Ahead of The upcoming Madame X documentary film (mainly concert, plus her views on the US especially the political climate during the US Leg of the Tour and her hip injury)..

December 2nd is the birthday of Maria Callas, meaning that we are now exactly one year before her centenary.

"Breakout" is an album by jazz organist Johnny Hammond recorded for the Kudu label in 1971. The album was the first release on Creed Taylor's Kudu label, a subsidiary of CTI Records and is the first album that dropped Johnny "Hammond" Smith's surname.

"Higher Ground" is an album by jazz organist Johnny Hammond recorded for the Kudu label. The Allmusic site stating "Some of the arrangements seem, well arranged, but as soon as Smith kicks in, the groove is established". The song "Big Sur Suite" has been sampled multiple times including The Beastie Boys "Pass the Mic" and Dr. Dre in "A Nigga Wit a Gun".

John Robert Smith, also known as Johnny "Hammond" Smith, was an American soul jazz and hard bop organist. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he was a renowned player of the Hammond B-3 organ so earning "Hammond" as a nickname, which also avoided his being confused with jazz guitarist Johnny Smith.

This 1956 session features Ellington and 14 sidemen performing updated recordings of some of the best from Ellington's career going back to 1926. Ellington's reputation has increased since his death in 1974, with thematic repackagings of his signature music often becoming best sellers. Posthumous recognition of his work include a special award citation from the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Travels is the Pat Metheny Group's first live album, released in 1983. It won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Fusion Performance. Travels was recorded as part of the tour for the Group's studio album, Offramp, but also featured previously unrecorded and unreleased songs. The album consists of live material recorded in July, October, and November 1982, in Philadelphia, Dallas, Sacramento (California), Hartford (Connecticut), and Nacogdoches (Texas). The Group for this album consisted of Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Steve Rodby, Dan Gottlieb, and Nana Vasconcelos as special guest.

Blow by Blow is the second solo album by British guitarist Jeff Beck, released on Epic Records in 1975, and recorded in October 1974. It was an instrumental album that peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

A Desperate Light: Orchestral Works by Gisle Kverndokk opens as a cry for help. It is the struggle and despair of being locked up, wings clipped, denied access to life, without knowing when it will all be over.

While most people associate the blues with the steamy bayous of Louisiana and the cotton fields of Mississippi, lovers of the devil´s music may be surprised to hear that there is also a thriving scene in Scandinavia.

Introducing FLO’s debut album: Access All Areas. A body of work imbued with FLO’s unapologetic, contagious force.

Hayden Powell is a trumpet player who specialises in jazz and other types of music where improvisation is involved.

Multiple praised and awarded Klabbes Bank returns with their special take on modern electronic jazz.

teinberg: Symphony No. 3 & Shostakovich: The Bolt – Suite from the Ballet are by Maximilian Steinberg and Dmitry Shostakovich.

With influences found in Jazz/Blues (Oscar Peterson, Harry Connick), Classical (Brahms, Liszt), Modern Rock (Rage Against the Machine’s Tommy Morello), all have shaped the pianist I am today…