Responsible for surely the only concept album based around cricket, the Duckworth Lewis Method is the side project of Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Pugwash frontman Thomas Walsh. The duo, named after the complicated cricket scoring system, formed in 2008 after Hannon and Walsh met at Father Ted writer Graham Linehan's wedding in Ireland. After Walsh asked Hannon to contribute to a Christmas charity record, the pair discovered a mutual appreciation of ELO and cricket, and decided to combine the two to record an album together. Their self-titled debut was released two days before the 2009 Ashes through Hannon's own label, and reached number 40 in the U.K. charts.

Enja Records presents Ballads 4 - The World. Chet Baker, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jenny Evans, Dusko Goykovich, Walter Norris, Maria João and others.

Alzira is based on the play by Voltaire and displays the composer's maturity through glowing lyric moments, and the weaving together of complex emotional and musical strands.
All act with conviction as they are singing and bring good expression and diction to their roles…In the title role, Junko Saito sings with warm expressive tone, good diction and also acts with conviction. (MusicWeb International)

When Swedish artist Solar Fields (Magnus Birgersson) meets French artist Aes Dana (Vincent Villuis)… the outcome is H.U.V.A. Network, a downtempo project where North and South regions mix and jumble together in a fluid manner. The pair of sound architects explore ambient-electronica landscapes and their multiple layouts. Their works are thought out and composed in two studios: Studio Jupiter (Göteborg, Sweden) and Ultimae Studio (Lyon, France). Musical works and ideas are conceived in these two creation poles via a few travels and a high speed internet network connection, thus breaking "Distances" (2004) which separate the two composers…

Rick Lawson has the sweet Motown-inspired vocal style of one of the great soul groups of the late '60s and early '70s, not at all unlike Cuba Gooding of the Main Ingredient or General Johnson of the Chairmen of the Board. Unlike the comparatively chaste lyrical stance of those groups, however, Lawson is not at all above singing choruses like "I'm your freak cowboy" or delivering an R. Kelly-style wry psychodrama like "Baby Mama Drama." The tunes on Sexified don't have a bit of hip-hop influence other than the unabashedly frank (but never cheaply vulgar) lyrical topics, however. Although the arrangements feature modern synthesizers as much as they do vintage wah-wah guitar, this is proudly retro-soul, providing richly melodic settings as well as deep grooves. The closing "She Was Cheatin' Better Than Me" is a particularly choice near-classic of the style, but there's not a dud to be found on this album.

Tenor saxophonist Ricky Ford's first record as a leader preceded the beginning of his highly rated string of Muse albums by a year. 23 at the time, Ford already had a recognizable sound that was influenced by Dexter Gordon. For this ambitious effort (which displayed the impact of his stint with Charles Mingus), Ford performs five of his originals (including one called "Dexter"), plus John Coltrane's "One Up, One Down" and the standard "My Romance." Ford is well showcased in a sextet with both Oliver Beener and Charles Sullivan on trumpets and a nonet that adds altoist James Spaulding, trombonist Janice Robinson, and the tuba of Jonathan Dorn; the rhythm section in both cases is composed of bassist Richard Davis and Mingus's pianist (Bob Neloms) and drummer (Dannie Richmond).

This new recording contains the four grand piano sonatas by Carl Maria von Weber. Written in the early 19th century these works mark the transition from the Classical to the Romantic style. Weber infused the classical sonata form with his own lyrical and dramatic, sometimes even theatrical, elements. The pianism is of the highest order, finding orchestral timbres and colours, as well as pianistic novelties in the virtuoso textures. As valuable additions to the four piano sonatas the famous Invitation to the Dance and the Rondo brillante are included. Michelangelo Carbonara finds drama, passion, wit and elegance in these wonderful, still underrated works. Carbonara studied at the famous Lake Como Academy, where his teachers included Dimitri Bashkirov, Leon Fleisher, Alicia de Larrocha, Claude Frank and Menachem Pressler. He won several international competitions, including the Schubert International Piano Competition in Dortmund.

Frontman Nick Steed Keys/vox (Nick Steed Five, Chris Farlowe, Sonja Kristina) perform's with his longtime best friend's - Peter Mason on guitar/vox (King of the Slums, Nick Steed Five Blues) & Greg Morgan on drums(Dare/Ten).
THR33: "We are an original power prog trio named "THR33" and have just released our album of same name, influences ranges from Yes, Genesis, Jeff Beck, Al DiMeola, John Schofield, Pink Floyd etc."

Around the year 1600, a group of Florentine aristocrats, inspired by ancient Greek drama, gave birth to opera. They intended to move and glorify human passions in such a strong way that the spectator's soul would be cleansed of these passions. This was the process that Aristotle called 'catharsis'. Xavier Sabata grasps this highly intense moment at the heart of the destiny of legendary heroes of Baroque opera. A fascinating album by the author of Bad Guys, accompanied by George Petrou and Armonia Atenea.

Bud Powell - Live at the Blue Note Cafe, Paris 1961 (2007) {ESP-Disk' ESP4036}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 490 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 166 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 35 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1961, 2007 ESP-Disk' | ESP 4036
Jazz / Bop / Piano

After bop pianist Bud Powell died in 1966, ESP-Disk Records kept his name alive with a series of archival live recordings curated from the personal collection of his wife, Buttercup Powell. Unlike their higher-profile Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker series, which were of unfortunately varying (and quite often very low) quality, the Bud Powell sessions are uniformly fine, with the excellent Blue Note Café Paris 1961 a particular standout.

Narrowing down Mildlife’s style into a genre is almost impossible, as they bond over the desire to push musical boundaries. No strangers to the Melbourne band scene, the four old friends have been drawing crowds through an epic journey at intimate venues and festivals for the best part of the past 4 years. Developing a tight live show bolstered by wild improvisation, the group have left punters itching for their first full length studio album "Phase" that mines jazz, psych and disco for its irresistible groove.
Capturing the spirit of the band, debut LP of kaleidoscope jams is the interplanetary path between jazz, funk and disco with the perfect amalgamation of cosmic electronics and soulful acoustic instrumentation.