The violin virtuoso Pavel Šporcl’s new CD captures his two unique concerts with the Slovak Gipsy cimbalom ensemble Romano Stilo. The events were truly extraordinary not only due to these superlative musicians combining their forces but also the repertoire (a startling departure for Šporcl) and the atmosphere on the stage and in the auditorium alike. Just as Pavel Šporcl steps out with zest from the domain of classical music into other genres so Romano Stilo cannot be considered an orthodox cimbalom band. Besides Gipsy, Hungarian and Romanian folk music, the visitors to the concerts heard compositions by Pablo Sarasate, Johannes Brahms and Aram Khachaturian inspired by this music, all spiced up with a soupcon of jazz.

Three 20th-century orchestral scores, Bartók’s Two Pictures, Debussy’s Jeux and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, all dating from 1910-13 and all linked (as the detailed CD booklet explains), are brought to life in the hands of two exceptional French pianists. The central interest is the ballet Jeux. One of the world’s outstanding Debussy interpreters, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet has added to his complete Chandos recordings with his own transcription for two pianos. Written late in Debussy’s life for Nijinsky, Jeux involves an emotionally erotic and harmonically daring game of tennis. Bavouzet and his well-matched partner, François-Fréderic Guy, play with nimble grace, capturing the works wit and mystery. This gripping album is dedicated to Pierre Boulez, guru and enabler, for his 90th birthday.

Melodic synth-metal masters Delain are set to break new ground with their upcoming EP, Dance with the Devil, set to be released on November 8, 2024 via Napalm Records! Following the success of their latest full-length opus, Dark Waters (2023) - which debuted at #9 on both the US Hard Music Albums chart and the Official German Album Charts - this EP promises to showcase the best of Delain’s discography while striding ahead into a future that promises to explore new, more synth-driven soundscapes than ever before. As their second release with a revitalized lineup anchored by founding member and band mastermind Martijn Westerholt, Dance with the Devil features a thrilling collection of two brand new tracks, two newly-presented favorites, nine electrifying live performances, and two instrumental bonus tracks…

Adam Faith was a contemporary of early British rock & rollers like Cliff Richard and Billy Fury, but Faith's sound was less Elvis Presley-derived and more aligned with teen idol pop such as that of Bobby Vee (who covered Faith's number one U.K. hit "What Do You Want?"). John Barry had a hand in Faith's early efforts, and the instrumental arrangements are truly remarkable, from the surprising hoedown-style fiddling on "Don't That Beat All" to the musical saw on "What Now." In fact, it is the arrangements that elevate this music above standard teen idol fare. Faith rocked occasionally, as on "Made You," had moderate success adapting to the changes wrought by the Beatles, and later worked with folk-pop material. The Very Best of Adam Faith tracks his evolution by collecting 26 U.K. chart hits from 1959-1966, four of which were recorded with the Roulettes. Faith had two minor hits in the U.S. in 1965 that aren't included, but The Very Best of Adam Faith is otherwise an exemplary and essential anthology of an early British pop star.

Alice Cooper's third album, Love It to Death, can be pinpointed as the release when everything began to come together for the band. Their first couple of albums (Pretties for You and Easy Action) were both largely psychedelic/acid rock affairs and bore little comparison to the band's eventual rip-roaring, teenage-anthem direction. The main reason for the quintet's change was that the eventually legendary producer Bob Ezrin was on board for the first time and helped the Coopers focus their songwriting and sound, while they also perfected their trashy, violent, and theatrical stage show and image. One of the band's most instantly identifiable anthems, "I'm Eighteen," was what made the album a hit, as well as another classic, "Is It My Body." But like Alice Cooper's other albums from the early '70s, it was an incredibly consistent listen from beginning to end…

Anchored in the idea that, despite all obstacles, the human experience casts a net of possibilities, Defiant Life – Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith second duo recording for ECM – proves a profound meditation on the human condition and both the suffering and resilience it entails. An ethereal iridescence glistens between Leo Smith’s unmistakable trumpet wail and Vijay’s textural key strokes on piano and Fender Rhodes, conjuring multi-dimensional spaces of thoughtful musical conversation. “We work from our individual languages and materials,” notes Vijay in his extensive liner note, as well as “our methods of aural attunement, and what I would call a shared aesthetic of necessity”.

On My Prophet, Oded Tzur together with his quartet of pianist Nitai Hershkovits, bassist Petros Klampanis and the new group member Cyrano Almeida on drums, continues on the idiosyncratic musical path he has carved out for himself – a flowing jazz idiom that seamlessly combines multiple forms of expression –, while delving deeper into the meditative and highly concentrated realm of improvisation. In the process, the saxophonist presents some of his fiercest playing yet. The quartet’s synergy is of a unique blend, with each player’s distinct voice adding to an ensemble sound capable of conjuring both the quietest storm and the most passionate crescendo. Hershkovits’s bountiful stylistic reach and fluent technique swirl around Oded’s unmistakable tenor tone with Klampanis providing both backbone and melody, adaptable yet guiding – just like his rhythm-partner Almeida. Oded’s third album with ECM was recorded in Southern France and produced by Manfred Eicher.

Recorded during the period of time when Ella Fitzgerald cut her famous series of "songbooks," this set (which in 1998 was reissued on CD) is a bit of a hodge-podge, drawing its 14 selections from six different dates which find Ella backed by orchestras led by either Nelson Riddle, Frank DeVol, Russ Garcia or Paul Weston. "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" was previously available as just a single while "Swingin' Shepherd Blues" (an alternate take) was previously unreleased. As usual, Ella uplifts all of the material and her best moments come on "Somebody Loves Me," a heartfelt "Moonlight Becomes You," a scat-filled "Blue Skies" and (somewhat surprisingly) "St. Louis Blues." Although this was not her most essential release, the formerly obscure Get Happy finds Ella Fitzgerald at the peak of her powers.

Stick Men is an Eclectic Prog supergroup founded in 2007 by Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson), Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel) and Michael Bernier. Since 2010, the lineup stabilized around Mastelotto, Levin, and Markus Reuter. The band was formed as a vehicle for progressive rock music performed almost exclusively with Chapman Sticks and drums. Needles to say, the fans of crimsonian prog will love it; there's also a lot of jazz and heavy chugging bursts, as well as avant moments and African soundscapes.