Right from the start and with an almost imperceptible smile Al Di Meola deftly conjured up the most amazing runs and gorgeous melodies. Concentration rather than tension, and devotion rather than routine are tangible in his playing. Masterful virtuosity combined with perfect feeling for emotions. Al Di Meola assembled a thoroughly excellent group of musicians for this review of the highlights of a career spanning almost three decades - a fantastic combination of romantic chamber music, traditional Latin American music and the freedom of jazz, constantly switching between off-the-cuff improvisation and intricate set-pieces. Time and again the musicians manage to vary familiar pieces with surprising rhythm changes and brilliant soundscapes.

Fragile is the fourth studio album by the English progressive rock band Yes, released in November 1971 by Atlantic Records. After touring in support of their previous album, The Yes Album (1971), the band entered rehearsals in London in preparation for their next studio album. Early into the sessions, keyboardist Tony Kaye was fired over his reluctance to utilize more electronic synthesizers. He was quickly replaced with Rick Wakeman of the Strawbs, whose experience with various instruments helped expand the group's sound with the addition of the electric piano and harpsichord, Mellotron, and Minimoog synthesiser.

The eleventh and final release in The Orlando Consort's comprehensive Machaut survey easily maintains the standards of its predecessors. The closing couplet of the final track?'Their singing will be sublime/ Harmoniously will they render him praise'?might well serve as a motto for the Orlandos' achievement, not only in this album but throughout an illustrious career.

One of the brightest young luminaries in roots music today, Sierra Ferrell brings a dose of beautifully strange magic to everything she touches. On her new album Trail Of Flowers, brought to life with producer Eddie Spear (Zach Bryan, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton) and additional production by Gary Paczosa (Alison Krauss, Dwight Yoakam, Gillian Welch) she expands her sound while deepening the urgency of her songs, often revealing a wealth of wisdom within her wildly imaginative storytelling.

Joachim Kühn, one of the world's best-known musical personalities from Germany, presents his debut on Intakt Records with the double album Échappée and delivers us a stellar moment in the art of solo piano. Kühn has been one of the most outstanding musicians from contemporary jazz since the mid-1960s and has been captivating listeners for decades with his soulful piano sound and a ravenous drive for freedom. Échappée bears impressive witness to this relentlessness. "This is a summation under the banner of the provisional; these melodies condensed into moments reflect the experiences of a rich life. With this recording, made shortly before his eightieth birthday, the pianist set out to offer the best he was capable of: Joachim Kühn, that exceptional talent, setting his bar higher than ever" writes Bert Noglik in the liner notes and adds: "With Échappée he has created an ‘essential album’, and he has bared all: his craft, his love and his passion." A masterwork.

1978's Northwinds, David Coverdale's second solo album after the demise of Deep Purple, is a powerful dose of blues- and R&B-influenced hard rock. This album – the final new release on Purple Records – is also a huge leap forward in quality from the previous year's White Snake, a tentative and generally cautious record. As with White Snake, Northwinds was produced by Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover and is anchored by guitarist Micky Moody and keyboardist Tim Hinckley. Bassist Alan Spenner and drummer Tony Newman comprise the rhythm section. "Keeping on Giving Me Love" is loose and funky and a blowout jam wraps it up.

Ballads is the second compilation album by Richard Marx. This disc features ten of Marx's ballads including one live and one previously released non-single track.

Sony Music Vision and FoxxHole Productions produced the Luther Vandross: Never Too Much which will premiere on CNN on January 1, 2025. Directed by Dawn Porter, the film features interviews with many artists who worked with or were influenced by Luther including Mariah Carey, Roberta Flack, Jamie Foxx, Richard Marx and Dionne Warwick. As a companion piece to the documentary, Legacy will release a greatest hits album. The album features the studio versions of all the songs that were included in the documentary. The album also features 4 previously unreleased tracks including The Beatles classic “Michelle” which was recorded in June 1989.

Led Zeppelin's reunion for an Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert in November 2007 (pushed back a couple of weeks due to a finger injury Jimmy Page sustained during rehearsals) seemed like a spur of the moment thing – but how spontaneous could it have been if it just happened to coincide with the release of an expanded The Song Remains the Same on both CD and DVD, the debut of their catalog as digital downloads, and the new two-disc compilation Mothership as a sampler of the whole shebang? Considering this full-scale, multi-prong assault – which also included a new album by Robert Plant, after all – it was probably not all that spontaneous. Such a precise attack suits this most mythic of classic rock groups, who always benefited from an enormous sense of scale.

