Amidst his busy schedule, Simon recorded various sessions at Hamburg's renowned Chameleon Studios with his trio. While some of these recordings have been available digitally, this collection marks the first physical release for all of the tracks, including stunning renditions of Duran Duran's 'Ordinary World' and Mr. Mister's 'Uniform of Youth'. With flawless performances and exceptional production quality, this collection of rare tracks is a must-have for rock enthusiasts. For fans who've come to admire McBride's style and personality during his tenure with Deep Purple, this album offers an exciting glimpse into his versatility and musical brilliance.

Over the course of his life, Einojuhani Rautavaara's work has developed like a microcosm of the history of music since 1950. His break with the bonds of serialism and a commitment to his own unique ideals were of crucial importance to his international reputation - a courageous step that manifested itself in unmistakable creations. Rautavaara demands extreme intimacy and immediate, vivid empathy from his listeners, but rewards them with a spiritual wealth that leaves an indelible impression. The 50-year old violin concerto with its delicate reminiscences of Sibelius, the poignant declaration of love in the Serenade from the year of his death, 2016, and his beautiful Autumn Gardens written just before the turn of the millennium are impressive examples of his intelligibility and are for good reason the most often performed works of the Finnish master.

Five phenomenal pianists show how close boogie-woogie is to gospel music, united as they are by a common directness and passion. Anyone who saw the movie Ray will remember the scene where Ray Charles and Art Tatum play a piano duet and come to the same conclusion. Johnny O'Neal played Tatum, and boogie is his speciality. In his hands, and in those of contemporary masters Bob Seeley and Mark Braun, the venerable idiom comes ferociously to life. It's hard to believe that one pair of hands can create such power and drive. (The Observer, UK)

Hawkins’ tenor saxophone playing is particularly confident and eloquent throughout the set. His group of “confreres” on the session is fortified by the Oscar Peterson Trio along with sit-in guests including Hank Jones (piano), Herb Ellis (guitar), Roy Eldridge and Buck Clayton (both on trumpet), and others.

Recorded in five sessions over 1956/57 and released in 1958, this twelve-track affair is loaded with the classic standards from Irvin Berlin, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, and more. Though some claimed Holiday was beyond her peak at this point, it was Miles Davis that countered that this was actually her most effective time with her “deepest understanding and control” of the repertoire she was performing.

Lumen is the deeply personal and introspective new solo album by pianist and composer Bill Laurance. Recorded in the stillness of night inside an empty church, the album captures a rare and intimate moment of communion between artist, instrument, and space. Though not religious, Laurance describes the experience as almost spiritual—guided more by the music itself than by his own intention, as if he were merely a vessel.

Hooffoot is an instrumental group from Sweden presenting a very lyrical and genuinely new blend of prog/kraut/jazz/rock. The first album struck like a bolt from the blue in 2015 and by some acclaimed as "debut of the century". The follow up was equally appraised as "bloody bloody great".
Phantom Limb is their 3-rd studio album. There's a very clever and well-executed musical display here, taking its time to build these four pieces of prog-flavored jazz-rock/fusion filled with keyboards and almost tribal percussion, but with plenty of instrumental variety and shifting tempos. There's solidity and intelligence in the compositional development, keeping you hooked and alert the whole time.

The most influential band of all time shows the depth of their influence on this compilation, as Chesky Records performers give us their interpretation of some Beatles Classics. Artists include Christy Baron, Ana Caram, Valerie Joyce, The Persuasions, Livingston Taylor, and Rachel Z.

The night of May 12, 2002, may go down as another important milestone on the timeline of legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Four musicians, each representing a different Miles Davis band from his ever-evolving career, came together at the club Makor in New York City to do what everybody said couldn't be done—effectively fuse together elements of the radically different styles that Miles embodied over his 45 years of professional performance.

The Mahavishnu Orchestra’s December 27, 1973, concert at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC is a renowned live performance featuring the original lineup (John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, Rick Laird). Broadcast by WNEW-FM, this high-energy show showcases material from Birds of Fire and The Lost Trident Sessions.

Chesky Records is an American record label known for its audiophile recordings. They focus particularly on high quality sound and innovative recording techniques. One of their major releases is ‘The Best of Binaural+’, a collection specifically designed for binaural recordings to create a realistic, three-dimensional listening experience. What is Binaural+? Binaural+ is a technique used by Chesky Records that utilises binaural microphone recordings to faithfully reproduce the natural sound of a room and the positioning of musicians. This method simulates how humans perceive sound in a room by designing the microphone in the shape of a human head, with microphones in the ‘ears’. In this way, spatial information and reflections from the room are captured faithfully.

Recorded in Oslo in September 1970, Afric Pepperbird was released on New Year’s Day in 1971. Half a century later, it still conveys the freshness and excitement of discoveries being made. The album signalled the arrival of four Norwegian improvisers – Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal, Arild Andersen and Jon Christensen – at the fledgling ECM label. It was the start of a lifelong association with each of the musicians, whose influence was soon to reach far beyond the borders of their homeland. In extended passages on Afric Pepperbird, with Christensen and Andersen stretching out, it’s quite often Rypdal effectively holding the centre with taut chords. Everybody is roaring here, with Garbarek deep into his free jazz vocabulary. “Garbarek should be heard,” wrote reviewer Joe Klee in DownBeat. “I would venture that not since Django Reinhardt has there been a European jazz musician so original and forward-looking as this young Norwegian.”