Previously unheard Ra culled from the archives and compiled based on their association to that children's film corporation with the cartoon rodent.

Having nearly upstaged Obama at his own inauguration not so much with her performance, but with her rather spectacular church lady crown, I was suddenly inspired to take a listen to Her Soulful Highness's much maligned 1979 'disco' album, "La Diva." After signing with Atlantic and subsequently going from strength to strength in the late 60's and early 70's; not unlike some of her contemporaries, the mid/late 70's and the onslaught of disco found Aretha in a commercial slump of sorts (the Sparkle soundtrack with Curtis Mayfield being a notable exception). Having the dubious distinction of being one of her most, if not the most ill-received album she's ever released, "La Diva" was the first of her Atlantic studio albums to miss the Billboard top 100 altogether, and to this day, with barely any critics out there having anything good to say about it, it has ultimately gone down as one of the undisputed low-points in her career.

Freedom Weaver: The 1959 European Tour Recordings is the first official release of the 'Saxophone Colossus' Sonny Rollins’ European tour in 1959 with bassist Henry Grimes, and drummers Pete La Roca, Kenny Clarke and Joe Harris. Available previously only as a bootleg release, this is the first official release in cooperation with Sonny Rollins and released as a 3-CD set. Mastered by the legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman.

The trombonist, in a musical search for the organic origins of life, explore ancestral rhythms and sounds through electro-acoustic landscapes shaped by his modular synth. Rooted in jazz and Middle-Eastern scales, MŸA revolves around the wordless vocals of the band members and guest singers Lynn Adib and Natacha Atlas.’

On Sinister Grift, Panda Bear’s first solo album in five years, Noah Lennox has returned with another statement that feels equally cumulative and unprecedented in his catalog. While his solo records have ranged from starkly intimate expressions of grief to colorful, electronic opuses, his music has never before sounded so warm and immediate. Working in his Lisbon, Portugal home studio with Animal Collective bandmate Josh “Deakin” Dibb, Lennox transforms Panda Bear into something resembling an old-school rock ensemble, playing nearly all the instruments himself and inviting kindred spirits into the process such as Cindy Lee, Spirit of the Beehive’s Rivka Ravede, and - for the first time on a Panda Bear solo album - each of his Animal Collective bandmates.

This third CD from the dynamic piano trio of Brian Marsella, Jorge Roeder, and Ches Smith is a delightful surprise–and one of Zorn's greatest achievements. Exploring a wide variety of tempi, moods, and feelings the compositions dive deeply into the parameters of melody, harmony, hythm, and texture, stretching the ballade format to its limits and beyond. The trio, three essential members of Zorn's inner circle, performs with passion, imagination, virtuosity, and a telepathic improvisational interplay at the very highest level. A stunning collection of modern Ballades performed by three of the greatest young musicians in the Downtown scene. Essential!

This is an excellent 2-CD compilation, totaling 26 tracks, of Gil Scott-Heron's "Glory Years", covering the period from 1974 to 1982. One could nitpick about favorite songs that were left off, but looking over the selection included, it's hard to fault these fine choices. This is prime-time Gil Scott-Heron, one of the music world's true legends.

This is a farewell to the fourth generation of CASIOPEA and their extraordinaire keyboardist-organist Kiyomi Otaka. Enjoy her final (for now at least) concert with fusion's finest!

Set at the fictional college campus Parnassus University, the songs on The Scholars are populated with students and staff whose travails illuminate a loose narrative of life, death, and rebirth. Inspired by an apocryphal poem by "Archbishop Guillermo Guadalupe del Toledo," and featuring character designs from Toledo’s friend, the cartoonist Cate Wurtz, the first half of the album focuses on the deep yearning and spiritual crisis of the titular Scholars. They range from the tortured and doubt-filled young playwright Beolco to Devereaux, a person born to religious conservatives who finds themselves desperate for higher guidance. The second part features a series of epics detailing the clash between the defenders of the classic texts “and the young person who doesn't care about the canon, who is going to tear all of that up, basically,” Toledo says.

Composed of 10 new tracks and clocking in at 42 minutes, Pink Elephant is produced by Win Butler, Régine Chassagne and Daniel Lanois. When experienced in its entirety, Pink Elephant invites the listener on a sonic odyssey – a quest for life – that exists within the perception of the individual, a meditation on both darkness and light, the beauty within. The layers of this condensed epic unfold to reveal new dimensions with each successive listen.

"Les Sonates du Rosaire" forment l'un des cycles les plus originaux jamais composés pour le violon et qui fit la célébrité de Biber jusqu'à nos jours. Utilisant un accord du violon différent (scordatura) dans chacune de ses 15 sonates - toutes interprétées sur le même instrument d'Amati -, ce cycle représente le sommet de l'invention baroque et du style virtuose du XVIIe siècle. Distingué par un Gramophone Award, le duo Andrew Manze - Richard Egarr relève ce défi de manière éblouissante. Andrew Manze joue sur un violon Amati, 1700 ; archet de Gerhard Landwehr, Heemstede, 1988 d'après un modèle italien. Ce titre est paru pour la première fois en 2004.

In a Christmas album that is a gift itself, Jonas Kaufmann the most acclaimed operatic tenor of the age echoes his own holiday memories and joys with It s Christmas!, celebrating the most festive time of the year with a unique selection of beloved songs and carols. This uniquely rich and diverse holiday album features 40 favorites that reflect the many facets of Christmas, from ancient Christian hymns to contemporary pop classics.