For a mild-mannered man whose music was always easy on the ear, Nat King Cole managed to be a figure of considerable controversy during his 30 years as a professional musician. From the late '40s to the mid-'60s, he was a massively successful pop singer who ranked with such contemporaries as Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin. He shared with those peers a career that encompassed hit records, international touring, radio and television shows, and appearances in films. But unlike them, he had not emerged from a background as a band singer in the swing era. Instead, he had spent a decade as a celebrated jazz pianist, leading his own small group. Oddly, that was one source of controversy.

Django Reinhardt was the first hugely influential jazz figure to emerge from Europe and he remains the most influential European to this day, with possible competition from Joe Zawinul, George Shearing, John McLaughlin, his old cohort Stephane Grappelli and a bare handful of others. A free-spirited gypsy, Reinhardt wasn't the most reliable person in the world, frequently wandering off into the countryside on a whim. Yet Reinhardt came up with a unique way of propelling the humble acoustic guitar into the front line of a jazz combo in the days before amplification became widespread.

'….We tackled the challenge of performing and recording without a conductor. Of course, when I otherwise perform this concerto with a conductor, I intensely learn and think through the orchestra part in my head. It is a challenge I am aware of, and I thus probably would never have had dared to perform this concerto without a conductor. But since I’ve often performed the Beethoven Concerto with the Camerata Bern without a conductor, I started thinking that the Brahms Concerto just might work as well.

Having sold more than 100 million records over the past quarter of a century, Billy Joel ranks as one of most popular recording artists and respected entertainers in the world. In the US he has had 33 Top 40 hits and 23 Grammy nominations since signing his first solo recording contract in 1972. In the UK he has had 14 top 40 hits including the number one hit “Uptown Girl” as well as the original version of “She’s Always a Woman”. In addition to his multiple awards, including Grammys and American Music Awards, his contribution to the industry saw him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2005 he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Piano Man brings all of Billy Joel’s best loved hits together on one disc.

ALEXANDER ALYABYEV – A Russian Schubert? „…In 1812, at age 25, Alyabyev enrolled in the Russian deployment army. As a cavalry officer he took part in campaigns against Napoleon that took him all the way to Paris; he was badly wounded in the arm and transferred to the National Guard, where he became one of its best officers. Alyabyev had made himself a name in music salons as a composer of romanzas and brief pieces for piano prior to the Napoleonic War.

First came the Parisian jam sessions, then the shared bands… All these experiences led to the same conclusion: an exceptional musical understanding. It was only natural that, a few years later, Grégory Privat (from Martinique) and Sonny Troupé (from Guadeloupe) decided to work on an original concept uniting piano and ka drum. The title tells all, two instruments lead the concert: piano and ka, nothing else! A high-speed chase emitting a bright light. A wordless exchange/interchange. The languages of ka and piano intertwine, impossible to tell which one is following the other, both responding to the other, the sonorities of jazz and gwo ka (traditional percussion from Guadeloupe) interlocking.

Violinist Augustin Hadelich and pianist Joyce Yang, two of the most esteemed artists of their generation, pair for a program that mirrors their many acclaimed joint recital appearances, with works by Franck, Kurtág, Previn and Schumann.

Florence, 1600: Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri, two virtuoso singers and rival composers. Striving to rediscover the expressive powers of ancient Greek tragedy, they revolutionized the art of singing and created a new style, which eventually would give birth to opera. In reaction to Renaissance polyphony, these monodies were intended to be sung with the simple accompaniment of a plucked instrument in order to express the full range of human passions. Peri and Caccini would often accompany themselves but they would also perform with certain family members. Thus brother and sister in this duo follow most naurally a tradition passed on by those great musicians.

Entertainment! is one of those records where germs of influence can be traced through many genres and countless bands, both favorably and unfavorably. From groups whose awareness of genealogy spreads wide enough to openly acknowledge Gang of Four's influence (Fugazi, Rage Against the Machine), to those not in touch with their ancestry enough to realize it (rap-metal, some indie rock) all have appropriated elements of their forefathers' trailblazing contribution. Its vaguely funky rhythmic twitch, its pungent, pointillistic guitar stoccados, and its spoken/shouted vocals have all been picked up by many.

„What we are about to hear is not a performance by conceptual artists who have decided to set a discarded Bechstein or Blüthner on fire – no, we are going to hear piano pieces by Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya.“ The words of the renowned Dutch music critic quoted above offer a precise, vivid description of the musical output of one of the most enigmatic composers of our time.

In 2017, the musical term 'electronic' is nearly obsolete given the ubiquity of computerized processes in producing music. Even so, the prevailing assumption is that musicians working under this broad umbrella must be inspired by concepts equally as electrified as their equipment. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has demonstrated in her still-blooming discography that this notion couldn't be further from the truth, and that more often than not, rich worlds of synthesized sound are born from deep reverence of the natural world. Smith has embodied such an appreciation on The Kid in as direct and sincere a way as possible by sonically charting the phases of life itself.

The Fly adventure! began a few years ago when three masters in their respective art decided to join forces around a project combining an acoustic piano, a computer and a video projector. At the piano, we have Laurent de Wilde, writer and jazz pianist unanimously recognized; Born from the New York scene and garnering numerous awards, he gradually expanded his professional palette to include books, shows and concerts related to slam, acoustic and electronic music of all genres.

Melodiya presents a disc recorded by young Russian pianist Dmitry Masleev. The musicians name became widely known after his convincing victory at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015 when he received the first prize and a special prize for his performance of a Mozart concerto. Dmitry Masleev was born in Ulan-Ude and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory where he studied under Professor Mikhail Petukhov.

Dinah Washington was at once one of the most beloved and controversial singers of the mid-20th century beloved to her fans, devotees, and fellow singers; controversial to critics who still accuse her of selling out her art to commerce and bad taste. Her principal sin, apparently, was to cultivate a distinctive vocal style that was at home in all kinds of music, be it R&B, blues, jazz, middle of the road pop and she probably would have made a fine gospel or country singer had she the time. Hers was a gritty, salty, high-pitched voice, marked by absolute clarity of diction and clipped, bluesy phrasing. Washington's personal life was turbulent, with seven marriages behind her, and her interpretations showed it, for she displayed a tough, totally unsentimental, yet still gripping hold on the universal subject of lost love. She has had a huge influence on R&B and jazz singers who have followed in her wake, notably Nancy Wilson, Esther Phillips, and Diane Schuur.

Charles Aznavour is perhaps the best-known French music hall entertainer in the world renowned the world over for the bittersweet love songs he has written and sung, which seem to embody the essence of French popular song, and also for his appearances on screen in such wildly divergent fare as Shoot the Piano Player, Candy, and The Tin Drum. His status as the quintessential French popular culture icon is something of an irony for a man who identifies himself most closely with his Armenian heritage.