Harry Connick Jr. has a rare gift for summoning the style of classic 1940s saloon singing, hinting at Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and especially Dick Haymes, without engaging in actual impersonation. What's more uncanny still is his songwriting, an idiomatic command of the standards that often summons some of the rhythmic ease of Gershwin, the tunefulness of Jerome Kern, and the wit of Cole Porter. Both his singing and songwriting talents are evident on this album, recorded in 1990 when Connick was just 22.

Saxophonist Branford Marsalis, flutist Kent Jordan, pianist Kenny Kirkland, bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts join Wynton to conquer a venerable jazz tradition – swing with strings. They return from that battlefield to share the spoils with beautiful renditions of “Stardust,” “When You Wish Upon a Star,” “Melancholia” and “I’m Confessin,” among other classics, and some surprising originals, accompanied by a string orchestra arranged and conducted by Robert Freedman.

Composed between 1963 and 2005 these four works form a spectrum that demonstrates a tendency among composers of American concert music to draw from a wide range of musical streams; classical, popular, folk and jazz in order to reach out to their listeners.

The soulful sounds of the saxophone played by multi-GRAMMY-award-winning Branford Marsalis pairs perfectly with the evocative works of British composer Sally Beamish and Mahler. Led by Eric Jacobsen with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, this album delivers the songful melancholy of the Mahler songs, played by Marsalis, combined with the freneticism and imagery of Sally Beamish’s two rarely heard works, brought to a center stage.

A live recording by the Super Quartet that was realized at Makoto Ozone's annual Christmas concert held in Tokyo in December 2013 has finally been released 10 years after the performance.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the new Netflix film, out December 18, that stars Viola Davis as blues icon Ma Rainey and the late Chadwick Boseman in his final on-screen performance. Today, the soundtrack, featuring original music from Branford Marsalis, has been announced; it’s also out on December 18 (via Milan Records).