Following up the superb Elegant Gypsy was no mean feat, but Al di Meola gave it his best shot with the similarly styled Casino, released in 1978. Featuring a core band of Steve Gadd, Anthony Jackson, and Barry Miles (whom di Meola came up with before the guitarist was invited to join Return to Forever), the playing is sharp and fiery, matching the youthful intensity of the leader. Di Meola is a good composer in the fusion idiom, and the four original compositions on Casino, although clearly bearing the mark of Chick Corea's influence, are strong. His "Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars," featuring di Meola accompanying himself via multi-tracking, is beautiful and dramatic, and hints at the guitarist's later all-acoustic works such as Friday Night in San Francisco.

At last, the wait is over, we hear you cry! AVID have finally inducted Miss Peggy Lee into the 4 Classic Albums “hall of fame”! Ok so we have taken our time in paying tribute to the great lady, but we wanted to get it right, we wanted to select the best albums that truly captured Miss Lee’s huge vocal talents. Peggy Lee spent most of her recording career at Capitol Records which she joined in 1947. She had a short break between 1952-56 where she recorded for Decca, and ironically made one of her greatest albums “Black Coffee” (AVC876). We feature three albums for her Capitol years, a couple of classics arranged by the legendary Nelson Riddle, “Jump For Joy” and “The Man I Love” which also features conducting duties by that other rather famous Capitol Records artist, Mr Frank Sinatra! These two are joined by another classic “concept” album “Blues Cross Country” arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones. To round off our selections we feature the extraordinarily intimate “Dream Street” recorded by Peggy for Decca in 1956. And if you need any further proof of the regard Peggy Lee was held in by the jazz fraternity, take a look at some of the names that appear on our selections. Harry “Sweets” Edison, Pete Condoli, Mel Lewis, Shorty Rogers, Bud Shank, Bob Cooper, Bill Perkins, Lou Levy, Max Bennett, Benny Carter and Buddy Collette. Oh and did we mention Nelson Riddle, Frank Sinatra and Quincy Jones?!

Composed 25 years after the celebrated work of the same name by Pergolesi, and for the same forces, the Stabat Mater by Nicola Logroscino (pronounced “Logròscino”) belongs to the long list of compositions born of the Neapolitan school, beginning with the model by Alessandro Scarlatti (1723). Although inspired by its illustrious precedents, this work distinguishes itself in its strong theatrical character, derived from the author’s long experience in opera (especially comic opera), of which he was a leading figure until the mid-eighteenth century.

The music by Alessandro Stradella is gaining rapidly in recognition and popularity. The composer’s extremely adventurous life (he was a ladykiller, who himself was murdered in the end by a revengeful rival) and his equally adventurous music presents a forceful image of a fascinating and important figure of the Italian Baroque.

Magdalena Kozená's silken mezzo delivers definitive interpretations of this luscious and enchanting orchestral-song repertoire. Magdalena Kozená, Sir Simon Rattle, and the Berliner Philharmoniker seduce in Ravel's Shéhérazade, stir and awe in Dvořák's austere Biblische Lieder, and render to the fullest the bittersweet potency of Mahler's intricately orchestrated Rückert Lieder. Recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonie, these performances excite with the intense musical understanding shared by this husband and wife musical dream team. This release is destined to rival the popularity of Kozená and Rattle's enthralling Mozart collaboration. This is the first in a new series of recording projects reviving the legendary partnership between DG and the Berliner Philharmoniker.

After the success of Bring the Family, John Hiatt originally intended to reunite that album's all-star backing band (Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe, and Jim Keltner) for a follow-up. Hiatt's "dream band" proved to be unavailable, and he ended up cutting Slow Turning with his road band, the Goners, but the finished product proves he remembered well the lessons learned from Bring the Family. Slow Turning is a lighter and wittier affair than Bring the Family; the outlaw rocker "Tennessee Plates" and its more subdued companion piece, "Trudy and Dave," are more rambunctious than anything on the previous album, and the tempos are sharper this time out, with a bit less blues and a touch more twang in the melodies.

Limited 20 disc (17 CDs + three DVDs) set. As one of the UK's most beloved and unconventional bands, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band have delighted audiences for over 60 years with their distinctive blend of music, comedy, and surrealism. This comprehensive 20-disc collection celebrates the complete works of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and their impact on a generation of revered artists and comedians, from The Beatles to Monty Python. Known for their hit "I'm the Urban Spaceman," produced by Paul McCartney under the pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth, the Bonzos left an indelible mark on the British music and comedy landscape. Seven years in the making and put together with band's full co-operation, 'Still Barking' includes: 17 CDs documenting a spectacularly entertaining career featuring: Stereo versions of all of the band's original albums, carefully remastered to capture their idiosyncratic charm. Additional remastered versions 'Gorilla' and 'The Doughnut In Granny's Greenhouse' in their original mono mixes. A newly compiled remastered CD of all the band's singles. Two discs of demos, rehearsals, and outtakes. A single disc of backing tracks. Three discs of BBC Sessions that capture the band's eccentric live energy. Two live discs: Studio Bellevue, Amsterdam. Recorded: November 1968. Fillmore East, NYC, 17 October 1969. A CD featuring a live show from London's Marquee Club and additional material of band rehearsals from the Manor Studios in Oxfordshire. Plus: Three DVDs of TV performances, including the complete 'Do Not Adjust Your Set' shows, 'Colour Me Pop', 'Beat Club', and more. Highlights include rare appearances, short films, and vintage footage from the height of their career. 148 page hardback coffee table book featuring an essay by Bonzos authority Chris Welch and an in-depth Day By Day Chronology/Cornology by noted author Andy Neill (The Who; Ready, Steady, Go!).

