One of the supreme musical geniuses and most loved composers of all time, Mozart wrote prolifically and excelled in every genre to which he turned his hand. His symphonies are among his greatest achievements, a consummate blend of dazzling invention and tender lyricism. Karl Böhm was one of the first conductors to set down on record his complete Mozart symphony cycle. His emphasis on rhythmic, textural and structural clarity are hallmarks of a Mozart style unaffected by fashion. Now Deutsche Grammophon collects his recordings with the Berliner Philharmoniker of the Mozart Symphonies.

After completing their 2010 LP, Blue Sky, Raging Sun (Joyful Noise Recordings), the members of Berry dispersed from Chicago, spreading across the country from Arizona to New York City. Meeting weekly by phone and yearly in person for a sort of shared “musical vacation,” Berry has never stopped pursuing the unique musical vision that has bound them together for more than fifteen years.

For over a decade, The World's Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings has served as an Audiophile must-have. Whether used to test out a new piece of hardware, or simply to sit back and enjoy, the album has been an enjoyable tool for many. It's time for a 2018 update of the material to this same premise. The World's Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings Vol. II features some of the most stunning and haunting vocal performances the label has produced during its thirty plus year tenure.

Frank Owens as a musical director, he has worked throughout the course of his career for Johnny Mathis, Chubby Checker, Melba Moore, Johnny Nash, Connie Francis, John Denver, Irene Cara, Lesley Gore, Freda Payne, Petula Clark and Keith David. Furthermore, he participated in numerous television commercials. In the field of jazz he was involved between 1966 and 2005 in 38 recording sessions.

Michael Lessac's sole long-playing record was produced by John Hammond, and features Paul Motian on the drums, John Castronove on keyboards, Howard Collins on guitar, and Jeff Levine on bass, with Eric Weissberg (guitar) and Tony Glover (harmonica). The sound is elegant, slightly progressive folk, in the manner of Tim Buckley or Eric Andersen, with songs whose titles sometimes play on familiar tracks by other artists, notably Simon & Garfunkel with "My 67th Walk in the Park" and "A Hazy Shade of Red." The singing and playing are pretty enough, and the melodies are attractive and the title is one of the funnier in Columbia's output but Sleep Faster, We Need the Pillow was never memorable enough to attract much attention.

Emiliano Salvador was a true Cuban original, an innovator and a visionary who shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest players. Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Dizzy Gillespie, Branford Marsalis, Jack De Johnette, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Coryell, Bobby McFerrin, Carla Bley, Manhattan Transfer, Jimmy Rowles, Eddie Daniels, Steve Swallow, Jimmy Smith, Bobby Watson & Saxophone Quartet, Sun Ra & His Arkestra, Chico Freeman, Kenny Kirkland, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Ismael Miranda, Milton Nascimento, Nana Vasconcelos, Dave Valentín, Louie Ramírez, Airto Moreira, Chico Buarque, and MPB 4. He will truly be missed, even by those of us who never got to know him personally.

Talk to anyone about Cuban piano players and invariably the name Emiliano Salvador will pop up. Most will agree that Emiliano was in a class by himself. His personality and individualism as a soloist were strong enough to assure immediate recognition, yet he was never obtrusive to the point of using gimmicks. He was a brilliant pianist, composer and arranger, and a seminal figure in the resurgence of Latin jazz, a style that had long ago been given up for dead. A second LP was issued in 1980, titled “Emiliano Salvador 2” which featured “Changuito” Quintana, as well as other notables.

It was his very personal point of view of Cuban music, of Latin jazz once he had drunk all the previous references. He had already tried his luck with the Nueva Trova by musically directing the group that accompanied Pablo Milanés, he had risked the danzones when his daughter Angelica was born, but he wanted much more.

Salvador's 1979 first album included Irakere hornmen D'Rivera, Sandoval and Varona and nueva trova singing star Pablo Milanes. The cuts, and Salvador's piano, move between fine fairly típico-based numbers with jazz soloing, (including a fine version of "Son de la Loma," and more strongly jazz-oriented arrangements. Maybe not a "landmark" album as claimed, but a very satisfying one.