This CD is quite a bit different than most audiophile releases for it contains rare rather than famous recordings. 1959's The Fourth Herd (which features an all-star group of studio musicians and Woody Herman alumni along with his octet of the time) was only put out briefly by Jazzland while the music on 1962's The New World of Woody Herman was never available commercially before; both were originally cut for the SESAC Transcribed Library and were available only to selected radio stations on a subscription basis. The earlier session has solo spots for tenors Zoot Sims, Al Cohn and Don Lanphere, trumpeters Nat Adderley and Red Rodney, vibraphonist Eddie Costa and Herman on clarinet, a bit of alto and two vocals; Cohn and pianist Nat Pierce wrote most of the colorful and diverse arrangements. By the later session (which has charts by Pierce, Gene Roland, Phil Wilson and Bill Chase)…

A lost studio recording from a legendary blues man! Bluesman George “Mojo” Buford started blowing the harmonica in his teens, eventually linking up to tour with fellow Mississippian Muddy Waters. Adopting his nickname from ravenous crowds requesting Muddy’s “Got My Mojo Working,” Buford gained the attention of some gifted young rockers (including lead guitarist of The Trashmen!), who steered him into the studio for three smokin’ ‘69 sessions - the results of which we’re finally hearing for the first time!

A highly skilled guitarist known for his fluid, effects-heavy playing, British musician Steve Hillage has collaborated with countless musicians and influenced several genres over the course of his lengthy career, particularly space rock, prog, ambient, and techno. Initially associated with the Canterbury Scene during the late '60s and early '70s, Hillage played in groups such as Uriel and Khan before becoming a key member of psychedelic cult favorites Gong during the '70s.
1979 was an incredibly busy year for Steve Hillage - possibly too busy, what with three albums hitting the market in a brief span of time. Live Herald was a strong summation of his live performances, and Rainbow Dome Musick was a left turn into ambient music which, a decade later, would inspire Hillage and his constant partner Miquette Giraudy to get into the EDM scene as the ambient house act System 7…

Logikal is the second release from Irish guitarist John O'Connor's eclectic group EKO. The sound centers around O'Connor's guitars as he cooks up an old-world folk music hybrid that extends to Andean, Celtic, Irish and Caribbean influences. Gutsy finger-picking gives way to laidback island flavorings and easygoing changes. Several musicians with rock and folk backgrounds are heard, like percussionist Hossam Ramzy, Bob Loveday from Penguin Cafe Orchestra and the versatile Danny Thompson on double bass. The sound is ethnically based and highly charged with large doses of clean, lighthearted fun.

Before the arrival of Carlos Santana's eponymous band, the San Francisco rock scene drew the inspiration for its jam-oriented music mainly from blues, rock, and Eastern modalities. Santana added Latin music to the mix, forever changing the course of rock & roll history. On their groundbreaking debut album, the group mix Latin percussion with driving rock grooves. Santana's unique guitar style, alternately biting and liquid, vies with the multiple percussionists for the sonic focus. Unlike later efforts, Santana's first album features an abundance of loose, collective compositions based on a couple of simple riffs ("Jingo," "Soul Sacrifice"). This approach allows for Santana and his bandmates to flex their improvisational muscles to fine effect. The high-energy level on Santana is infectious – the laid-back feel of other '60s San Francisco groups was clearly not for Carlos and co.

Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchester, Leipzig follow the international success of their recording of Gershwin's piano concerto in F with five of Bach's best loved concertos for keyboard, a recording which has already stayed 7 weeks in the Italian Pop charts. The soloist is young Iranian-born Bach specialist Ramin Bahrami. Well known on the international concert platform, Ramin Bahrami studied with the legendary American Bach pianist Rosalyn Tureck, the artist who perhaps more than any other brought the composer's keyboard works to the attention of the public through her research and recordings.

