Andres Segovia plays works by Albeniz, JS Bach, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Chopin, Debussy, Dowland, De Falla, Franck, Frescobaldi, Grieg, Handel, Mendelssohn, Moreno Torroba, Mussorgsky, Paganini, Pedrell, Ponce, Rameau, Rodrigo, Roussel, Scarlatti, Scriabin, Segovia, Sor, Tarrega, Turina, and Villa Lobos. CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

We've gotta hand it to pianist Roberto Olzer – a player who can combine references from classical music and more straightforward jazz trio modes – all at a level that's very different than earlier work from players like Jacques Loussier and Eugen Cicero, who worked in similar territory! Olzer is clearly a jazz musician first, and the tunes here are often his own, and have a great sense of open, fluid energy – but he's also clearly a master of the keyboard, and can manage to swing the odd tune from Chopin, Purcell, and Mendelssohn – which are included here nexst to the original material! The trio features stunning work on bass from Yuri Goloubev and drums from Mauro Beggio – and titles include "Milano Rain", "Notturno", "Andante Con Moto", "Images", "Touchdown", "Dido's Lament", and "Eveline". LP, Vinyl record album

Really haunting solo work from pianist Roberto Olzer – a player who's already got this incredibly sensitive command of the keyboard on his trio records, which only comes through even more strongly here! Olzer seems trained in the best modes of the romantic composers, especially Chopin – yet he's also a jazz musician too – and blends a sense of improvisation with an impeccable understanding of the piano, with a balance of notes, sounds, and silence that's completely sublime! The set does reference another world in its use of a few compositions by Puccini, mixed with others by Pat Metheny, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Bill Evans – in a set list that includes "We Will Meet Again", "Pezzo In La", "Luiza", "In Her Family", "Straight To Dream", "Torre Del Lago", "Remembering Pramila", and "Coro A Bocca Chiusa". LP, Vinyl record album

Really fantastic work from the continuing version of Sun Ra's Arkestra led by Marshall Allen – and an album of rich sophistication that definitely shows the mature version of the group really finding their own sense of voice and spirit! There's a laidback take to the music that partly recalls some of the modes that the Arkestra had in their earlier days, when they were exploring some exotica currents mixed with more avant jazz inclinations – although the expression of the sound here is more focused and majestic, with slight string touches blending in with instrumentation of a more jazz-based mode – handled by Marshall Allen on alto and kora, Knoel Scott on tenor and baritone, Michael Ray and Cecil Brooks on trumpets, Dave Davis on trombone, Farid Barron on piano, Dave Hotep on guitar, and Tara Middleton on some mighty nice flute and violin. There's a richness to the sound that comes from all the other players involved in the proceedings – and titles include "Day Of The Living Sky", "Firefly", "Wish Upon A Star", "Chopin", "Marshall's Groove", and "Somebody Else's Idea". CD

A really cool album of moody keyboard work from Shiegeo Sekito – a set that's maybe a bit sound library, but also just groovy instrumental – and which has Sekito working his way through a host of Yamaha keyboards, with a sound that's pretty ethereal and eerie overall! In contrast to a Fender Rhodes record of the time, this one's got leaner tones – almost flute-like at points, and augmented occasionally by an early Roland synth – which makes for a spacey vibe that's a real surprise, especially in contrast to the image on the cover! Most of the tunes take off from classical themes by Mozart, Bach, Chopin, and others – but as in a moog project of this nature, the end result is something very different entirely – much hipper, groovier, and with a sweet 70s vibe! LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Enrique Villegas has an amazing command of the keyboard – one that really comes through on his other records, but which is maybe the most striking here on this set that expands on a set of themes from Chopin! The material is very different than any other jazz-meets-classical records – in that the themes are taken very loosely, and swung in very modern ways – but also delivered in short takes too – which almost seems to give them more of an edge, and more of a sense of surprise! The trio is great – with equally dynamic work from Jorge Lopez Ruiz on bass and Eduardo Casalla on drums – and the set runs through 24 short variations on Chopin Preludes, Op 28. CD

