Peggy Lee's alluring tone, distinctive delivery, breadth of material, and ability to write many of her own songs made her one of the most captivating artists of the vocal era, from her breakthrough on the Benny Goodman hit "Why Don't You Do Right" to her many solo successes that showed her bewitching vocal power, a balance between sultry swing and impeccable musicianship. Lee started out in the early '40s as the vocalist for the Goodman band, and shortly thereafter became a star in her own right. Though she had numerous pop hits, she constantly crossed the line between pop and jazz, and was hailed by numerous critics as one of America's finest singers in either genre. In addition, Lee was involved in the film world as both an actress and a composer, most actively in the '50s (she received an Academy Award nomination for her role in Pete Kelly's Blues).

Some of their most loved songs, fan favourites and tracks they have never performed live before. From Global hits such as Cruel Summer, Venus, I Heard A Rumour, Robert de Niro’s Waiting and Look On The Floor (Hypnotic Tango) to Only Your Love and Move in My Direction, through to last year’s ultra modern dance pop tracks Feel The Love and Supernova.

Surprising as it may seem, there has never been a complete recording of Bizet’s songs. The formidable team assembled here fills this gap and offers a chance to discover a little-known side of his vocal music, with numerous rarities, early works, alternative versions and other unpublished pieces compiled by the leading specialists and accompanied by period instruments. On the 150th anniversary of his death, the creator of Carmen richly deserved this tribute!

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the long overdue release of the re-mastered edition of the classic 1975 album Bundles by the celebrated Jazz and Rock group Soft Machine. The album was the band s first for EMI's Harvest label and featured a line-up of Mike Ratledge (keyboards), Karl Jenkins (Oboe, Piano, Soprano Sax), John Marshall (Drums), Roy Babbington (Bass) and new member Allan Holdsworth (Guitar). An accessible collection, Bundles featured Holdsworth’s considerable guitar playing talents and opened a new chapter for the band, and attracted much praise upon release. Unavailable on CD for nearly 15 years, this Esoteric Recordings reissue has been re-mastered from the original tapes and fully restores the original artwork.

There could be no better introduction to the sound of the Boston Symphony, in the repertoire in which it became most famous, than this French collection with Charles Munch. Sometimes wild and unpredictable in concert performances, Munch's conducting here is both visceral yet elegant, full of mystery when called for and unbridled in its passion at other times. 1962 Recordings.

Korean violinist Bomsori releases a further pre-release track of her upcoming second solo album on DG that focuses around two masterpieces of the violin repertoire: the Bruch and Korngold violin concertos. Having played these works since childhood, Bomsori formed a wonderful collaboration with Jakub Hrůša and the Bamberger Symphoniker for her new recording. The album is rounded out with a selection of further pieces by Korngold that are arranged and transcribed for violin, both with orchestra and for violin and piano.

After an outpouring of seven acclaimed albums over a decade, accompanied by rapturously received touring all over Europe and North America, it's been nearly four years since the Hedvig Mollestad Trio released their triumphal seventh album, “Ding Dong. You're Dead”. Mollestad's pent-up delight in reconnecting with cofounders Ellen Brekken (bass) and Ivar Loe Bjornstad (drums) pervades “Bees in the Bonnet”'s thirty-seven adventurous, invigorating, beautifully baffling yet accessible minutes as they continue to blur boundaries between progressive rock and jazz and heavy psychedelia with their signature telepathic chemistry, nuanced sonority and uplifting spirit. Enjoy "Golden Griffin" while waiting for a fabulous album!

'For The Love Of It All' is more than trumpeter and composer Brandon Woody's recording debut; it is a manifesto, a ritual, a hymn to the enduring power of love. Joined by his band Upendo - Troy Long (piano, organ, Rhodes, keyboards), Quincy Phillips (drums), and Michael Saunders (bass) with special guests Imani Grace (vocals), Vittorio Stropoli (aux synth) - Woody extends an invitation into communion through six captivating original compositions.

