Although the name Stan Getz (tenor sax) was initially synonymous with the West Coast cool scene during the mid-to-late 1950s, he likewise became a key component in the Bossa Nova craze of the early 1960s. Along with Astrud Gilberto (vocals), Getz scored a genre-defining hit with the "Girl From Ipanema," extracted from the equally lauded Getz/Gilberto (1963). While that platter primarily consists of duets between Getz and João Gilberto (guitar/vocals), it was truly serendipity that teamed Getz with João's wife Astrud, who claims to have never sung a note outside of her own home prior to the session that launched her career. Getz Au Go Go Featuring Astrud Gilberto (1964) was the second-to-last album that he would issue during his self-proclaimed "Bossa Nova Era" - the final being Getz/Gilberto #2 [Live] (1964) concert title from Carnegie Hall…

Sir John Barbirolli began as an orchestral cellist, and played under Elgar’s baton in the premiere of the Cello Concerto. Encouraged by Elgar, he moved into conducting and made his mark with the composer’s Second Symphony in 1927. After Elgar’s death, Barbirolli vowed to make the composer’s music his special mission in life and to do his utmost to make it known all over the world. From the performances here, we can judge how well he kept his promise.

Percussionist SANDY NELSON was not merely the biggest, but just about the only major drum star of the 'Golden Era' of the Rock & Roll Instrumental. This set, which anthologises his 1962 releases, is complementary to an earlier Jasmine compilation, 'Teen Beat, 1959-61'. 1962 was a watershed year in Nelson's early career, in that he released an astonishing six LPs, four of which ('Drums Are My Beat', 'Drummin' Up A Storm', 'Golden Hits' and 'Compelling Percussion') made the US album charts. He also issued six singles that year, of which five ('Drums Are My Beat', 'The Birth Of The Beat', 'Drummin' Up A Storm', 'All Night Long' and 'And Then There Were Drums') made the US Top 100. Due to constraints in playing time, it is not possible to include his entire 1962 output, so a couple of LP cuts have been omitted. Nonetheless this is as comprehensive a collection of his 1962 recordings as is physically possible to compile onto a 2-CD set.

ZAKK SABBATH are back with an even more massive dose of pure BLACK SABBATH worship! Celebrating more than 50 years of Birmingham's most famous four, the 'inventors' of heavy metal are being honoured by the preeminent tribute trio led by guitarist and singer Zakk Wylde with the double album "Doomed Forever Forever Doomed". This loving tribute contains the Americans' brilliant take on BLACK SABBATH's second and third full-lengths, the classic heavy metal masterpieces "Paranoid" (1970) and "Master of Reality" (1971).

“I think I am the same as an artist and as a person. Music is my way of communication and I see the art, the music as a whole thing, with no borders, divisions, or even genres.”

DG and the Freiburger Barockorchester, one of the world’s foremost period-instrument orchestras, launch a new creative partnership with an album of works associated with the celebrated Mannheim court orchestra. Mozart’s Mannheim couples little-known gems by Cannabich, Holzbauer, Vogler and others with works written by Mozart during his formative visit to Mannheim in the late 1770s.

Give Me Strength: The ’74/’75 Recordings is a 5CD+ Blu-ray Audio box set that celebrates the period between April 1974 and June 1975 when Clapton produced the studio albums 461 Ocean Boulevard and There’s One In Every Crowd, as well as the live double set E.C. Was Here.

Sony Music Japan are issuing a double-disc compilation of Cyndi Lauper’s Greatest Hits. The collection features 19 tracks and 26 accompanying videos, nine of which have been unavailable on DVD anywhere in the world, and the CD chronologically collects all her Sony output from 1983 – 1995.

Chute Libre was a french jazz band that released two fusion records with pronounced funk sound. Before Chute Libre, three members also played in a fusion band called Moravagine; keyboardist Olivier Huntman, sax player Pierre-Jean Gidon and the drummer Mino Cinelu who is a member of Gong and Weather Report.

The CD is a hodgepodge of various tunes from Bach to Beatles supposedly requested by listeners after "The Well-Tempered Synthesizer" was released. The result may only only be mildly interesting to the occasional listener, but to followers of electronic music, it's like rediscovering a lost gem.

Idiomatic doesn't even begin to describe the music-making on this disc coupling Dvorák's String Quintet in G major, Op. 77, and his Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81. Not only are the four members of the Czech Skampa Quartet – violinists Pavel Fischer and Jana Lukásova, violist Radim Sedmidubský, and cellist Lukás Polák – incredibly tight, together, and in the groove with the music's Bohemian rhythms, but so are their guest artists: French double-bassist Laurène Durantel and English pianist Kathryn Stott.

In these works, written for the Chapel Royal, Lully is inspired to paint a whole sweep of emotions, at once melancholy, sweet, tragic, noble and victorious. Observe his mastery of color. Listen to how choral and orchestral textures, now in five, now in ten parts, change with the rhythm of the text. Note how subtle touches of orchestral color highlight the meaning of a word or the sweetness of a modulation.