Recorded in St John's Church West Norwood, London in March 2022, Florilegium release their 31st Channel Classics album: Haydn Symphonies Nos. 6, 7 and 8. This recording involves 18 members of Florilegium, the exact same number Haydn had at his disposal when he composed these symphonies shortly after arriving at Esterhazy in 1761. Haydn’s first symphonies for his new employer, Prince Paul Anton Esterházy, form a group of three entitled Morning, Noon and Night. Perhaps these were a result of the Prince’s suggestion that Haydn write something programmatic along the lines of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

A welcome addition to the catalog of Saint-Saëns' chamber music, this disc presents four of his pieces for violin and piano in a balanced and satisfying program. Violinist Ulf Wallin and pianist Roland Pöntinen have a sympathetic feeling for Saint-Saëns that shines through their polished performances, particularly in the two sonatas – works of such interest and vitality that it is inexplicable that they are infrequently performed and recorded. In its pensive lyricism and effervescent virtuosity, the Violin Sonata No. 1 shows the influences of Brahms and Mendelssohn. Wallin gives full bow to the long, noble melodies in the first two movements, and delivers the brilliant scherzo and finale with verve.

A new opportunity to hear the glorious virtuosity of Roberta Invernizzi comes with this Lamentationi, where the soprano is joined by Franco Pavan’s Laboratorio ’600 in an intimate and intense Passiontide score from mid seventeenth-century Siena: Alessandro Della Ciaia’s set of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Convents throughout Siena at the time boasted nuns of considerable musical talents, both in singing and in playing instruments such as the organ, lute and theorbo, and it is undoubtedly for one such convent that the nobleman Della Ciaia wrote his music for the Holy Weeks matins services. His Lamentations are scored for a solo soprano possessed of a very wide range and capable of meeting his demanding technical effects.

The frustrating thing about smooth jazz isn't an absence of talent or chops; actually, there are plenty of smooth jazz musicians who have chops galore even though their studio recordings don't reflect that. At smooth jazz concerts, it isn't hard to find artists who take a lot more chances on-stage than they do in the studio. But taking chances in the studio isn't conducive to airplay on commercial smooth jazz/NAC radio stations, which is why so many generic, unimaginative smooth jazz recordings have been flooding the market since the 1980s. Walter Beasley has certainly given listeners plenty of generic, unimaginative recordings over the years, but not everything he records is without merit – and Free Your Mind does have its moments.

With 2018's Raising Our Voice, long-running crossover jazz outfit Yellowjackets offer a sophisticated, broadly stylistic collection of songs showcasing Grammy-winning Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza as a guest artist on seven of the 13 tracks. The second album the band has recorded since the departure of founding bassist Jimmy Haslip, Raising Our Voice introduces newest member Dane Alderson on bass, taking over from Felix Pastorius' seat, who left the fold after 2016's Cohearance. As with that album, Raising Our Voice finds Yellowjackets exploring a harmonically nuanced bed of post-bop and fusion-influenced sounds that remain audience-accessible even as they reveal the members' talents for investigative soloing and improvisational interplay. In this department, saxophonist Bob Mintzer excels, able to evince a deft balance between the probing modalism of John Coltrane and the lyrical soulfulness of Grover Washington, Jr.

Dancing with Strangers is the ninth studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1987. It became Rea's first major success in UK, peaking at #2, behind Michael Jackson's Bad, and spent 46 weeks in the charts, achieving Platinum accreditation. It reached the Top 10 in six other European countries, while in New Zealand it became a number one album. "Let's Dance" was released as the first single and, like the album, became a major hit for Rea in UK, peaking at #12. In tone with the success of the album, "Let's Dance" became a major hit in New Zealand as well, peaking at #2. The other singles released from this album were "Loving You Again" (UK #47), "Joys of Christmas" (UK #67) and "Que Sera" (UK #73).

The music on this three-CD set (released in 1997) won a Pulitzer Prize, but it's not without its faults. Trumpeter Wynton Marsalis tells the story of two Africans (singers Miles Griffith and Cassandra Wilson) who are captured, brought to the United States and sold as slaves. Because the male had formerly been a prince while the female had been a commoner, he considers himself to be her superior. He asks for but then ignores the advice of a wise man (Jon Hendricks), gets caught trying to escape, discovers what "soul" is, finally accepts the female as his equal and eventually escapes with her to freedom. Marsalis wrote a dramatic, episodic and generally thought-provoking three-hour work, utilizing the three singers plus 15 other musicians (all of whom have significant musical parts to play) in a massive 27-part suite.

András Schiff is one of the best Bach players among Gould, Rosalyn Tureck and Wanda Landowska. On Schiff's French Suites, every part from every suite has a different color and gives you different feeling. Every harmony is taken to its end with care, and dynamic balance is always delightful to listen. Articulation of the notes is excellent, full of humour, and in some places you surely start to smile and you feel very happy when you listen to Schiff. He also plays the slow parts very deeply and warmly, which is for some artists a big problem when playing Bach. There are also Italian Concerto and French Overture on the CD's, played brilliantly, so this set is really worth buying. Recommended for everyone.