A slightly more serious session than usual from pianist Yosuke Yamashita – and a record that shows off his tremendous keyboard talents from a completely different perspective than the avant, outside work we usually know! Much of the material here features Yamashita playing solo – really running up and down the keyboard of the piano with great flourish, improvising his way through compositions by Gershwin, Chopin, and Dvorak – then working with a small string group towards the end of the record, which feautures his own composition "Piano Quintet No 2", in three movements. If you dig Yamashita's more outside records, you'll still find plenty to dig here – as his energy on the piano is equally impressive, just focused in a slightly different direction. CD

A surprising jazz funk stunner from drummer Idris Muhammad – part of his great second chapter of work for CTI in the 70s! Idris is working here in a style that's very different than his heavy-footed funky work on Prestige and Blue Note – and while it's easy to criticize him for not keeping the same old breakbeat funk style, it's also important to give him a lot of credit for pushing his vision way past the simple stock style of the earlier days! The record's a very nice set of complicated jazzy grooves – some a bit clubby, but many very nice, and with the kind of sophisticated funk arrangements that were on the best Kudu records. No surprise that Dave Matthews is putting together most of the cuts, save for one excellent groove that's arranged by Tom Harrell. Players include Fred Wesley, Ronnie Cuber, Eric Gale, and Wilbur Bascomb – and titles include "Baia", "Sudan", "Hey Pocky A Way", "Theme For New York City", which is based on the same Chopin haunting tune as Serge Gainsbourg's "Jane B"! LP, Vinyl record album

Pianist Roberto Olzer has an amazing touch on the keys of the piano – a sense of subtle feeling and emotion that's almost as if he's playing a piece by Chopin, but delivered with more of the fluid lyricism of jazz overall – which makes for a really wonderful blend throughout! The trio features bass from Yuri Goloubev and drums from Mauro Beggio – both players who often hang back and let the resonance of the piano take the lead – on tracks that include the originals "Deliverance", "Parisian Episode VII", "And After", "Canova", and "A Simple Song" – plus takes on "The Old Castle", "G Spot Tornado/Sleep Dirt", and "Celeste". 2LP version also features bonus tracks – "Sakura Nagashi" and "Ninja Re Bang Bang". LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising jazz funk stunner from drummer Idris Muhammad – part of his great second chapter of work for CTI in the 70s! Idris is working here in a style that's very different than his heavy-footed funky work on Prestige and Blue Note – and while it's easy to criticize him for not keeping the same old breakbeat funk style, it's also important to give him a lot of credit for pushing his vision way past the simple stock style of the earlier days! The record's a very nice set of complicated jazzy grooves – some a bit clubby, but many very nice, and with the kind of sophisticated funk arrangements that were on the best Kudu records. No surprise that Dave Matthews is putting together most of the cuts, save for one excellent groove that's arranged by Tom Harrell. Players include Fred Wesley, Ronnie Cuber, Eric Gale, and Wilbur Bascomb – and titles include "Baia", "Sudan", "Hey Pocky A Way", "Theme For New York City", which is based on the same Chopin haunting tune as Serge Gainsbourg's "Jane B"! LP, Vinyl record album

A huge legacy of work from one of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th century – the complete Decca, Philips, and Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Sviatoslav Richter – brought together in a massive set that also includes two bonus CDs as well! The bulk of the set – 34 CDs – includes solo performances – Richter's transcendent readings of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, and others – including his famous Sofia Recital from 1958 – with all the music brought together on extended CDs that often carry two to three albums' worth of material on each disc – all annotated with a booklet in both German and English. Next are some wonderful chamber music recordings – 7 CDs' worth of smaller ensemble pieces by Brahams, Dvorak, Franck, Bartok, Britten, and others, including collaborations with Rostropovich and the Borodin Quartet – and the set is completed by 8 more CDs, with both concerto recordings, and a few lieder recordings with singers who include Peter Schreier and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Package also includes 2 bonus CDs – with works by Mozard, Schubert, and Debussy – done with Benjamin Britten. CD

