Ethiopian vibraphonist and percussionist Mulatu Astatke has spent most of his 70 years mixing Ethiopian musical traditions with jazz. 'Some of the music is meant to be danced to, some to be listened to. Astatke's UK links go back to student days, and this new album brings together British and Ethiopian instrumentalists and singers. Each track 'sketches' a different part of Ethiopia and its traditions, mostly written and arranged by Astatke: composed horn riffs, overlapping in harmony; calls and responses; strong grooves, and mostly simple chords. Horn lines are based on Ethiopian 5-note scales. Astatke: 'It's 5 tones against 12-tone music…How do you combine these two things and keep the color of those modes?' Pentatonic phrases recur hypnotically throughout the album, and when the jazz solos emerge they're all the more striking in contrast. But the emphasis is on the textures of the whole group.

"The Wild Heart" is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks. Recording began in late 1982, shortly after the end of Fleetwood Mac's Mirage Tour. After the death of her best friend, Robin Anderson, and with new appreciation for her life and career, the recording took only a few months and was released on June 10, 1983, a year after Fleetwood Mac's Mirage. It peaked at #5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts (for seven consecutive weeks) and achieved platinum status on September 12, 1983. The album has sold over 2 million copies in the US alone, and has sold approximately 250,000 copies in the US since 1991 according to Nielsen Soundscan.

"Bella Donna" is the debut studio album by American singer, songwriter and Fleetwood Mac vocalist Stevie Nicks. Released on July 27, 1981, the album reached number one on the US Billboard charts in September of that year. Bella Donna was awarded platinum status by the RIAA on October 7, 1981, less than three months after its release, and has since been certified quadruple-platinum. Bella Donna spent nearly three years on the Billboard 200 from July 1981 to June 1984. The album has sold over 6 million copies in the US alone with approximately a million copies since 1991 in the US according to Nielsen Soundscan. It is Nicks' best-selling solo album to date.

It's nearly impossible to single out any of Aretha Franklin's early-'70s albums for Atlantic as being her best, particularly given the breadth of her output during this era. In terms of albums rather than singles, it's probably her strongest era, and if you count live albums like Amazing Grace, choosing a standout or a favorite record isn't any easier. Yet of this stunning era, Young, Gifted and Black certainly ranks highly among her studio efforts, with many arguing that it may be her greatest. The album is Top 10 Gold-certified. The album won Aretha a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance of the year.

The hybrid musical organism known as IKARUS returns with a prismatic cipher of a new long-player, entitled Chronosome . The title is a play on two ideas that informed this sophomore meditation on sound: chromosome (organized package of DNA) and Chronos (the personification of time).

Après le succès de son album In Extremis et une tournée 2015-2016 qui s’est jouée à guichets fermés, Francis Cabrel livre ce témoignage live dans cet In Extremis Tour, alliage parfait entre compositions récentes (Dur comme fer, Partis pour rester) et grands classiques (Encore et encore, L’Encre de tes yeux). Voilà surtout 27 titres pour rappeler que la scène est le territoire de prédilection de l’Agenais. Le contexte qui lui permet de rendre encore plus vivantes des chansons déjà gorgées d’humanité. Quarante ans après ses débuts, Cabrel prouve que son art épuré et sans artifice traverse joliment les décennies et les modes. Cette fameuse intemporalité !

As in the successful volumes 1-3 this is a very exciting recording, featuring the bassoon as you never heard before! The 54th release in the Vivaldi Edition features a selection of the finest works for bassoon ever composed, regardless of the instrument, this is a complete view of Vivaldi’s universe, performed by a true genius of baroque music. With each CD Azzolini proves himself to be an artist of endless immagination and virtuosity. With each new recording he surpasses the one before.

Varied as it is, the music of Francis Cabrel never strays far from his basic songwriting tools: the acoustic guitar and gentle reflections on life. His clear voice and clean guitar are ever the focus of his songs. Around this core he weaves contemporary folk, blues rock, French pop, smooth jazz, and even classical sounds. His lyrics have received much attention among French-speaking audiences and critics, and his albums sell well in those circles.

Recorded in 1965 but not released until 1980, Et Cetera holds its own against the flurry of albums Wayne Shorter released during the mid-‘60s, a time when he was at the peak of his powers.