The neo-noir textures of Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava's fine ECM release, New York Days, recall evocative, jazz-based film scores such as Gato Barbieri's Last Tango in Paris or Miles Davis's Elevator to the Gallows. Joined by a stellar cast, including the fine pianist Stefano Bollani, contemporary tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, and the apparently ageless Paul Motian on drums, Rava conjures a rain-soaked, black-and-white urban fantasia on a finely produced, 77-minute set of moody originals. Rava, Turner, and Bollani are all strong stylists, however, so there is little danger of their being fully submerged in the impressionistic dark waters. At times, the sound resembles the post-bop chamber jazz of Miles's celebrated '60s quintet, at others, the upscale European strains of film composer Nino Rota or tango master Astor Piazzolla. Either way, New York Days is one of the outstanding jazz releases of 2009.

Another amazing SBB album, and a particular triumph for group keyboardist and vocalist Józef Skrzek, whose synthesiser mastery is on exceptional form this time around. Having mastered a space rock-symphonic melange with a spicy dose of jazz fusion, the group seemed to take this album to introduce more minimalistic elements into their work - rather than being busily playing complex material all the time, the group know just when to step back and get simple for a delicate acoustic guitar interlude or for a tension building percussion segment. It takes a listen or two to sink in, but once it does the effect is electrifying, building up the extended compositions marvellously to their grand conclusions. One of their best.

Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.

Strictly Jive is the Hep label's 25-track salute to Chick Webb, a formidable percussionist who led one of the toughest big bands of the 1930s. Strictly Jive concentrates upon the years 1935-1940, a period of time that represents the second half of the ten-year Webb dynasty. The Chick Webb orchestra was a jazz incubator from which emerged seasoned instrumentalists like Taft Jordan, Sandy Williams, Garvin Bushell, Hilton Jefferson, and Eddie Barefield, as well as future bandleaders John Kirby and Louis Jordan, and renowned composer and arranger Edgar Sampson. Saxophonist Wayman Carver, one of the few flutists in jazz during the 1930s, was a featured soloist with Chick Webb and may be heard piping away in front of the band on Wilbur Sweatman's "Down Home Rag." Most people who have heard of Webb associate him with his star vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, a dynamic woman who assumed leadership of the band after 30-year-old Chick Webb succumbed to spinal tuberculosis on June 16, 1939 in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

Celebrated for his vivid orchestral pieces and effective scores for such films as Altered States and The Red Violin, John Corigliano is somewhat less renowned for his chamber music and keyboard oeuvre. Yet his international career took off with the premiere of his Sonata for violin and piano (1963), and he has periodically composed important works for piano, all of which show the same expertise and originality displayed in his major concert works. These sophisticated but highly entertaining pieces are not insufficiently recorded, but they are usually scattered about on CDs with other composers' works, so it is good to find them together on this 2006 Black Box release, in lively performances and recorded with fine sound. Violinist Corey Cerovsek and pianist Andrew Russo deliver what is probably the most engaging and accessible performance of the program in the sonata, a neo-Classical work that evokes the Americana style of Copland as well as the academic counterpoint of Hindemith.

This is the deep blues featuring arguably Chicago's greatest blues pianist playing with one of the best bands Muddy Waters ever fronted. Besides Otis and Muddy(who only plays on a few tracks) the band features Sammy Lawhorn on one lead guitar, Luther Georgia Boy Snake Johnson on the other lead, Mac Arnold on the electric bass, Francis Clay on the drums and George Smith on the harmonica. If you know anything about the history of the Chicago blues in the sixties, all of these names should be familiar. These guys are great individual players and a great tight band. This is the quintessential Chicago sound. These guys know when to fill, when to lay out and when to just plain let it all out. They can solo for two measures or take their time. This is an almost perfect blues band. At the center of the sound is Otis with his great soulful voice and his wonderful playing.