With Craig Hundley on piano, Jay Jay Wiggins on bass, and Gary Chase on drums. Titles include "Arrival", "The Jet Song", "3 For 5", "Chopin Prelude/How Insensitive", and "Departure". LP, Vinyl record album

A pair of Enoch Light oddities from the 70s – both in Quad! First up is Beatles Classics – a very cool take on the sound of The Beatles – served up here by Enoch Light, but in a way that's a bit different than some of his other records of the time! The set features symphonic readings of tunes by the fab four – much more heavy on woodwinds and strings than you might expect, but still delivered with that sense of separation that can make Light's music so great – with solo standouts that are completely seductive! Titles include the suite "Hello Goodbye/Something/Penny Lane" – plus "Eleanor Rigby", "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", "Let It Be", "Hey Jude", "Michelle", and "Norwegian Wood". Serendipity has reverse sort of approach – as the set takes classical themes, but strips them down a bit for the 70s – the unique Enoch Light spin on themes from Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, and Chopin! CD

A set that's dedicated to the famous Beatles producer George Martin, and which seeks to bring together a whole host of sounds and styles that not only influenced his work in the studio – but which also represent maybe the odder aspects of the British scene, in a way that really helps create a greater understanding of the more offbeat sounds of The Fab Four themselves! CD1 is titled In All Directions – and brings together jazz, skiffle, vocal tracks, and plenty more – in a nicely varied lineup that includes work from Basil Kirchin, John Dankworth, Bert Weedon, The Vipers, Christopher Logue, Temperance Seven, Ray Cathode, Ron Goodwin, and Cleo Laine. CD2 is titled Experiments With Pop – and has a bit of comedic moments mixed with more musical selections – in a lineup that includes Peter Sellers, John Dankworth, Flanders & Swann, Matt Monro, The Goods, Bernard Cribbins, and Ron Goodwin. CD3 is titled Comedy Surrealist, and continues that spirit – with more Goon Show material, Beyond The Fringe, The Alberts, Peter Cook & Dudley Moore, and other important pre-Monty Python acts from the UK – who often brought a lot of creativity to the production of their work in the studio. CD4 features straighter classical influences, but in a range of modes – tracks that begin with Bach, and move through Chopin, Ravel, Debussy, Holst, and even Gershwin. As always with these unusual sets on El Records, there's a lot of thought that goes into the choice of material – drawing lines between sounds that we really didn't expect! CD

Really fantastic work from the continuing version of Sun Ra's Arkestra led by Marshall Allen – and an album of rich sophistication that definitely shows the mature version of the group really finding their own sense of voice and spirit! There's a laidback take to the music that partly recalls some of the modes that the Arkestra had in their earlier days, when they were exploring some exotica currents mixed with more avant jazz inclinations – although the expression of the sound here is more focused and majestic, with slight string touches blending in with instrumentation of a more jazz-based mode – handled by Marshall Allen on alto and kora, Knoel Scott on tenor and baritone, Michael Ray and Cecil Brooks on trumpets, Dave Davis on trombone, Farid Barron on piano, Dave Hotep on guitar, and Tara Middleton on some mighty nice flute and violin. There's a richness to the sound that comes from all the other players involved in the proceedings – and titles include "Day Of The Living Sky", "Firefly", "Wish Upon A Star", "Chopin", "Marshall's Groove", and "Somebody Else's Idea". LP, Vinyl record album

Think what you want about Jon Batiste on TV – the man's out to show you here that he's one hell of a pianist – and a jazz musician with a lot more depth than just his mainstream appearances! The set is mostly solo, and surprisingly beautiful – as Batiste is able to both serve up some New Orleans roots, and also hit some even more striking moments that have a much more modern appeal – this range of emotion we never would have expected, and which is mostly pretty surprising – apart from a few titles that Jon must have thrown in to keep some of the "visitors" on track. The solo piano numbers are fantastic – a real revelation – and titles include "Green Hill Zone", "Mr Buddy", "Kenner Boogie", "Chopinesque", "Nocturne No 1 In D Minor", "Is It Over", and "Don't Stop". CD