In Minas Gerais, a region which still enjoyed great opulence in the late eighteenth century thanks to the discovery of gold there, Antonio dos Santos Cunha practised a vivid style of composition, with all the hallmarks of Baroque rhetoric combined with musical resources deriving from Italian opera, and spiced with a tropical ‘Sturm und Drang’, thus adding his own dramatic and intense setting to the canon of Passion music.

Nicki Parrott (vocals & bass) is joined by John Di Martino (piano), Dave Blenkhorn (guitar) and Quentin Baxter (drums) on this set of '70s favorites by Boz Scaggs, Chicago, Elton John, Carly Simon, Carole King and more!

This 2001 DMB performance from Toronto is the band’s first Live Trax release out of Canada. From the very first pulse of the heartbeat intro to Pantala Naga Pampa and Rapunzel and all the way to the last beats of Two Step, this show offers solid renditions of songs off the new album, Everyday, as well as road tested gems like JTR and Say Goodbye. The Lovely Ladies' extra vocal power elevates the performances throughout and specifically on Don't Drink The Water and Stay (Wasting Time).

Life sounds fête champêtre for New Orleans resident Rickie Lee Jones on her most spirited album since 1989's Flying Cowboys. Just listen to her soar on the deliriously joyful "I Wasn't There", and the gorgeous R&B-inflected chorus of "Feet On The Ground"…

Having amassed 20 Grammy nominations, four statues and three Emmy wins, Gordon Goodwin is the most decorated big band leader in the 21st century. After all six of his Big Phat Band albums have garnered Grammy nominations or wins, he’s not elusive about why he trimmed his large 18-piece ensemble for an outing as the 8-member Little Phat Band, which will release their debut album, An Elusive Man, on September 9 via the Music of Content label.

Written as music to accompany the choreography of Molissa Fenley, Anthony Davis followed the huge artistic (if not commercial) success of his albums Episteme and Variations in Dreamtime with yet another wonderful recording along similar lines. Using many of the same musicians and, in fact, recycling some of the same thematic material (as he was to do often in his career), Davis once again finds enormous richness and power in a territory straddling advanced jazz and contemporary minimalism, here even enjoining the services of Steve Reich's violinist of choice, Shem Guibbory. The compositions combine propulsive, oddly metered rhythms with fascinating and often gorgeous melodies including, especially his bitterly beautiful "A Walk in the Shadows," here given arguably its finest, most intense performance with Guibbory doing gut-wrenching work…

Though her collaborations with Tricky, Orbital, and Add N To X focused on the sheer beauty and power of her singing, on her debut album Felt Mountain Allison Goldfrapp also explores more straightforward styles. Together with composer/multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory, Goldfrapp wraps her unearthly voice around songs that borrow from '60s pop, cabaret, folk, and electronica without sounding derivative or unfocused…

With the “Christmas With My Friends” concert recording a long-time dream come true for me.I have always wanted to perform these songs of joy, but in my own way and with good friends as company, being able to concentrate on the music without any boundaries. It is with great pride and happiness that I am presenting this Christmas concert to you. It is the Christmas I dreamed of as a kid and I kept on dreaming till I got the chance to fulfil it and now it ́s here, right in front of me and you. I am as happy as a kid on Christmas Eve when the gifts are handed out (yes, that ́s the way we do it in Sweden). The music on this recording is a choice of songs that I have come across during all the years of dreaming of making this project. ~ Nils Landgren

During the seventeenth century, there was no such thing as a middle-class concert scene in Italy, as we are familiar with today. If one wanted to hear festive music, one could only experience this on a regular basis in church services. Since the Catholic mass onlyoffered, due to liturgical guidelines, limited possibilities for the performance of extensive musical works, the vespers during key Catholic celebrations in particular developed especially on Marian feast days into concert-like evening music. One of the greatest of its kind is the Vesper For The Blessed Virgin by Johann Rosenmüller (1617-1684), who grew up in Germany, but experienced the greatest part of his career as a composer in Italy.

This is the second CD Ivo Perelman recorded with Karl Berger. However, on the first CD ( CD LR 712 - Reverie) Karl played piano while this time he played vibraphone. This was the first time ever that Ivo played with vibraphone. Both albums are very different because of the nature of the instruments. Playing with vibraphone opened the door for Ivo to show his kinder, gentler side. According to Ivo, Karl happened to be more 'European,' more romantic.