Helmchen has returned to Mozart with these beautiful performance of two of the composer's liveliest concertos, Nos. 15 and 27. Crystalline pianism throughout, with splendid accompaniment from the fine Dutch orchestra and conductor Nikolic. Well-balanced audio, with natural balance between soloist and orchestra are another plus. Another Mozart concerto easily could have been included; playing time is rather brief.

This album captures Sonny Rollins in his first concerts as leader of his own jazz combo, recorded at shows at the Village Vanguard in New York City on November 3, 1957. Rollins played afternoon and evening sets with different trio members; 18 songs performed that day are included here. While the illustrious Village Vanguard club has been the recording site of some 100 live jazz releases over the years, Rollins's was the very first.

Collection of unreleased demos of every track written for the fourth PJ Harvey studio album Is This Desire?, including demos of ‘A Perfect Day Elise’, ‘The Wind’ and ‘Angelene’.

Born in London of Italian-French parents, Sir John Barbirolli (1899–1970) trained as a cellist and played in theatre and café orchestras before joining the Queen’s Hall Orchestra under Sir Henry Wood in 1916.

After flirting with traditional African-American material in his previous albums, Belafonte, for the first time, devotes an entire album to the blues. However, of the eleven songs, only two could be classified as traditional blues: "In the Evenin' Mama" and "Cotton Fields," the latter given a five minute treatment. Belafonte would take this song on the road as part of his live act for the next decade. Of the other songs, three were covers of Ray Charles standards ("A Fool For You," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Mary Ann"). Another highlight is Belafonte's rendition of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." With few exceptions, the entire album is understated and not as exciting or riveting as other Belafonte records. Still, it's solid listening, and taken track by track, thoughtful performances. Footnote: this was the first Belafonte album recorded in stereo. Some releases feature a thick, dark blue spine.

Joe Henderson is the essence of jazz. He embodies all the elements that came together in his generation: the virtuosity of hard bop and the avantgarde. He can be harmonically abstract and yet keep to the roots. On 1980's "Mirror, Mirror", Henderson has gathered a truly all-star group. This album isn't about a soloist and his sidemen: all the musicians are on an equal footing, everyone has their space to play.

The Good Feeling is a studio album by the Christian McBride Big Band. It won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. The record was released on September 27, 2011 via the Mack Avenue label.

Everybody Needs Love is the third album by Gladys Knight & the Pips and their first album for Motown Records' Soul imprint. The LP, chiefly produced by Norman Whitfield, features the singles "Just Walk in My Shoes" (the 1966 group's Motown debut), "Take Me in Your Arms and Love Me", "Everybody Needs Love" and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine".

The first volume in this project, undertaken with missionary zeal by both singer and pianist, to rescue Medtner’s song output from obscurity, was met with enthusiasm in the Dutch press.

It is a mathematical law: every ten years, a singer from England named Anna releases a first album as a document of her times. In 2011, it was Anna Calvi.

Pianist Eddie Higgins may not be well known in the U.S., but he is hands down the most famous and prolific musician on the Venus Records roster. Since his 1997 Venus debut, Higgins has released more than 20 albums from the label. This release is the first from a pair of solo piano albums that include a collection of standards requested by readers of Swing Journal. Forty of the top requests were given to Higgins and the plan was to record material for only one album. However, after recording 15 tracks on the first day - an extraordinary feat in itself - Higgins wanted to continue. So another recording took place the next day where Higgins recorded another 15 tracks.

Here you have a second collection of standards requested by readers of Swing Journal. Forty of the top requests were given to Higgins and the plan was to record material for only one album. However, after recording 15 tracks on the first day - an extraordinary feat in itself - Higgins wanted to continue. So another recording took place the next day where Higgins recorded another 15 tracks.

The piano trio Pangaea Chamber Players explores the fickle nexus between music and visual art in their Navona release THREE PERSPECTIVES.

Recorded live at CBGB, New York City, April 10, 1988 by Steve Sadler assisted by Ron Ardito. Mixed by Henryk Lipp at Music A Matic Studios, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2018.

How the Doobie Brothers came to form a "family" is not only a fateful event but also a good story. While getting high on a marijuana joint (or doobie) that was passed from one to the other in a practice room, one of the group apparently uttered the following momentous words: "We are all Doobie brothers." Later, when in possession of all his faculties, the co-founder of the group, Tom Johnston, was thinking along the lines of a Motown sound, with a bass line resembling that of Seals and Crofts, and vocals in the style of Stevie Wonder.