2026.
One of the more defining features of Blues upstarts GA-20's approach to traditional Blues music is their unwavering dedication to playing the songs they love, or as bandleader Matthew Stubbs puts it, "we play the music we would want to hear." Those in the know have been captivated by the visceral energy the band brings to the heavy Blues arena, and the songs they choose to perform. With ORPHANS, the band has assembled a collection of Blues and Blues- adjacent tracks that fit handily within that parameter. The songs found on ORPHANS are just that - singular tunes heard only at live shows, singles released between albums, and simple favorites that the band (Stubbs, Cody Nilsen & Josh Kiggans) have been itching to lay down. And just as Blues is a tradition of borrowing, sharing and transformation, these melodies and words are similarly reinterpreted and reimagined, orphans and strays lovingly adopted and given new breath. The fan demand for a proper full length release of these songs, along with the mandate to showcase Nilsen's vocals and auxiliary guitar mastery, are realized here in physical form.
In the fall of 2021, Simeon ten Holt's "Canto Ostinato" was reborn in a 'solo version for seven keyboards'. During the weeks leading up to the birth of his son Lark, Erik Hall moved methodically among the instruments in his recording studio, conducting a multi-track conversation with himself and the piece's score. Ten Holt composed "Canto Ostinato" between 1976 and 1979. The rhythmic motif (ostinato) repeated over it's entire length has a limited number of printed notes. It is up to the performers how to play them, for how long, where to place accents, etc. In the score, the composer calls on musicians to interact and evaluate, to fuse sounds and colors into one cohesive musical universe. Then a cosmos is created. You can get lost in that. You want to get lost in that, like in the original live recording with four pianos. "That performance is deeply compelling, almost otherworldly," says Hall. He has always been drawn to music that is based on repetition, harmonically rich, and tonal. He previously added a groundbreaking dimension to Steve Reich's 1976 minimal masterpiece "Music for 18 Musicians", and- as again now with 'Canto'- his motivation is the love of the music itself. "When I first heard the piece, I was captivated." Then the plan emerged to undergo the same focused practice as before. He stacked seven total layers of his 1962 Hammond M-101 organ, a 1910 Steinway grand piano, and a 1978 Rhodes electric piano, each performance informed by those that preceded it. Erik Hall's "Canto Ostinato" lasts for one hour, and from the sheer joy of playing this wondrous composition emerges an elegantly meandering journey. In it, music rises above itself, higher and higher, like a lark jubilating freedom in the sky.
The gala evening at the Paris Opera on December 19, 1958 was announced in the press as "the greatest show in the world". Maria Callas, at the height of her glory, performed for the first time in front of a Parisian audience. The diva delivered all the facets of her art through the Italian classics that she loved, with the theatrical genius that is proper to her. Paris gave her a triumphant evening! The original recording of this evening, broadcast in Eurovision throughout Europe, has been newly restored with the greatest care. Presentation by Benoit Duteurtre, novelist, essayist and music critic. Excerpts from Norma by Bellini Excerpts from Il Trovatore by Verdi Excerpts from Il Barbiere di Seviglia by Rossini Complete second act of Tosca by Puccini
Luis Berra is a pianist and composer with roots in Nicaragua, Argentina, and Italy, which makes his music bridging cultures. The album A Piano Won't Fix Your Tormented Soul presents a refined mix of neoclassical piano, jazz influences, and cinematic depth, where Berra's compositions embody timeless elegance with improvisational spontaneity.
Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Song For My Father is pianist Horace Silver's crowning jewel in a catalog filled with hard bop classics. Captures 2 tracks from a session w/ previous quintet (Blue Mitchell/Junior Cook/Gene Taylor/Roy Brooks) and 4 more cuts yielded from a session w/ new band (Carmell Jones/ Joe Henderson/Teddy Smith/Roger Humphries). His signature tune is a dedication to his father inspired partly by his Cape Verdean heritage. The Blue Note Classic Vinyl Series is 180g all-analog, mastered from original tapes.
The 20th century produced no shortage of legendary instrumentalists and vocalists but Louis Armstrong is the only figure who completely changed the way people played music on their instruments and he completely changed the way people sang. Perfecting the concept of the improvised solo, popularizing the use of scat singing, defining the concept of swing - those are just some of the ways "Satchmo" changed jazz, and American popular music - during his lifetime. The Paramount Recordings is a historic 14-track collection of studio sessions the consummate entertainer tracked between 1923 and 1925, recorded at the time for the Paramount label and featuring King Oliver's Jazz Band, Ma Rainey, Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra, Trixie Smith, Wesley Wilson and Coot Grant. Audio remastered for vinyl and pressed at Pallas Group in Germany. Includes insert with liner notes.
A must-have for all sci-fi fans, this double vinyl includes the best tracks of Galaxymphony I & II, a symphonic space journey. Travel the universe with the best tracks from Apollo 13, Avatar, Blade Runner, Gravity, Interstellar, Star Trek, Star Wars, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Mandalorian.
