From the euphoric first to the solemn sixth, the Brandenburg Concertos feature some of Bach's fenrst and most popular orchestral music, interpreted here by legendary Bach specialist Karl Richter and his Münchener Bach-Orchester - for the first time on DVD.

Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen has built a huge and enthusiastic worldwide following through his ECM discs and touring, and 'Restored, Returned' will broaden that popularity still further. After a trilogy of trio recordings - 'Changing Places', 'The Ground', and 'Being There' - which explored a clearly-demarcated melodic terrain, here is a strikingly different album from Tord Gustavsen at the head of a reconfigured band. Into the group come two Norwegian improvisers familiar to ECM listeners, bassist Mats Eilertsen and saxophonist Tore Brunborg.

Few British guitarists have given themselves to the blues with the same tenacity and perseverance as Alvin Lee. What to many of his generation was still a received method, to Lee was an organically absorbed culture he completely assimilated in. And what others have later began moving away from – be it toward hard rock, pop, or jazz fusion – to him has always remained a constant source of self-fulfillment…

RabihAbou-Khalil has asserted himself in the avant-garde as a composer as well as an instrumentalist. This is not just because he is ahead of his time - but because he also questions what others might pursue without further reflection. With his original composing technique, his unconstrained, yet daring approach to classical Arabic music, he has found a musical language entirely of his own.Abou-Khalil's music thrives on creative encounters and not on exoticism. From a combination of diverse cultural elements something very personal and coherent emerges. Thus it would be fruitless to mull over descriptions such as Orient or Occident, jazz, world music or classical.

Since its foundation in 2008, the Kammerorchester Wien – Berlin has enjoyed storied success. Comprised of leading members of the Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker, the ensemble combines the unbridled sound beauty of both top orchestras in their agile, chamber music-like playing. The cornerstone for this ensemble was laid by Sir Simon Rattle with his wish to conduct a joint concert with both the Wiener and Berliner Philharmoniker for his 50th birthday: the playing was so inspiring that the desire for continuing this shared experience immediately arose. The orchestra celebrated its US debut in 2019 with the concerts there with Anne-Sophie Mutter the crowning conclusion of a spectacular tour that saw enthusiastic audiences in 25 venues, such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Vienna Musikverein, as well as in Athens, Madrid, Lucerne, and Berlin. Deutsche Grammophon now presents the Kammerorchester Wien – Berlin’s first recording on the Yellow Label which includes a premiere recording on DG of Schnittke’s Concerto For Piano And String Orchestra, Op. 136, alongside works by Shostakovich and Lutosławski.

'Zen Palace' was recorded in New York, in march 1993. It laid for years on the shelves until it was released on the Japanese label Transheart in april 1999. 'Zen Palace' is a trio recording with, of course Paul Bley on piano, Steve Swallow on the bass and Paul Motian on drums. Steve Swallow plays electric bass guitar - he switched from upright bass to bass guitar ages ago - which makes this record a different listening experience from most other Paul Bley trios. But listening to these guys is always a delight.

Drummer and percussionist Enrique Haneine creates exciting post bop sounds with searing front line of Cahterine Sikora (tenor & soprano saxophones), Thomas Heberer (trumpet) and Christof Knoche (bass clarinet) as he and bassist Jay Anderson deliver propulsive pulses and paces. The leader's sticks are nimble as he lays down a stylish groove for Hebere's horn on the post bopper "Dance of Endless Encounter" while the horns deliver dots and dashes on the Monkish "Queen Of The Underground". Haneine's cymbal is incessant on the staccato'd "Luculent Jiggle" as the horns produce dark shadows and hues, while he locks in with Anderson for exotic tones from Sikora's soprano and Knoche’s brooding bass clarinet on "Seldom Disguise"…

A superbly atmospheric John Barry score effectively conveyed the mood of swinging London for this 1965 film by Richard Lester. Usually playing around with variations of the haunting main theme, Barry used vivacious horns, melancholic strings, and above all a groovy jazz organ (played by Alan Haven). A couple of the tracks don't work well in isolation: the vaudevillian "Something's Up!," and the vocal version of the main theme (not used in the film) by mediocre singer Johnny De Little. But overall, it's got a consistently captivating groove, rating as one of Barry's best scores.

The least popular of Alfred Hitchcock's late-'50s thrillers – perhaps because it is really a comedy – The Trouble with Harry also has the least well-known of the scores that Bernard Herrmann wrote for Hitchcock's movies. All of that is a shame, because – in keeping with the comedic nature of the movie – Herrmann assumed a lighthearted and upbeat, ironic mask that led to some of the most gorgeous and hauntingly beautiful music of his career; the composer himself clearly felt a fondness for it, as he revived it in 1968 as the basis for his "A Portrait of Hitch." The reed and horn passages are playful and ironic, and the signature string part, bridging the small-town innocence of the movie's setting, is one of the finest things that Herrmann conceived. It all makes for delightful listening, and is some of the best programmatic music to come out of Hollywood in the 1950s. The performance by Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is of excellent quality, capturing the finest nuances of the score, and the recording does it full justice.

This 1987 date teams the iconoclastic pianist with guitarist Bill Frisell, drummer Paul Motian, and British saxophonist John Surman. While it's easy to argue that, with Manfred Eicher's icy, crystalline production, this was a stock date for both the artists and the label, that argument would be flat wrong. Bley was looking for a new lyricism in his own playing and in his compositions. He was coming from a different place than the large harmonies offered by augmented and suspended chords and writing for piano trios. The other band members – two other extremely lyrical improvisers in Surman and Frisell.