The British blues-rock boom was such a big deal at the end of the 1960s that plenty of also-ran bands got the chance to fill out the bottom of concert and festival bills, and also to record. Sam Apple Pie were among them, and their self-titled debut album didn't offer much in the style that was out of the ordinary, though it did possess basic competence. You needed more than basic competence to make a mark, however, even in a genre that could be as hidebound as British blues. Sam Apple Pie didn't have those extra special somethings, relying too much upon stock blues riffs and good-time energy that might have been effective in a concert setting, but are pretty dull on record. If any influence from their peers seems strongest, it's early Fleetwood Mac (in both their stinging blues modes and their quieter, more reflective ones)…

Anna Paulová is one of the most prominent Czech clarinetists of the young generation. In 2015, she was a laureate of the Prague Spring International Music Competition, where she won the 2nd prize and other special awards – the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Prize, the Gideon Klein Foundation Prize, etc. She has previously won prizes in many important Czech and international clarinet competitions (Marco Fiorindo in Turin, Giacomo Mensi in Brenno – Italy, Krško – Slovenia, Markneukirchen – Germany, Wroclaw – Poland, Oldenburg – Germany, Possehl-Musikpreis, Yamaha Scholarship, etc.). In 2016 she was the absolute winner of the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Competition. In 2019 she advanced to the semi-finals of the prestigious ARD International Music Competition in Munich. She is the recipient of the Viktor Kalabis and Zuzana Růžičková Foundation Award for the best student of the HAMU in Prague in 2020.She received the Special Golden Medal Award at the Vienna International Music Competition (2019) and the Manhattan International Music Competition (2022) and performed at the Salon de Virtuosi Festival at the Bohemian National Hall in New York in November 2022.

Bossa Nova translated as the "new beat" or "the new style", grew out of Rio De Janeiro in 1958. The instigators were a handful of artists with a desire to break from tradition, developing the samba rhythms with the influence of cool American jazz to find a music with such a warm soul and natural rhythm that no-one can help but tap and sway to its beat. Bossa Nova is palm trees swaying, it is like melting sugar in hot coffee, it is the setting sun and warm sand underfoot. It is the sound and beat of Brazil, it is one of the world's coolest musical styles and it remains to this day one of the world's great musical treasures.

Keller & Schönwälder is the fusion of melodious movements with hypnotic spirals. In solo, they are very good and together they are even better. Released in 1998, two after the debut of the duo, Concerts shows that the chemistry between the two friends was already at its peak. Originally released on Manikin Music, Concerts is reissued on SynGate Music. As a bonus, we are entitled to nearly 30 minutes of EM recorded in concert in 2006. It is some big EM with long, sometimes a little too much, evolutionary courses where the art of improvised music and the mastery of instruments converge in very good musical moments. The duo has the art of assembling unpredictable musical structures, which mesmerize and captivate with a superb game of percussion and solos as heartbreaking as delirious. And if you are a 70's Klaus Schulze lover, Concerts, as well as the majority of Keller & Schönwälder's early works, become a must.

Like the armour-plated tank/armadillo hybrid that graced their album, Tarkus, ELP for a short period bestrode the earth, destroying all in their wake. To young ears it probably now seems impossible that a three mere mortals could have wielded such power, but this was the early 70s.

Featuring his popular composition "Frevo," Egberto Gismonti's Solo disc finds the great Brazilian guitarist ranging wide on a handful of stunning originals. Having already established himself as a composer in his native country and in Europe, Gismonti began to gain even wider notice with a series of topnotch ECM releases starting in 1977. His resumé includes work with such Brazilian heavyweights as Nana Vasconcelos (his longtime musical partner), Airto Moreira, and Flora Purim, as well as collaborations with jazz greats like Cal Tjader, Herbie Hancock, and Jan Gabarek. Here, Gismonti is just fine as he takes flight without any companions, treating listeners to a provocative and often meditative solo program.

Norway's Leprous return with a fearless and stunning new album, likely their most mesmerizing and impactful release yet.
"Melodies Of Atonement", the band's 8th studio album, contains 10 songs / 51 minutes of contemporary rock at its best.
Recorded by David Castillo (Opeth, Katatonia, Soen, etc.) at Ghost Ward in Sweden, the material was mixed by Adam Noble (Placebo, Biffy Clyro, Nothing But Thieves, etc.) and mastered by Robin Schmidt (The 1975, Placebo, The Gaslight Anthem, etc.).

