Review by Scott Yanow ~allmusic.com
Marian McPartland interprets ten diverse ballads on this album including her own "Willow Creek." The tunes are all quite sophisticated and they range from Stevie Wonder ("All in Love Is Fair"), Ahmad Jamal ("Without You") and Billy Strayhorn (the emotional "Blood Count") to Dave Brubeck and Noel Coward (his haunting "Someday I'll Find You" from "Private Lives"). This is nice music even if there is not much mood variation.

British thrashers EVILE will release their third album, "Five Serpents' Teeth", on September 26 via Earache Records. The CD was recorded at Parlour Studios in Kettering, U.K., with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR), who also worked on the band's previous CD, 2009's "Infected Nations".

"Own The Crown" is the long awaited comeback album of MAJESTY containing two CDs packed with immortal Heavy Metal hymns. On the first disc you find all the greatest MAJESTY hits of the band´s career so far. Besides of the two new songs "Own The Crown" and "Metal On The Road" the second CD will feature lots of rare songs and rerecorded material which most of the fans have never heard before. Among other things you find a rerecorded version of the ballad "Snow Is On The Mountains" which was originally released in 1999 on the "Metal Monarchs" demo. The first six songs were all recorded and produced in the band´s own “Metal Studio”

Review by Scott Yanow ~allmusic.com
Vibraphonist Cal Tjader was quickly becoming one of the most important forces in Latin jazz when he recorded the infectious music on this CD reissue. Joined by pianist Manuel Duran, bassist Carlos Duran, and a couple of percussionists, Tjader performs Latinized versions of such standards as "Cherry," "This Can't Be Love," "I'll Remember April," "Autumn Leaves," and even "Sonny Boy." Decades later, this highly rhythmic music (which helped lay the groundwork for Latin jazz in general) still sounds fresh and lively.

The Collegium Aureum, a loose association of soloists and conservatory teachers, was founded in 1962 by the Freiburg (Germany) based record company Harmonia Mundi. From the very beginning the ensemble has dedicated itself to the meritorious task of reviving historical performance practices in order to convey an impression of the music’s authentic sound. This “resurrected court orchestra” plays works of the Baroque, the Classical, as well as the Romantic periods on historical instruments.

Formed in London in 1980, the Legendary Pink Dots moved to Amsterdam in the middle of the decade. Members throughout the band's career have been Edward Ka-Spel (vocals, keyboards) and Phil Knight (keyboards), also known as the Silver Man, with a shifting supporting cast over the years. The Dots' music is by turns melodic pop and exotic psychedelia, with classical influences, sampling, and relentlessly dark, violent, apocalyptic lyrics…