Neither the Škampa Quartet, who have established a firm position among the world’s finest chamber ensembles, nor the phenomenal musician Iva Bittová needs any introduction. Both names relate to several groundbreaking projects (including a singular conception of Janáček’s Moravian Folk Poetry in Songs, Supraphon SU37942). The genre-genre-bending Škampa Quartet invited Iva Bittová to participate as a composer in their new project. Yet the majority of the pieces have been written by Pavel Fischer, formerly the ensemble’s first violin, whose Moravian musical roots and years with the Škampa Quartet have resulted in remarkable accomplishments.

Francesco Corti and il pomo d’oro continue their acclaimed series of Bach harpsichord concertos with a recording of the concertos BWV 1044, 1054, 1056 and 1057. This completes the cycle of seven “official” harpsichord concertos that Bach composed. Many of them are masterful reworkings of existing material, either own compositions or works by contemporaries, showing Bach’s exceptional skill to present musical ideas in a different light. For their second Bach recording, Corti and il pomo d’oro have chosen to work with a relatively small ensemble, in order to bring out the individuality of each melodic line.

For the 300th anniversary of C. P. E. Bach’s birth, Alpha proposes discovering the work of one of the Cantor’s sons from an original angle: that of the Alexis Kossenko’s flute.
In this boxed set, Alpha has brought together the complete Flute Concertos as well as the marvellous Trio Sonatas, masterpieces that allow for discovering Carl Philipp Emanuel’s close connection with the traverso, and also perceiving Alexis Kossenko’s strong ties with this brilliant composer.

On this recording, the Britten Sinfonia's Associate Leader Thomas Gould directs the ensemble in Dmitry Sitkovetsky's beautifully realized and heartfelt arrangement for strings of Bach's great keyboard work, the Goldberg Variations. Sitkovetsky penned the transcription in 1985 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Bach's birth. It was inspired by Glenn Gould's remarkable 1981 recording of the work, and the transcription is dedicated to Gould's memory.

In the 1970s, the teenaged Dennis Brown was one of the most popular singers in Jamaica, a reggae artist generally referred to in the same breath as Gregory Isaacs (with whom, in fact, he collaborated from time to time) and Bob Marley. Dubbed the "Crown Prince of Reggae," Brown seems to be ageless; although his voice has mellowed somewhat with time, his more recent work has the same emotive power as his vintage recordings from reggae's golden age, and he continues to effortlessly combine cultural and religious themes with romantic pleas. Tribulation finds him teamed up with some of the top reggae session players around (notably the redoubtable Roots Radics, who sound at the top of their form here) on 16 new songs, all of them presented in the rootsy but contemporary style that has typified Brown's work since the 1980s. Highlights include the aching "Go On Now Girl," which is supported by a very fine computer bassline; the old-school throb of "Rougher Yet," and the more electronic "This Love of Mine." Alvin Ranglin's production is top-notch throughout.

There was a time when Gregory Isaacs and Dennis Brown were the two most popular reggae singers in Jamaica. That and the fact that all of these songs were produced by Gussie Clarke at the legendary Channel One studio appear to be the two reasons for the configuration of this strange but attractive set, on which the two singers alternate songs (except for "Let Off Sup'm," which features both of them). Actually, the most significant unifying feature of this album is the constant presence of Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare's Revolutionaries band, who play on all tracks, and of the vocal group Tetrack, who sing backup and whose leader wrote most of the songs. The songs are uniformly great – apart from their duet, Brown delivers the excellent "Crazy List," "Judge Not," "Deceiving Girl" and "To the Foundation" (note Sly Dunbar's brilliant drumming on that last track), while Gregory turns in "Live & Love," "Street Walker" and "Innercity Lady." The program may appear skimpy at first glance, but each song is presented in "showcase" format (i.e., with dub version appended), so most tracks last over seven minutes. Highly recommended.

Entrails are back with their 8th album and the 90's soul is brought back for the massive HM-2 sound and their passion for classic old school Death Metal!
Swedish Death Metal attack Entrails are back with their new album "Grip of Ancient Evil"! No trends. No polish. Just the purest form of old school Death Metal: HM-2 buzzsaw guitars, bludgeoning rhythms and horror drenched lyrics!

While the collaboration between soul singer supreme Ron Isley and composer and arranger Burt Bacharach does not have the adventurous scope of Bacharach's collaboration with Elvis Costello – in that the tunes featured here are mostly Bacharach classics – it is every bit as satisfying. At 62, Isley's voice is sweeter and more resonant than ever. Bacharach's new charts for these songs take into consideration the singer of "Harvest for the World," "Fight the Power," and "For the Love of You." Inside these towering, lush harmonic architectures shimmers Isley's golden throat, adding just that sultry hint of deep soul to the proceedings.

It's hard to believe that Ronnie Isley collaborated with Dr. Dre and the departed Tupac Shakur on some of the late 20th century's most hardcore hip-hop music. Isley, of the renowned group the Isley Brothers, has his roots firmly placed in '70s R&B and soul music. D'Angelo, Maxwell, and R. Kelly, among other bedroom-music artists, all owe a bit of thanks to the Isley Brothers, the original slow-jam crooners. The trio's sexiest and most sensual moments have been captured on Love Songs, an ongoing series of CD collections of the same name on Columbia Legacy and Epic Legacy Records. (Other Love Songs sets for 2001 include recordings from Frank Sinatra, Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, and Duke Ellington.)

This box set is quite nice. First you get the main album. Next up is a disc that is split between alternate mixes and demos in the first half and a radio show Glover did promoting the album for the second half of the disc. The third disc is a reissue of a three song EP of tunes from the album.
Of all the multitudinous highways and byways down which the enterprising Deep Purple collector can travel, none, perhaps, is so surprising as The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, Purple bassist Roger Glover's first "solo" album, and - almost incidentally - one of the most delightful children's records ever made. Yes, a children's record. In 1973, Glover was approached about creating a musical adaptation of artist Alan Aldridge and poet William Plomer's book of the same name - a commission that surprised him, but which he nevertheless accepted…

Warner Music presents "Summertime: Chill Jazz Noites Cariocas", 22 s0ngs including hits from Coleman Hawkins, George Benson, Ahmad Jamal, Ella Fitzgerald, Azymuth etc.

Digitally remastered and expanded two CD edition of the acclaimed 1984 album. Remastered from the first-generation Soundpush Studios master tapes. Featuring single edits, B-side "Orwell's Year" and an hour long of previously unreleased outtakes and early versions/mixes. Includes a 36-page booklet with a new essay, memorabilia, and photos. CD 1 of this expanded edition contains a newly remastered version of the album, as well as the B-side "Orwell's Year" and various 7-inch and 12-inch single versions of "When The Lady Smiles", "Clear Night Moonlight", "N.E.W.S." and "Mission Impossible". On CD 2, the hour long The N.E.W.S. Sessions offers outtakes, raw mixes and alternative versions, including the very first band recordings of "Mission Impossible", "Enough Is Enough" and "When The Lady Smiles" in early 1983. All tracks have been 24 bit/192 kHz remastered from the original master tapes. This 2CD edition of N.E.W.S. is the fifth instalment in a special series of remastered & expanded albums by Golden Earring, overseen by Red Bullet catalogue and band archivist Wouter Bessels.