One of the best ever jazz singers, her dramatic and nuanced readings of standards put her at the forefront of vocal jazz.
Carmen McRae always had a nice voice (if not on the impossible level of an Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughan) but it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpretations of lyrics that made her most memorable. She studied piano early on and had her first important job singing with Benny Carter's big band (1944), but it would be another decade before her career had really gained much momentum. McRae married and divorced Kenny Clarke in the '40s, worked with Count Basie (briefly) and Mercer Ellington (1946-1947), and became the intermission singer and pianist at several New York clubs. In 1954 she began to record as a leader' and by then she had absorbed the influences of Billie Holiday and bebop into her own style…

Downwind (1979). Eagerly awaited re-press for this classic album by Pierre Moerlen's Gong featuring Mike Oldfield, Steve Winwood & Mick Taylor. Booklet with restored artwork, photos & liner notes. By the late 1970s Percussionist Pierre Moerlen had taken over the leadership of Gong and had steered the band away from Psychedelic Space Rock and took the band into a Jazz Rock direction, one in which the band excelled. After recording several albums with Virgin, the band now featured Hansford Rowe on bass, Ross Record on guitar, Benoit Moerlen on vibes and Francois Causse on percussion. Moerlen signed with Arista Records in 1978 and recorded this excellent album partially in Mike Oldfield’s studio. Oldfield guested on the superb lengthy title track with fellow guest Steve Winwood, whilst Mick Taylor appeared on the track "What You Know"…

The second of two collaborations involving Moebius and Gerd Beerbohm, "Double Cut" sounds miles away from the relatively harmless electronic/pop experiments of solo work by Moebius or Cluster. Consisting of only four extended tracks, the album expresses the dark side of electronics courtesy of the repetitive trance-state on "Hydrogen" and "Minimotion." "Double Cut" is much closer to electronic inheritors in the experimental and techno fields than Moebius' usual new age pursuits.

Featuring the Great Chopin Pianists from the past and today, Deutsche Grammophon presents a 28 CD box edition highlighting the riches of its Chopin catalogue, including eight Chopin competition winners and many of the most legendary Chopin artists of all time.

31-song set. First performance of The Pogues’ “A Rainy Night in Soho” (written by Shane MacGowan, who passed away in 2023). “Candy’s Room” and “Adam Raised a Cain” return to the set. Three songs from 2020’s Letter To You: “Ghosts,” “Last Man Standing” and “I’ll See You In My Dreams” . “Last Man Standing” features a new arrangement. “I’ll See You In My Dreams” is performed solo acoustic to end the show. One song from 2022’s Only the Strong Survive: “Nightshift” (written by Franne Golde, Dennis Lambert and Walter Orange, popularized by The Commodores). Concert stalwarts like “Because The Night,” “Dancing in the Dark,” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” are performed in tighter, shorter versions. “Thunder Road” is the main-set closer.

Active in every genre other than opera, Carl Czerny is largely remembered for the numerous piano studies he wrote as pedagogical aids. Howard Shelley's advocacy of his three overlooked virtuoso works for piano and orchestra is a welcome reminder of this composer's greater appeal. Alongside the Piano Concerto in A minor Op.214 are two premiere recordings of his Piano Concerto in F major Op.28 and Rondo Brillant in B flat major Op.233.

Though lesser-known today, composers Alfred Hill and George Boyle enjoyed distinguished careers, both in their native Australia and abroad. Hill was known as the 'grand old man' of Australian musical life in his time. His Piano Concerto in A minor and Piano Sonata in A major are effectively the same work, the one being an orchestral expansion of the other. In addition to his work as a composer, Boyle took on students in New York that included such luminaries as Copland and Barber. The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol.69 features his Piano Concerto in D minor. All works are performed here by Piers Lane and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra led by Johannes Fritzsch.

The first recording of Moritz Moszkowski’s long-lost—and eagerly awaited—early Piano Concerto makes for a particularly important addition to the Romantic Piano Concerto series. The coupling is another rarity (and recorded premiere): the Russian Rhapsody by Adolf Schulz-Evler.