Dresden was a music capital of European rank during the 17th-18th centuries. It was in Dresden that important composers and musicians of the time lived and worked. The Dresden Baroque Orchestra is committed to offering energetic, historically-informed interpretations on baroque instruments and to the rediscovery of forgotten works from the collection of the Dresden court chapel. This collection contains numerous works by composers famous and not, some 1800 manuscripts in all.

Mozart wrote two major masses as a boy: the easy-going Domincus Mass (K 66) and the Waisenhaus Mass in C Minor (K 139 / 47a). The latter was misdated by Köchel; it was thought to be too mature for the mass that Mozart was known to have composed for the imperial orphanage in 1768 (Mozart's trumpet concerto which was premièred at the same event is sadly lost). When the attribution became surer, accusations were made that Leopold had contributed to its composition. Whatever the truth of the matter be, it's miraculous. As evocative as the three-part Kyrie is, the Crucifixus and Agnus Dei could pass muster if tacked on to the torso of the Mass in C Minor, K 427 (the latter is lacking these two sections). Unlike his later missae, the Waisenhaus Mass follows the Neapolitan format where the Gloria and Credo feature extensive arias.

This is no ordinary recording of J.S. Bach’s six masterpieces of Baroque instrumental music. For starters, the pieces are interwoven with period-instrument transcriptions of piano music written in the early 1950s by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich.

Johann Stamitz’s six Violin Sonatas op. 6 were first published following his death - which is hardly surprising, for who besides the composer himself would then have been able to meet their breakneck violinistic challenges? Stamitz was famous for his absolutely incredible finger dexterity, a reputation that this father of the German violin school continues to enjoy even today.

These chamber works center around the horn as a chamber instrument. The horn contributes an interesting character to the music, especially when there is a piano employed. The String Trio of 1984 is here scored for horn, violin, and piano. The Horn Quartet of 1975 is scored for horn, violin, cello, and piano. The Trio is more representative of Simpson's mature style; it tends more toward a melodic polytonality. His Horn Quartet is more rugged, and the scales are tipped toward atonality. Extremely interesting postmodern works.

Super Hits gathers ten of the young country star's biggest hits, including early successes like "Down Came a Blackbird" to the more mature sound of "Come a Little Closer." Selections like "I Wanna Fall in Love," "Almost Over You," and "Crush" emphasize her youthful, romantic side, which is also the most genuine-sounding aspect of her work. Though it's not an especially deep retrospective, the budget price and the fact that not many McCann collections exist make Super Hits worth the time of casual fans.

The goal of Universal Music's compilation series The Definitive Collection is to encapsulate an artist's career on one CD, a task sometimes complicated by that artist's many hits or a catalog that spreads across several labels. Such challenges did not present themselves to the usual extent in the disc devoted to '90s/2000s country singer Chely Wright. Wright recorded first for Polydor Records, starting in 1994, then for MCA as of 1997; starting with 2004's The Metropolitan Hotel, she had her own independent label, Painted Red.

Juice Newton (born Judith Kay Newton, February 18, 1952, Lakehurst, NJ) was part of the first wave of country singers raised on rock, folk-rock, and singer/songwriters, which is evident from her hit singles. "Angel of the Morning" and "Queen of Hearts," her two crossover hits, have country-pop arrangements, but their roots are in '60s pop and new wave roots rock, respectively. That's why she managed pop crossover hits in the early '80s and also why she was able to sustain country success throughout the decade.

Huguette Grémy-Chauliac est une claveciniste française née le 8 juillet 1928 à Paris. Avant de se consacrer pleinement à la musique, Huguette Grémy-Chauliac s'orienta vers l'archéologie en suivant les cours d'archéologie romaine de l'École du Louvre de 1947 à 1949. Le clavecin, dont elle deviendra une interprète majeure, ne fut pas son premier instrument de prédilection, puisqu'elle étudia d'abord le piano auprès de Blanche Bascouret de Gueraldi, Germaine Willaume, Joseph Morpain, Lucette Descaves et Yves Nat.