Joseph Swensen conducts Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with an inner fire that grips all those who have attended one of his concerts; for him it is Beethoven’s ultimate achievement, a celebration of humanity —not the romantic hero, but the truly ordinary individual, musically represented by the chorus. Beethoven begins his epic symphony in the darkness of primordial chaos. The first and second movements are visions of the universe before humanity. The third movement is a celestial dream. The beginning of the finale is our awakening. Beethoven wanted Ode to Joy to be a melody that all can sing. This chorus, a realisation in sound of the ideals of the 18th-century Enlightenment, is neither transcendent, divine, perfect nor impeccable. It is humanity singing of its joy!

There are moments like that: On the path to your own destiny, you meet one of the greats and everything is suddenly - completely different. For the young Robert Kahn, this moment came when he met Johannes Brahms in 1886. The Hanseatic composer was evidently able to set a number of sympathetic strings vibrating in the young man from Mannheim. The result was an oeuvre in which the chamber music, from duo to quintet, often strikes a note that we know from his role model: Without ever copying his mentor, Kahn thrives on full-bodiedness and opulent voice leading, which gives the three piano quartets in particular chamber-symphonic dimensions.

Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7, 1930) is an American retired jazz tenor saxophonist who is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians.

There is no album by Thelonious Monk titled "Rhythms in Disguise".

Ronnie Scott OBE (born Ronald Schatt; 28 January 1927 – 23 December 1996) was a British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.

There is no album or song titled "Reflections in Blue" by the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Audio critic Masamitsu Fukuda has carefully selected 10 tracks from the Venus Records catalogue and compiled them into a single album.

Audio critic Masamitsu Fukuda has carefully selected 10 tracks from the Venus Records catalogue and compiled them into a single album.

Numbered, Limited-Edition Hybrid SACD from Mobile Fidelity! Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 133/500! Joni Mitchell is the only artist who could've made Hejira. The legendary singer-songwriter said as much when discussing the album decades after its release. Yet that fact seemed obvious from the moment the gold-certified effort streeted in fall 1976. An adventurous travelogue, probing narrative, and offbeat homage to freedom, Hejira remains an inimitable entry in the catalog of recorded music — a spare, gorgeous, meditative series of sonic vignettes comprised of floating harmonic pop, cool jazz, soft rock, and sensitive vocal elements that beckon feelings of motion, discovery, and self-examination.

"Out in the Dark" is their most GENESIS sounding release with the Banks-like keyboard playing and the Gabriel sounding vocals. The first side of the Lp is called "Sun Side" while the second side is called "Dark Side". "Full Moon" opens with a funky 1 minute instrumental (not a fan) as vocals come in.There is some tasteful guitar as well as a sax melody. "Nocturnal Flight" is a really good mellow song with mellotron, vocals and keys standing out. Then 2 1/2 minutes in the song gets powered up with drums and guitar. Nice. It ends with a soaring guitar solo. "Out In The Dark" is a laid back song with the focus on the vocals. The flute before the 4 minute mark is a nice touch and is followed with mellotron.There is a tempo shift 5 minutes in as it all speeds up to an almost jazzy sound with lots of flute, piano and light drums.

In response to criticism that his ambitious, atmospheric music did not swing enough, Charles Mingus returned to the earthiest and oldest sources of black musical expression, namely the blues, gospel and old-time jazz from New Orleans. The LP Blues and Roots, recorded in 1959 and released in 1960, is still considered Mingus' most stirring work and has since become a milestone, perhaps the most soulful in his discography. Analogue Productions is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the legendary Atlantic Records label with the new "Atlantic 75" series and has a few treats in store - such as Charles Mingus' "Blues & Roots".

Leon Russell and the Shelter People is the second solo album by the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leon Russell. Released in 1971, it peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 200 in the United States. The album has gold certification for sales of over 500,000 albums in the US and Canada. "The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" is a song written by Leon Russell from the soundtrack of the 1971 film Mad Dogs & Englishmen.
The Shelter People referenced in the album title are the session musicians for Shelter, the label founded by Russell and Denny Cordell in 1969. However, only five of the album's eleven tracks are credited to them. Of the remaining tracks, two are credited to the "Muscle Shoals Swampers", two to "Friends In England" and one to "Tulsa Tops". "The Ballad of Mad Dogs and Englishmen" features only Russell on vocals and piano with a string backing.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the recording of John Coltrane's only Blue Note album, "Blue Train," and the release of this complete edition, which includes seven takes, four of which have never been released before, in addition to the latest remastering. Features the high-fidelity SHM-SACD format (single layer). Stereo. Japanese exclusive release.

Singer and guitarist Casey Costa, a new style of Brazilian Bossa, performs a wonderful collection of Antonio Carlos Jobim's works with a new sense of Bossa Nova!

Since his stunning debut in 1974 with the now world-famous audiophile recordings for the Three Blind Mice label, Japanese pianist Tsuyoshi Yamamoto has built a career that now spans four decades. This live set by the Yamamato Trio, recorded at Jazz Is in Yokohama on November 16, 2019, features "Gentle Blues", "Caravan", "Nature Boy", "Misty", "No Problem", "You Don't Know Me" and "Tanabatasama".