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The last album that New Orleans soul legend Allen Toussaint ever recorded – and a set that's maybe more jazz-oriented than most of his other work! The album mostly features Toussaint as an instrumentalist – playing piano, and working through songs by Bill Evans, Duke Ellington, Earl Hines, and others – as well as some of his own compositions too – with a group that includes Bill Frisell on guitar and Charles Lloyd on tenor, although most of the focus really seems to be on the piano! Rhiannon Giddens sings on two tracks, but most of the album is instrumental – and Van Dyke Parks contributes a bit of second piano, and larger arrangements on one track. Titles include "Come Sunday", "Southern Nights", "Rosetta", "Big Chief", "Danza", "Rocks In My Bed", "American Tune", "Mardi Gras In New Orleans", "Waltz For Debby", and "Viper's Drag". CD

A bigger step into a piano led jazzy style from Allen Toussaint – grooving in a timeless Crescent City influenced sound – a wonderful record, one we'll go back to for years to come! Allen's been a huge part of the New Orleans musical landscape for many, many years, and it's not a stretch to imagine he's had the laidback, but evocative jazz of the territory in his blood for just as long – so it's a wonder that he hasn't made a record like this before now. There's nothing cliche or cheesy in Allen's work here, which has kind of an after hours vibe that suits it well, and he's put together an outstanding group of players. Marc Ribot is on guitar, Don Byron on clarinet, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, David Piltch on upright bass, Jay Bellarose on drums, and guests Joshua Redman on tenor sax and Brad Mehldau on piano. Titles include "Egyptian Fantasy", "Dear Old Southland", "St James Infirmary", "Singin' The Blues", "Winin' The Blues", West End Blues", "Blue Drag", "Bright Mississippi", "Day Dream", "Solitude" and more. CD

The third album from Malian singer Rokia Traore – a compelling collection of folksy tunes with a focus on her incredible vocals, supported by instrumentation that includes light percussion and guitar. The booklet provides translation of the set's stunning lyrics, and titles include "Manian", "M'Bifo", "Sara", "Kote Don", "Deli", and "Kanou". CD

Dawn Upshaw performs songs by Aaron Copland, John Adams, Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Weill, Samuel Barber, and Carlisle Ford. CD

A nice overview of the second chapter of work from this Brazilian giant – with notes by David Byrne, and titles that include "Michelangelo Antonioni", "Iatapua", "Na Baixa Do Sapateiro", "Um Tom", "Baiao Da Penha", "Haiti", "Fina Estampa", "13 De Mato", "O Estrangeiro", and "Mahata". CD

A beautifully spare album from Caetano Veloso – one of his greatest albums of the 80s, and quite unlike anything else he did in the decade! The sound here is almost a bit like Joao Gilberto's classic 1973 album for Polydor – mostly just acoustic guitar and vocals, recorded with a slight echo and a really warm feel overall – a quality that offers up a whole new side of Veloso's genius, with only a bit of added percussion on a few tracks. Caetano's vocals are wonderful – personal, intimate, and very rich, despite the quite setting – and titles include "Get Out Of Town", "Terra", "Nega Lauca/Billie Jean/Eleanor Rigby", "Luz Do Sol', "Trilhos Urbanhos", "Odara", and "Saudosismo". CD

Another great chapter in the always-surprising later career of Caetano Veloso – and a record that's unlike anything else he's recorded before! The style here is a real change both from some of his more ambitious and more experimental works of late – and the album mostly features small combo backing, set up alongside Veloso's vocals in styles that are slightly punky, slightly arty – in a way that reminds us a fair bit of work from the hippest side of the New York scene in the early 80s. The structure of the songs is often simple, but extremely fresh – very inventive twists and turns of a few basic elements, all to match the poetry of Veloso's own lyrics. Moreno Veloso co-produced the set – and titles include "Outro", "Rocks", "Deusa Urbana", "Waly Salomao", "Musa Hibrida", "Odeio", "O Heroi", and "Um Sonho". CD

A landmark album for Caetano Veloso – a full set of tracks sung in English, as beautifully done as we ever could have hoped! The arrangements are really fresh – in a style that makes the album far more than just a set of standards – and instead gives it the edgey approach of some of Caetano's best recent work. The set was co-produced by Jacques Morelenbaum, and has a range of instrumental approaches that shifts to fit the mood of each new track – and given that the work on the set runs from tunes by Cole Porter to Nat King Cole, Nirvana, David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan – you can imagine the changing moods at work! Titles include "So In Love", "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "Diana", "Manhattan", "Nothing But Flowers", "Cry Me A River", "Nature Boy", "Jamaica Farewell", "If It's Magic", "Detached", "Blue Skies", and "Something Good". Loads of tracks, too – 22 in all – and packaged beautifully! CD

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A far-reaching album by Caetano – with a wide scope of sounds and influences, from tribal/ethnic percussion, to subtle jazzy backdrops, to guitar-driven numbers that hint at a brief return to rock music. The rich tapestry of themes and images are perfectly linked by Veloso's always-wonderful voice – impeccably rich-toned, with a sound that only seems to get better with age. To us, the record's his first really striking album since 1997's Livro – although it's got a lot more subtlety, in the manner of some of his mid 70s work, like Bicho or Joia. Titles include "Michelangelo Antonioni", "Zera A Reza", "13 De Maio", "Zumbi", "Meu Rio", and "Sou Seu Sabia". CD

