Is Candy Dulfer a jazz saxophonist with a feel for funk or a funk player with a jazz side to her musical personality? On FUNKED UP, she leans toward the latter. While there is some smooth melodious jazz here, most of this set is geared to paying tribute to old-school funk–Parliament, Funkadelic, James Brown, and the earliest efforts by Kool & the Gang and Rick James. There’s some rapping along with overtones of reggae rhymes and Latin rhythms, but for the most part FUNKED lives up to its title, with Dulfer’s heated sax shining throughout. This special edition of FUNKED UP! also includes a second disc of Candy Dulfer "chill-out" instrumentals.

When it comes to good time R&B played by top class musicians, you can’t beat the sound of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. After Bill quit the Rolling Stones in 1993, the bass player set about forming his own all-star band. As well as touring the world, the Rhythm Kings released a succession of fine albums, beginning with ‘Struttin’ Our Stuff’ in 1998. We have selected the hottest tracks from this debut album, as well as songs from subsequent albums ‘Anyway The Wind Blows’, ‘Double Bill’, ‘Groovin’ and ‘Just For A Thrill’.

Several years after the original art rock supergroup Colosseum disbanded, drummer Jon Hiseman formed Colosseum II, a more jazz fusion-oriented outfit featuring guitarist Gary Moore (Thin Lizzy) and keyboardist Don Airey. Their eclectic debut, Strange New Flesh, shows some impressive chops from all involved, with an emphasis on Moore's soulful guitar leads. Vocalist Mike Starr, while not an immensely engaging singer, does a nice job keeping up with Hiseman and bass player Neil Murray. Highlights include the technically showy but blissfully irreverent ode to Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moog," a nice version of Joni Mitchell's "Down to You," and the funky "Gemini and Leo."

Busted is the eleventh studio album released by Cheap Trick, which was released in 1990 and peaked at number 44 on the US album charts. After the success of "The Flame" from the previous album Lap of Luxury, the band recorded Busted with a similar format, especially on the single "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love." The single peaked at number 12 on the US charts. Guest musicians on the album include Mick Jones of the band Foreigner (guitar on "If You Need Me"), Chrissie Hynde from Pretenders (vocals on "Walk Away"), and Russell Mael of Sparks (vocals on "You Drive, I'll Steer"). Session musician (and former member of Poco) Kim Bullard played keyboards on the album. The album was certified Gold in Canada in November 1990.

Gary Moore's tribute to Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, Blues for Greeny, is more of a showcase for Moore's skills than Green's songwriting. After all, Green was more famous for his technique than his writing. Consequently, Moore uses Green's songs as a starting point, taking them into new territory with his own style. And Moore positively burns throughout Blues for Greeny, tearing off licks with ferocious intensity. If anything, the album proves that Moore is at his best when interpreting other people's material – it easily ranks as one of his finest albums.

Although Haydn’s place in the history of the oratorio has been secured by his great vocal masterpieces The Creation and The Seasons, his first oratorio, Il ritorno di Tobia (The Return of Tobias), is among the better-kept secrets of music history. The Italian libretto deals with the return of Tobias and the curing of his blind father, an exceptionally popular story in eighteenth century Vienna. With its vivid portrayal of the protagonists’ emotional turmoil, achieved largely through wide-ranging arias of great virtuosity, Il ritorno di Tobia is a work of considerable beauty and dramatic impact. This recording includes the two magnificent choruses Ah gran Dio! and Svanisce in un momento written for a performance of Tobia in 1784.

Acts I and III of this oratorio are sumptuous pageants: Solomon on the throne with his adoring Queen; Solomon receives the Queen of Sheba. In between, Act II's depiction of Solomon's judgment (over the baby) is one of the finest dramatic scenes Handel wrote in any context. The First Harlot's fear, desperation, and gratitude, the Second Harlot's grief-crazed jealousy, Solomon's serene wisdom–all are smashingly portrayed by Handel and by Rodgers, Jones and Watkinson. Argenta's Queen is a girlish delight; the regal Hendricks as Sheba sounds quite comfortable among these Baroque specialists; Rolfe Johnson and Varcoe have two splendid arias each. The choir and orchestra–whether in the amorous "Nightingale" chorus, the sequence of pictorial numbers in Act III, or the stunning double choruses throughout–are magnificent.

On this record (one incidentally that Hawkins, who is his own harshest critic, ranks among his best) we have a group of musicians who complement the master quite successfully. On trumpet is Emmett Berry, a Fletcher Henderson and Count Basie alumnus who has played and recorded with just about anybody you can think of. The trombonist is young Eddie Bert who was a member of such major bands as those of Charlie Barnet, Woody Herman, Benny Goodman, Stan Kenton and Red Norvo. On piano, Billy Taylor, a student of a great Art Tatum and a 52nd Street cohort of Hawkins. Tatum, generally acknowledged to be the supreme wizard of the keyboard, has called Taylor "the best young pianist in the country"…