A versatile acoustic bassist with an adventurous spirit, Ben Allison has often excelled in avant-garde settings but has proven himself to be equally capable of playing hard bop. The East Coast native was only nine when he began studying music, and he was 22 when, in 1989, he graduated from New York University with a B.A. in jazz performance. In 1992, Allison founded the Jazz Composers Collective, a musician-run, nonprofit organization that encouraged artists to take risks and didn't shy away from the avant-garde when presenting many concerts in New York. It was in 1994 that the Collective launched the Herbie Nichols Project, which Allison co-directed with pianist Frank Kimbrough; it used concerts and CDs (including Love Is Proximity on Soul Note) to celebrate the music of the great but underexposed bebop pianist Herbie Nichols.

The Trio of Doom was a short-lived jazz fusion power trio consisting of John McLaughlin on guitar, Jaco Pastorius on bass, and Tony Williams on drums. They were brought together by Columbia Records in 1979 to play the Havana Jam festival in Cuba alongside Billy Joel, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and others. Their only live performance was on March 3, 1979, and it is recorded on Ernesto Juan Castellanos's documentary Havana Jam '79. On March 8, 1979, the group reconvened in New York City to record the songs they had played live, but a dispute broke out between Pastorius and Williams. An album was released on June 26, 2007, on Legacy Recordings, containing five tracks from Havana Jam and five recorded in the studio.

As the year 2020 has been quite unusual, Taake has also done things differently. This year the band has done two split-10” with Whoredom Rife and Deathcult on different labels. So, this is the third and last installment of these split-10”s, and this time it’s together with labelmates Helheim. For this split release, Taake has recorded two new tracks: “Brotne Bein og Mannefall” and “Ein Baat I Foss”, with lyrics from the old Norwegian writer Arne Garborg (approximately 1895). This is the true Norwegian black metal that we all crave for. Gritty, dark and cold as father winter of dread himself. Helheim’s contributions are two cover songs: A cover of Emperor’s “Heksesabbat / Witches Sabbath”, originally released on the tribute album “A Tribute to Emperor – In Honour of Icon E” from 2012 (now remastered) - and a quite different and original version of the Taake song “Orkan” from the album Noregs Vaapen. “Henholdsvis” is both a tribute to the old and showing new paths for Taake and concludes Taakes split-10” trilogy series.

Elegy is the third studio album by Finnish metal band Amorphis. It is their first to feature a majority of clean vocals, sung by new vocalist Pasi Koskinen. The music and lyrics are inspired by the traditional Finnish ballads and poems compiled in the Kanteletar by Elias Lönnrot in 1840.

Gioachino Rossini was summoned to Paris in 1824 to breathe new life into its opera culture, and one of his most exciting innovations in this period was the creation of an entirely new genre of opera comedy. The risqué tale of Le Comte Ory had its origins in vaudeville theatre and is based on the story of a villainous Count who attempts the seduction of Countess Adele as she awaits the return of her husband from the Crusades. Le Comte Ory is the last of Rossini s comic operas, making full use of the libretto s farcical disguises and humor in one of his most colorfully orchestrated scores. This production, staged by Linda Mallik, features the Malmo Opera Orchestra and Chorus with world renowned soloists Leonardo Ferrando as Count Ory and Erika Miklosa as Countess Adele.

A socially conscious musical citizen of the world, Reza Khan has a history of blazing fresh trails and finding unique ways to redefine what is possible in contemporary jazz. Helping us navigate our way through the darkness and steep challenges of the past year, Khan graces us with an empowering way forward along a fascinating Imaginary Road. Khan writes, “There are moments where I was naturally drawn between Indian and Spanish styles which make the project even more interesting. As I am taking this Imaginary Road, embarking on a journey, life is still quite exploratory and full of experiments.”

"Flower Power" is a 2 CD set of epic proportions. CD 1 basically runs as 1 long track which contains some of The Flower Kings' most diverse and powerful pieces ever recorded! Epic track, "Garden Of Dreams" runs 59 mins in length and builds in emotion and intensity until the most beautiful, symphonic climax in unleashed upon the listener. This long track moves so cleverly in atmospheres, moods and emotions that the listener will not be tired throughout at all (a real trick to pull off for such a long track!). "Flower Power" contains lots of real The Flower Kings classic progressive rock moments which will please all prog heads out there in prog land.

