On this 1996 recording, improbably the first to ever feature him leading a big band, the inimitable Joe Henderson assembled nine compositions (seven of which were self-penned) and a topnotch band for a very interesting record. Volumes have been written about Henderson as a soloist but, on Big Band, even the longest-term Henderson fan gets to hear his prodigious skills as a big band arranger for the first time. Influenced by Bill Holman and Bill Russo as much as by classical composers Igor Stravinsky and Bela Bartok, his charts are cool and sophisticated. Of course, Henderson's cause is helped by the absolutely unquestioned majesty of the core material, as well as a fine batch of co-soloists, including Chick Corea, Christian McBride, and Freddie Hubbard…

The Argentinian ensemble MIA (an abbreviation of Musicos Independientes Asociados) was a project based around composer and keyboardist Lito Vitale, which had its main activity between 1974 and 1980. Friends and acquaintances came and went in the different versions of this ongoing project until it fell apart in 1980, although new material was made under that moniker for a few more years. "Archivos MIA (1974-1985) chronicles the musical history and heritage of this project on two discs, containing quite a lot of material is previously unreleased.
"Archivos MIA" comes across as a production seeking to satisfy two different audiences. Those unfamiliar with this ensemble will receive a good overview of the scope of their repertoire on the first of these CDs, while existing fans most likely will find the second one most intriguing due to the unreleased material that makes up this CD…

Still Alive and Well proved to the record-buying public that Johnny Winter was both. This is a truly enjoyable album, chock-full of great tunes played well. Johnny's version of the Rolling Stones' "Silver Train" revealed the potential of this song and what the Stones failed to capture. Everything here is good, so get it and dig in.

The Hungarian Failoni chamber orchestra was established in 1981. On this CD and its companion volume they give their interpretations of a representative sample of Vivaldi's oboe concertos (Vivaldi wrote about 20 concertos for oboe and strings, several more for two oboes and strings, in addition to concertos where oboe is combined with other solistic instruments). On volume one, three of the concertos are scored for two oboes. As with most other Naxos recordings of Vivaldi's concertos, the interpretations are lively and musical. Some of the concertos demand virtuosic skills from the players, which the two oboists here, Stefan Chilli and Diethelm Jonas, are able to fulfil with flags wawing.

Ilya Kaler is a Russian virtuoso, a pupil of Leonid Kogan. He's a first-rate fiddler and an excellent musician. Paganini's once fiendish pyrotechnics hold no terrors for him, not even the whistling harmonics, and how nicely he can turn an Italianate lyrical phrase, as in the secondary theme of the first movement of the First Concerto. Then he can set off with panache into a flying staccato, bouncing his bow neatly on the strings when articulating the delicious spiccato finales of both works. Stephen Gunzenhauser launches into the opening movements with plenty of energy and aplomb and is a sympathetic accompanist throughout.

The music of contemporary Lithuanian composer Peteris Vasks has a reputation for depicting nature, a grand tradition in the northern countries, and for creating structure that examine the relationship between nature and human culture. One might also add that from the evidence of the music here, which dates from between 1972 and 2011, Vasks is one of the few composers, in the Baltics or anywhere else, to succeed in gradually moving in the direction of tonal music without a sharp shift in direction. That's a testament to the strength of his musical personality.

As the follow-up album to Oxygene, Equinoxe offers the same mesmerizing affect, with rapid spinning sequencer washes and bubbling synthesizer portions all lilting back and forth to stardust scatterings of electronic pastiches. Using more than 13 different types of synthesizers, Jarre combines whirling soundscapes of multi-textured effects, passages, and sometimes suites to culminate interesting electronic atmospheres. Never repeating the same sounds twice, it is obvious that the science fiction hype of the late '70s played a large part in the making of this album. Computerized rhythms and keyboard-soaked transitions scurry by, replaced by even quicker, more illustrious ones soon after. There is always a pulsating beat or a fluttering tempo happening somewhere in each of the tracks, which are titled as a numbered sequence one to eight…