"1" is a compilation album by The Beatles, originally released on 13 November 2000. The album features virtually every number-one single released in the United Kingdom and United States from 1962 to 1970 by the Beatles. Issued on the 30th anniversary of the band's break-up, it was their first compilation available on one compact disc. 1 was a commercial success, and topped the charts worldwide. 1 has sold over 31 million copies. In addition, 1 is the fourth best-selling album in the U.S. since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking U.S. album sales in January 1991, and the best-selling album of the decade in the US from 2000 to 2009, as well as the best selling album of the decade worldwide.

Recorded by Sean Murray at the HR Recordings “Music Room” , Madrid. September 20th and 21st, 2024. Soundfield microphones. C. Bechstein Piano, (1899) Piano preparation by Mario Izquierdo Manzano. (Pianos Izquierdo S.L.) Violoncello by Martin Schleske, 2017. München. Germany. Special thanks to Sandy Gibbons.

35 years since their groundbreaking platinum-certified album Doolittle catapulted the band into the UK Top Ten, and 20 years since their celebrated reformation at Coachella, Pixies are deep into their second act, and in the midst of a creative purple patch. The Night The Zombies Came is Pixies’ tenth album, if you count their classic 1987 4AD mini- LP, Come On Pilgrim, and first new music since 2022’s acclaimed Doggerel LP. 13 new songs that find Pixies looking ahead to the most cinematic record of their career. Druidism, apocalyptic shopping malls, mediaeval themed restaurants, 12th century poetic form, surf rock, gargoyles, bog people, and the distinctive dry drum sound of 1970s-era Fleetwood Mac are just some of the disparate wonders that inform the new songs.

In 1990 and 1991, Eric Clapton performed 42 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London; 18 shows in 1990 and 24 in 1991. During the run of these shows Clapton performed with three different line-ups: a rock band, a blues band, and an orchestra. 24 Nights: Rock features 18 songs, has a running time of 2 hours 15 minutes and is available on 3 LPs or a 2 CDs. The CD format also includes a DVD of the full show. The rock show line-up varied from 4, 9 or 13 band members, and the musicians included Nathan East, Ray Cooper, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Ferrone. The 4-piece in 1991 featured Phil Collins on drums. Highlights of the songs performed include White Room, Layla, Pretending, Running On Faith, Old Love, and Lay Down Sally. The set also features excellent cover versions: a restrained reggae rhythm version of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, a blues-rock twist on the Bob Marley anthem “I Shot The Sheriff”, and the great J.J. Cale song “Cocaine”. The concert ends with the Cream classic “Sunshine Of Your Love”.

In 1990 and 1991, Eric Clapton performed 42 nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London; 18 shows in 1990 and 24 in 1991. During the run of these shows Clapton performed with three different line-ups: a rock band, a blues band, and an orchestra. Clapton’s love of the Blues is well known, and the emotion and enjoyment of playing these songs with top-notch musicians is clear on these recordings and film.

Foster The People’s return with their long awaited fourth studio album, Paradise State of Mind. "The record started as a case study of the late Seventies crossover between disco, funk, gospel, jazz, and all those sounds. It was such a beautiful moment in time, when these different styles of music were cross-referencing each other – artists like Nile Rogers and Chic, the Tom Tom Club and Giorgio Moroder," says Mark Foster.

In 1983 when this performance was taped in Cannes, France during the Midem Festival, B.B. King was carrying one of the best bands of his entire career. Under the leadership of trumpeter Calvin Owens the band were tight and concise supporting B.B's stinging guitar and vocals to exceptional effect. These workouts on many of his greatest hits are the perfect introduction to the King of the Blues.

A composition pupil of Jules Massenet, Alfred Bruneau was largely responsible for introducing realism into French opera. His friendship with the writer Emile Zola, who shared his desire for theatrical naturalism, strongly informed his work, not least L’Attaque du Moulin (The Attack on the Mill) a ‘drame lyrique.’ The suite includes rustic elements, but also Mascagni-like verismo beauty tempered by a Gallic palette. Bruneau was a deft orchestrator with a taste for exotic color, and the excerpts from Messidor show the influence of Wagner on one of the most important but overlooked figures in turn-of-the-century French musical life. A Marco Polo release in 1994 has the same repertoire as this new recording from the Barcelona Symphony and Darrell Ang, however that album is no longer available, so this new release is a perfect opportunity to reintroduce these works.