If The Times They Are a-Changin' isn't a marked step forward from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, even if it is his first collection of all originals, it's nevertheless a fine collection all the same. It isn't as rich as Freewheelin', and Dylan has tempered his sense of humor considerably, choosing to concentrate on social protests in the style of "Blowin' in the Wind." With the title track, he wrote an anthem that nearly equaled that song, and "With God on Our Side" and "Only a Pawn in Their Game" are nearly as good, while "Ballad of Hollis Brown" and "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" are remarkably skilled re-castings of contemporary tales of injustice. His absurdity is missed, but he makes up for it with the wonderful "One Too Many Mornings" and "Boots of Spanish Leather," two lovely classics…

Jazz pianist Mal Waldron and soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy became acquainted at the Five Spot in 1958. The following year, the saxophonist approached Waldron to guest on his New Jazz debut, Reflections: Steve Lacy Plays Thelonious Monk. They continued playing concerts and making records together until Waldron's death in 2002. Both collaborated with multi-disciplinary artists including filmmakers, poets, painters, and sculptors. While their collaboration was by no means prolific, releasing less than 15 albums together - their duo offerings usually contained compositions by both men - and idiosyncratic readings of tunes by Monk or Herbie Nichols. The Mighty Warriors: Live in Antwerp is a previously unreleased 1995 quartet concert with drummer Andrew Cyrille and bassist Reggie Workman. Released by the Barcelona-based Elemental Music in collaboration with producer Zev Feldman, the double-disc package contains six long tracks spread over an hour-and-40 minutes…

In the early 90s a wave of King Crimson inspired new progrock bands emerged in Scandinavia. One of the first was four piece formation Anekdoten from Sweden. Gravity is the fourth studio album from this progressive rock act. The music on Gravity continues in the emotional style that was started on From Within but adds an alternative rock touch and a bit more commercial appeal to the overall sound. The dark mood and the famous extensive use of mellotron are still trademarks in Anekdoten´s sound on Gravity. The vocal melodies have become slightly more memorable, but they are still far from commercial rock melodies.

"Bualadh Bos" means "Clap Your Hands" in Irish, and popular Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries encourage their audiences to do just that on this collection, the group's first official live album. Bualadh Bos: The Cranberries Live features 15 songs recorded between 1994 and 1998 at concerts in the United States, Canada, Norway, and Sweden, with the group performing most of their best-known songs for enthusiastic fans. Selections include "Linger," "Zombie," "Dreams," "Sunday," "Ridiculous Thoughts," "Free to Decide," and many more.

Café del Mar Aria is a CD compilation series that combines chill-out music with opera arias, thereby expanding the existing Café del Mar series. The Café del Mar concept originated from the "sunset bar" with the same name in Sant Antoni de Portmany on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza. Café del Mar Aria is produced by Paul Schwartz.

The late John Martyn was a legend in British music circles, a phenomenal guitarist and arranger whose influence has been acknowledged by everyone from Bob Marley and Eric Clapton to Brian Eno and the Edge, and whose approach to soundcraft helped lay the foundation for an entire generation of trip-hop artists and DJs. Heaven and Earth is sort of of a tribute album; it consists of unfinished tracks that Martyn was working on at the time of his death in 2009, some of them bluesy, some reggae-inflected or jazzy, but all of them imbued with a powerful sense of space and an expansive approach to melody. "Heel of the Hunt" is among the most spacious and powerful tracks on this album, while "Stand Amazed" hints strongly at reggae while guitars, clavinets, and soulful backing vocalists respond with more of an R&B vibe.

Here's a Symphony of Psalms that successfully captures the spirit and letter of the work–reverence, jubilation, and celebration, as well as specifics of orchestral color and texture. Boys' voices–supposedly Stravinsky's original choice–contribute their share to the bright choral timbre, an effect that works very well. We also get first-rate performances of the Mass and the rarely recorded Canticum sacrum.

The first thing that comes to mind when listening to Tiger Walk is the pair of instrumental albums recorded by Jeff Beck in the mid-'70s, Blow by Blow and Wired. Like those two recordings, this outing showcases a fiery, inventive electric guitarist in a rock and jazz-rock setting. Robben Ford, known in recent years for his blues work with his band, the Blue Line, eschews vocals here, teaming up with keyboard funk master Bernie Worrell for some chunky, funky, wah-wah-laden grooves. This music, led by Ford's blazing guitar lines, is more appropriately categorized as instrumental rock than jazz, but the rhythms recall James Brown and Worrell's alma mater, the P-Funk gang, as often as they do those of a hard rock band. Tenor saxophonist Bob Malach turns in a couple of solid solos, and the rhythm section of drummer Steve Jordan and bassist Charlie Drayton cooks throughout.

When Ralph Towner burst onto the contemporary jazz scene in the mid-70s, listeners were well aware of his awesome talent as a member of Oregon. But when Solstice was issued on the ECM label, it took the brilliant guitarist's caché to a much higher level, especially as a composer. With the otherworldly curved soprano sax and flute playing of Jan Garbarek, the precise drumming of Jon Christensen, and unique bass sounds of Eberhard Weber, the music on this album lifted the ECM/Euro-styled jazz and improvised music to a new realm of pure expressionism. Simply put - this music is stunningly beautiful. The incredible "Oceanus" begins with Towner's cascading guitar, followed by the swelling and symphonic bass of Weber, a swinging drum line by Christensen with Garbarek's atmospheric and dramatic curved soprano layering contrasting timbres, symmetry, and unusual colors…