Hoff Ensemble consists of some of Norway's finest jazz and session musicians, fronted by trumpeter Mathias Eick, of ECM renown, who plays a leading role in several of the compositions. The ensemble's basic quartet features legendary veteran bassist Arild Andersen and arranger Jan Gunnar Hoff on piano. The music on Quiet Winter Night is created by film composers Geir Bøhren and Bent Åserud and among the vocalists are some of Norway's top names in popular music: Helene Bøksle, Åsne Valland Nordli, Sondre Bratland, Unni Wilhelmsen, Tomine Harket, Bjørn Johan Muri, Cecilia Vennersten and Bjørn Eidsvåg.

Jan Gunnar Hoff launches his new jazz trio with Anders Jormin and Audun Kleive, two of Europe's most reknown and respected jazz performers. Polarity is an album based on both new and older compositions of mine, recorded in a unique acoustic setting. A powerful trio setting presenting strong melodic compositions and high class interplay.

Skies of America is the 17th album by jazz saxophonist Ornette Coleman, released on Columbia Records in 1972. It consists of one long composition by Coleman taking up both sides of the album, played by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by David Measham. Coleman himself only plays on a few segments, and there is no other jazz instrumentation.

Jerry Garcia / David Grisman an album of folk music by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

All That We Let In is the ninth studio album by the Indigo Girls, released in 2004. The cover art is by alternative comics artist Jaime Hernandez of Love and Rockets fame.

The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. Become You is their eighth studio album, released in 2002. There's no guarantee that their brand of folk-rock will appeal to you, but Become You is among the best they've ever done, and if this album doesn't charm you, nothing will.

Helmut Lotti is a Flemish Belgian tenor and singer-songwriter. He is performs in several styles and languages, and he is a multi-million-selling artist worldwide. Once an Elvis impersonator, he has sung African, Latino and Russian hit records, and he crossed over into classical music in the 1990s.

The first non-blues artist on Analogue Productions, Los Angeles singer/songwriter Nancy Bryan offers in Neon Angel, her second APO release, social commentary with intense soul.

McClain sings soul with incredible power – he knows when to pull the punches and when to cool it down. "Give It Up to Love," the title track, acknowledges his gospel roots; he performs it as a vocal prayer to God asking for wisdom, love, and strength. Bruce Katz's contributions on B-3 Hammond organ expands McClain's sound, particularly on the "Green Onions"-influenced "What You Want Me to Do." The sparsely effective arrangement on "Here I Go Falling in Love Again" brings McClain up front as he cries of being a soul stripped to the bare bones. Kevin Barry's funky bass blows while McClain declares himself as a child of God in "Child of the Mighty Mighty".

For more than 30 years, South Africa's Ladysmith Black Mambazo has infused its township sound of Isicathamiya with rich gospel harmonies. LBM's unique sound was brought to American audiences thanks to Paul Simon's landmark Graceland, and the group has toured and recorded tirelessly since. Long Walk To Freedom is a new retrospective in which the group rerecords new versions of songs from throughout its career with help from such guests as Emmylou Harris, Sarah McLachlan, Taj Mahal, and Zap Mama as well as several popular countrymen. As with the Simon album, the North American guests' voices fit hand-in-glove with the group's warm harmonies.

Coming off of his success as a sideman with Miles Davis' sextet, Riverside Records gave Kelly an opportunity to expand on his solo career. Kelly Blue was his second LP for the label. The songs feature Kelly and bassist Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb. Together they had formed the rhythm section for the Miles Davis bands. Guests include Nat Adderley, Bobby Jaspar and Benny Golson. Producer and jazz critic Orrin Keepnews described the album as "a repertoire ideally suited to the blues concept on which the album is based".

Luciano Pavarotti has long avoided doing the kind of solo crossover release often proffered by his Three Tenors comrades Plácido Domingo and José Carreras; indeed, in his liner introduction he claims that he was initially "very skeptical" of this project. He came around, though, and the result marks his first solo album of any kind in years.

A set of songs written by jazz musicians were arranged for this project by pianist Carlos Franzetti for piano, sax, bass, flute, clarinet, and a string quartet. The results are pleasing if not overly memorable. While the selections are often challenging, the interpretations are more middle-of-the-road and fairly accessible due to the strings. Franzetti and saxophonist Lawrence Feldman take most of the solos and their improvisations are excellent, although the utilization of strings and woodwinds smoothes over some of the rough edges of the compositions, making the results fairly safe if occasionally unpredictable.

The orchestral marimba is one of the most expressive instruments in the percussion battery, and enterprising performers such as Nathaniel Bartlett have the goal of expanding its repertoire by commissioning new pieces and arrangements of works originally written for other instruments. Bartlett has a special interest in creating multidimensional sound environments using computers and other electronics, and two of these pieces commissioned by Bartlett employ electronics. In purely musical terms, both Allan Schindler's Precipice and Greg Wilder's Interlude are attractive additions to the repertoire of music for marimba and electronics. Schindler's work in particular creates a vivid and mysterious soundscape that seamlessly integrates the acoustic and electronic worlds.

Leonard Bernstein conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker for these legendary recordings from 1977-1979 of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9 Symphonies in this Limited Edition SACDs set. A set that in the realism of its engineering, in the poised polished execution of the Vienna Philharmonic, and in the controlled, tasteful vigor of Bernstein's conducting sets standards of Beethoven playing. Despite the age the pairing of Bernstein and the VPO was always quite special and the set has stood the test of time remarkably well, remaining an excellent choice for anybody looking for a Beethoven symphony cycle.