After recording a string of fusion records in the late '80s with his Elektric Band, Chick Corea returned to acoustic jazz with this trio date. Enlisting Elektric Band sidemen John Patitucci and Dave Weckl, Corea swings through ten tracks with noticeably mixed results. The leader is as romantic as ever, playing with bravado even on ballads, flawlessly executing complicated ideas, reveling in drama and melodrama. Patitucci's upright playing clearly betrays his electric pedigree; listen quickly to his solo on "So in Love" and you might mistake it for a Jaco Pastorius spot. Weckl has been accused of being a soulless technician serving questionable music in the past, and those who are predisposed against him will find nothing here to change their minds.

ake five bearded mountain men and give them instruments (and booze, lots and lots of booze) and you will probably get Norway’s Svölk. Self-proclaiming themselves as “Bear metal” they play a mixture of stoner metal with a Norwegian redneck attitude. With their newest album Nights Under the Round Table, Svölk has created a down and dirty album featuring catchy hooks and heavy riffs.Nights Under the Round Table is a solid release from these Norwegian mountain men and shows that even in a place like Norway, stoner/sludge metal can thrive.

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music artist. His eponymous first album was released in 1989; it peaked at #2 in the US country album chart and reached #13 on the Billboard 200 pop album chart. Brooks's integration of rock elements into his recordings and live performances made him very popular and allowed him to dominate the country single and country album charts and quickly crossed over into the mainstream pop arena, exposing country music to a larger audience.

In the last twenty years, Italy has given birth to some of the genies of symphonic and classical music with strong rock attitudes ! The mighty Luca TURILLI and Alex STAROPOLI, fathers of RHAPSODY OF FIRE, are the key characters of this movement, but it seems Italy is not going to give it a break right now. Cristiano FILIPPINI is the new undisputed maestro, starting from the Conservatory Diploma, he then managed to get tremendous attentions of fans and musical insiders all over the world. His debut album "The First Crusade" is proving this, being a first-page-must of the most well known italian newspapers ! An orchestral masterpiece, taking ispiration by the saga of "Conan The Barbarian", "The Lord Of The Rings" and "Troy", cleverly mixing arrangements never for granted with a really first-class creative streak !

Album dedicated to Hawaiian music and performed by the always spectacular 101 Strings Orchestra. It offers a total of 10 pieces representing largely the music of the Polynesian islands and having universally being identified with the Hawaiian Islands.

When the British art school punk band the B-Sides changed their name and direction to become Adam & the Ants, guitarist/vocalist Bid and guitarist Lester Square opted out to form their own group, the Monochrome Set. Founded in London in 1978, the band (also comprised of ex-Gloria Mundi and Mean Street bassist Jeremy Harrington and former Art Attacks drummer J.D. Crowe) was quickly snapped up by the Rough Trade label, and during 1979 issued three singles "He's Frank," "Eine Symphonie des Grauens," and their signature number, "Monochrome Set" all completely different in content and stylistic approach.

Marilyn Mazur is best known for her association with Miles Davis, but she has actually played in many settings. Born to Polish and African-American parents, Mazur has lived in Denmark since she was six. She studied classical piano and dance – eventually switching to drums – and improvised music. She attended the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music, worked locally and in 1985 was part of Palle Mikkelborg's recording of "Aura" with Davis. Soon afterward she began working with the trumpeter (off and on from 1985-89) and then had stints with Gil Evans and Wayne Shorter. In 1989 she formed her band Future Song, and in 1994 Mazur recorded as a leader for Storyville with her adventurous Pulse Unit, which mostly featured her own compositions.

Music played by the 'Ray Hamilton Ballroom Orchestra' offering a repertoire of 15 songs for standard ballroom style, 'slow waltz'. The collection includes a range of well chosen topics, mostly composed as slow waltzes, but not always originally composed as such, but arranged for the interpretation of the Hamilton's orchestra. It is a healthy choice, well arranged and interpreted to enjoy a session of more than fifty minutes of play or on the dance floor.