Richard Galliano’s new album is rightly titled Sentimentale, but it’s also a vigorous display of instrumental prowess. For the world’s greatest living accordionist, it signals a triumphant return to his jazz wheelhouse. Galliano gained his earliest renown in French jazz circles in the 1970s, but since then he has moved all over the musical map. In the early ’90s he helped revive the old French folk style of bal-musette, bringing it back into public consciousness while spicing it with an added improvisational element. On recent Deutsche Grammophon albums, he’s made unprecedented explorations into classical accordion playing, taking on works by Vivaldi and Bach…

A dozen years have passed since Molly Johnson took a sharp left turn, departing the hard-edged world of art-rock bands Alta Moda and the Infidels for richer jazz pastures. Her star has since risen considerably in her native Canada, and she’s earned near-equal popularity across France. But it wasn’t until the release of her fifth solo album, 2008’s Lucky, that Johnson started gaining traction south of the 49th parallel. Stateside listeners have some catching up to, and this 16-track compilation is just the ticket…

Steve Khan has never been a shy guitarist, but in the commercial world he appears a bit diffident. This is probably why he makes one album a year or maybe one album sometimes every two or three years. But judging by the work on each, he is perfectionist. Consider Subtext which features not only exquisite repertory, but magnificently craftsmanship on each of the songs. His playing is of a remarkable gliding kind. Notes seem to roll off his strings in phrases that form wide arcs that carve the air with magnificent motifs and incredibly beautiful melisma.

2013 five CD box set containing a quintet of albums packaged in cardboard mini LP sleeves and housed in a slipcase. Tower of Power has remained a significant Californian funk/soul/R&B horn band since its formation in 1968…

McKendree Spring is a progressive folk-rock band, active mainly in the early 1970s. The band consisted of Fran McKendree (vocals and guitar), Fred Holman (bass), Dr. Michael Dreyfuss (electric violin, viola, Moog, Arp, Mellotron), Martin Slutsky (electric guitar)…