Sada is the second studio collaboration between Spanish guitarist Ángel Ontalva and beloved Russian space-prog-jazz-psych geniuses Vespero. The two previously broke ground on 2018’s ‘Carta Marina,’ which in turn led to the live album ‘Sea Orm Liventure’ before this latest work. Clearly, they have a good thing going, and they bring out the best in each other. I strongly recommend ALL of these albums. Ontalva and Vespero make a superb combination. Their works - all instrumental - remind me a great deal of Mahavishnu Orchestra. So kindle your inner mounting flame and come along for the ride.

ALAS was one of the most exquisite progressive bands in Argentina. The effective way in which they infused airs of Creole Argentinean folklore into their main prog sound - influenced by the massive energy of ELP (30 %) and the exuberant magic of WEATHER REPORT and RETURN TO FOREVER (70 %) - made ALAS a world of their own. Keyboardist/wind player/vocalist/main writer Gustavo Moretto had been a prominent figure in his country's musical scene. With the idea of forging a new musical direction leaning towards art-rock, he founded the band in 1975 in allegiance with bassist Alex Zucker and drummer/percussionist Carlos Riganti.

Without doubt the most important qawwal is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Party – "Party" is a generic term for a qawwali ensemble but is also used in Sikhism and to describe some classical music ensembles, for example, shehnai maestro Bismillah Khan & Party. Dubbed Shahen-Shah-e-Qawwali (the Brightest Star in Qawwali), he was born on October 13, 1948, in Lyallpur in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. He made his first recording in 1973 in Pakistan and a number of early EMI (Pakistan) albums jointly billed him with his uncle Mubarak Ali Khan.

E Street is an all-star affair led by percussionist Pete Escovedo, the father of drummer/percussionist Sheila E., who also guests on E Street along with several Escovedo siblings, saxophonists John Handy, Gerald Albright and Mel Martin, and pianist/vibraphonist Buddy Montgomery.
E Street seems to expend a great deal of energy going in a lot of different directions - wide-open freeways of Latin rock, lit up with horns and sparkling with guitar, piano, trumpet and of course percussion solos; rolling, soft cha-cha ballads; and new yet familiar byways with covers of Earth Wind & Fire's "Fantasy" and Stevie Wonder's "Another Star" - but it never seems to actually GET anywhere. The only breaks in the placid scenery come from the appropriately titled fiesta jam "Like a Volcano" and the surprisingly stirring, hymn-with-vocals "Lord Remember Me," which closes this set.

The Chicago Transit Authority recorded this double-barreled follow-up to their eponymously titled 1969 debut effort. The contents of Chicago II (1970) underscore the solid foundation of complex jazz changes with heavy electric rock & roll that the band so brazenly forged on the first set. The septet also continued its ability to blend the seemingly divergent musical styles into some of the best and most effective pop music of the era. One thing that had changed was the band's name, which was shortened to simply Chicago to avoid any potential litigious situations from the city of Chicago's transportation department – which claimed the name as proprietary property. Musically, James Pankow (trombone) was about to further cross-pollinate the band's sound with the multifaceted six-song "Ballet for a Girl in Buchannon." The classically inspired suite also garnered the band two of its most beloved hits – the upbeat pop opener "Make Me Smile" as well as the achingly poignant "Color My World" – both of which remained at the center of the group's live sets.

Since it's billed as "Directions in Music by Miles Davis," it should come as little surprise that Filles de Kilimanjaro is the beginning of a new phase for Miles, the place that he begins to dive headfirst into jazz-rock fusion. It also happens to be the swan song for his second classic quintet, arguably the finest collective of musicians he ever worked with, and what makes this album so fascinating is that it's possible to hear the breaking point – though his quintet all followed him into fusion (three of his supporting players were on In a Silent Way), it's possible to hear them all break with the conventional notions of what constituted even adventurous jazz, turning into something new. According to Miles, the change in "direction" was as much inspired by a desire to return to something earthy and bluesy as it was to find new musical territory, and Filles de Kilimanjaro bears him out.

These 14 tracks lean heavily on the earliest phase of Santana. Nine of them, in fact, were recorded prior to 1972, and just one postdates 1978. As 1969-71 was Santana's most vital period, however, that's no cause for complaint, and indeed the later cuts really pale in comparison. For someone who wants a little more than a greatest hits collection but wants to stop after two volumes, this is good enough, with first-rate items like "Persuasion," "Se Acabo," and "Guajira." Nothing here is rare, and note that the versions of "Black Magic Woman" and "Europa" are live ones.

Before the arrival of Carlos Santana's eponymous band, the San Francisco rock scene drew the inspiration for its jam-oriented music mainly from blues, rock, and Eastern modalities. Santana added Latin music to the mix, forever changing the course of rock & roll history. On their groundbreaking debut album, the group mix Latin percussion with driving rock grooves. Santana's unique guitar style, alternately biting and liquid, vies with the multiple percussionists for the sonic focus. Unlike later efforts, Santana's first album features an abundance of loose, collective compositions based on a couple of simple riffs ("Jingo," "Soul Sacrifice"). This approach allows for Santana and his bandmates to flex their improvisational muscles to fine effect. The high-energy level on Santana is infectious – the laid-back feel of other '60s San Francisco groups was clearly not for Carlos and co.

C.O.C.X. That word not necessary conjures up images of relaxation, stress-relief or healthy living with no drugs nor booze - especially when you consider the date when this album was recorded (1983), which is probably somewhere around 'the darkest' period in Stanko's body of work. But - surprise surprise - the main promise of C.O.C.X. is just that - relaxation and stress-relief. Stanko's romantically rocking trumpet, Apostolis' guitar solos on their way from Greece to Jamaica, J.A Torress' Latin congas, Rek's swinging bass - all those integrands create an experience which tend to be everybody's favorite, even among the folks who are not especially keen on post-electric Miles grooves. For those times when you just want to be noncommittal about you music selection, that would be a perfect record to choose, especially in company of well chilled bottle of Pino Grigio or New Zeeland's Sauvignon Blanc.

Daughter of Time is the fourth album by Colosseum, released in 1970. The album remained for five weeks in the UK Albums Chart peaking number 23. Recorded in the midst of an upheaval in the band's lineup, only one of its eight tracks, "Three Score and Ten, Amen", features all six of the official band members. Mike DeGagne gave the album a rave retrospective review in Allmusic, chiefly praising the wide variety of instruments used, but also acknowledging the melancholy tones and sense of drama. His only criticism was that the songs are too short, "all around six minutes in length" (in fact, only three of the songs are around six minutes in length, and half of them are much shorter).