For their set of Christmas related material, the Manhattan Transfer welcome such guests as trumpeter Jack Sheldon (on "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"), Tony Bennett ("The Christmas Song"), trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison and tenor saxophonist Pete Christlieb. With arrangements provided for the backing orchestra by Johnny Mandel on a few numbers, highlights of this disc include "Snowfall", a Santa medley and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". A pleasing set of jazz-influenced Christmas music.

Before he left us in July 2, 2002, Ray Brown reigned as the king of jazz bassists for over five decades. As a disciple of Oscar Pettiford and Jimmy Blanton, Brown's sturdy tone, impeccable technique, and swinging drive propelled Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Milt Jackson, and countless other jazz stars to fame. On this CD, his 18th recording for the Telarc label and his fifth in his celebrated Best Friends series, Brown is joined by the young guitar wizard Russell Malone and the lyrical, Jamaican-born pianist Monty Alexander. The drumless lineup is a tribute to the groundbreaking trios Brown lead with Oscar Peterson, and the music is simply remarkable. With Alexander's flowing pianisms shadowed by Malone's articulate guitar work, Brown's deep grooves are only topped by his flawless melodic ideas.

Vinyl LP pressing including digital download. The Paul Simon Songbook is the first solo studio album by Paul Simon. It was recorded in London and released in the UK in 1965 and was supposedly deleted in 1979 at Simon's request. Simon recorded the album at Levy's Recording Studio, 73 New Bond Street, London, over several dates in June 1965. Most of the songs required several takes. He only had one microphone for both his voice and his guitar. Paul Simon's musical career has spanned seven decades, with his fame and commercial success beginning as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, formed in 1964 with Art Garfunkel. The duo split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity and Simon began a successful solo career.

"Liederhalle Stuttgart '69" comes from the archives of German broadcaster Südwestrundfun and features five tracks from one of Cannonball Adderley Quintet's many post-World War II European performances. Pianist Joe Zawinul's Rumpelstiltskin is edgy and upbeat, showcasing a hard-swinging side to the ensemble, while The Painted Dessert's range of moods and tempos sees the five musicians working together to create something special and idiosyncratic.

Ben Harper and his mother Ellen have collaborated to create "Childhood Home" an absorbing, deeply personal collection of original songs. Ben Harper grew up in a musical family so it was only natural he'd eventually record with his mother Ellen. The 10 original songs here, six written by Ben and four by Ellen, explore the intricacies of home and family with honesty and intimacy. These story sketches have been carefully crafted by both Harpers and laced with heartfelt love, longing and even pain.

On his prior 1967 LP, "For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her", Yarbrough had tried to move into contemporary folk-rockish covers, with negligible sales and not much greater artistic success. With "Honey & Wine" there also seemed to be inclinations to update his sound, but great uncertainty as to which way his music should pull. There was just a bit of a nod to pop/rock on the album, primarily in the title cut, a cover of a relatively little-known Gerry Goffin/Carole King composition.

This 1966 album of Rod McKuen songs was among Glenn's most popular! Includes "The Word Before Goodbye", "Night Song", "Hello", "The Women", "Brownstone", "The Summertime of Days", and more.

Recorded in Japan in July 1973, this massive, three-LP live album was available outside the United States in 1974 but held back from domestic release in the U.S. It features the same "New Santana Band" that recorded Welcome, and combines that group's jazz and spiritual influences with performances of earlier Latin rock favorites like "Oye Como Va".

Ça Ira (French for "It'll be fine", subtitled "There is Hope") is an opera in three acts by Roger Waters based on the French libretto co-written by Étienne and Nadine Roda-Gil on the historical subject of the early French Revolution. Ça Ira was released 26 September 2005, as a double album featuring baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Ying Huang, and tenor Paul Groves.

Bennie Wallace is an American Jazz tenor saxophonist. He has cited Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins among many major saxophone influences. He recorded on the revived Blue Note label in 1985 - the original label provided much of the key music of his formative years. "Moodsville" is one of his finest and most lyrical sessions. Recorded direct to 2-track Analog Tape at Systems 2 in New York in May the session features some of the hottest jazz musicians currently working in the US: Mulgrew Miller, Peter Washington and Lewis Nash. The sound and feel of the album is very close to that of the great Moodsville and Prestige recordings of the 50s and 60s featuring artists like Gene Ammons.

Organist Jean-Willy Kunz gathers a group of musicians from the classical, contemporary music, pop and jazz realms for a musical trip around the globe with music by John Coltrane, Sidney Bechet and Paquito D’Rivera, among many others…

"Impressions" contains two studio tracks paired with two live songs left over from the same November 1961 recordings that yielded John Coltrane's very successful "Live At The Village Vanguard". There was too much material for one LP so the music had to be divided up, with this second album coming a year after the first.

With a reputation for incendiary live band shows and powerful yet intimate solo performances Mike has previous work with not only Black Crowes founder and guitarist Rich Robinson but also outlaw country legend Steve Earle already under his belt. His second solo album “Jenny's Place” boasts a fuller and more muscular set of performances. The textures found here are thicker and sinewy, from the highway rolling 'Dakota Red' and the agonized blues of 'Dark Dowder' to the Petty-esque choruses and melodic structure of 'Jenny (Sun Goes Down)' and the bar-room swagger of 'The Big Picture' or 'Baby, I Love You'.

Tamar Beraia performs world-premiere recordings of the seminal piano works of Michel Sogny, a truly significant musical figure who has inspired countless others with his work.

Released on DG's joint label Verbier Festival Gold, the latest album of Simon Rattle conducting the Verbier Festival- and Festival Chamber Orchestras in live performances of Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5 is released.