Alan Broadbent is one of New Zealand's favorite musical sons and perhaps the most well-known and multi-talented of them all. Many are familiar with his arranging and conducting for Sir Paul McCartney, Diana Krall, Pat Metheny and Michael Bublé. Others may know Broadbent has received 8 Grammy nominations and won 2 Grammy Awards for Best Orchestral Arrangement Accompanying a Vocal, one for Natalie Cole and one for Shirley Horn. On Like Minds, Broadbent takes a seat on the piano bench for his third Savant recording with his trio featuring the great bassist Harvie S and the colorful drumming of Billy Mintz.

The Gitanes label has taken it upon itself to reissue on CD some of the late work of gypsy jazz giant Django Reinhardt. The tracks that make up Nuits de Saint-Germain des-Prés come from three Decca sessions dating from May of 1951 to January 1953, the final year of his life. The title comes from the reopening of the infamous club Saint-Germain des-Prés, whose reopening coincided with Reinhardt showing off his bop chops to a host of notable American jazzmen, including Benny Carter, Roy Eldridge, Charlie Parker, Don Byas, and others. The bands on all of these sessions are comprised of Young Turks, most notably a youthful Pierre Michelot on bass. The other constants are drummer Pierre Lemarchand and Hubert Fol on clarinets and saxophone; the latter's brother Raymond is the pianist on two of these sessions…

"Monster Mash" is one of the all-time great holiday songs, resurfacing (and sometimes charting) every Halloween without fail. The Original Monster Mash is the accompanying Top 20 album from 1962, on which Pickett leads off with his big hit before plying his Boris Karloff shtick for another 15 songs. Pickett's other Top 100 monster hit, the Christmas novelty "Monsters' Holiday," is here as well, along with dated jokes about Fabian ("Rabian - The Fiendage Idol") and then-current dance crazes ("Transylvania Twist," "Skully Gully"). "Let's Fly Away" is a brief Stan Freberg send-up that replaces "John and Marsha" with Dracula and Vampira. The Crypt-Kickers were an all-star band that counted Leon Russell, producer Gary Paxton, and other famous folks among its members, and the album remains a fine Halloween party platter year and years later. Unfortunately, the album was remixed for CD release in 1991, and the vocals are obscured in the mix so that the generic rock backing often prevails over the "spooky" dialogue and singing, which defeats the point for a novelty effort such as this.

Vocalist Jon Anderson and master synthesist/composer Vangelis draw upon their legendary individual histories and more than two decades of classic collaborations to create this very spiritual and musical synergy, which combines elements of rock, classical, symphonic, jazz, soul, electronic new age, and worldbeat. Best known, respectively, as the lead singer of Yes and the Oscar-winning composer of "Chariots of Fire," the duo has released several extraordinary tandem recordings over the years, beginning with the 1976 album Olias of Sunhillow. This is the sixth of the series, and was originally released in 1991. Page of Life offers clever social commentary and messages for world harmony in musical landscapes that allow amazing showcases for both Anderson's angelic vocals and Vangelis' multifaceted synth textures…

Warhorse reunited for one night in January 2001 at Woods Club in Borehamwood near London to play a memorable note-perfect set that reached back to the glory days of three decades prior. Recorded for posterity by BBC producer Tony Wood, the tapes have languished until now and their first ever release in “Live At Woods”. It was guitarist Pete Parks who suggested back in 2001 that Warhorse should play a reunion gig, just for the fun of it, and, as he put it, “While we are still alive!” It was with some trepidation that the band assembled, their last performance together being some 26 years before!

Rafael Riqueni has been developing original compositions for twenty years, halfway between contemporary Andalusian music, the classical repertoire of Manuel de Falla and Turina or Granados, and flamenco inspiration. He chose as his theme the story of the fortuitous discovery in 1959, in the south of Andalusia, of an exceptional group of prehistoric caves decorated by a group of young people. Like a sound tale, 'Nerja' takes us along in their footsteps with the magnetic Maria Moreno as a guide. With a strong personality and nourished by the purest tradition, the dancer is one of the revelations of recent years.

Guitarist Raphaël Feuillâtre captures the intimate and reflective side of the holiday season with his exquisite EP, Festive Nocturnes. Moving away from traditional carols, Feuillâtre curates a program of delicate and atmospheric pieces that evoke the quiet beauty of a winter's night. His masterful touch and nuanced phrasing, complemented by a beautifully resonant guitar tone, transform each composition into a luminous soundscape. This collection is a serene and sophisticated escape, offering a moment of peaceful contemplation amidst the festive rush.

One of the great men of Chicago blues, Snooky Pryor was one of the first players to explore the possibilities of the blues harp through amplification (Pryor insisted he was the first, and he may well have been right), and after making his recording debut in 1947, Pryor recorded his raw, passionate music steadily for a variety of small labels into the early '60s, when he dropped out of music for a spell before he was rediscovered in the early '70s. Real Fine Boogie: The J.O.B. Records Masters Collection collects material Pryor cut in the '40s and '50s, primarily for Chicago's J.O.B. Records label, though some material waxed for Planet and Swingtime Records pops up here as well. Most of these tracks find Pryor teamed with guitarist Moody Jones, and they were a good team, with Jones providing a solid framework for Pryor's simple but powerfully expressive harp workouts…