Pieces of Treasure, Rickie Lee Jones’ newest album, has been a long time coming. In a career that has spanned more than four decades, the renowned singer songwriter has interpreted an extraordinarily wide range of songs from writers and artists she loves, often collected on the same album - showtunes, blues, folk, rock (David Bowie publicly praised her take on “Rebel Rebel”). She was nominated for a 1989 Best Jazz Vocal Performance Grammy for her rendition of “Autumn Leaves” from Rob Wasserman’s Duets album; a year later she won in the same category for her duet with Dr. John of “Makin’ Whoopee.” She has released the celebrated jazz-leaning albums Girl at Her Volcano and Pop Pop, but until now, she had never devoted an entire album to the American Songbook.

The Newport Jazz Festival had always brought the best out in Nina Simone. When she took to that famous stage on July 2, 1966, the audience was treated to the full range of her artistry - from the opener, a breathtaking version of “You’ve Got To Learn” to an electrifying performance of her signature protest anthem “Mississippi Goddam”. Unwilling to let her leave the stage, and after sustained applause, her fans were rewarded with the show-stopping encore, “Music For Lovers”. This previously-unknown and unreleased recording showcasing Nina’s exceptional performance makes it clear why hearing Nina Simone in concert was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Bebel Gilberto releases her new album via [PIAS] Recordings. Entitled Joao, the album is a collection of songs made famous by her father João Gilberto, widely regarded as the “father of Bossa Nova music. João Gilberto passed away in 2019 after a 70 year career in music. Bebel began singing with him as a small child and the songs she sings on this new album have been with her all her life. Says Bebel- "João" is a love letter to my father. Since my first album I've never really covered any of my Dad's music. Now it's time to present to the public the songs from João Gilberto that have influenced me since I was born- and even before”.

Mirkwood were from Dover, Kent, in England. They played psychedelic rock with two guitars and a thought-provoking text. They owed not only to their musical abilities, but also to their capacity of transforming new ideas into music that they were among the leading bands in Kent. Their one and only LP was recorded on 17 January 1973. It still was released in the very same year in a number of only 99 pieces.

Here are two legends of Chicago Blues - Pinetop Perkins & John Brim. John got a hit for Chess Records: “Ice Cream Man” in the 50´s. The Wolf All Star Band played together with him: John Primer, Willie Kent, Tim Taylor & Billy Branch. Pinetop was not only a sideman for Muddy Waters, he was a great piano player and singer too! On this CD, only Tim Taylor played drums with him and sang some great Blues Classics.

After Les Danaïdes and Les Horaces, Les Talens Lyriques concludes the group’s cycle of Antonio Salieri’s French operas with the world premiere recording of Tarare. Often unfairly overshadowed by his brilliant contemporary Mozart, Salieri here composed a genuine masterpiece on the only libretto ever written by Beaumarchais.
Salieri has a taste for exoticism and, like Mozart in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, he transports us into a fantasy Orient seen through the eyes of the pre-revolutionary philosophy of the Enlightenment.

Collections of Baroque keyboard music are often focused on famous French and German composers, so there's comparatively little available on CD of English harpsichord music of the 18th century, aside from recordings of works by Henry Purcell and George Frederick Handel. Considering the rarity of its material, Sophie Yates' 2016 album on Chaconne, The Pleasures of the Imagination, holds a certain appeal because its selections haven't been dulled by excessive anthologizing. While some of the composers' names may ring a bell, such as John Blow, Jeremiah Clarke, Thomas Arne, and Johann Christian Bach (the "London Bach"), their contributions here will be unknown to most listeners, while William Croft, Maurice Greene, and Richard Jones are known only to specialists in the period.