Wubbo Johannes Ockels was a Dutch physicist, astronaut, pilot and professor. On October 30, 1985, he was the first Dutchman in space when he participated in a flight on the space shuttle Challenger, STS-61-A. This experience affected him deeply and when he came back he put a lot of effort into safe ways of preserving the Earth and methods of producing safe energy. Until his death in 2014, he was Professor of Aerospace for Sustainable Science and Technology at the TU Delft Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. Ockels died in 2014 of an aggressive form of kidney cancer. Until his very last day of his life - some say with his last breath - he spoke of our responsibilities: Save the earth, well now!

Elgar's violin concerto - distinctively passionate and nostalgic - is one of the great late-Romantic concertos. "It is a huge piece," says Renaud Capuçon "both in terms of it's length and it's romantic and noble nature." This is Capuçon's first recording with Sir Simon Rattle, here conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. When Rattle chose Elgar's Enigma Variations for his inaugural concert as the LSO's music director in 2017, he was celebrating the close historic links between the composer and the orchestra. Not only did the LSO accompany Fritz Kreisler in the premiere of the violin concerto in 1910, Elgar became it's Principal Conductor the following year. Paired with the concerto on this album is his violin sonata, first performed in 1919. Renaud Capuçon, who calls the sonata "a work of nobility and tenderness", is joined by one of the leading British pianists of today, Stephen Hough.

Legendary composer, arranger, pianist, educator, and leader Harold Mabern returns with another Smoke Sessions recording, the engaging album “To Love and Be Loved”. He brings a sextet of exceptional musicians featuring the fabulous tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb of Miles Davis “Kind of Blue” fame, protean trumpet master Freddie Hendrix, and the facile double bassist Nat Reeves, with percussionist Cyro Baptista, in his only appearance, enlivening the song, “To Love and Be Loved”. Mixing up the musicians, Mabern uses quartet, quintet, and sextet sized configurations, and plus a mesmerizing solo piano performance. This recording also especially provides more examples of the power, invention, and empathy that is shown by the long-term Harold Mabern and Eric Alexander association which has enlivened so many wonderful recordings.

Alba Records julkaisee Ilari Laakson sävellyksiä pianolle ja sopraanolle pianisti Anna Laakson ja sopraano Pia Freundin tulkitsemina. Julkaisun sävellykset tutkivat perheen, katoavuuden sekä kielen merkityksiä. “Runous on minulle läheisin kirjallisuuden laji. Ajatusten ja tunnetilojen kiteyttäminen muutamiin sanoihin ja sanaryhmiin on taito sui generis.”, Ilari Laakso toteaa.

Pianist Jacky Terrasson's Impulse! Records debut, 2015's Take This, is a sophisticated showcase for his virtuoso jazz chops and eclectic musical taste. Following up his 2012 effort, Gouache, Take This finds Terrasson investigating a mix of originals and unexpected covers, many of which are infused with a strong African and Cuban rhythmic influence. Supplying much of this rhythmic intensity is Terrasson's adventurous outfit featuring bassist Burniss Travis, drummer Lukmil Perez, and Malian percussionist Adama Diarra. Together, this group is responsible for many of the album's brightest moments, with updates of such classic jazz piano numbers as Bud Powell's "Un Poco Loco," and Miles Davis' "Blue and Green," to name a few. Also collaborating with Terrasson here is French vocalist/beatboxer Sly Johnson…

If we think of Albinoni beyond the ubiquitous and apocryphal Adagio (not so much arranged as concocted by a 20thcentury musicologist, Giazotto), we may remember collections of lively oboe and violin concertos, maybe also some trio sonatas and works featuring solo flute and trumpet. But Albinoni, the composer of cantatas and operas?
This quartet of Italian musicians puts the record straight with a new recording of secular cantatas. In fact Albinoni married a soprano, Margherita Raimondi, and apparently had a fine singing voice himself.

Intriguing and mysterious, "Yolo", dissects a combination of Max random synthesised sounds and field recordings into fragments and particles which are then sieved through in microscopic detail. Inoue moves the focus with a speed that is at first disorientating but demonstrates the concise precision that has made his deserved reputation as an artist that is not afraid to explore and expand. In many respects it's like a diary of intimate impressions, internalised and deeply processed; a collection of fading super-8 memories moving jerkily in and out of the frame of the imagination.
There is no lengthy exposition or superfluous effect to be found on any of the tracks. Rather there's an insistence and urgency to cut to the chase…

Finnish sleaze rockers RECKLESS LOVE return with their fifth studio album, ‚Turborider‘! Following a 4-year hiatus and just recently receiving gold awards for their first three albums in Finland, singer Olli Herman and his band are now gearing up for their next move: ‚Turborider‘ is high-energy, synth wave-infused rock with an undeniable 80’s touch. Fun? Check! Uplifting? Check! ‚Turborider‘ will make you forget the world around you and its infectious hooks will make you sing along all day. Switching to a more serious gear, RECKLESS LOVE now (re-)visit e.g. the 80s game worlds. At the center of the sounds are 80s themes and the modern dark-speaking world of synth wave. The band dived deep into to the game world and the movie moods of the genre and era.