Non, décidément, enregistrer un hommage à George Gershwin ne se résume pas au choix de quelques standards célèbres relus comme à la parade par de bons musiciens. Il y faut, plus encore qu’avec n’importe quel autre répertoire, une compréhension intime de la richesse harmonique, une conscience de l’histoire — comment faire du neuf avec du jamais vieux — et ce savoir spécial qui consiste à éviter tous les clichés jazzistiques tout en s’inscrivant dans une tradition. Trois qualités distinctives que cultivent, depuis déjà plus d’une décennie, le clarinettiste Jean-Marc Foltz et le pianiste Stéphane Oliva. Ils avaient auparavant fréquenté l’ombre intimidante de Giacinto Scelsi, l’un des plus passionnants créateurs de musique contemporaine (Soffio di Scelsi, 2007), revisité en voyageurs engagés le grand répertoire classique pour clarinette et piano (Visions fugitives, 2011) ou plus récemment relu le mythe de Pandore (Pandore, 2016).

This album connects with me from any number of angles. There’s the project theme: Trombonist Andy Clausen put together the multi-media project Shutter as a way to present the imagery of his travels from 2012 through 2013. How he captures those images is four-fold. First, he views them personally. This is something we, as listeners, can only experience indirectly through later stages of the process. Second, he takes a photo of the scene with an old-school a 1970s Nikkormat FT 35mm camera.

Stereo 24/96 version of Meddle hidden on the Early Years box set.The Early Years 1965 - 1972 is a comprehensive 27-disc boxset that sees Pink Floyd delve into their vast music archive to produce a deluxe package that includes 7 individual book-style volumes, featuring much previously unreleased material. The Early Years box set contains unreleased tracks, BBC Radio Sessions, remixes, outtakes and alternative versions over an incredible 11 hours, 45 mins of audio (made up of 130+ tracks) and live and TV performance in over 14 hours of audio-visual material.

While David Linx's name may not be writ large here in the States, the fifty-one year-old singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist is a mega-star in his native Belgium, and in 2005 was named Best Jazz Musician in Europe, which covers a whole lot of territory. On Brel, Linx sings music composed by his Belgian forerunner, the late and legendary Jacques Brel, accompanied by the world-class Brussels Jazz Orchestra (whose personnel are not listed on the bare-bones promotional copy save for saxophonist / music director Frank Vaganee).

American soprano Renee Fleming's first-ever holiday album celebrates the beloved and iconic Christmas season in New York City. From the holiday windows lining 5th Avenue to the red and green-lit spire of the Empire State Building, the essence of the city at the most wonderful time of year is captured on Christmas in New York. Pop, Broadway and jazz greats Chris Botti, Kurt Elling, Wynton Marsalis, Brad Mehldau, Kelli O Hara, Gregory Porter and Rufus Wainwright join Renée as she lends her sublime voice to hits like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Silver Bells and other gems, including Central Park Serenade a brand new duet by songwriting legend Diane Warren.

Born in 1986, Gen Yokosaka began to play the cello at the age 4 and studied with Katsuro Washio and Hakuro Mori at the Toho School of Music as well as taking further lessons with David Geringas and Jian Wang at the Ishikawa Music Academy. Gen quickly became known as the most promising cellist of his generation in his native Japan after being awarded the top prize in the string section of the All Japan Classical Music Competition at 12 years old. He went on to win numerous competitions including, at 15, the 2002 Viva Hall Cello Competition in 2002 of which he is the youngest ever winner.

On October 28, Firehouse 12 Records will release Enter the PlusTet, an inspired reimagining of the creative orchestra tradition from composer and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum. The album demonstrates a large scale model where discipline and freedom, noise and beauty, and individual initiative and ensemble responsibility all fruitfully coexist.

Back in 1997 when Introducing Jim Rotondi announced that a major new trumpeter star was on the ascent, few could have predicted how important and prolific Rotondi would become to the mainstream landscape. A foremost stylist in the lineage of Freddie Hubbard and Wood Shaw, Rotondi quickly proved he had absorbed the legacy, only to jettison imitation in favor of innovation. Working regularly with his own groups and the hard bop ensemble One For All, Rotondi was a major force in New York before heading to Austria to teach in 2008.