Still Alive includes a new bonus DVD featuring the band filmed live in front of an intimate audience at the fabulous Rockfield Studios in 2018 as part of The Quiet Room sessions.

In November 2019, at a sold-out show in London's Hammersmith Apollo, Steve Hackett performed the legendary Genesis album "Selling England by the Pound" in its entirety. Steve and his band also played tracks from "Spectral Mornings" (celebrating its 40th anniversary), "At the Edge of Light" and "A Trick of the Tail"…

Stemming out of an offer from Roadburn Festival organizer Walter Hoeijmakers, mutual acquaintances, and a shared love of each other’s output, May Our Chambers Be Full is the first recorded document of collaboration between Emma Ruth Rundle and Thou. While their solo material seems on its face to be quite disparate, both groups have spent their respective careers lurking at the outer boundaries of the heavy metal scene, the artists having more in common with DIY punk and its spiritual successor, grunge.

If ever a recording needed to be trumpeted from the rooftops, it's this one, and perhaps we all owe a debt of gratitude to John Zorn for making it happen. This initial trio meeting of saxophonist Anthony Braxton, drummer Milford Graves, and ubiquitous bassist William Parker is a vanguard jazz fan's dream come true. Beyond Quantum places these three modern legends in a completely improvised setting in producer Bill Laswell's studio for 63 minutes of pure inspirational, communicative fire.

London, England-born saxophonist Wayne Escoffery's fifth album is a soulful, groove-heavy outing that positions him firmly within the tradition of hard bop blowing but also makes a case for him as a better-than-decent composer. There's a Wayne Shorter-esque feel to melodies like the opening "No Desert" and the questing "Maya's Waltz," while the minute-long organ interlude, "Road from Eilat" and the track it leads into, "Gulf of Aqaba," add a psychedelic, spiritual edge reminiscent of Larry Young's mid-'60s Blue Note albums.

The première of Ernani at Venices' Teatro La Fenice in 1844 failed to come up to Verdi's expectations, primarily because of the poor health of some of the singers. Both critics and audiences, however, soon warmed to Ernani, especially after the following performances. The opera contains some of Verdi's most successful, impassioned arias (first and foremost Elvira's cavatina and Silva's cantabile) and clearly denoted an evolution in terms of dramatic structure, more cohesive and with lesser use of blocks of closed numbers. Despite a turbulent 'premiere', Ernani became a real international success, beginning with the felicitous Vienna productions of May/June 1844. The cast of this Teatro Regio of Parma production features some of today's best singers for this type of repertoire.

Those shocked or even dismayed by the lack of jazz on 1975's Don't It Feel Good would no doubt be pleasantly surprised by this. Released in 1976 and produced by Maurice White and Charles Stepney, Salongo offers a more substantial look at African and Latin styles. Around this time Lewis always had the good fortune to be supported by good bands and excellent side players like Verdine White, Ernie Watts, Jorge Strunz, as well as many others.

Music For Montserrat was a benefit concert held on 15 September 1997 at the Royal Albert Hall. Musicians came together to raise funds for the Caribbean island of Montserrat after a major volcanic eruption by the Soufrière Hills volcano earlier that year left the island, including its capital of Plymouth, devastated. The concert starred musicians such as Phil Collins, Ray Cooper, Carl Perkins, Jimmy Buffett, Mark Knopfler, Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Midge Ure, Arrow and many more, all of whom had once recorded at the island's famous AIR Studios…

Louis Armstrong - The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 (2000) {2CD Definitive Records DRCD11166}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 529 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 293 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 32 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1940-49, 2000 Definitive Records / Disconforme | DRCD11166 / DRCD11172
Jazz / Early Jazz / Big Band / Swing / Vocal Jazz / Trumpet

The 43 tracks that make up the first part of the The Complete Decca Studio Master Takes 1940-1949 of Louis Armstrong are remarkable not only for the outstanding performances they reflect, but for the many settings Armstrong recorded in during the era. While none of this material will come as a surprise to collectors, those who are starting to check out Armstrong's post-New Orleans period would do themselves a favor in scoping this collection because the Decca years, even more so than his long tenure with Verve, showcase Armstrong at the pinnacle of American popular music, and that that music happens to be jazz is even more revelatory.

Freddie Redd - Freddie Redd In Sweden (1956) {Lone Hill Jazz LHJ10299 rel 2007}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 342 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 162 Mb
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© 1956, 2007 Lone Hill Jazz | LHJ10299
Jazz / Hard Bop / Piano

These excellent, rare 1956 Stockholm studio sessions feature pianist Freddie Redd in a trio setting with bassist Tommy Potter and Joe Harris, drums. They had been chosen by Swedish trumpeter Rolf Ericson, who was commissioned to find US jazz musicians for a tour. This release includes the complete LP Freddie Redd in Sweden plus, as bonus tracks, the pianists first US trio session in 1955 with John Ore and Ron Jefferson; and the only two recorded live tracks from this Swedish tour.

John Ellis is one of jazz music’s youngest rising stars, having already received raves from publications like The New York Times, Down Beat and All Music Guide, while placing 2nd in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophonist Competition in 2002. Currently, Ellis is the saxophonist in Ropeadope recording artist Charlie Hunter’s widely celebrated and hard touring trio where his compositions have become staples of Hunter’s albums and live sets. With his own group, Ellis combines his affinity for New Orleans’ music (a city that he considers a second home) with the edge and urgency of modern jazz in New York City (his current home). On his full length HYENA debut entitled, One Foot In The Swamp, cuts like “Happy” and “One For The Helpers” make clear that Ellis is on the verge of worldwide jazz acclaim. He’s joined by special guests including John Scofield, Nicholas Payton and Jason Marsalis.

Despite my old age, I am constantly in search of something new. The path I take invariably leads to my own self. I must therefore constantly reveal new facets of my personality. Intensive musical practice allows the musician to find himself - it is the same for the listener. - Friedrich Cerha