The epitome of cool, the Brecker Brothers were one of best-selling jazz fusion outfits of the mid-'70s to the early '80s. Randy Brecker (trumpet/flügelhorn) and Michael Brecker (tenor sax) were ubiquitous session players and also members of the New York band Dreams. By the mid-'70s, they started recording under their own name. Their subsequent albums, The Brecker Brothers, Don't Stop the Music, and the live Heavy Metal Be-Bop all find the group doing challenging melodies in a genre that often played it too stupid. Detente finds them during a time when jazz playing was starting to get more lucrative. Keyboardist and producer George Duke was behind the boards for Detente. Although the Brecker Brothers and Duke are probably mainstays in any jazz fusion collection, their styles aren't analogous. Some of the tracks here clearly prove that point. "You Ga (Ta Give It)" and "Not Tonight" both come off as a little too radio-friendly.

The album collects recordings of the winter section of the Fisiognomica Tour in the theaters of Italy, France and Spain, with songs that span the entire career of the Sicilian singer-songwriter (excluding the sixties), from experimentation to the pop period.

Jaga Jazzist, the multi-genre, multi-instrumental Norwegian collective, celebrate their 20th anniversary with this limited-edition vinyl box set. The box includes 2001’s sparingly jazzy Livingroom Hush album, out-takes from it, and a collection of producers’ remixes from 2012’s Live With Britten Sinfonia.

On New Year’s Eve 2012 Joyce DiDonato became the first singer to take the title role in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. With her at its heart, the production became, in the words of Opera magazine, “a high point of the season and of the company’s performance history of bel canto operas”.

The blind Catalonian pianist Tete Montoliu is in top form throughout this 1990 trio date with bassist George Mraz and drummer Lewis Nash, though the label evidently didn't get around to releasing it until a few years after his death. The session draws from standards and timeless jazz compositions, all played with Montoliu's inventive touch. He throws quite a few twists into his complex setting of "Stella by Starlight," shows off his chops in an intense workout of "Autumn Leaves," and pulls out all stops with the furious rendition of "A Night in Tunisia." The pianist's lyrical side is showcased in ballads like "Easy Living" and "I Fall in Love Too Easily." Montoliu returns to a bit of flashy playing in his original blues composition "Please I Like to Be Gentle." Mraz has numerous solos, all of which are up to his standard, while Nash provides terrific support throughout the recording.

A splinter group of a splinter group, the Sweat Band was folded out of the original Bootsy's Rubber Band. That group came out of the original Parliament/Funkadelic empire. Bassist Bootsy Collins played with them on the single "Freak To Freak," which he co-produced with George Clinton. the Sweat Band included saxophonist Maceo Parker, keybardist Joel Johnson, and drummer Carl Smalls, but they didn't last very long on Uncle Jam Records as a separate part of the Parliament/Funkadelic axis.

Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra: feat. Taft Jordan, Mario Bauza, sandy Williams, Claude Jones, Edgar Sampson, Louis Jordan, Hilton Jefferson, Ted McRae and others… 1936/1939.

Four classic RCA albums from the team of Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton – all brought together in a single set! Once More is a pivotal moment in the duo career of Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton – both solo singers who'd worked together on earlier records, but really seemed to hit their stride around the time of this set! Both Porter and Dolly gel together perfectly – often singing together, not trading back and forth as much – in ways that only make the lyrics of the songs resonate more strongly. Titles include "I Know You're Married But I Love You Still", "Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man", "A Good Understanding", "Let's Live For Tonight", "Once More", "Fight & Scratch", and the tear-jerker "Ragged Angel".

From the lyrical sensuality of Hu-Die (for 2 guitars), the aggressive fireworks of Hwang Chin-Ee (for two drummers) and the mystical ambience of Que Tran (for two keyboards), this album shows yet another side of Zorn's genius for the dramatic and the unexpected. Using the spoken languages of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese as pure melody, this suite of 3 pieces of twin instruments and narrators is perhaps Zorn's most beautiful creation to date. Ten years in the making, these epic compositions, Zorn's most universally misunderstood pieces, are finally made available on an album. Original texts by Arto Lindsay, My-ung Mi-Kim, and Lin Hejinian. Performed by an all-star collection of the world's most creative improvising instrumentalists.

Picture This: The Best of Breathless is a fine overview of the hard rock group's career, drawing highlights from the band's two albums, Breathless and Nobody Leaves This Song Alive. Although it may be a little brief for some tastes, the collection contains all the essential items ("Takin' It Back," "Wild Weekend, " "Crawl in Thru the Shadows, " "Glued to the Radio") and is the definitive summation of the group's career.

Three powerful dramatic works from Zorn’s remarkable concert music catalog! Zorn’s unique cello concerto is a colorful virtuoso showpiece for cellist Fred Sherry and three instrumental trios. Ceremonial Magic is a dynamic piece for solo violin presented here in a special duo realization featuring composer/performer David Fulmer and longtime Zorn associate Kenny Wollesen on drums. Closing the program is Zorn’s ritualistic one-act opera inspired by the late drawings of Antonin Artaud La Machine de l’être. It is performed here by the incredible soprano Anu Komsi who originated the role at its stage pre- miere at the New York City Opera in 2011.