One of Art Farmer's pivotal mid 50s sides - recorded in the company of altoist Gigi Gryce, a great player and a budding young arranger who helped Farmer really formulate the best side of his sound! The tracks are lyrically modern - but still have a nice dose of soul in them - a wonderful blend that really sets the stage for the move that Art was making away from earlier trumpeters in jazz - into that hip territory that was neither too cool, nor too overblown - and which would almost be known as "Farmer-like" in years to come! The album features Gryce and Farmer in 2 different groups - one with Horace Silver on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Kenny Clarke on drums - the other with Freddie Redd on piano, Addison Farmer on bass, and Art Taylor on drums.

Curtis/Live! is, simply, one of the greatest concert albums ever cut on a soul artist, and one of the legendary live albums of all time. Cut in January of 1971 during four nights at The Bitter End (then Greenwich Village's leading music venue) in New York, the resulting double LP transcended any expectations in both its programming and execution – Mayfield performed numbers off of the Curtis album ("[Don't Worry] If There's a Hell Below We're All Going to Go"), as well as exciting and urgent new versions of songs originally performed by the Impressions ("We're a Winner," "People Get Ready," "Gypsy Woman"), plus a very moving R&B version of "We've Only Just Begun." This is all beautifully stripped-down work by a quintet consisting of Mayfield (vocals, guitar), Craig McMullen (guitar), Tyrone McCullen (drums), "Master" Henry Gibson (percussion), and Joseph "Lucky" Scott (bass) – a solid, intense performance, with quietly elegant guitar playing against a rock-solid rhythm section, as Impressions hits are rethought and reconfigured in a new context, and Mayfield's early solo repertory comes to life in newer, longer live versions.

Live Frippertronics performances taken from recordings in New York City between July & August 1981. Mixed and Produced by David Singleton from audio restored by Alex R. Mundy. Vinyl cut by Jason Mitchell at LOUD mastering. The finest example of Frippertronics in performance. After completing the first round of concerts with a revived King Crimson starting in May 1981, Fripp headed over to the USA where he began a week-long residency at Washington Square United Methodist Church on 135 W Fourth Street in New York. Built in 1860, the church had historically been home to many congregations but in more recent years had become the venue for groups such as the Black Panthers, Gay Men's Health Crisis and numerous arts organisations.

Faust's second album moves closer to actual song structure than their debut, but it still remains experimental. Songs progress and evolve instead of abruptly stopping or cutting into other tracks. The opening song "It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl" begins as a repetitive 4/4 beat played on toms and piano with the title sung over the top. But for seven minutes the song adds instruments, including a lush analog synth line, and ends in a memorable sax riff. Faust's lyrical side appears on the acoustic "Picnic on a Frozen River" and "On the Way to Adamäe," whereas its abrasive side pops up on "Me Lack Space." "So Far," a jam shared by guitar, horns, and tweedy keyboard, rolls along with a funky hypnotic beat and wailing processed synths…

The production quality is slightly imperfect, and the band is still more of a studio band than a live band, but the song selection includes some of the best songs off of Wolfsheim's first four albums, including The Sparrows and the Nightingales, Now I Fall, A New Starsystem Has Been Explored, It's Not Too Late, and Closer Still. The more folk-ish Old Man's Valley and Ruby are a departure from the band's usually excellent Synthpop stylings, but overall this album can be quite good after a few listens, and can serve as a decent substitute for the band's earlier albums if you cannot get a hold of those.

Stradella's music is every bit as colourful and intriguing as his biography. His oratorio Ester, liberatrice del popolo Hebreo, based on the Old Testament story of Esther, whose bravery saves the Jews from slaughter and exposes the wickedness of the King's counsellor Haman, exemplifies the composer's distinctive style, while conforming to the traditions of the 17th-century oratorio. Moral teaching, vocal virtuosity and sinuous melodies are combined, in a work that expresses plethora of affects and emotions – from Esther's sorrow to Haman's malevolence.

Francesco Landini was the most famous Florentine Trecento composer, known for being a multi-instrumentalist, notably a virtuoso on the organ. As known, he lost his sight at the age of 7 but, despite his disability, he excelled in the study of music and all liberal arts. Might the condition of blindness have affected the poetic production of Landini? La Reverdie together with Christophe Deslignes, investigate this hypothesis, with a new project that presents both well-known masterpieces and pieces never recorded before, searching for signs that might be eventually impressed in the verses and the music of Magister Coecus by the loss of his sight.

Magdalena Kožená's first all-Mozart album–and her first album in collaboration with partner Sir Simon Rattle–stands out as one of the highlights of 2006's Mozart Anniversary celebrations. Magdalena is a natural Mozart singer, garnering rave reviews and enchanting audiences wherever she performs Mozart on stage. Recent performances in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Berkeley and New York (Carnegie Hall) have brought her glowing praise.

An update of the 1994 compilation The Best of Sade, The Ultimate Collection contains all but two of the Sade singles – "When Am I Going to Make a Living" and, unfortunately, "Turn My Back on You" – released through the first six studio albums. There are six well-chosen album cuts, highlighted by the exceptionally spacious Love Deluxe ballads "Bullet Proof Soul" and "Pearls." For some Sade followers, the one rarity (a restrained Neptunes mix of "By Your Side") and four new songs will be enough to justify re-acquiring the old material. The best of the new songs is a cover of Thin Lizzy's anguished ballad "Still in Love with You," a surprising but strikingly appropriate choice that is granted a hint of sweetness.