Rare sought after release from Southroad Connection

Ella herself acknowldged the Cole Porter Songbook album (ALN1932) was a 'turning point in my life. Doing those songbooks got me into spots I'd never beena ble to play before. ' Porter commented 'My, what marvellous diction that girl has.' Ira Gershwin was even more appreciative remarking ' I never knew how good our songs were until I heard ELla Fitzgerald sing them' whilst Richard Rodgers said ' Whatever she does to my songs, she always makes them sound better'," James Murray.

"Imagine this: you're in a quaint Parisian café listening to a delightful acoustic jazz combo. The air is filled with songs, some familiar, some exotic and intriguing. You're caught up in the music as lightning-fast guitar runs dart in and out of beautiful violin melodies. The rhythm guitarist is strumming his guitar with fiery abandon while the bassist slaps a rhythm that your feet can't resist. With your partner, you stand and move to the dance floor. Suddenly you stumble and trip over a Shiner beer bottle. As if waking from a dream, you realize that this isn't Paris, France-it's Paris, Texas! The jazz combo isn't just playing the music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grapelli, they're also playing songs once made popular by Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys…"

Following the departure of Jérôme Langlois, Maneige launches its` second era. The band gravitates towards more concise and accessible compositions, melding classical, jazz and rock influences. The first result is 1977’s "Ni Vent… Ni Nouvelle", a successful and unique style of fusion, which remains one of the bands’ high points amongst their fans. This new CD reissue contains the 10 original tracks which have been recently remastered, plus bonus live material culled from this same era (featured on the 1979 album “Composite”), as well as a 12-page booklet full of photos.

'Devadatta' is the follow up album to 2010's 'A Century of Lullabies'. Much like it's predecessor, it's another concept album (with more than a nod to the progressive rock genre) mixing stark imagery, social commentary and humanist philosophy to create a tapestry of vivid soul-searching and storytelling. There is immensely detailed substance to this album, which ultimately means that a single listen through is not going to be enough. With catchy choruses and hooky melodies there's plenty to compel the discerning listener to keep hitting the play button over and over again, each time peeling back the layers. From the driving rock thunder of the opening track, 'Adrenalinized', to the acutely intimate 'Charm Offensive', the album offers an array of emotion. Do not be fooled by the number of tracks either. Both 'The Dragon King's Daughter' and 'Moral Compass' are both over 10 minutes long - broken down into suites, they give the impression that you are actually listening to ten or twelve songs, rather than eight.

Deep from the swamps of Denmark comes Sylvatica, a melodic death metal act with folk touches. The band's debut album "Evil Seeds" is set for release on July 1st, 2014. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered at JBO Sound

Animal Attraction is the second album from Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love. It was released on November 7, 2011 through Spinefarm Records and debuted at number 10 on the national Finnish Charts. Although their image implies their sound would be sleazier, what you actually get is Def Leppard and Bon Jovi inspired stadium rock, with huge radio friendly sing-along choruses. It’s all highly polished stuff with hooks aplenty and a lush sound which should cross them over into mainstream circles. If you are a fan of 80′s style hard rock and pop metal, you are going to love this set of tunes on Animal Attraction!

Machine and the Synergetic Nuts first saw the light of day in 1997 in Tokyo, Japan, formed by Toshiaki Sudoh (drums), Mahi-mahi (tenor and soprano sax), Suzuki Hiroyuki (bass), and Iwata Noriya (keyboards). This highly energetic jazz-rock/fusion group seems to have many influences, a brilliant mix of 70's Canterbury sound a la Soft Machine, Nucleus and probably many others, but this not by any means derivative or "stuck in the 70's" sort of music. The music definitely has a modern touch to it, and both their albums are surprisingly noisy (not metal, though) and difficult to grasp at first. Technical performance is really top-notch, especially their amazingly energetic and tight rhythm section is worth mentioning.

Fernando Lopes-Graça (1906-1994) initiated his music career at the age of fourteen as a pianist at the Cine-Teatro, Tomar. He attended the Lisbon National Conservatory, where he studied with Adriano Meira and Vianna da Motta (piano), Tomás Borba and Luís de Freitas Branco (composition and musical science). He concluded higher studies in music composition in 1931, with the highest possible score. As a result of opposing the regime, he was arrested, banished to Alpiarça and denied the right to use the scholarship he had been awarded to move and study in Paris. Nonetheless, he departed at his own expense, furthering his knowledge with Koechlin. Being the author of a vast literary work on Portuguese music, he was a pioneer in the study and research of Portuguese folk music.

“Music has to be noble” – Toshio Hosokawa once chose this creed in private conversation in order to distinguish himself from the aesthetics of other composers. To me, this phrase seems to be an apt description of Hosokawa’s music, since he draws its inherent nobility from a thoroughly noble source: “gagaku”, the music of the Japanese imperial court. We are not saying that the composer was familiar with these sounds from childhood. On the contrary, Hosokawa assures us that it was only at an advanced stage of his studies – during his postgraduate work with Isang Yun in Berlin – that he came into contact with gagaku…..