Solos inspired by classic and psychedelic rock carry the radio-ready style without abandoning the solemn murkiness of doom that serves as the album’s foundation. Drawing from the worlds of both doom and rock, Kadavar bring gothic haunts to the masses with an approach that is both drenched in forces of darkness and illuminated by rock’s vibrant history…

A stunning set of soul tunes from the lovely Caroline Crawford – produced by Bohannon, and some of his best work from the time! Caroline's got a great style that moves past other club singers of the time – much more soulful and sophisticated than simple disco diva styles, drenched in a deeper soul sound that grounds the album nicely in a strong tradition of 70s soul. The production is tight, but unobtrusive – a bit like some of the best work that Barry White did with singers of a similar style.

Phantasy of Spring from violinist Carolin Widmann and pianist Simon Lepper perfectly captures the spirit of ECM. An uncompromising programme of Morton Feldman, Bernd Alois Zimmerman, Arnold Schonberg and Iannis Xenakis gets excellent notes by the composer Raiiner Peters and sleeve artwork which is flagrantly out of focus even by ECM's standards. Phantasy of Spring alone will give more musical nourishment than the entire autumn release schedules of some of the larger labels.

Recently, I have reviewed several CDs of works imitating Haydn. Although never reaching the large numbers of pseudo-Haydns, there arose, after Mozart’s death in 1791, a school of followers who produced symphonies, concertos, divertimentos and sonatas. Hence on this disc we have four clarinet works, three of them spuriously attributed to Mozart. The first is the Violin Concerto, K268, long regarded as doubtful, which is now presented as a clarinet concerto after a German manuscript, where it is arranged for clarinet and piano.

In 1992, Telarc unveiled a series of performances from the vault on a short-lived label punningly entitled "Telarchive," beginning with this long-delayed encore to the original releases from Paul Desmond's "Canadian" quartet. Recorded live in Toronto's Bourbon Street Jazz Club several months before the live dates released on Horizon and Artists House, it finds Desmond growing comfortable with his new Toronto friends but not quite settled into their laid-back ways quite yet. There are passages in this session where Desmond sounds a bit uncharacteristically scattered and unfocused, where guitarist Ed Bickert becomes the more fluid and stable solo partner, and bassist (and engineer) Don Thompson takes a lengthy solo on every track…

The music throughout this set, which consists of Dino Saluzzi originals, is quite charming. The combination of Saluzzi's bandoneon, acoustic guitarist Jose Maria Saluzzi, and bassist Palle Danielsson works quite well, and both the arranged and improvised ensembles are melodic. Some of the music consists of modern tangos and there are also ballads and more jazz-oriented pieces. The mood is sometimes wistful and nostalgic, but it is not derivative of the past. A delightful set.

This album is a superb recording of Haydn's oratorio The Creation conducted by Antal Dorati and featuring the incredible voices of bass Kurt Moll and soprano Lucia Popp. There is another recording I like, an obscure recording with Roland Bader conducting the Cracow National Philharmonic and the voices of soprano Teresa Seidl, tenor Christian Elsner and baritone Michael Volle. This recording is the best and the singers are divine and it's too bad it's not really well known or circulated. But this recording is dynamic and powerful and beautiful. It would be my second choice of favorite.

"The performances are sympathetic and effortlessly capture the spirit of Haydn's music. . . . Orchestral ensemble is crisp and Simon Standage chooses effective tempos to bring out the nuances in the music . . . it would be hard to envisage performances more lovingly crafted. . . . The release is a rewarding one and some of the music may well be unfamiliar to enthusiasts. A pleasing recorded sound, engaging music and affectionate performances make the issue an attractive one."

Argentinean composer and bandoneon master Dino Saluzzi's group includes many family members including Josй Maria Saluzzi on guitars, Felix "Cuchara" Saluzzi playing saxophones and clarinet, and Matias Saluzzi is featured on acoustic and electric bass, with the great Italian drummer U.T. Ghandi on hand for this session recorded at home in Buenos Aires. Juan Condori is Saluzzi at his most relaxed and instinctive. This music is deeply embedded in the folk traditions of the region, as well as the tango and the ballroom music of the country, both rural and urban in an era long gone. The title of the set refers to an old childhood friend from an indigenous family who Saluzzi refers to as "an almost magical figure."

Pianist Joe Sample, who has had easily the most successful solo career of any of the Crusaders, recorded a series of melodic and lightly funky sets for MCA . Sample is joined by Dean Parks, Carlos Fearing, David T. Walker and/or Barry Finnerty on guitars, either Wilton Felder, Abraham Laboriel or Nathan East on bass, drummer Ndugu, percussionist Paulinho Da Costa and occasional synthesizers and strings.