After one bad experience with a talentless hack here in the States I have been concerned about my due diligence when it comes to presenting you with the finest in jazz. When I saw the names David Binney, Scott Coley and Clarence Penn then I knew for sure Francesco Cataldo and his latest release Spaces would be as good as anything major labels are putting out here in the States. This most appropriately titled release has that three dimensional sonic depth of field where drummer Clarence Penn puts on a dazzling display of articulated authority and gives a master class in sonic fury on the tune "Siracusa". Pianist Salvatore Bonafede joins in the ensemble interplay with a rhythmic pulse that while slightly abstract adds a delightful layer of texture.

It's almost incongruous to write about Emile Parisien's Original Pimpant, considering the importance of its collective dimension. This is not only about the soprano saxophonist's quartet. Parisien—young prodigy, pupil and proof of the good reputation of France's Marciac jazz school—is not looking for individual recognition here. His is a distinctive approach that's about a collective construction of music; about bringing the purpose of music together, a bit like a theater company writing, staging and performing together.

Zen Thrills is the forty-first studio album by Omar Rodríguez-López as a solo artist, to be released on January 27, 2017. It is his fifteenth release in the album series initiated by Ipecac Recordings, the third of the 2017 series. Three of the songs revisit other tracks from 2013's Unicorn Skeleton Mask which had not been included on 2016's Zapopan, this time with all vocals provided by Teri Gender Bender instead of Omar.

If Wishbone Ash can be considered a group who dabbled in the main strains of early-'70s British rock without ever settling on one (were they a prog rock outfit like Yes, a space rock unit like Pink Floyd, a heavy metal ensemble like Led Zeppelin, or just a boogie band like Ten Years After?), the confusion compounded by their relative facelessness and the generic nature of their compositions, Argus, their third album, was the one on which they looked like they finally were going to forge their own unique amalgamation of all those styles into a sound of their own…

In 2014, from the ashes of the cult band Buttered Bacon Biscuits (BBB), were born the Witchwood which released in 2010 "From the Solitary Woods", distribuited by "Black Widow Records" and positively reviewed by many italian and foreign music magazines and websites. To support that album BBB played in many gigs around Italy, also supporting important bands like Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Bud Spencer Blues Explosion, etc. They also released in 2013 “A National Acrobat” cover for the Black Sabbath tribute “Hands of Doom” for Mag Music Production. After the BBB split, some members of the band, Ricky, Andy, Steve and Sam, have decided, with the entry of new member Luca Celotti on bass, to start a new project, Witchwood…

Congregation was the Afghan Whigs' breakthrough album and has been called the grunge era's most overlooked masterpiece. The album was very well received by critics, and the band achieved a cult following, receiving offers from major record labels. They eventually signed with Elektra Records. Stylistically distinct from other Sub Pop grunge music, the album features songs with themes of pleasure and guilt, dysfunctional relationships and sexual deviancy.

With his lush and sophisticated instrumental approach to pop music, Richard Clayderman is, according to The Guinness Book of World Records, "the most successful pianist in the world." Clayderman's albums routinely sell millions of copies and his concerts are quickly sold out. In a review of his 1985 Carnegie Hall concert, Variety wrote, "(Clayderman's) main appeal lies in his youth and boyish good looks…coupled with his gentlemanly charm and his thick French accent, they promise to rope in the romantically inclined middle-aged Yank ladies who cotton to this ilk of soothing entertainment." Nancy Reagan referred to Clayderman as "the prince of romance." His vast discography of well over 200 albums, released on and licensed to many different labels worldwide, has seen him record everything from light classics to Andrew Lloyd Webber love songs, Bollywood movie soundtracks, and the folk music of Germany, Turkey, and Japan.