Finnforest were formed in the mid-70's by Finnish brothers Pekka (guitar, bass) and Jussi Tegelman (drums) with synthesizer and keyboard player Jukka Rissanen. Mostly influenced by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, their style also evokes early Camel, Finch and Caravan. Their music is characterized by energetic and spirited guitar/organ interplay, interesting compositions and very good vintage 70's jamming overall. Their eponymous album, released in 1975, is perhaps their most Mahavishnu influenced, with Rissanen sticking largely to his Hammond organ and using his synths sparingly, to mostly good effect. "Latho Matkalle" (1976), considered their best effort, boasts the contribution of two extra keyboard players, an additional bassist and a string quartet. You'll sense both a Mahavishnu and Weather Report influence on this one, which contains some mighty fine guitar work as well as some very good compositions.

Although a little slim at 45 minutes, Verve's compilation of 11 romantic titles recorded by Dinah Washington includes some of her finest material. Concentrating on the mid- to late '50s, Dinah Washington for Lovers surveys the years when she finally bloomed as a popular purveyor of adult vocal jazz. Surprisingly, it doesn't include the most popular ballad of her career, "What a Diff'rence a Day Made," but Washington had a certain way with standards that never fails to delight; no other vocal interpreter can make listeners contemplate lyrics anew even after they've heard it enough times to memorize. While most of the selections here feature the rosy strings and orchestra that Washington preferred late in her career, a pair of mellow ballads ("Darn That Dream" and "Crazy He Calls Me") come from a very different type of recording, her 1954 jam session landmark, Dinah Jams.