'Across The Universe' is a homage to The Beatles and their influence on generations of musicians and music lovers all over the world. You will enjoy the instantly recognizable Beatles melodies blended into the elaborated and unique style of one of the greatest jazz guitarists of our time. These recordings not only are means to pay tribute to the Beatles, whom Di Meola had admired since his teenage years, but also go back in time and capture all the moments that define him today as a man and guitarist who inspired generations of musicians. Di Meola invites his audience to accompany him on his very personal musical journey throughout his life. A life that has been accompanied by iconic Beatles songs like 'Hey Jude', 'Here Comes The Sun', 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Yesterday'. 'Across The Universe' is a musical retrospective of Al Di Meola’s life, his music and his unique career of almost five decades.

Live at the Philharmonie was the Dave Pike Set's third record for MPS in the year 1969 alone; Noisy Silence-Gentle Noise (MPS 15215) and the stellar Four Reasons (MPS 15253) preceded it. One of the most interesting ideas about this amazing set of music concerns the notorious circumstances under which it was recorded, at the 1969 Berlin Jazz Days festival. The reason for this is the year itself: Miles Davis and his group had brought their fiery brand of electricity to jazz and its reverberations were being heard the world over. At the same time, prog rock and Krautrock were making their heads (considered ugly by jazz purists) known in the guises of Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, and Faust. Add to this Charlie Mariano's great band, the new hip embracing of rock culture by the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass, and any number of other groups, and Berlin was in a state of tension. The wild thing is, everybody agreed on Pike's group – it was the bridge between the jazz tradition, what was transpiring, and what was to come.

Remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision. Larry Coryell is one of the greatest guitarists ever to walk the face of the earth, but he remains somewhat underappreciated—witness the fact that this, his second solo album, has never been released on CD until this Real Gone reissue! 1969’s Coryell offers an intriguing blend of improvised and arranged pieces, with an all-star cast that includes Ron Carter, Bernard Purdie, Albert Stinson (“The Jam with Albert” is perhaps the highlight of the entire album), Chuck Rainey, and Free Spirits bandmate Jim Pepper. Jimi Hendrix is definitely an influence on this jazz-rock gem, but Coryell takes his axe in directions only known to him; at this time, only John McLaughlin (with whom Coryell would shortly cut the one-off Spaces) could rival him in the fusion field.

Sorcerer, the third album by the second Miles Davis Quintet, is in a sense a transitional album, a quiet, subdued affair that rarely blows hot, choosing to explore cerebral tonal colorings. Even when the tempo picks up, as it does on the title track, there's little of the dense, manic energy on Miles Smiles – this is about subtle shadings, even when the compositions are as memorable as Tony Williams' "Pee Wee" or Herbie Hancock's "Sorcerer." As such, it's a little elusive, since it represents the deepening of the band's music as they choose to explore different territory. The emphasis is as much on complex, interweaving chords and a coolly relaxed sound as it is on sheer improvisation, though each member tears off thoroughly compelling solos. Still, the individual flights aren't placed at the forefront the way they were on the two predecessors – it all merges together, pointing toward the dense soundscapes of Miles' later '60s work.

Beginning in November of 2008, Songtone introduced the Bill Frisell Live Download Series. This is a release of select live performance recordings direct from the soundboard.

A rare live recording of Miles Davis performing with his septet in 1971 will finally be released this summer by Sleepy Night Records. The Lost Septet is the second release in the record label’s trilogy of previously unheard Miles Davis recordings that began last year with The Lost Quintet. Captured at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, The Lost Septet features Davis accompanied by Gary Bartz, Keith Jarrett, Michael Henderson, Ndugu Leon Chancler, James Mtume Foreman and Charles Don Alias. Davis toured Europe with this septet in 1971 — during his controversial, rock-oriented fusion era — but he never recorded with them in a studio. This concert was only previously broadcast on the radio.

Peripheral Vision is one of the most exciting and innovative jazz quartets to have recently appeared on the international jazz scene. Based in Toronto, the creative leaders of the group are long time musical collaborators, guitarist Don Scott and bassist Michael Herring. They have assembled a synergistic musical unit designed to push the boundaries of jazz while engaging the listener with a grooving, toe-tapping immediacy. Their distinctive musical voice bridges tradition and innovation, with deeply felt influences ranging from jazz, rock, classical, and improv, with a focus on dynamic group interaction. Sheer Tyranny Of Will - nominated for 2016 JUNO Award for Jazz Album of the Year: Group. Fearlessly creative Canadian jazz quartet, Peripheral Vision is launching their third album, Sheer Tyranny Of Will on September 23rd, 2014.

If ever anybody deserved a two-disc anthology of his offerings as a solo artist it's fusion drummer Billy Cobham. After making his stellar debut with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham made eight records for Atlantic from 1973-1978. To varying degrees, these recordings were true statements on the state of jazz-rock fusion. Many blame Cobham for being a member of the technical-expertise-is-everything school, and to a degree it may be true. But the tracks collected here by Barry Benson and Nick Sahakian provide evidence of something else entirely: that along with technical expertise in spades, Cobham had soul, groove, and a handle on how powerful rock & roll could contribute to jazz improvisation if harnessed in the right way. And every single track on these two discs does exactly that and more.

Spyro Gyra returns with first new album in 6 years. Inventive jazz covers of vinyl-era pop favorites…

Ben Sidran first came to public attention as a sideman on one of the early Steve Miller Band albums in the late Sixties. His keyboard stylings and flare suggested a background in jazz/rock fusion. His debut album, "Feel Your Groove" (also available on a Japanese Import CD) included a wealth of celebrated English and American talent including drummer Charlie Watts, but still did not deliver fully what Ben Sidran seemed to promise. This, his second album, was recorded after he resettled in Madison, Wisconsin (a.k.a. "Mad-City," then the Berkeley of the Midwest)and it showcased Ben Sidran's writing and performing in great form. It is quintessential Sidran, with stylings reminiscent but not imitative of his idol Mose Allison, and tunes that have held up extraordinarily well over the past three decades. This was Ben Sidran's true break-through LP, although best known to a relatively small group of FM alternative radio fanatics.

To commemorate the 10th year since the passing of esteemed British jazz composer, bassist and bandleader Graham Collier, My Only Desire Records presents this 1975 recording of his previously unreleased suite 'British Conversations'.

If you wonder (a) why Barretto suddenly has such a hot band, (b) what the two hokey Mexicali cuts are doing mixed in with all the other fine stuff, and © why there are zippo notes, one explanation fits all. This CD, copyright 1994, is a re-release of one of Barretto's long-lost 1960s United Artists recordings. But the music is terrific: a hell of a swing, great solo trumpet.