Chicago Urban Blues 1923-1945 is a concentrated anthology of historic recordings by individuals with ties to communities all across the southern United States. This collection includes well chosen examples by pianists Meade "Lux" Lewis, Bob Robinson (of Hokum Boys fame), Roosevelt Sykes, Clarence "Pinetop" Smith, and Jimmy Yancey, who played on one of only two recordings known to have been made by vocalist Faber Smith. Amos Easton, also known as Bumble Bee Slim, was backed on the ivories by Myrtle Jenkins, who also made records with Priscilla Stewart, Mary Mack, and the State Street Swingers. There's enough female energy in here to settle anybody's business. You hear Ida Cox accompanied by pianist Lovie Austin; Bertha "Chippie" Hill by Richard M. Jones, and Hannah May, who might have been Victoria Spivey's sister Elton Spivey, with Georgia Tom Dorsey and Tampa Red. Lil Johnson sings "My Stove's in Good Condition" backed by pianist Black Bob and guitarist Big Bill Broonzy. "Squat It" comes from a large body of works generated by the team of Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy. Sippie Wallace sings the "Bedroom Blues," and her little brother Hersal Thomas performs his own "Suitcase Blues," which became a staple of the piano blues repertoire and received its best reinterpretation on a 1939 Blue Note recording by Albert Ammons.

Famous as its title has become through Carl Orff's work of the same name, the original Carmina burana—a German manuscript collection of mostly secular songs, probably compiled in the early thirteenth century—is all but unknown to modern listeners. That it should be so is hardly surprising, since many of the pieces in the manuscript pose formidable editorial problems (inasmuch as they can be deciphered at all), and since virtually nothing is known about the manner in which they would have been performed and accompanied, nor about the circumstances under which they would have been heard.

This 1960 recording of the Great C Minor Mass is here released under the Deutsche Grammophon Originals umbrella, and is thoroughly deserving of the accolade. This is an account of the work which is completely uninfluenced by authentic practice–if you're already curling your lip, then please stop here–but which establishes its own terms of performance with such assurance that it's almost impossible to resist. The forces (both orchestral and choral) are large but by no means unwieldy, and directed with infectious and spirited enthusiasm by Fricsay. The effect is one of solidity and grandeur, but without any hint of pomposity: indeed, the jubilant choruses of the Gloria have an almost childlike glee about them.

These distinguished, if not perfect, recordings made in 1984. They should be amongst everyone’s preferred renditions. They are brisk but not tense, dramatic and even playful when need be. Occasionally, but only at rare moments, such as the beginning of the “Prague” Symphony, I would like something a little fiercer. Mostly Marriner is right on, as in the transition between the darkish introduction to the first movement of the Symphony No. 39 and its exuberant main theme.

Way back in 1991, Brazilian-born pianist Eliane Elias opened Illusions, her debut solo album, with a tune called "Choro." It offered a swinging distillation of the musical form that has been at the heart of her life-long study of samba. Since then, she's revisited her musical heritage over and over again, wedding modern jazz to post-1960 Brazilian jazz and MPB. In the process, she's developed an instantly identifiable sound as a pianist. Dance of Time follows 2015's fine Made in Brasil, a set that relied most heavily on bossa nova.

Jovin Webb dazzled millions of viewers on American Idol with his bayou mystique, his humility, and his distinctive gravelly vocals. Now, the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based artist steps forward with his debut album, Drifter, produced by multi-Grammy winner Tom Hambridge (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, Kingfish). The 12-song collection is a vibrant mix of growling low-down blues, Jovin’s wailing harmonica, heartfelt soul ballads, and rowdy, Little Richards-style rock n’ roll.
After hearing Jovin for the first time, R&B superstar Lionel Richie gushed: “This is what barbecue sauce sounds like.” Best-selling country music star Luke Bryan added: “I could sit and drink a lot of bourbon listening to that voice”…

Magellan's Impending Ascension is a truly great progressive rock work. Following the same formula as the previous Hour of Restoration, Impending Ascension features better, more consistent songwriting and a harder-edged sound. "Estadium Nacional" and "Waterfront Weirdos," both 11-minutes long, get the album off to a great start. They both feature timing and melody changes that have to be heard to be appreciated. Combined with the new, harder-edged sound, it's clear that Magellan has found its niche with this album.

Vega were one of several Andalusian and Spanish bands who flourished in the mid- to late seventies by making music that blended flamenco, folk and jazz at times with English progressive tendencies, often resulting in a colorful and rich fusion sound. Acts like Triana, Cai, Mezquita and Azahar would establish themselves as the preeminent players on these scenes, along with the more contemporary counterparts like Los Canarios and Alameda. In this vein Vega combined Andalusian instrumentation (and sometimes traditional arrangements) with a less well-defined progressive bent, emphasizing instead a heavy flamenco influence and the showcased guitar work of band leader Tómas Vega. The group released three albums in three years, each accompanied by one single. The first two are heavily imbued with flamenco-driven fusion compositions.

During the mid-'50s, Sarah Vaughan spent most of her time recording songbook standards backed by a large orchestra in florid arrangements, with only the occasional breath of fresh air like her masterpiece, 1954's Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown. Four years after that milestone, another landed with the live album At Mister Kelly's. Recorded quite early in the days of the live LP, the album captured Vaughan at her best and most relaxed, stretching out on a set of late-night torch songs and ballads. With a trio including Jimmy Jones on piano, Roy Haynes on drums, and Richard Davis on bass, Vaughan is simply captivating, easily disproving the notion that, to be entertaining, singers needed inventive arrangements and multiple voices (instrumental or otherwise) behind them…

Five years after the disappointing The Magazine, Rickie Lee Jones returned to form with Flying Cowboys, which shared much of the playful, childlike charm of her debut, Rickie Lee Jones, and some of the musically diffuse, lyrically ambitious form of its follow-up, Pirates. From the opening track, "The Horses," which suggested a mother's delight with her child as much as a lover's devotion, Jones reintroduced the joyous tone of her early work as well as establishing the Western theme that would run through the album - cowboys, rodeos, horses, deserts - without adding up to an actual storyline. The easy rhythms and lazy, flexible singing on the first few songs were reminiscent of Laura Nyro's work with Labelle on their Gonna Take a Miracle album, after which Jones branched out into reggae and folk-blues, coming up with an affectionate bluesman voice on "Ghost Train"…

Les Chants Magnétiques (Magnetic Fields) was the third of Jean Michel Jarre's albums in a row to update Tangerine Dream's atmospheric sequencer trance for a synth pop and mainstream crossover audience. The side-long "Les Chants Magnetiques, Pt. 1" is the capstone of the album, while "Pt. 2" through "Pt. 5" move through driving electronic pop and several passages more indebted to Jarre's past in the musique concrète scene. It's often just as melodic and inventive as Oxygène, though not as consistently creative.

On Buddy Guy's second Silvertone release, he continues the practice of guest appearances begun on Damn Right, I've Got the Blues. In this case, the notables include Paul Rodgers, Travis Tritt, and John Mayall. The finest combination comes when Bonnie Raitt joins Guy on John Hiatt's "Feels Like Rain." Raitt's gritty vocals and sweet slide guitar add a pleasing nuance to the bittersweet track, and it is ultimately the high point of the record. Certain critics and blues purists have derided Guy's search for mainstream success as evidenced by his penchant for guest appearances and non-traditional blues forms, but Guy sounds fantastic in these unconventional situations (witness his burning version of the Moody Blues' "I Go Crazy").