Lalo Schifrin - The Big Brawl (1980) {Quartet Records QR289 rel 2017}
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© 1980 Towa Music / Quartet Records | QR289
Jazz / Classical / Soundtrack / Stage & Screen

Quartet Records and Towa Music presents the premiere CD release of super-cool Lalo Schifrin’s high-octane jazz action score for The Big Brawl (aka The Battle Creek Brawl) The film was directed by Robert Clouse, who previously helmed Enter the Dragon, the film that cemented Bruce Lee as a legend of cinematic martial arts. This 1980s effort was meant to do the same thing for Jackie Chan, giving him an American debut vehicle that could make him a household name outside Hong Kong. The story is set in Prohibition-era America where Jerry Kwan (played by Chan) works at a shop and dreams of marrying his fiancée, Nancy (Kristine DeBell). When his crazy fighting skills get noticed by a crime syndicate, Jerry is forced to enter a fighting tournament where he must beat the muscle-bound champion if he wants to see his girlfriend again…

Kamasi Washington & Throttle Elevator Music - Final Floor (2021) {Wide Hive Records WH 0355}
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© 2021 Wide Hive Records } WH 0355
Jazz / Alternative / Contemporary Jazz / Electric Jazz / Jazz-Funk

Final Floor is eleven new tracks featuring saxophonist Kamasi Washington and trumpeter Erik Jekabson with longtime collaborators and songwriters Matt Montgomery and Gregory Howe. Joining them are Mike Hughes on drums, Kasey Knudsen on Alto Saxophone, Ross Howe on Fender Guitar and Mike Blankenship on organ. As the title indicates, this album represents the final original recordings of Throttle Elevator Music. Final Floor has an upscale energy with elements of rock and punk that fuel the overall sound and dynamically bring an edge back to jazz.

Claude Williamson - Claude Williamson (1956) {Bethlehem Japan TOCJ-6358 rel 2006}
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© 1956, 2006 Bethlehem Records / EMI-Toshiba Japan | TOCJ-6358
Jazz / Bop / Cool / Piano

This 1956 date for Bethlehem boasted the most impassioned and intense performances of Claude Williamson's career to date – backed by bassist Don Prell and drummer Chuck Flores, Williamson channels the energy of collaboration to create a record of uncommon energy. Flores' driving, melodic drums set the pace here, maintaining a strong balance between form and function, while Williamson's piano exhibits a similarly rhythmic edge as well as a restraint that informs the music with tension and depth.

Lou Reed - New York (2020) {Rhino–Warner Records Deluxe Edition 603497847167 rec 1989}
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© 2020 Rhino / Warner Records | 603497847167
Rock / Contemporary Rock / Rock & Roll / Experimental

Were I a professor of rock and roll music and one to grade albums, this record would stand as the finest record I've heard in my 50+ years of listening to this stuff. It's not my emotional favorite album (that being The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle) but it's a record I listen to often, still. Each song stands on its merits and the lyrics are just brilliant; Lou was the smartest man who ever played rock and roll. It's not an easy listening album; like most of Lou's records there are some cuts that are painful to listen to, but some of the rock cuts are ear worms, most notably Dirty Boulevard which replaced Sweet Jane as Lou's signature live song. This album is like reading a really good book; the trip is a great one, and when it is done, you'll be thinking about it for a very long time.

As Buster Williams says in his sleeve notes "he shows a sensitivity far beyond his years; has amazing compositional capabilities; and he makes you feel good". Having appeared as a sideman on several best selling albums, Carlos new exactly what he wanted to say when the time arrived to make his recording debut as a leader. The choice of musicians for the sessions was inspirational. The combined energy and creative instincts of Buster Williams, Antoine Roney and Ralph Penland make this a most memorable recording.

The disc was recorded at the Politeama Theater of Catanzaro on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the great German composer.

Described as having ‘natural genius’, John Abraham Fisher (1744–1806) was a significant figure in London during the second half of the 18th century. A virtuoso violinist, he also wrote admired stage works for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. His orchestral works are largely forgotten today, but his symphonies display a surprising awareness of contemporary continental trends in their use of dynamic variations, revealing the influence of the Mannheim School. Possessing a richness of colour, contrast and surprise, these symphonies typify Fisher’s expanding Classical style.

In 1995 McFerrin released Paper Music, an album he collaborated on with the St. Paul (Minnesota) Chamber Orchestra that featured orchestral works by Mozart, Bach, Rossini, and other masters, with the melodies sung instead of played.