For the middle album of his Johnny Winter-produced, late-'70s musical trilogy, blues giant Muddy Waters brought a new spirit to some familiar material. Starting with members of Waters' touring band – pianist Pinetop Perkins, bassist Bob Margolin, and drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith – Winter added underrated guitarist (and longtime Waters foil) Jimmy Rogers and extraordinary harp player Big Walter Horton to the mix.

Following up his 2000 tribute to guitarist Django Reinhardt, Chasin' the Gypsy, saxophonist James Carter pays homage to iconic jazz singer Billie Holiday on Gardenias for Lady Day. Perhaps never before has the jazz iconoclast balanced so perfectly his "big top" avant-garde leanings with his more pinstriped traditionalist aesthetic. This is a beautiful album that revels as much in classic melody as it does in Carter's most torrid saxophone "skronk."

The fourth outing from German pianist Joachim Kuhn, Moroccan vocalist and guembri (bass lute) player Majid Bekkas, and Spanish drummer Ramon Lopez continues the trio's exploration into free-jazz and North African roots that began with Kalimba. The percussion and rhythms of the Magreb were more prominent on Out of the Desert which featured a cast of Berber musicians, while Chalaba returned to the stripped down trio format. Here, Kuhn again opts for a percussion-heavy approach, augmented on half the tracks by saxophonist Archie Shepp. The result is an intoxicating brew of Afro-centric jazz—rhythmically dynamic, free spirited and emotionally charged.

Record released by the great and popular Spanish choral group, 'Los Sabandeños'. The group, that began his long career in 1966, is heading for half a century, and although has known to update numerous members, maintains a distinctive folk style, warm and lyrical voices in the service of Latin and folk music.

This is the tenth album in the discography of the great Spanish flamenco guitarist Manolo Sanlúcar. All topics are of his own creation -in # 2 collaborates with him the musician Juan G. Caffi-. Manolo is accompanied as second guitar by his brother Isidro and also has the support of musicians like Pedro Iturralde, the Cuban Tito Duarte and José A. Galicia among others.

Fans of WITHIN TEMPTATION are in for a treat on the band’s sixth studio album, "Hydra". The album represents the many different sides of WITHIN TEMPTATION’s music. Special guests on "Hydra" are Finnish operatic metal diva TARJA, acclaimed singer-songwriter Dave Pirner of SOUL ASYLUM and metalcore hero Howard Jones, formerly of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. "Hydra" will be available in a deluxe box set version, containing a 3-disc with bonus track and a instrumental version.

The Ultimate Collection is an exhaustive double-disc + bonus CD anthology that is ideal for those who want all of Level 42's key moments ("The Sun Goes Down," "Lessons in Love," "Starchild," "Something About You," "Love Meeting Love"), in addition to select album material. Released in 2002 by Polydor in the U.K., it boasts digitally remastered sound and sells for the price of a single disc – so, although it contains more than what most people in search of a good introduction want, it might be preferable to Level Best, the excellent single-disc compilation released over a decade prior. This easily trumps Turn It On, since it features no studio scraps and focuses on the band's best work.

Thanks in part to the luridly alluring title and the enthusiastically informative liner notes by Bob Koester, this solid collection was many a young musician's introduction to the men who pioneered blues piano in the first half of the 20th century. Roosevelt Sykes is the best represented artist here, and his leering vocals are hard to resist: After hearing the ribald metaphor of "Dresser Drawers," you'll never view furniture quite the same way again.

With 15 years and five albums now snugly under its belt, this long-running side project from Wilco’s John Stirratt and Pat Sansone has had a full life of its own. The group’s songs are generally solid (if a little indistinguishable), though every now and again they flirt with classic-pop brilliance. I’d venture that it’s these breakthrough moments that keep ‘em coming back album after album between Wilco tours. That and familiarity—from the sound of things, The Autumn Defense drafted a pretty strong stylistic blueprint for the band from the get go, and they’ve stuck to it.

Jet setter/producer extraordinaire J rawls is preparing us for his upcoming Summer, solo release The Legacy by dropping his second set of beat treats Hotel Beats Vol. 2. “The story of J Rawls unfolds instrumentally during late night sessions of watching television in his hotel room. With a collage of colorful TV interludes, J Rawls paints the story of mankind’s struggles and triumphs touching on every human emotion and experience. From war, hope, happiness, freedom, the tragedy of death and the triumph of faith; Hotel Beats expresses the story through INSTRUMENTAL music and interludes.”