Madeleine Peyroux's fourth album isn't the normal mix of standards (contemporary or traditional) with a few songs of her own composing; each of the 11 tracks is a new song written by Peyroux, usually in tandem with producer Larry Klein or a guest. Still, she appears in her usual relaxed setting, with a small group perfectly poised to translate her languorous vocals into perfect accompaniment – organist Larry Goldings, pianist Jim Beard, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, plus producer Klein on bass, Dean Parks on guitar, and Carla Kihlstedt on violin. Fans of vocal jazz may be disappointed to see that all the songs are new ones – many a great conversation could consist solely of the standards she should perform – but they may regret the disappointment.

Shakespeare's illustrious prose is inextricably linked with the music that was performed in his plays. The Bard frequently directed his characters to burst into song, cannily catering to the vast audiences who flocked to the Globe Theatre, expecting to enjoy the popular melodies of the day that were interwoven throughout the narrative. English novelist and biographer Peter Ackroyd remarked, "It can be argued that Shakespeare was the first dramatist to make song an integral part of the drama and can thus be seen as the begetter of the musical theatre."

Laura Lootens’s first collaboration with naïve, ‘Diabolico’ leads us into a world of strange tales and pacts with the devil and other ghostly apparitions which actually form the core of a magnificent journey in sound, covering an extremely varied range of styles. A soothingly tranquil introduction, the opening movement of The Devil’s Trill Sonata of Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770) here serves as a prelude to the transformations of the last of Paganini's Caprices, the supreme incarnation in music of the devil, composed by George Rochberg (1918–2005).

Since his student days, the German-Taiwanese pianist Marcel Mok has hardly studied any other work as frequently and intensively as Bach's Goldberg Variations BWV 988. It was therefore only logical not only to conclude his studies with this variation cycle, but also to make his recording debut with it. The result of this exploration absolutely proves him right!

This is a programme that powerfully demonstrates the musical potential of the small. Whilst none of the pieces before us are technically miniatures, all are quite modest in their length: from descriptive piano pieces to short movements, to a sonata that wasn’t even billed as a sonata, so peculiar did its constituent parts appear. And yet in all cases, we hear more than the sum of these modest parts, thanks to the brilliance and imagination of their creators.

Pianist, vocalist, and composer Dawn Clement has proven to be a joyful and formidable force in modern creative music through her work with Jane Ira Bloom, säje, Matt Wilson, Ron Miles, Julian Priester and many others over the last two decades. With Delight, she forms a captivating, tri-generational unit with legendary bassist Buster Williams and the singular drummer Matt Wilson, and creates a soulful, endlessly dynamic recording of mostly original compositions. Torchbearers of the tradition while trailblazers in evocative & surprising sonic explorations, Delight describes not just their gathering, but also the resultant music created - inspired, original and resplendent.

Latest release from Danish saxophonist Hans Ulrik.