Monk's Dream is the Columbia Records debut release featuring the Thelonious Monk Quartet: Monk (piano), Charlie Rouse (tenor sax), John Ore (bass), and Frankie Dunlop (drums). Jazz scholars and enthusiasts alike also heralded this combo as the best Monk had been involved with for several years. Although he would perform and record supported by various other musicians, the tight - almost telepathic - dimensions that these four shared has rarely been equalled in any genre. By the early '60s, bop had become considered passé by artists as well as fans looking for the next musical trend. This is coupled with the fact that discerning Monk fans would have undoubtedly recognized many of these titles from several live recordings issued at the end of his tenure on Riverside…

Raymond Leppard, CBE (born 11 August 1927, London, England - died 22 October 2019, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) was an English-American conductor, harpsichordist, composer & editor. In the 1960s, he played a prime role in the rebirth of interest in Baroque music. he was appointed Music Director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1987 (a position which he held for fourteen years).

Johann Bernhard Bach (1676-1749) is a somewhat ill-known member of the family, but known by his first cousin once removed, Johann Sebastian. A disciple of Pachelbel, he was in the service of the court of Eisenach and left us only instrumental music. His four Ouvertures for orchestra constitute the obvious link between French music of the Grand Siècle and the compositions that Johann Sebastian would write in Weimar and Cöthen. A missing link to be (re) discovered.

This work is a major late-career statement by composer Bent Sørensen, born in Copenhagen in 1958. In all likelihood, he will have the satisfaction of hearing it performed often in his old age, for it is an absolutely fascinating work. Much of Sørensen's music has been in smaller forms and closely explores extensions of the tonal repertory of choral singers, but here, he works on a larger canvas. Integral to the project is the text, which he designates as "Curated by Jakob Holtze." Words describing the Passion from Gospel According to St. Matthew are there, but they are interleaved with poetry, most of it in English (even the Danish poetry), by Edith Södergran, Anna Akhmatova, Emily Dickinson, Seren Ulrik Thomsen, Ole Sarvig, and Frank Jæger.

The newly mined creative energies that guided For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night continued into the Caravan & the New Symphonia project. Fusing with a 39-piece orchestra is a daring move that pays off. The remastered CD includes over a half an hour of unissued material from Caravan, with and without the New Symphonia, during the same October 28, 1973 Theatre Royal concert. Subtitled "The Complete Concert," this performance captures Caravan at a creative zenith. The newly restored program commences with a brief introduction from BBC Radio's Alan Black. The band then presents three from For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night: "Memory Lain, Hugh"/"Headloss" suite, "The Dog, the Dog, He's at It Again," and "Hoedown"…

Eclipse are one of the very few bands who managed to bring their 80’s influenced slab of Melodic Hard Rock to the masses. They are now back with the release of their ninth studio album aptly entitled MEGALOMANIUM: a word that well describes the grandiose sound and plans that the band has for their new music.
Coming off their most successful album yet, "Paradigm" (which includes the massive single 'Viva La Victoria' that has almost 25 million streams and counting!), Sweden's Eclipse released their last album “Wired” in late 2020 at the height of the pandemic times. Still, notwtihstanding the lack of touring they managed to continue the path of growth that started when the band appeared at the Melodifestivalen in 2016 with their song “Runaways”.

Protean Quartet, winner of the prestigious first prize at the 2022 York Early Music International Young Artists Competition, explores the String Quartet repertoire of the second half of the XVIII Century, from the last of the so-called “Russian Quartets”, by Franz Joseph Haydn, to Beethoven’s Op. 18 No.1, the first of his String Quartets to be published, but already a masterpiece of the repertoire. The album also includes the first recording of Juan Pedro Almeida’s Quartet op. 7 no. 1. Protean Quartet, performing on period instruments and historically informed criteria, delivers refined, vital, and highly expressive performances.

In what would become Fats Domino’s final public performance, he with his 9-piece band demonstrating why he is considered one of the pioneers of Rock and Roll. This previously unreleased album - Live at Tipitina’s - was multi tracked recorded and professionally mixed so you can feel like you were right there in the middle of it all.

Near the border of Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, a disputed area called Fashaga is home to one of the most raucous, hypnotic, addictive, and celestial dance musics being made anywhere in Africa, perhaps the least known to the wider world of them all. Far from the townships of South Africa or the cities of Nigeria, this sound belongs to people intimately tied to their land, deep in the rural areas of Sudan.

The ride through H.E.A.T City continues! After hymns of praise from media and fans for their latest album "Force Majeure", Swedish heirs of 80's Hard Rock H.E.A.T promise to deliver more of the same energy with their follow-up "Extra Force"! Last year's most significant change to the band's line-up is the return of original singer Kenny Leckremo – "Extra Force" for the first time includes tracks previously sung by Erik Grönwall now with Kenny on vocals. Everyone who has seen them live knows: these guys give everything on stage! The four in 2022 live recorded tracks capture the energy of their dynamic live performances.

Though her career stretched from the '30s to the '80s and she's widely considered possibly the greatest female jazz singer or all time, Ella Fitzgerald will probably forever be best known for a mid-'50s collection of albums collectively called the Songbooks, where she devoted entire albums to the works of such composers as Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, and Duke Ellington. THE BEST OF THE SONGBOOKS: THE BALLADS is one of the many compilations based on these recordings, and one of the best. From its beautiful, informative packaging to its gorgeously remastered sound, this 16-track, 64-minute collection treats the material with the respect it deserves. The material, of course, is first-rate, wall-to-wall standards from Johnny Mercer's wistful "Laura" to Ellington's sly "Do Nothin' Til You Hear From Me." Fitzgerald's performances are equally outstanding, as are the mostly big-band arrangements. This is as good as jazz ballad collections get.