'I Want Blood' is the 2024 solo album from Alice In Chains guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell. Co-produced by Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age), the album has an energy that rivals any of Cantrell's previous work - powerful, nuanced, and electric. It features Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES), Robert Trujillo (METALLICA), Gil Sharone (TEAM SLEEP, STOLEN BABIES), Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE) and backing vocals from Lola Colette and Greg Puciato (BETTER LOVERS, ex-THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN).

ATMA Classique, Ensemble ArtChoral and Mécénat Musica are proud to present Art choral, vol. 6: Moderne with Ensemble ArtChoral under the direction of Matthias Maute. Volume 6 surveys modern choral repertoire from 20th and 21st century composers, including Canadian Andrew Balfour (Præter rerum seriem), Americans Samuel Barber (Agnus Dei), Aaron Copland (Help Us, O Lord), and Morten Lauridsen (O magnum mysterium), and English composer Edward Elgar, among others. The album features outstanding works in the modern choral repertoire, some of which have become a reference point for any choir open to contemporary music.

Steppenwolf were one of the pioneering bands of American hard rock, conjuring the roaring sound of a biker gang laying claim to the highway on hits like "Born to be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride." Like most early hard rock acts, Steppenwolf's approach was steeped in the blues, but with an added level of lyrical swagger and a full-bodied attack that added hints of acid rock. The key elements of their sound were the rough, throaty vocals of leader John Kay, the hard, barking tone of the eclectic guitar, and the thick, muscular voice of the overdriven electric organ. While wild good times informed most of their hits, as their career went on they shifted their focus to more serious themes, including politics, militarism, feminism, and the environment. Steppenwolf's initial run is documented thoroughly by the 2021 box set Magic Carpet Ride

A Plastic Theatre takes its name from a commission for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Youth Company in 2023 – a 20-minute work for orchestra, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston and the RLPO Youth Choir and Children’s Choir. The centrepiece of this album is a recording of the world premiere performance.Joanna Marsh is a renowned British composer of choral and orchestral music. Marsh’s music has long been celebrated and she was recently nominated for an Ivors Academy Award.

They directly influenced virtually all '70s rock acts south of the Mason-Dixon Line, including the Marshall Tucker Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the jam band movement of the '90s. 1973's Brothers & Sisters showcased a different aspect of their character with accessible, radio-ready hit singles such as "Ramblin' Man" and "Jessica." Even in their final incarnation with guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes, ABB churned out charting live albums such as 2003's Hittin' the Note. The group was founded in March 1969 by Duane Allman on guitar; Gregg Allman on vocals and organ; Dickey Betts on guitar; Berry Oakley on bass; and Butch Trucks and Jaimoe (aka Jai Johanny Johanson) on drums. Duane and Gregg Allman loved soul and R&B, although they listened to their share of rock & roll, especially as it sounded coming out of England in the mid-'60s. Their first group was a local Daytona Beach garage band called the Escorts, who sounded a lot like the early Beatles and Rolling Stones.

Every country has a unique tradition of organ music, shaped alongside the instrument’s development through the centuries. Yet, much of this organ literature remains less familiar to wider audiences. To celebrate the restoration of the Klais organ at the Cathedral of Our Saviour in Bruges, Titular Organist Ignace Michiels presents a rich selection of Flemish organ works spanning approximately a century, from 1884 to 1961. Beginning with the warm Romantic tones of Joseph Callaerts, Michiels invites listeners to explore the works of composers such as André De Vaere, Edgar Tinel, Flor Peeters, Camiel Van Hulse, and Herman Roelstraete, while also demonstrating the splendors of this remarkable Klais organ.

Hurry Up Tomorrow is the upcoming sixth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, scheduled to be released through XO and Records. It will serve as the final part of an album trilogy that began with After Hours (2020) and continued with Dawn FM (2022).

For elodie Vignon, the decision to record Debussy's complete piano works in chronological order was born of what the Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune was in Debussy's day: a revelation! For her, playing this music is like entering a cocoon that belongs to you alone. This first volume (generous with 2CDs) of the three that will make up the complete works, naturally begins with Debussy's early works, pieces directly inspired by poems by Mallarme and Verlaine and which embrace the mysterious dimension of the sensory imagination. In the years that followed, he increasingly freed music from the polarisation exerted by the tonal note, keeping the sound space open and ultimately initiating spectral music. Debussy liked to draw inspiration from memories when composing, in order to maintain a distance between his own emotions and those he wished to arouse in the listener. Alfred Cortot spoke of evoking sensations rather than feelings, thus rejecting the late-Romantic aesthetic of emotional identification between composer and listener: an obligation that seemed too constraining to Debussy to be able to give rise to an open dialogue with the listeners of his work. Giving the impression of being invented as it is played, Debussy's music invites us to dream, to better understand the complexity of the world.