A modern country rock masterpiece. Wilco's second album, an unlikely (for its time) major label double album does an incredible job of showing stylistic breadth and sprawl behind lyrical and emotional consistency, arrangements-wise recalling the best of the band's more adventurously rootsy forbears enough to not unfairly call it "alt-country" at the time, but it's ultimately timeless. Here we are decades later and it doesn't sound like it's aged a day. Includes "Misunderstood", "Far, Far Away", "Red-Eyed And Blue", "Forget the Flowers", "Outta Mind (Outta Sight)", "Kingpin", "Whole Would You Wanna Live", "Dreamer In My Dreams" and more. CD

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Wilco's incredible Kicking Television live album – from a rock band that defies convention and cliche – so who else to make one of the best, most interesting and adventurous live albums of the decade! The group was arguably at its live peak in the mid aughts, when Kicking Television was recorded in a residency at their hometown Chicago's Vic Theatre in May of '05. CD

Seminal work from Wilco – one of those key records where they were firmly establishing themselves as one of the most solid, complete bands of their generation – maybe hitting instant classic status with an album like this! The set's both very contemporary and true to their roots – the kind of set you'd swear you heard on AM radio back in the 70s, but which never would have gotten played back then – thanks to the ever-sharpening songwriting skills of Jeff Tweedy, and the overall musicianship and production skills of the group. Titles include "Walken", "Leave Me Like You Found Me", "Either Way", "You Are My Face", "Impossible Germany", "Side With The Seeds", "Please Be Patient With Me", "Hate It Here", and "On & On & On". CD

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Wilco continuing the looser, less self-consciously experimental, more straightforward songcraft road they'd been traveling on since Sky Blue Sky, after the art rock leaning previous few LPs – including the classic Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – but Wilco being Wilco, their version of straight forward songcraft has more depth and diverse instrumentation than just about any other contemporary rock peers! And after some years of feeling underserved by the "alt country" tag and steering clear of anything too twangy, it's kinda nice to hear the more lap steal and Byrds-y harmonies back in the fold without discarding the art rock textures. Good stuff from a great band in it for the long haul! Includes "Wilco (The Song)", "Deeper Down", "One Wing", "Bull Black Nova", "You And I", "You Never Know", "Country Disappeared", "Solitaire", "I'll Fight", "Sonny Feeling" and "Everlasting Everything". CD

Wilco's post-millennium masterpiece! After years of adventurous sounds and increasingly poetic lyrics being subtly layered over their country rock roots, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was such a radical departure from their first couple albums that it was legendary upon arrival. What's so amazing about it is that it's essentially an art rock album with rootsy heart, somehow carrying the emotional resonance of earlier heart-on-sleeve songcraft with hardly a twangy riff to be found. Titles include "Kamera", "Radio Cure", "Jesus Etc", "Heavy Metal Drummer", "Reservations", "Poor Places", "Pot Kettle Black", "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart", and "Ashes Of American Flags". CD

One of the best albums ever recorded by the WSQ – a sensitive mix of rhythmic tunes and mellow ballads, played by the group with less agression than on previous releases, but in a way that shows that they're really fitting into the style of the ensemble well. Titles include "Cool Red", "Full Deep & Mellow", "Dance Until Dawn", "Fast Life", "Hattie Wall", and "Sweet D". CD

One of their best ones, and a tight set of Ellington tracks that works perfectly with their multi-horn style. Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill, Bamiet Bluiett, and David Murray split up the arrangements, and the tracks include "Lush Life", "Come Sunday", "Prelude To A Kiss", and 2 different versions of "Take The A Train". CD

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A groundbreaking album, put together by Zorn and a group of downtown New York hipsters, as a fitting hommage to the genius of Ennio Morricone! The track list sticks to mostly the bigger known numbers, and the album's got a darkness that we'd actually say was a bit out of place, considering the choice of tracks – but the groups formed by Zorn do a pretty good job of breathing new life into some of the tracks, and the album was a key moment in the recognition of Morricone as one of the century's greatest composers. Players include Robert Quine, Tim Berne, Arto Lindsay, Jim Staley, Bill Frisell, Christian Marclay, Anton Fier, and even Big John Patton. Titles include "Erotico", "Once Upon A Time In The West", "Giu La Testa", "Battle Of Algiers", and "The Big Gundown". CD

Music from Tweedy, Coldplay, The Hives, Cat Power, The Flaming Lips, Gnarls Barkley, Vampire Weekend, Wilco, Leighton Meester, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Black Keys, and more. CD

Ten tracks from Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Afro-Cuban All Stars, Compay Segundo, Eliades Ochoa, Ibrahim Ferrer, Afro-Cuban All Stars, and Los Zafiros. CD

Field recordings by David Lewiston that feature regional folk and festival tunes from Southern Mexico. Tracks include "Son Alegre", "Son Sventa Cajvaltic", "El Chinito", "La Jota", and "Valse Chiapenecas". CD

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