The German stage director Jürgen Flimm – and his design team of Robert Israel and Florence von Gerkan – have set the opera in the second half of the 20th century and have costumed the action decidedly on the American side of the Atlantic Ocean. Such an approach follows the line of Flimm’s other contemporary opera successes – for example his current Bayreuth Ring (premiered in 2000) or his 2001 Otello at the Berlin Staatsoper. Modernising the period does not become updating for its own sake. Rather, the actions and behaviour of the characters cunningly align contemporary manners with the existing prescriptions of a “period” libretto.

Anri (杏里), real name Eiko Kawashima (川嶋 栄子, Kawashima Eiko) (born August 31, 1961), is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. Her debut release was the 1978 Oribia o Kikinagara (While Listening to Olivia), written by Amii Ozaki. Her song "Cat's Eye" was used as the first opening theme for the eponymous 1983 anime series Cat's Eye and debuted as #1 on Countdown Japan.

This is a repackaging of a release from 1960 credited to both the René Hernandez Orchestra and the René Hernandez Orchestra with Pacheco, called Percussive Latino Cha Cha Cha (Audio Fidelity label). According to Discogs information this session was recorded in November, 1957, in New York City.

Roy Haynes - Homecoming (1994) {Evidence ECD 22092-2 rec 1992}
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© 1994 Evidence Music | ECD 22092-2
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Drums

This live set was recorded for radio in 1992, just a month before Roy Haynes's group would enter the studio and create the wonderful When It's Haynes, It Roars! The drum legend and his young quartet wind their way through six tunes, most of which would remain staples of their repertoire for years. Everyone plays brilliantly on every track, but some of the excitement of the show might have gotten lost in translation to tape.

The band credited with spawning the "sleaze rock" lip-gloss and hairspray style that emerged from the Hollywood Strip (Los Angeles, California) at the dawn of the 80s and came to dominate rock in that decade. The most famous of those that followed included Poison and Guns n' Roses…

Sonny Stitt - Sonny Stitt (1958) {Argo–Universal Japan UCCU-9746 rel 2011}
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© 1958, 2011 Argo / Verve / Universal Japan | UCCU-9746
Jazz / Bop / Bebop / Saxophone

A record with a simple, elegant title – and a similar cover image too – but if you know Sonny Stitt, you know there's often plenty beneath the surface, and this classic Chess Records has plenty to offer, once you start listening! The album's right up there with Sonny's work for Roost – in terms of straight, strong, confident blowing – remarkably subtle, but also remarkably well-conceived, and proof that by the end of the 50s, Stitt had really matured greatly as a player – bringing so much to bear in very short space, and really coming up with imaginative solos in the process! The group's a quartet with Barry Harris on piano – but Stitt's the main focus on this set, and for good reason.

Drab Zeen represents one of the finest examples of this important emerging new sub-genre, Arab-jazz. The genius of this disc is how Farroukh has effortlessly melded such disparate elements as jazz trombone and saxophone, chill-beats, French vocals, acoustic piano, oud, ney, and accordion into a singly tapestry of unique sounds, all the while retaining the essential elements of each instrumental voice even as he transforms the whole into something entirely new and heretofore unheard. Farroukh has grown in every facet of his music-making: tighter and more evocative compositions, a richer and more varied sound palette, cleaner production, superior sax blowing, and a deeper groove.

The music on From Now On is modern jazz marinated in the seductive flavors of Spain and South America. Guitarist Oscar Peñas' path lead him from Barcelona to Brooklyn, NY, and this geographic duality is ever-present in the intriguing blend of music that's presented on this, his debut for BJU records.

Hank Mobley - Dippin' (1965) {Blue Note Japan, CP32-5216, Early Press}
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© 1965, 1986 Blue Note / Toshiba EMI Japan | CP32-5216
Jazz / Hard Bop / Saxophone

Dippin' is one of Hank Mobley's finer moments, even considering that his entire Blue Note catalog is masterful, particularly his 1960s dates that reveal the depth and dimension of his understanding of harmonic invention – all in the name of groove and swing, of course. This date, recorded on a single day in June of 1965, netted four Mobley originals as well as two covers. The band included trumpeter Lee Morgan, pianist Harold Mabern, bassist Larry Ridley, and drummer Billy Higgins. The two-horn front line always served Mobley well.

M. Ward - More Rain (2016) {Bella Union–[PIAS] BELLA521CD}
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© 2016 Bella Union / [PIAS] | BELLA521CD
Indie Rock / Indie Folk / Rock / Americana / Alternative Singer-Songwriter / Adult Alternative Pop

With his static-dusted voice and predilection for early rock antiquity, M. Ward has always come across as one of his generation's more understated bards. Interpreting the ever-deepening subtleties of his catalog generally requires repeated listens, and such is the case with his ninth solo effort, the appropriately moody More Rain. Easing in with a minute-long rainstorm soundscape, he leads off with the dreamy acoustic gallop of "Pirate Dial," a genial folk-pop hymn perfectly suited for the patient rotations of a vinyl long-player. A stuttering guitar groove on the Neko Case-aided "Time Won't Wait" quickens the album's pulse, setting up the similarly paced lead single, "Confession," a classic Ward track replete with a rich vein of warm backing vocals and soaring trumpet solo.

90124 is a demo album by musician and producer Trevor Rabin. It was released in 2003 on Voiceprint Records, having been compiled from previously unreleased demos and songs recorded from his time as a session musician in 1983 before he formed Cinema which evolved into a new line-up of Yes to 1983…