Helen Humes - "Songs I Like To Sing! (Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds Series)" / Jazz vocalist Helen Humes' second album on Contemporary Records, "Songs I Like to Sing!" was released in 1961 and is conducted by Marty Paich. Backed by musicians including Art Pepper (sax), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), Shelly Manne (drums), Barney Kessel (guitar) and Andre Previn (piano). This new edition released as part of the Acoustic Sounds Series, features (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Bernie Grundman and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at QRP, and presented in a tip-on jacket.
Flore Benguigui & The Sensible Notes / With i-330, Flore Benguigui delivers a manifesto of artistic and feminine emancipation. While the album's title draws it's inspiration from Yevgeny Zamyatin's dystopian novel We, the music itself dissolves the boundaries of time: between 1930s swing and electronic textures, jazz and pop are joyfully reinvented with playful elegance. Recorded live at Studio Pigalle, i-330 breathes spontaneity, warmth and shared joy, carried by a predominantly female collective - The Sensible Notes. Together, they breathe new life into hidden gems by Nat King Cole and Margo Guryan, as well as treasures from French chanson, blending gentleness, boldness and luminous melancholy. More than a record, i-330 is a vibrant refuge - a poetic, timeless space where jazz, free and sensitive, rediscovers it's liberating power.
Vinyl LP pressing. Trumpeter Donald Byrd and baritone saxophonist Pepper Adams had a formidable partnership throughout the early 1960s, making a series of highly regarded hard bop albums. Yet somehow this masterful quintet session from April 1961 (which also features Herbie Hancock, sounding exceptionally fine on his very first Blue Note recording session) remained unreleased for nearly 20 years. Of particular note are Herbie's playing on "Great God" and the sophisticated excellence the entire ensemble brings.
JUST FOR ONE DAY: THE LIVE AID MUSICAL - (Original Cast Recording) Double Vinyl - 40 years on, discover the story of Live Aid in a whole new way with "JUST FOR ONE DAY - The Live Aid Musical". Now a stage musical for London's West End and an Original Cast Recording with 30 tracks from the show available on double CD and double Vinyl.
Acclaimed guitarist Craig Brann joins forces with tenor saxophone virtuoso Greg Tardy for an electrifying new release on SteepleChase. This album showcases Brann’s signature melodic storytelling and Tardy’s expressive phrasing, creating a dynamic interplay between guitar and saxophone that is both adventurous and deeply rooted in jazz tradition.
“As a guitarist, Brann continually reshapes his sound… When a musician has the capacity to do just about anything, the choices he makes are critical. Here, Brann and his quintet never put a foot wrong." (Mark Corroto – All About Jazz on SCCD 31847 Lineage)
Our Savings, the first LP from Chicago trio ZRL, brings together classical frameworks and sonic explorations, sliding from acoustic ambience to cacophonous clatter to quietly virtuosic displays of musical invention. ZRL recorded the album during a residency at Edgar Miller's Glasner Studio in Chicago. Like Miller, ZRL works without sketches, synthesizing a broad array of creative lineages and approaches. Together, the trio's instruments wash, crash, sprint, glide and divide, darting around and between each other, like they're playing hide-and-seek. Between "Daylight Savings" and "Remarkable Savings," Good moves between soft drones and piercing, frenetic octaval hurdles, recalling ice cream trucks and baseball cards in bicycle spokes. Meanwhile, "Our Savings" conjures Arthur Russell's Tower of Meaning presented by an outer space ensemble; as Packard's electronics collide with his bandmates' chordal drones, Kohl's bowing quickens and disintegrates, like a rocket on reentry." "1. Daylight Savings 2. Remarkable Savings 3. Our Savings 4. Hardly Slept 5. ATM 6. Butterish 7. Recent Ornithology 8. Telling The Difference Between Us
A high-grade transfer to LP for a 2018 album of popular songs in delightful transcriptions by Toru Takemitsu (1930-1996), and played by an Italian guitarist who has made a speciality of this repertoire. 'My music is like a garden, and I am the gardener. Listening to my music can be compared to walking through a garden and experiencing the changes in light, pattern, and texture.' Widely considered to be the greatest composer in the classical music tradition in modern Japan, Toru Takemitsu merged Japanese and Western instruments and techniques to create a unique sound world. During the post-war years, in his youth, Takemitsu came into contact with Western music through radio broadcasts the American occupying forces - not only jazz, but especially classical music by Debussy and Schoenberg. 'Every afternoon they broadcast three hours, of beautiful classical music - Bruno Walter, Toscanini, or Paul Whiteman from the Hollywood Bowl. I listened to radio every day. My first teacher was the radio.' Takemitsu found a meeting place between pop and classical music in his scores for almost a hundred Japanese films such as Kurosawa's acclaimed Ran. The guitar also took a starring role in several of in concert works, such as the concerto To the Edge of Dream, and solo pieces such as Towards the Sea. But these transcriptions belong to a lighter genre, and make an affectionate homage to songwriters from George and Ira Gershwin to Lennon and McCartney. Londonderry Air, Over the Rainbow and The Internationale will not be found together on very many song albums, but Takemitsu's taste was as broad as his sensibility was refined. Amours perdues is a classic example of the postwar French chanson, by Joseph Kosma, while What a Friend (we have in Jesus) is a revivalist hymn from 1850s America. Andrea Dieci has recorded Takemitsu's 'own' concert music for the guitar more than once, lending his performance of these transcriptions a particular authority.
