As was often the case during the early days of jazz recordings, these six selections (seven, if you count the two attempts at "Think of One") were released under a myriad of names, among them We See, The Golden Monk, and simply Monk - with the assembled musicians credited as the Thelonious Monk Quintet. Monk can be heard supported by two distinct outfits during these, his respective second and third outings as a bandleader on the Prestige label. Taken chronologically, "Let's Call This" and both versions of "Think of One" were documented on November 13, 1953, with Monk (piano), Sonny Rollins (tenor sax), Julius Watkins (French horn), Percy Heath (bass), and Willie Jones (drums). The other four cuts come from a confab involving Monk, Frank Foster (tenor sax), Ray Copeland (trumpet), Curly Russell (bass), and Art Blakey (drums) circa May 11, 1954…

A precious sonic masterwork, documenting the extraordinary collaboration between Michael Mantra and Charlz De La Casa. A cd of suspended time and space… 'classical' static music. Two long tracks flow like sonic lava, weaving together lush background washes, and evocative field recordings. Dark electric sounds, beautiful drones, inner-Earth rumbling, human voices, concrete noises, ship engines, sirens, sounds of the sea, bubbles, wind, chants, and wildlife sounds merge in an indefinable (and never before experienced) way… an absolutely unmissable work.

A multifaceted, charting Swedish unit that has incorporated elements of goth, doom, black metal, and sleeker prog rock into their sound.
Considered by many to be one of Sweden's most prominent metal bands, Katatonia's long, storied career has seen them shift from a rough, sludge-like doom metal sound to a more streamlined approach that embraces prog rock, assonant vocal harmonies, clean vocals, and polished production to their now-accessible brand of Gothic rock. Emerging in the early '90s, the group cycled through personnel before settling into a cohesive lineup in the 2000s. They found commercial success with the release of 2012's Dead End Kings which, like subsequent efforts The Fall of Hearts, City Burials, and Sky Void of Stars, charted in over ten countries.

Pianist Otis Spann played in Muddy Waters' band from 1953 to 1970, and was instrumental in creating the electric Chicago blues sound. These 11 tracks were recorded in the mid-'60s by Down Beat magazine editor Pete Welding, and were previously released as Otis Spann's Chicago Blues on Testament Records. This reissue omits the solo Spann material from the original disc and highlights the group recordings featuring S.P. Leary, Johnny Young, James Cotton, Willie Dixon, and Muddy Waters. While not as revolutionary as the records Spann played on with Muddy in the late '50s, you can't deny this lineup of seminal Chicago bluesmen doing what they did best.

After 10 albums with Procol Harum, lead singer, composer, and keyboard player Gary Brooker launched his solo career with this album. Of course, there were Brooker's familiar characteristics – the steady piano work, the butterscotch soul voice. But he switched lyric partners for this set (except for the title track), trading longtime Procol wordsmith Keith Reid for Pete Sinfield, who had performed the same function for Procol contemporaries King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Brooker also tried a couple of tunes by Stiff Records pub-rocker Mickey Jupp (Jupp's versions are better) and Murray Head's "Say It Ain't So, Joe" (Roger Daltrey's version is better). The result was a varied set that succeeded in sounding like something other than Procol Harum's 11th album, although it did not demonstrate that Gary Brooker solo was going to be an improvement over the group.

Joe Williams' debut as the featured vocalist in Count Basie's band was one of those landmark moments that even savvy observers don't fully appreciate when it occurs, then realize years later how momentous an event they witnessed. Williams brought a different presence to the great Basie orchestra than the one Jimmy Rushing provided; he couldn't shout like Rushing, but he was more effective on romantic and sentimental material, while he was almost as spectacular on surging blues, up-tempo wailers, and stomping standards. Basie's band maintained an incredible groove behind Williams, who moved from authoritative statements on "Every Day I Have the Blues" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love" to brisk workouts on "Roll 'Em Pete" and his definitive hit, "All Right, OK, You Win".

Fickle Pickle was an early- '70s band that was part of the Morgan Studios orbit, along with such bands as Orange Bicycle and the Smoke. Indeed, much of Fickle Pickle's lineup was filled out by ex-members of both of those bands, including Geoff Gill, Cliff Wade (a member of the short-lived early- '70s version of the Smoke), and Will Malone, plus ex-Jude member Steve Howden, with Denny Beckerman occasionally augmenting their lineup. They recorded a small number of singles in the early 1970s, including a cover of Don McLean's "American Pie," and enjoyed a hit in the Netherlands with their version of "Maybe I'm Amazed."

This was the charismatic southpaw's debut album back in 1980, and remains his best to date. He rocks like Chuck Berry used to (but no longer can) on "I Wouldn't Lay My Guitar Down," and tears up the West Side-based "Bad Dream" and "Blues for a Living," imparts a hard-driving Chi-town shuffle to "Find You a Job" and "I'm Tore Up," and gives "Lazy Woman" a decidedly un-lazy Latin tempo. One of the best Chicago blues LPs of the 1980s.

This is the sequel to the best selling “Bach Arias and Duets” featuring two of Australia's leading exponents of Baroque repertoire, Sara Macliver and Sally-Anne Russell. This recording is a collection of some of the most beautiful and charming works written for a soprano and alto, featuring the haunting Pergolesi Stabat Mater.