"One of the few Italian progressive bands to come from Sicily], in Davide Spitaleri the group had one of the finest vocalists on the whole scene, he was operatic in style and had a very intense and heartfelt attitude. Spitaleri was the focal point for...

This is a live CD, recorded in Rome in December 2004, in the church of S. Galla using the pipe organ and acoustic instruments (during the time that the group reformed and played some high profile gigs, including NEARFest). Why it took 7 years for this...

"Metheny’s final ECM disc reflected a growing interest in South American rhythms and introduced Argentinean percussionist/singer Pedro Aznar to the group."

"First Circle" is, in my opinion not just Pat Matheny's best CD, but one of the top CDs in...

"Ever curious, courageous and endlessly creative, virtuoso guitarist and musical mastermind Pat Metheny takes on John Zorn’s Masada songbook to create some of the most soulful and adventurous sounds yet heard in the Book of Angels series. Turn up the...

“This set captures great live performances of the Pat Metheny Group during their Brazilian-influenced era, one of my favorites.
The performances here are more up tempo and looser than the versions from The Road To You and capture more of the crowd.
If you're looking for the best fidelity, this recording is lacking (after all, this came from an FM broadcast) but nevertheless it is decent and the performances are definitely engaging. I found myself just sitting back and enjoying the music - both..

It doesn’t really sound LIKE This Heat at their most ‘rock trio’ fronted by John Lydon circa Metal Box, but it sounds like This Heat fronted by John Lydon…

“Strange Peace was recorded in Chicago, live off the floor to tape with Steve Albini. The result is a distinct artistic maturation into new and alarming territory, frantically pushing past where the band has gone before, while capturing the notorious intensity of their live show. The trio continued to assemble the album (including hom

Szilárd MEZEI viola; Bogdan RANKOVIÆ alto sax, bass clarinet; Branislav AKSIN trombone; Albert MÁRKOS violoncello; Kornél PÁPISTA tuba; Ervin MALINA double bass; István CSÍK drums.

"100 tû hossza (Length of 100 Needles), recorded in Germany...

"'I am doing what a woman can hardly ever do . . . ,' wrote British world traveler Isabella Bird in an 1872 letter from Hawaii. 'And I can fall, I can fall into anything.' San Francisco Bay Area composer, acoustic bassist, and bandleader, Lisa Mezzacappa used those lines -- and more from the writings of Bird and other women adventurers of the 19th and early 20th centuries -- to fashion lyrics for her ten-part 'panoramic song cycle for improvisers.' Sung by the extraordinary vocalist Fay Victor, those...

"Follow-up to the excellent "Visible" showcases Mezzanotte's superb keyboard work. This is really the Italian Return To Forever! Still present is the excellent work of Massimiliano Rosati who sounds like a cross between Al DiMeola & Allan Holdsworth...

Personel: Curt Newton (d), Nate McBride (b), Pandelis Karayorgis (org),

"In the winter of 2002 Nate McBride and I started a weekly jazz and improvised music series at the Abbey Lounge in Cambridge, Mass., which he named "mim" (for modern...

Very pretty and pretty unusual quiet music for accordion, violin & bowed contrabass. This is very organic and flowing; the closest comparison I can make is to some of Gavin Bryars' work, esp. his original version of The Sinking Of The Titantic. If you ...

Fine collection of solo piano works by some great 20th century composers (Charles Ives 'Study No. 20', Iannix Xenakis 'Herma', John Cage 'In A Landscape', Giacinto Scelsi 'Aitsi') with interspersed with improvisations by the pianist that fit right in. ...

Ken Matsutani – guitar
Inage Louis – bass
Hiroshi Hasegawa - electronics, field recordings
Rinji Fukuoka - drums, percussion, voice

“Instrumental psych from Japan. Ken Matsutani was manager of the legendary Captain Trip Records. Japanese guitarist and vocalist, best known as the leader of Marble Sheep, he has also participated in several other Japanese rock underground groups including AOR and Cement Women (1982), Onna (1985), White Heaven (1986). Rinji Fukuoka is a Tokyo-based...

Really excellent debut release by a quintet of young, mostly classically trained players on viola, cello, french horn, oboe and synthesizer. This manages to combine elements of contemporary classical and minimalism with electronic music in a very...

Phillip Johnston – soprano saxophone
Don Davis – alto saxophone
Mike Hashim – tenor saxophone
Dave Sewelson – baritone saxophone
Joel Forrester – piano
Dave Hofstra – bass
Richard Dworkin – drums
It takes an unusual band to make news out of the blues, and The Microscopic Septet deliver a gripping investigation of the form on Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down to Me: The Micros Play the Blues, which conti

Originally active from 1980-1992, the "Micros" started with a basic reeds-and-rhythm texture that was sonically similar to the sound of the Swing Era, but used influences from the entire continuum of jazz. The result was a brilliant blend of fresh...

Active for a dozen years, the Microscopic Septet were widely recognized as "New York's Most Famous Unknown Band." The group started with a basic reeds-and-rhythm texture (soprano, alto, tenor and baritone sax, piano, bass and drums) that was sonically...

17th ECM album from this German musician who uses instruments from cultures from all over the world in a uniquely personal way. He's one of the earliest artists to record for ECM who is still making records for the label, and he's also one of the most...

Stephan Micus: steel drum, voice, dilruba, suling, kortholt, nay, sinding

“Stephan Micus shapes his music by taking the instruments of the world out of their cultural, historical or traditional contexts and blending them in new ways. The colours of To The Evening Child (recorded 1992) are established through instrumental combinations involving dilruba (a string instrument associated with Hindustani classical music), suling (reed flute of the Balinese gamelan orchestra), nay (end-blown flute of...

“Apart from Middleton's most beautiful playing, this album appeals also by featuring the first recorded collaboration of Ralph Towner & Dave Holland after 2 decades.”

"Formerly known as The Rainbow Band, this legendary Danish band blended elements of rock, prog, jazz, and psychedelia to powerful effect, with especially impressive guitar work by Peer Frost Johansson. Walking Circles is their second LP, which marked...

Second, excellent and best-yet release by a three acoustic guitar ensemble who are reminsicent in many ways of the California Guitar Trio, but they've got their own sound. On some tracks they are joined by an electric bass, which fattens up the sound as..

"This hour-long CD is one of the best bodies of British psychedelia ever released. It contains the complete Mighty Baby album from Head Records, expanded to 13 tracks with the addition of five tracks cut by the Action during its 1967 transition period. The opening number, "Egyptian Tomb," sets the tone for the entire album -- in terms of content, structure, and beat, it sounds like the early Allman Brothers, or maybe the Grateful Dead in one of their harder-rocking moments, jamming with Crosby, Stills...

Nice compilation from the king of calypso!
"Strut presents a brand new retrospective of one of the Caribbean's most towering musical figures, Mighty Sparrow, covering 1962 to 1974. During a career of over 40 years, Sparrow has been an unmatchable...