Alpha begins a complete cycle of the symphonies by Sibelius (and of his symphonic poems) with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and its new musical director, Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Originally a percussionist, the 33-year-old trained at the famous Sibelius Academy. His career took off after he stepped in at the last minute to conduct the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the great tradition of Finnish conductors, Santtu-Matias Rouvali is known for his extremely physical and organic interpretations: ‘Music unmistakeably flows from him,’ commented The Sunday Times.

A New Sound… A New Star… is the debut album by American jazz organist Jimmy Smith featuring performances recorded in 1956 and released on the Blue Note label. The album was rereleased on CD combined with Smith's following two LP's A New Sound A New Star: Jimmy Smith at the Organ Volume 2 and The Incredible Jimmy Smith at the Organ.

Africa/Brass is the eighth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released in 1961 on Impulse! Records, catalogue A-6. The sixth release for the fledgling label and Coltrane's first for Impulse!, it features Coltrane's working quartet augmented by a larger ensemble to bring the total number of participating musicians to 21. Its big band sound, with the unusual instrumentation of French horns and euphonium, presented music very different from anything that had been associated with Coltrane to date.

Cal Tjader's era-defining mixture of Afro-Cuban rhythms and mainstream jazz solos undergoes a bit of a horizontal expansion in these 1956 sessions. The tracks are often longer than on previous albums, finally taking advantage of the logistics of the LP, and as a result, both the Latin and jazz elements benefit. Tenor saxophonist Brew Moore gets extended chances to blow in an easy-grooving Getz-like manner on several tracks, and on "I Love Paris," Luis Miranda (congas) and Bayardo Velarde (timbales) engage in some spirited percussion battles over the vamping of the brothers Duran (Manuel on piano and Carlos on bass). Everything cooks in a bright yet disciplined manner, and Tjader's elliptical, swinging vibes preside genially over the ensemble.

Norma Deloris Egstrom known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and performer. During her career, she wrote music for films, acted, and recorded conceptual record albums that combined poetry and music.

Helen Merrill dates are always something special. This set for Metrojazz, which has been reissued as a Verve CD, matches the cool-toned yet inwardly heated singer with an all-star sextet arranged by Quincy Jones and featuring solos by trumpeter Kenny Dorham and either Frank Wess or Jerome Richardson on flute and tenor. The repertoire includes versions of "You Go to My Head" and "Just Squeeze Me" sung in French, a couple of numbers by producer Leonard Feather, Duke Ellington's "The Blues From Black, Brown and Beige," and a haunting rendition of "The Thrill Is Gone."

Well-known Argentinean musician and producer who settled in the U.S. Santaolalla's music career was consolidated while taking part in a 1970's folk-rock act called Arco Iris. In 1982, Gustavo Santaolalla recorded his first solo album along with keyboardist Alejandro Lerner, bassist Alfredo Toth, and drummer Willy Iturri. After living in Los Angeles, Santaolalla went back to Argentina to produce Leon Gieco's De Ushuaia a la Quiaca and also to work on the GIT second record. In 1995, Santaolalla released his second album, called Gas, getting the smash hit "Todo Vale" frequently rotated by MTV Latino.

America’s greatest and most enduring chamber ensemble – the Grammyâ Award-winning Juilliard String Quartet – celebrates its eighth decade with the release of a new Sony Classical recording of music from three centuries by Ludwig van Beethoven, Béla Bartók and Argentinian-American composer Mario Davidovsky.

The Venetian singer and composer Barbara Strozzi (1619-1677) was probably the most remarkable, talented, famous and successful woman of her times in the field of music. In 2019 we will celebrate its 400th anniversary with a new program performed by soprano Emöke Baráth under the direction of Francesco Corti, our new principal guest conductor.

Anthemic, sweeping, funky, and lush. This bass-slapping, orchestra-swooshing Japanese “city pop” album rides the slippery-sweet line of definite corniness. I included both album covers because they are both pretty slick. In fact, “slick” is probably the best adjective for this work….really really slick.

Digitally remastered two-fer containing a pair of albums from the Jazz great: Byrd in the Wind and Blues for Night People. Byrd in the Wind was Charlie Byrd's fourth effort as a leader.

Anthemic, sweeping, funky, and lush. This bass-slapping, orchestra-swooshing Japanese “city pop” album rides the slippery-sweet line of definite corniness. I included both album covers because they are both pretty slick. In fact, “slick” is probably the best adjective for this work….really really slick.

Joe Weed is a great guitar instrumentalist in the mood of 50's and 60's. This album performs acoustic versions of the dreamy Sleepwalk and the '60s classic "Wipeout" and more! He is joined by David Grisman on mandolin, Rob Ickes on dobro, Todd Phillips on bass and Norton Buffalo on harmonica.