Sie ist Publikumsliebling, Powerfrau, Chartstürmerin und Rekordhalterin. Die Rede ist von keiner Geringeren als ANDREA BERG. Eine charismatische und über den Maßen erfolgreiche Ausnahmekünstlerin, die nicht nur mit ihren Album-Veröffentlichungen regelmäßig für Furore sorgt, sondern vor allem live ein absoluter Garant für bestes Entertainment und große Gefühle ist. Egal, was Andrea Berg auch anpackt, verwandelt sie zu Gold und so fügen sich ihre zahlreichen Erfolgskapitel zu einer einzigartigen und überaus beeindruckenden, seit mehr als drei Dekaden andauernden Karriere zusammen. Nun läuft der Countdown für ihre große und mit Spannung erwartete Arenatournee. Unter dem Motto "Die Tournee 2025 - PARTY, HITS, EMOTIONEN" wird Andrea Berg im Februar und März in 21 Städten in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz zu sehen sein.

This Live Radio Broadcast Recording from 1995 is hosted by John Lee Hooker and features performances by Hooker himself as well as his daughter Zakiya, Lazy Lester, John Hammond, Charlie Musselwhite, Taj Mahal, and Ry Cooder. The Duke Robillard band are the "House Band" for the night as they accompany the above in some rollicking blues numbers. As well as the Hooker/Cooder playing on the final three tracks the Blues harp of both Charlie Musselwhite and Lazy Lester are rocking reminders of how this music should be heard. John Lee Hooker fittingly closes the evening following up on a great version of "She Caught The Katy" by Taj Mahal. Everybody on this sound like they are having a great time and are happy to be part of a celebratory evening of the electric blues.

"Someone Here Is Missing" marked a significant step forward for the band, as frontman Bruce Soord honed and perfected his songwriting and created a work which he described as, "a record of dark edges, full of love and regret." This remastered version of the album also features tracks taken from the EP "Show A Little Love" and is presented in a digipack with an 8-page booklet.
It doesn't take long to realize that the Pineapple Thief surely must have studied their Radiohead albums prior to writing/recording their 2010 album, Someone Here Is Missing. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but Pineapple Thief singer/guitarist Bruce Soord has his Thom Yorke-isms down pat - as evidenced by his vocal delivery throughout the album…

Fragile Records in association with Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a new 4-disc clamshell box set An Evening of Yes Music Plus, the classic live recording by Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe. At the close of the 1980s, fans of Progressive rock were delighted and surprised to learn that former members of Yes, namely Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe were reuniting to record a studio album and to tour the World. The resulting self-titled studio album was originally issued on Arista Records in 1989 and was a global hit. This release was followed by hugely successful world tour. A concert at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California was captured both on video and in sound resulting in both a double CD and a long form video in 1993. The set features classic Yes material alongside live renditions of material from the ABWH self-titled album. This new remastered edition features the entire concert on two CDs, and also includes the full concert video on a region free DVD. Also included is an additional region free DVD, ‘In the Big Dream’, featuring promotional videos and interviews.

Jacintha is a Singaporean jazz singer/torch singer and stage actress who has been well-known in parts of the Asia-Pacific region since the '80s and has been increasing her exposure in North America since the late '90s. Jacintha has never been the type of jazz artist who goes out of her way to be abstract, difficult, or complicated; her work has been quite accessible and easy to absorb, drawing on direct or indirect influences that have included Julie London and Shirley Horn as well as Brazilian star Astrud Gilberto. Jacintha has long been fluent in English, which is widely spoken in Singapore and is one of its four official languages along with Malay, Mandarin Chinese (as opposed to Cantonese Chinese), and Tamil.

For its third ECM outing, the Marcin Wasilewski Trio expands the precious spaces delineated to such patient effect on TRIO and January. A pianist of uncommon insight, Wasilewski brings out the minimal best in bassist Slawomir Kurkiewicz and drummer Michal Miskiewicz, who in turn inspire reflections on those keys that might not otherwise reveal themselves in solitude.
Faithful represents a new direction. It favors protracted treatments and heightened sensitivity. The trio plays as it breathes, knowing just when to pause before moving on. Particularly well recorded, with just the right balance of intimacy and the infinity beyond it, it lives in soft focus. If you wish to know to whom they are being faithful, you need only turn the CD over and look at your reflection.