This disc in Chandos’ continuing survey of the works of Arnold Bax contains world premiere recordings. It opens with the London Pageant, which Bax composed for the 1937 British Coronation. The piece, ostensibly a march but with the dimensions and diversity of a symphonic poem, rings with brightly glittering flourishes suitable for the occasion, and contains more than a hint of Elgar’s celebratory style. Next comes the 1949 Concertante for Three Winds and Orchestra, a beautifully melodic work in the style of Bax’s later symphonies that features a different instrumental soloist–English horn, clarinet, and French horn–in each of the three movements, with all coming together for the brief finale.

Cimarosa was one of a number of very good composers who was attracted to do a stint at the court of Catherine the Great. Apparently, this opera was composed during this visit. Though now known mainly for his opera buffa, especially Il Matrimonia Segreto, Cimarosa composed other types of operas, of which this is one. The libretto tells a snippit of the Anthony and Cleopatra tale, and is no competitor of, say, Shakespeare's magnificent and nuanced account. On the surface the libretto seems to be much in the tradition of eighteenth century opera seria, with dialogue interrupted by musical episodes, mainly arias, illustrating the feelings more or less appropriate to the development of the plot.

The J.S. Bach Foundation has embarked on a remarkable undertaking: over a period of some 25 years, the Foundation will perform the complete vocal works by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). Each month, one of the over 200 Bach cantatas is performed in the idyllic town of Trogen in Appenzell, Switzerland. With a rhythm of 12 cantatas per year, the project is estimated to conclude in the year 2030. All introductory workshops, concerts and reflection lectures on the cantata texts are recorded; the texts of the lectures are published in a continually expanding Bach Anthology.

Recorded live in Hamburg and Bremen, Germany, 1975.
Hardcore filthy electric Texas Blues affair with Freddie firing on all cilinders; just a whopper of a show, with probably the funkiest rendition of "Big Legged Woman" he ever gave. The whole band is on fire here.
Sizzling work-outs of Blues standards mixed in with some of his more soul-inclined material ("Woman Across the River") make for a fantastic slab of live electric Blues by one of the genre's (also literal) giants.
Also: where there are a host of live King CDs that feature horrendous sound and dubbing, this jam right here is crystal clear and sharp.

On this 1996 recording, improbably the first to ever feature him leading a big band, the inimitable Joe Henderson assembled nine compositions (seven of which were self-penned) and a topnotch band for a very interesting record. Volumes have been written about Henderson as a soloist but, on Big Band, even the longest-term Henderson fan gets to hear his prodigious skills as a big band arranger for the first time. Influenced by Bill Holman and Bill Russo as much as by classical composers Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok, his charts are cool and sophisticated. Of course, Henderson's cause is helped by the absolutely unquestioned majesty of the core material, as well as a fine batch of co-soloists, including Chick Corea, Christian McBride, and Freddie Hubbard…

The Argentinian ensemble MIA (an abbreviation of Musicos Independientes Asociados) was a project based around composer and keyboardist Lito Vitale, which had its main activity between 1974 and 1980. Friends and acquaintances came and went in the different versions of this ongoing project until it fell apart in 1980, although new material was made under that moniker for a few more years. "Archivos MIA (1974-1985) chronicles the musical history and heritage of this project on two discs, containing quite a lot of material is previously unreleased.
"Archivos MIA" comes across as a production seeking to satisfy two different audiences. Those unfamiliar with this ensemble will receive a good overview of the scope of their repertoire on the first of these CDs, while existing fans most likely will find the second one most intriguing due to the unreleased material that makes up this CD…