Michel Legrand is one of our favorite composers of all time – and although the man himself passed away in 2019, his music continues to live on strongly in the hearts of countless singers and musicians he's touched over the years – including those who work together on this wonderful tribute album! The set's very different than other Legrand-related projects of this nature – as both the choice of cuts and the execution is very special – not too pop-polished, or overly sentimental – as most of the numbers here are very spare and open – almost recorded as these elegies to Michel, with beautiful reworkings of his familiar themes, often just with piano and some other light instrumentation – never sleepy, given the talents on board, but sensitively done in just the right spirit of Legrand's genius. Titles include "Windmills Of Your Mind" by Chad Lawson, "Sans Toi" by Luca D'Alberto, "Les Parapluies De Cherbourg" by Lambert, "Toujoirs Jamais" by Akira Kosemura, "Peau D'Ane" by Alban Claudin, "Chanson De Jumelles" by Joseph Schiano Di Lombo, "How Do You Keep The Music Playing" by Moux, and "Summer Of 42" by Chilly Gonzales. LP, Vinyl record album

A beautiful later album from Miles Davis – and a tremendous collaboration with composer Michel Legrand, in a set that returns Miles to the French soundtrack tradition he first started back in the late 50s! Some of the tracks here are quite spare – the kind of moody, ethereal solo moments that Miles still does better than most folks at this point in time – and other numbers feature fuller musical backings that echo some of the older Legrand soundtrack flair, but which come off with a slightly more contemporary approach too. Chuck Findley also handles some of the trumpet solos on the album – so all the musings here are not Miles' alone – and titles include "The Departure", "The Arrival", "The Dream", "Paris Walking I", "Going Home", "The Jam Session", and "Club Entrance". (Jazz, Soundtracks) LP, Vinyl record album

An incredibly groovy late 60s soundtrack from Michel Legrand! La Piscine may well be one of the last under-reissued scores from Legrand's genius period – that time when he was hitting heavily on soundtracks for The Thomas Crown Affair, Umbrellas Of Cherbourg, and other classics. This one's got a feel that's right up there with those – a mix of jazzy styles, mod themes, and cool vocal touches – sometimes scatted a bit, with that raspy style we love in Legrand's singing. A few other tunes are a bit mellow, but in a great way that really fits the watery title of the set – cool and shimmering, and with a great sense of sound that really shows Legrand's talents. Titles include "La Piscine", "Blues Pour Romy", "Suspicion", "Dans La Soiree", and "De Souvenirs En Regrets" – plus "Run Brother Rabbit Run" sung by Delaney Bramlett and "Ask Yourself Why" sung by Sally Stevens. LP, Vinyl record album

Striking sounds from Michel Magne – an artist who's best known for his groovy soundtracks of the 60s – but who steps out here with a rare experimental set from the late 50s! The style is very much in keeping with the most compelling of the postwar generation in France – as Magne mixes together electronic and acoustic sounds with amazing power – modes that are sometimes as spacious as Pierre Henry, other times as sonically powerful as Xenakis – yet always very much Michel's own unique musical vision! Instrumentation includes some great cymbalum, plus piano, violin, vibes, and percussion – as well as some amzing vocalizations from Jaqueline Dano and Christiane Legrand. Titles include "Memoire D'Un Trou", "Self Service", "Concertino Triple", "Meta Mecanique Saccadee", "Larmes En Sol Pleureur", and "Pointes De Feu Amorties Au Dolsal". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic musical tribute to the filmmaking genius of the late Agnes Varda – a set that brings together work from her earliest films of the 60s, all the way through some of her important contributions to cinema in the 21st Century! The scope of styles here is great – sometimes jazzy, sometimes more serious – sometimes vocal, and sometimes instrumental – yet that also reflects the range of styles that Varda brought to her films as well. The set features music by Michel Legrand for Cleo De 5 a 7, Francois Wertheimer & Orchidee for L'Une Chante L'Autre Pas, Matthieu Chedid for Visages Villages, Joanna Bruzdowicz for Jacquot De Nantes and Sans Toi Ni Loi, Laurent Levesque for Les Plages D'Agnes and Agnes De Ci De La Varda, Christian Legrand for HLM Et Cine-Roman, Michel Colombier for Pour Agnes, and Jean Michel Defaye for Le Bonheur. LP, Vinyl record album