Another masterpiece from the brilliant bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma. This time, he shares the same stage with another three bass players in an amazing live concert.

Antonio Mazzoni was a fairly prolific Italian composer in the middle and late 18th century (1717–1785), and he Read more Antigono for the opening season of one of the world’s shortest-lived opera houses: the Ópera do Tejo in Lisbon. It opened on March 31, 1755, and was destroyed seven months later by an earthquake. (Its site is now a navy dockyard.) The libretto is by the famed Metastasio, and Mazzoni was clearly considered an important figure in his time. Metastasio wrote the librettos of the only three serious operas performed in the seven months of life for the opera house in Lisbon, and the choice of Mazzoni to write the music for one of them demonstrates his reputation at the time. He wrote perhaps 19 operas (we aren’t sure), many of which have not survived. Antigono is performed here in a critical edition edited by Nicholas McNayr.

IMPERIA — which is fronted by Norwegian singer Helena Iren Michaelsen (the original vocalist of the Dutch band SAHARA DUST, which later changed its name to EPICA) — will release its fifth studio album, "Flames Of Eternity", on February 22, 2019 via Massacre Records. The mix and mastering was once again put into the magical hands of Jacob Hansen, while Jan Yrlund himself is responsible for the album's artwork. Guest musicians on the album include Oliver Philipps (EVERON), original bandmember John Stam as well as the Finnish violin virtuoso Henrik Perelló. "Flames Of Eternity" is a strong album, whose songs will take you on an intense ride through all different kinds of human emotions.

Like swing guitarist Charlie Christian, Clifford Brown was incredibly influential for someone who died so young. The Fats Navarro-minded trumpeter was only 25 when a car accident claimed his life in 1956, but his influence remained long after his death - Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Woody Shaw, Donald Byrd, and Carmell Jones were among the many trumpet titans who were heavily influenced by Brown. In the early to mid-'50s, Brown kept getting more and more exciting; those who found him impressive in 1952 found even more reason to be impressed in 1955. That means that when it comes to Brown's dates, excellent doesn't necessarily mean essential…

BGO's 2013 compilation Live at the BBC 1964-67 is quite generous, running 37 tracks that spill over two CDs. Some of these tracks are interview clips, some begin with a BBC introduction, but that's the appeal of the set: it's a time capsule of the peak of the Swinging London scene. Brian Poole & the Tremeloes naturally play several of their hits – "Twist & Shout," "The Three Bells" – but also cover "Walk Right In," "She Said Yeah," and "Like a Rolling Stone," touching upon folk-rock and R&B that didn't always show up on their records.

Another stunning set from Harmonia Mundi in their rare 90's boxed editions of music from the Baroque and,as in this case, the Renaissance. Well renowned performers of period music jostle for attention on discs that range from "The Renaissance of the Mass","The Culmination of the Motet" "The Era of Polyphony", "the Golden Age of the Madrigal" to "The Instrumental Art" which features some wonderful Lute performances from Paul O'Dette. Composers include Gesualdo, Josquin Desprez, Claudio Monteverdi as well as many lesser known composers that prove to be very worthwhile discoveries.

In the wake of the moribund condition of the fine Naxos Jazz label, Naxos World pick up the slack with an excellent Cubano jazz release by the famous Cuban expatriate Alfredo Rodriguez. Born in Havana in 1936, Rodriguez percolated in that musical melting pot, assimilating classical and jazz influences until 1960 when he moved to Manhattan where he stayed until he migrated to another Cuban–dense community, Miami, where he lived and worked until 1985. Rodriguez has resided in Paris since that time, where he has been a successful bandleader, arranger and composer. In the present recording, Rodriguez exposes the listener to different flavors of "Latin Jazz.".

From the crackling opening notes of "Lover Come Back to Me," it's clear that Off to the Races is one of Donald Byrd's most invigorating sessions of the late '50s. Working with a stellar supporting band - Jackie McLean (alto sax), Wynton Kelly (piano), Pepper Adams (bari sax), Sam Jones (bass), Art Taylor (drums) - Byrd turns in one of his strongest recordings of the era. Throughout the album, Byrd switches between hard bop, ballads, laid-back blues, and soul-jazz. Two of the numbers are standards, one is a cover, and three are Byrd originals, but what matters is the playing. Over the course of the album, Byrd proves he has matured greatly as a soloist, capable of sweet, melodic solos on the slower numbers and blistering runs of notes on the faster songs…