For all of the acclaim it received, there's no denying that No Quarter was a tentative reunion for Page & Plant, containing only a handful of new songs that were scattered among many reworked old favorites. Since its supporting tour went well, the duo decided to make their reunion permanent, setting to work on an album of entirely new material. Taking the world music dabblings of No Quarter as a cue, Page & Plant tempered their eclecticism with a healthy dose of their monolithic guitar army, hiring Steve Albini, the indie rock producer notorious for his harsh, brutal recordings, to helm the boards. In other words, it sounds perfect on paper - groundbreaking veteran artists still taking chances and working with younger collaborators who would challenge them…

Matthias Eisenberg, born in Dresden in 1956. Piano lessons and at an early age, first attempts on the organ of his home town church in Saxony; played the organ regularly at services there from the age of 9. Intermezzo in the Dresden “Kreuzchor”. Continued studies on the organ, with special emphasis on Bach's organ works.

20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection - Chuck Mangione gathers ten of the jazz-pop maestro's best-known performances, including "Land of Make Believe," "Feels So Good," "Chase the Clouds Away," and "Children of Sanchez." As with the other Mangione compilations available, 20th Century Masters focuses on his '70s heyday, and while this collection doesn't offer anything particularly different, it's also a good starting point for anyone interested in one of crossover jazz's pioneering, and most successful, artists.

New Orleans pianist who was a master of hard-driving boogie and blues. A formidable contender in the ring before he shifted his focus to pounding the piano instead, Champion Jack Dupree often injected his lyrics with a rowdy sense of down-home humor. But there was nothing lighthearted about his rock-solid way with a boogie; when he shouted "Shake Baby Shake," the entire room had no choice but to acquiesce.

Like Coralie Clément, Keren Ann may not have the widest range, but she makes the most of it. Her vocals are light, delicate, and pretty, as if she has found a way to combine talking, whispering, and singing into one fluid approach (and as if she has listened to a few Astrud Gilberto albums in her time). La Biographie de Luka Philipsen was the French singer/songwriter's debut and many of the songs were co-written with longtime associate Benjamin Biolay (Clément's older brother).

The Beaux Arts Trio's 1964 recordings of Ludwig van Beethoven's "Archduke" and "Ghost" trios have long been staples in the catalog, despite being superseded in 1979 by more polished recordings. To avoid confusion, the 2013 reissue in the Virtuoso series on Decca is merely a repackaging of the 1964 Philips sessions, which also include the early "Gassenhauer" Trio.

There’s an embarrassment of riches where Couperin’s Read more are concerned. My current favorite is Christie/Les Arts Florissants (Erato 017067), with Patricia Petibon and Sophie Daneman the latter exquisite in her tightly focused but sweet tone and immaculate ornamentation. Equally good in its way, with a slightly richer tone though a trifle too expressively restrained for my tastes, is Christopher Hogwood with Emma Kirkby and Judith Nelson (L’oiseau Lyre 430283).

This is a very rare gathering of American piano trios, each of which significantly adds to the repertoire of 20th-century chamber music. Rorem's Spring Music (1990) is an intimate yet energetic encounter with both tonality and atonality, affectionately played by the Beaux Arts group. Baker's Roots II (1992) is a five-movement suite with hints of the composer's African musical roots: here you will find intimations of jazz, blues, ragtime, spirituals, calypso, field hollers, and work songs. Rochberg's Summer 1990 is his Piano Trio No. 3

I read a rave review of Vadim Gluzman in concert, and since I hd never heard of the Ukraine-born, naturalized Israeli violinist, I sought out this CD. The 45-year-old virtuoso is from the Oistrakh-Vengerov mold: intense, large-scaled, and powerful. All his talents are needed in the late, bleak Shostakovich Violin Sonata. The cover art, showing Gluzman dressed in black gazing out over a flat gray landscape typifies the music.

A killer record from the Japanese scene of the 70s - one that begins with a funky drum break, then only gets better and better as things move on! Hiromasa Suzuki plays plenty of sweet keyboards on the record - at a level that's definitely influenced by Herbie Hancock's work from the time, but which also brings in some of the best funky currents of Japanese soundtrack material - so that there's a blend of electric jazz with some great crime/cop movie modes too - served up with some nice saxophone solos from Takeru Muraoka on a few tracks, and tenor from Mabumi Yamaguchi on the rest.

Made In Germany was a real musical transformation for Amon Düül II. If you took this album, and ADII's first album "Phallus Dei" and played them both for an unknowing listener, they would never even suspect it was the same band! The songs like "Ludwig" have an almost Beatlesesque quality to them (albeit on much more drugs). Ambitious vocal harmony arrangements, pristine production values, orchestral flourishes… Amon Duul? Anyway, this album is a masterwork of a completely different sort than their earlier releases, so naturally many fans will not still be onboard at this point. Short, vaguely Floydian spacy instrumental breaks replace the full-on sonic assaults of yore, and the main feature is… songs. Beautiful, sometimes achingly melancholic, sometimes witty and humorous, always honed like a gem; this is top-notch songwriting without ever losing ADII's keen eye for ambition.