American conductor and composer who straddled the divide between serious classical music and 'show bizz'.

A Telecaster, saxophone, bass and drums is all that is needed to bring the brand new songs of guitarist Marcus Klossek to sound! Marcus Klossek is an established member of Berlins jazz scene who knows how to get to the point with his Electric Trio. His new album "Taken From The Skies", this time strenghend by the saxophone of Finn Wiesner, is inviting and open, energetic and cool. A sound-set Heist-Movie, it describes the planning, preparation and performance of the musical coup.

Debut album from modern jazz pianist, Ai Kuwabara, and her trio, The Project. The music blends contemporary jazz with elements of rock and fusion.

The Pinnacle Boys were one of the great Knoxville bands in the '70s that were considered among the best in the current bluegrass crop.

It has been said by some that bluegrass is not bluegrass when it’s all dressed up. We have to disagree, since the Osborne Brothers with strings is just that, and it’s just fine. Their beautiful yet simple sound is complimented by a suit of strings. Sometimes wild, sometimes smooth, and always interesting, this album all adds up to bluegrass magic.

Though Merle Travis is known for his brilliant songwriting and fine singing, it is still his guitar playing that remains his most enduring contribution to American music. The syncopated ring of his signature fingerpicking style has gone far beyond the Kentucky coal country where he first heard it as a boy. His earliest recordings were much like the ones included on this album, simple solo acoustic instrumentals later termed, “Travis Pickin’”. It is with an acoustic guitar that the essence of Travis Pickin’ can best be appreciated. Unamplified and unaccompanied in the way Merle first heard the technique played. Every bit of music comes from the hands, the guitar, and the soul of the master, Merle Travis.

Gilbert O’Sullivan’s unique blend of melodic craftsmanship, witty wordplay, topical acuity and surrealist humour has given him an enduring and endearing career. His songwriting knack has outlived and transcended fashion, global million-sellers, critical acclaim, court cases and an occasional tendency to reclusiveness. Now recognised as one of our great singer-songwriters, he’s been championed in recent years by everyone from Morrissey to Paul Weller, from Difford & Tilbrook to Neil Diamond. There’s a case for him being our own Randy Newman or Harry Nilsson. Certainly Ethan Johns (Ryan Adams, Laura Marling, Kings of Leon, Ray LaMontagne and Paul McCartney), who produces his new album Gilbert O’Sullivan, is a clued-up enthusiast. “I’ve been a fan of Gilbert’s for years,” he says. “He’s a true original.”

One of the final Italian doo wop groups to make a wave in the early '60s, the Duprees were in some senses not a rock & roll act at all. They relied on updates of pre-rock pop standards for most of their material, dressed up in classy big band arrangements. Their New Jersey street-corner roots were still audible in their doo wop harmonies, giving their treatments of moldy oldies enough of a contemporary flavor to compete in the rock and pop marketplace.

Lightsleeper bursts with melody and the trademark euphoric flips that are the Finn family trademarks. When Neil's iconic pop sensibility meets Liam's lo-fi atmospherics, it's produces a feeling of intimacy and awe that makes it easy to wonder why the dynamic father and son duo haven't written together sooner. The simple Finn family ethos of making music with friends and family continues right through to the personnel recruited for the album.