Italian pianist Marcotulli's duets with British saxophonist Sheppard have been discreet gems which, in recent years, have occasionally been seen glittering around the jazz scene, and this set is a more faithful representation of that intimacy than the pair's more eclectic album, Koine, released four years ago. Marcotulli has lived in Scandinavia, and the ghostly, wistful long-note jazz of Jan Garbarek, Arve Henriksen and others has had an impact here. Sheppard's tone control and ability to do more with less has been an eloquent feature of his mid-life music, but a startling edginess often bursts out of it, in fierce split-notes or rumbling, upward-spiralling runs against slowly swaying piano figures. Waves and Wind appoints the piano (in Marcotulli's Jarrett-like incarnation) and the saxophone to play each role respectively, and Sound of Stone is an abstract wriggle through soprano figures and skittering percussion.

Awesome debut studio disc by this killer retro rock band from the deep woods of West Virgina featuring bad-ass, blues-based, "old-school" heavy guitar riffage and outstanding soul-powered vox that land down hard @ the 70s Classic Rock jam:house. Includes 12 tracks of straight up, authentic, bluesy hard rock that is highly recommended to fans of Bad Company, Free, Humble Pie, Led Zeppelin, Montrose, James Gang, Foreigner, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Badlands & Cry Of Love. Grooveyard Records Re-issue of this way-kool essential guitar rock disc complete with an excellent unreleased, epic 8 minute bonus track. Dig deep and smell the awesome Stone Machine rock mojo.

Commissioned by the Molde International Jazz Festival and recorded live at the Norwegian festival in 2010, “La notte” is a salute to Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, whom Ketil Bjørnstad counts amongst his formative influences. “At the same time that I discovered what jazz could be, after listening to Miles Davis’ In A Silent Way, I also saw the films by Godard, Bresson and Antonioni. Perhaps it was the slow, rhythmic authority in the films by Michelangelo Antonioni that made me think of music… As long as visual art creates music in our minds, and music creates pictures and visual expressions with the same intensity, the two are deeply and profoundly interdependent”. This album, then, can be considered “the soundtrack to an inner film”, in which Antonioni’s images and atmospheres are translated and transformed through personal moods and memories.

Founded in 1992, the New York-based Brentano Quartet is known for its interpretations combining perfect technique and matchless musicality. Those qualities are even more obvious in this series of late Beethoven quartets with this first volume bringing together the Op. 127 and 131. This pure crystal of intelligence and brilliance will doubtless constitute a milestone.

This live recording, made in 1975, comes from Ritchie Blackmore's last three concerts with the band before leaving to form Rainbow. It features Deep Purple Mark III, with David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals…

All four members of the collective calling itself Palatino have often carved out niches that place them just outside popular currents, and this one is no exception. There is a gentle though propulsive quality to the pianoless quartet that relies on the unusual instrumentation of trombone, trumpet, bass, and drums. All the tunes are originals by each of these seasoned bandmembers, except Tadd Dameron's "On a Misty Night." This is the sort of fare that grows on you, the kind that requires close attention to appreciate its nuances. The short lengths of the tunes prevent any meandering, though there is a sameness to some of the pieces as a result of the limited instrumentation. The two horns, trombonist Glenn Ferris and trumpeter Paolo Fresu, are stylistically similar, each offering understated and clearly articulated improvisations – clean, sparse, and economical.

Destiny is the seventh studio album by power metal band Stratovarius, released on 5 October 1998 through Noise Records. In 2019, Metal Hammer ranked it as the 7th best power metal album of all time.

Tales from the Kingdom of Fife is the debut album by Anglo-Swiss symphonic power metal band Gloryhammer. It was released on 29 March 2013 in Europe. In a fantasy version of 10th-century Scotland, as previously foretold (“Anstruther’s Dark Prophecy”), the evil wizard Zargothrax invades and conquers Dundee with an army of corrupted undead unicorns (“The Unicorn Invasion of Dundee”), kidnapping the princess Iona McDougall. The prince of the Kingdom of Fife, Angus McFife, swears revenge (“Angus McFife”); in a dream, he has a vision of three artifacts that will allow him to defeat Zargothrax, and sets off on a quest to acquire them. McFife first battles north to obtain a magical war hammer (“Quest for the Hammer of Glory,”) then travels to Strathclyde to acquire a golden dragon as his steed (“Magic Dragon”). Inspired by memories of McDougall, who is imprisoned by Zargothrax in a prison of ice (“Silent Tears of Frozen Princess,”) McFife rides his dragon to Loch Rannoch and retrieves the Amulet of Justice from its depths (“Amulet of Justice”), completing his quest for the three artifacts. ….

Smith/Kotzen is the name of a musical collaboration between musicians Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden and Richie Kotzen of The Winery Dogs. Their self-titled debut album, released on March 26, 2021, was described by the Ultimate Classic Rock as a mix of «blues, hard rock, traditional R&B and more.» Kotzen also added jazz fusion elements to some sections. Smith/Kotzen was supported by a first single released in January 2021, titled «Taking My Chances». Both musicians share guitar, bass, vocal, composing and production duties on the album. Kotzen also plays drums on five tracks and Tal Bergman, Richie’s longstanding friend and touring partner, replaces him on songs «You Don’t Know Me», «I Wanna Stay» and «‘Til Tomorrow». The album also features special guest performance from Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain on «Solar Fire».

At the gala concert 2009, the Berliner Philharmoniker under its musical director Sir Simon Rattle and Lang Lang present works by two Russian composers. Sergei Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, one of his most enduring popular pieces, demands a virtuoso pianist and a huge supple orchestral sound. Both it gets from the world famous Berliner Philharmoniker and the very gifted soloist Lang Lang. “The Nutcracker” by Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, perhaps the most popular of all ballets, completes the programme.