Both passionate collectors of ancient and ethnic instruments, husband and wife Walter and Laura Maioli got together in 1973 with sax player Caniele Cavallanti, guitarist Antonio Cerantola and percussionist Lino Vaccina to form Aktuala (which means 'actually' in Esperanto). This is a furiously eclectic band whose Arabian, African and Indian themes are built around trance-inducing repetition. Apart from Oregon, they were one of the first to craft a coherent, gimmick-free hybrid of improvisional jazz with a pan-cultural approach to ethnic music, although theirs is much more loosely conceived than that of Oregon. They released three albums between 1973 and 1976 and then broke up. Walter Maioli is today recognized among Italy's foremost experts in prehistoric music-making.

Thomas Fanger and Mario Schönwälder from the famous Manikin label play wonderful Berlin School Retro electronic music similar to Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Bas Broekhuis adds drums on the last track. Some very long and contemplative tracks on this 2CD set.

It may be a PR cliché, but the phrase ‘hotly anticipated album’ was never more apt than when applied to Laurence Jones’s ‘Temptation’. Having made a big splash on the UK blues-rock circuit, he’s taken an impressive new batch of songs and his fiery guitar playing down to Lafayette,Louisiana. He’s teamed up with producer Mike Zito and the Royal Southern Brotherhood rhythm section of drummer Yonrico Scott and bassist Charlie Wooton. The result is one of the best blues-rock albums of the year so far. ‘Temptation’ is that rare thing, a meeting of musical minds with results that surpass expectations. In the words of Mike Zito: ‘Its raw, its real and it happened in one week’. And it is that ‘in the moment’ feel that permeates an album full of drive, passion, crackling electricity and style.

A complete survey of Ravel’s piano music is an especially challenging prospect for any pianist. It is not merely that this sublime music frequently demands exceptional, post-Lisztian virtuosity. Beyond such dexterity is the fact that, as Steven Osborne observes in this recording’s booklet, the composer’s fear of repeating himself ensure that the lessons from one work can rarely be transferred to the next. This is not merely the aesthetic change from the nightmarish imagery of Gaspard de la nuit to the elegant neo-classicism of Le tombeau de Couperin. Ravel essentially re-imagined how to write for the piano with each significant work. Osborne is more than up to the task. The contrasting fireworks of the ‘Toccata’ from Le tombeau and ‘Alborada del gracioso’ (Miroirs) are despatched with relish, the piano exploding with power in the latter after a disarmingly impish opening. The Sonatine has a refined insouciance, while the love bestowed upon each note is clear. Then there are the numerous moments of sustained control, such as the shimmering opening pages of Gaspard. Sometimes changes of spirit occur effortlessly within a piece. Having been a model of clarity in the ‘Prelude’ from Le tombeau, Osborne treats the codetta not as a brisk flourish, but as if this particular vision of the 18th century is dissolving beneath his fingers.

Although this is billed to Wes Montgomery, it is in fact a combination of two early-'60s LPs by the Montgomery Brothers – The Montgomery Brothers and The Montgomery Brothers in Canada – onto one disc. (Also note that it's almost entirely different from the Montgomery Brothers' Milestone double LP that also bears the name Groove Brothers, which mostly features material from their Riverside LP Groove Yard.) With Wes on guitar, Monk on bass, and Buddy on piano (Larance Marable fills out the quartet on drums), The Montgomery Brothers (1960) is a boppish set of five lengthy tracks, divided between both originals (penned by either Wes or Buddy) and standards. "June in January" is a particularly good vehicle for Wes' fluid single-note runs, while "D-Natural Blues" is one of his more enduring and good-natured compositions from the period. Buddy Montgomery, who often played the piano with the Montgomery Brothers, sticks exclusively to vibes on The Montgomery Brothers in Canada, which in addition to Wes and Monk has Paul Humphrey on drums.

"La Gloria, Roma e Valore" by Giovanni Lorenzo Lulier (1662 -1700) is a solemn cantata for the inauguration of the new Venetian ambassador in Rome. Whoever thought that this is only ephemeral baroque music, is wrong: Often the composers showed what they were able to do, because unlike for example in the Opera House, in the audience were musical experts and potential constituents. The protégé of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni has really created a small musical jewel, which was convincingly recorded by Fabio Missaggia and I Musicali Affetti.

Another installment in Collectables' The Ultimate Christmas Album series, volume four gathers a mix of well-known and offbeat holiday tunes, including Elvis Presley's "Blue Christmas," the Platters' "Winter Wonderland," and Perry Como's "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas." Brook Benton's "You're All I Want for Christmas," Percy Faith's "Christmas Is," and Otis Redding's "Merry Christmas Baby" are some of the collection's soulful highlights, while Santo & Johnny's "Twistin' Bells" and Stan Freberg's "Christmas Dragnet" add some novelty to the festivities. Though it's a somewhat uneven collection, The Ultimate Christmas Album, Vol. 4: WCBS 101.1 has enough interesting and classic moments to make it worthwhile for anyone looking to go beyond the season's basic music.