In the kingdom of Cornouaille on the Breton coast, the war between Prince Karnac and the inhabitants of the town of Ys is finally coming to an end. The condition of the peace treaty is that Karnac will marry Princess Margared. But her love for Mylio, who is betrothed to her sister Rozenn, will provoke a terrible tidal wave fomented by her thirst for revenge. Edouard Lalo found an inspiring libretto here, which he handled with a sense of theatrical urgency rarely achieved. The characters live out their passions, supported by vehement, colourful orchestration. The role of Margared, in particular, deserves to be numbered among the most successful in French Romantic opera. First performed in Paris in 1888, the work scored a triumph that was repeated at every revival in the provinces and abroad. Though barely two hours long, it teems with dramatic situations: Breton festivals, the supernatural appearance of Saint Corentin, a wedding accompanied by the organ, a tidal wave whose tumultuous billows are rendered to great effect. Le Roi d'Ys amply merited an ambitious staging at the Paris Opera, which it was unfortunately denied in Lalo's lifetime.

There may be too many Carpenters compilations on the market – there are certainly enough to confuse the average neophyte – but Love Songs is a welcome addition to the clutter, since it offers 20 of the duo's very best love songs, including "We've Only Just Begun" and "Top of the World." Anyone looking for a collection of the duo's romantic songs should definitely consider this fine collection, even it does leave off some of their poppier, rock-inflected material.

Strike Up The Band is Little Feat's triumph return to rock n roll with plenty of swampy southern soul with Bill Payne (keys/vocals), Scott Sharrard (guitar/vocals), Tony Leone (drums/vocals), Fred Tackett (guitar), Kenny Gradney (bass), and Sam Clayton (percussion/vocals). It's their first album of new material in over 13 years with songs written by Payne and Tacket as well as Feat's newest members Sharrard and Leone. The album was produced by the multi Grammy Award winner, Vance Powell (Phish, Chris Stapleton, Jack White) and Bill Payne. The song "Bluegrass Pines" features special guest Molly Tuttle and Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, and was written by Payne and the Grateful Dead lyricst Robert Hunter, and the title track features Larkin Poe on guest vocals.

New York's ace trumpeter Joe "Mags" Magnarelli's third outing on SteepleChase is condensed to a quartet format with trumpet as the sole frontline giving the leader new dimension and depth to define his voice.His previous release 'New York-Osaka Junction' (SCCD31939) received enthused remarks "…he is particularly outstanding, demonstrating a brilliant clarity that could be called the height of sophistication." (Catfish Records, Japan)"Magnarelli has always been a jazzman-of-all-work, good in small groups like this one and great at starring in big bands and he's on fire here." - Peter Vacher, Jazzwise

Boolean Languages is a dark ambient album that is sombre in approach and mysterious in overtones. A combination of digital and analog synthesizers, musique concrete and drones creates an album that is an ambiedelic brew of sonic excursions into the dark unknown lands within. This album is dedicated to world peace and the end of all suffering for all sentient beings. May you enjoy this album in good health.

Introspection can be born from any number of events. Losing a valued mentor is a moment that would give anyone pause. Esthesis Quartet members Dawn Clement and Elsa Nilsson searched deep inside to come to terms with the loss of their mentor, Ron Miles. Along with bandmates Emma Dayhuff and Tina Raymond, the quartet creates a program of music inspired by self-reflection, contemplation and self-discovery on their new album, Sound & Fury, that features the fantastic Bill Frisell on guitar.

18 previously unissued demos on 2-LPs mirroring Nellie’s critically acclaimed, Geoff Emerick-produced and -engineered debut album.“I was attracted to the lyrics immediately,” says legendary Beatles engineer and producer Geoff Emerick, on the demos for what would become Nellie McKay’s 2004 critically-lauded debut album, Get Away From Me. “Her level of maturity at such a young age is astounding. You come across an artist of this caliber once every 10 or 15 years. And I don’t do a lot of projects these days unless something really stands out like this did.”