Antonio Forcione is referred to as the Jimi Hendrix of acoustic guitar and his live energy has established him as one of the most cherished figures across the world. Touch Wood is a continuation of previous works, building an eclectic mix of Italian folk music with Brazilian, Spanish and Cuban sounds. Forcione enriches the experience by enlisting friends and musicians from across the globe. The album includes the outstanding title track, “Touch Wood,” an emotionally charged guitar workout, executed with Forcione’s effortless technique.

Lock and load with a high-powered chronicle of one couple's failed marriage. Shoot Out The Lights is Richard and Linda Thompson’s final album together and, ironically, the folk-rock couple’s most artistically acclaimed and commercially successful. The album was recorded, scrapped, and rerecorded before finally emerging in 1982, arriving just around the time that the couple split up. Despite the separation, they embarked upon a U.S. tour to promote the album, delivering emotionally charged performances at every turn.

Happy coincidences can often lead to extraordinary results. No-one could have foreseen that Lars Danielsson and the Armenian pianist Tigran would pair up to form the new dream duo of the European jazz scene, when in fact the two musicians played their first concert together only one week before the scheduled recordings of Liberetto. It was clear from the first note that two musical soulmates had found each other, and despite it happening by coincidence the result of their meeting was all the more intense. Lars Danielsson says: “Tigran sees my music exactly the way I do and he composes music exactly the way I would do myself. For example, his ‘Svensk Låt’ sounds more Swedish than my songs. It was simply fantastic to record this album with him.”

Blue Jeans a'Swinging is the first UK studio album by British Merseybeat band the Swinging Blue Jeans, released in November 1964 on HMV…

Non è un’operazione nostalgica e nemmeno un revival la ricognizione che da qualche anno Ernst Reijseger al violoncello, Angelo Conto al pianoforte e Simone Bosco alla batteria e percussioni, conducono nel proprio percorso musicale; piuttosto sembra una trovata per dire e proporre musica di un certo spessore. Certo non si può proprio pensare ad architetture sonore nuove di pacca, ma l’operazione odora di ricerca, tenta di restituire agli ascoltatori un aspetto culturale slegato dai meri contenuti di mercato di cui la musica è da diversi anni traboccante. Nascono così musiche ben diverse e nuove dimensioni, derivate dal felice incontro dell’interplay jazzistico e quello della musica d’avanguardia, imperniata sul gioco della variazione e microvariazione di cellule tematiche.

If there is one Mendelssohn symphonic recording that makes the case for a more favorable reassessment [of the composer], it's this pairing of the Italian Symphony and some of the Midsummer Night's Dream music by Sir Charles Mackerras…. The clarity of texture here [in the Symphony] is extraordinary, even when the brass and winds add their clout. As a result, every line of Mendelssohn's orchestration comes through clearly, leaving a listener with a renewed respect for this composer's inventiveness…. The Midsummer Night's Dream music is even more miraculous….

Jerzy Antczak has made a name for himself as long-time Polish neo-prog band Albion's lead guitarist. This is Jerzy's first solo outing. Still very much in the neo mode, there is also some electronic intentions that push his first solo effort into the crossover genre. The music on "Ego, Georgius" is a blend of exotic Eastern sounds, cosmic themes and lots of guitar hooks, riffs, solos and melodies. Aided by some Albion friends as well as Krzystof Wywra on bass from Millenium, the album really shines on multiple levels, very eclectic and cinematographic.

A wonderful concert version of the revered Komitas Divine Liturgy! Here the great Komitas work is transformed into a concert mass in the first-ever recording of this appealing mixed choir version. This version was beautifully arranged and edited by the brilliant Armenian composer Vache Sharafyan. In his arrangement, the added colors of female voices increase the beauty of the work. This version is also concert length, which means that it is appropriately shorter and more accessible than the original.

When it was originally released in June 1969, Beck-Ola, the Jeff Beck Group's second album, featured a famous sleeve note on its back cover: "Today, with all the hard competition in the music business, it's almost impossible to come up with anything totally original. So we haven't. However, this disc was made with the accent on heavy music. So sit back and listen and try and decide if you can find a small place in your heads for it."…

Carla Cook's Dem Bones follows her critically acclaimed and commercially successful Maxjazz debut, It's All About Love. The Grammy-nominated artist taps into her diverse musical influences and presents a musical autobiography reflected in 11 songs. The precision of her multi-hued voice is accompanied by such great musicians as Cyrus Chestnut on piano; Fred Wesley, Craig Harris, and Tyrone Jefferson on trombones; James Genus on bass; and Billy Kilson on drums. Packed with straight-ahead jazz, the crowning glory on this CD is the approach she uses on the title cut, "Dem Bones." Tastefully arranged for three trombones (her voice being the fourth "bone") Cook's presentation adds a modern dimension to the use of the trombone – both muted and open – as an expressive "voice" in a jazz composition.

Trumpeter Nicholas Payton is teamed up with Wessell Anderson (who doubles on sopranino and alto), pianist Peter Martin, bassist Christopher Thomas and drummer Brian Blade for an unusual set of music that shifts between hard bop and New Orleans jazz. While "Rhonda Mile" (which uses the chord changes to "Indiana") is pure bop, other selections combine the two idioms and "Four or Five Times" (listed as an Anderson original but actually a standard from the 1920s) is strictly Dixieland. A highpoint is the 16-minute "He Was a Good Man, Oh Yes He Was" which musically depicts a New Orleans funeral. Throughout, Anderson (particularly on the sopranino which he plays like a clarinet) and Payton work together quite well in the exciting ensembles and show impressive knowlege of earlier forms of jazz while carving out their own individual voices.

his is the Blu-Ray version of the concert film recorded at St David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales on the 16th November 2019 during the Friends From The Orchestra Tour.

Importante debutto discografico di Barbara Casini per Via Veneto Jazz, che si misura in questa produzione con il repertorio della leggendaria cantante Elis Regina, in un disco che “vuole essere un gesto d’amore e gratitudine per chi ha così tanto nutrito la mia anima canterina”. L’album è realizzato con il contributo di numerosi e importanti musicisti di formazione jazz ma estremamente versati nelle sonorità sudamericane, e gli arrangiamenti di Paolo Silvestri vestono con stile ed eleganza i brani, dando il giusto equilibrio e risalto a una delle voci più cristalline che il nostro Paese possa attualmente vantare. Un excursus attraverso brani immortali della musica brasiliana, ricchi di energia, sensualità, allegria e con il giusto pizzico di saudade. Una prova importante, come tutti gli omaggi ai grandi interpreti del passato, che Barbara Casini riesce a superare brillantemente.

A reissue of a rarity record; "Sister, Brother, Lover…." was the only album from Scottish band, Northwind, in 1971. In a Beatles type of story, Northwind started on the club scene before venturing to Germany, picking up some psychedelia and krautrock in Frankfurt. They recorded an album and went around supporting the big guns; Free, Hawkwind, Fleetwood Mac. However, without much support from the management and the label, they soon disbanded. This is an album of powerful rock which edges toward early prog and kraut whilst remaining it’s own, unique thing.