Unlike many of his contemporaries, Georg Philipp Telemann was not born into a musical family. His parents, descendants of a line of Lutheran pastors, wanted him to pursue a brilliant academic career, and Telemann taught himself to play various instruments such as the violin, flute, zither, and harpsichord. He quickly demonstrated great musical talent and began composing his first pieces at the age of ten, often in secret and on borrowed instruments. At twelve, he composed his first opera, Sigismundus. To discourage him from pursuing a musical career, his mother confiscated all his instruments and sent him to boarding school. She probably didn't know that the superintendent was passionate about music and that he would suggest that Telemann compose motets for the church choir every week, as well as occasional arias…

Conversation Piece effectively amounts to an exhaustive documentation of David Bowie becoming David Bowie over the course of 1968 and 1969. The five-disc box - which is packaged in a handsome, hefty hardcover book - collects a series of home demos, many released in a series of limited-edition vinyl box sets over the course of 2019, plus two mixes of David Bowie (aka Space Oddity), the 1969 album that brought him into the public eye. Strictly speaking, there aren't many unheard tracks here. Everything from the Spying Through a Keyhole, Clareville Grove Demos, and The "Mercury" Demos sets are here, along with a brand-new mix of the Space Oddity album by Tony Visconti, one that restores "Conversation Piece" as part of its sequence. Setting aside the new mix of Space Oddity, that leaves 11 tracks out of 75 that are making their debut here…

It’s no secret that ‘Rapture of the Deep’ isn’t the first album that comes to mind when listing Deep Purple’s classics – and while it was met with interest at the time, it gradually faded from view. Despite solid sales, the album arrived during a period when there was little spotlight on the world of classic rock, and over the years, ‘Rapture of the Deep’ developed into an overlooked chapter in Deep Purple’s rich discography.

From all accounts, George Butler was indeed a "wild child." But he found time between the youthful shenanigans that inspired his mom to bestow his descriptive nickname to learn some harp basics at age 12.
George remained active throughout the 60's and from 1966 he performed mainly in Houston and New Orleans. He worked extensively with the late Cousin Joe Pleasant and Roosevelt Sykes in New Orleans and the great Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins in Houston. George appears as a sideman on a number of sides with Lightnin' Hopkins, the best known of which being the album on the Jewel label entitled "Talking Some Sense". He was next signed to a contract by the Mercury label; in fact George observes, "The record companies always wanted me to sign an exclusive contract, and their people always met me with a paper their hand"…

George Coleman's resume is the stuff of legend. He cut his jazz teeth alongside some giants of the art form, joining Max Roach's ensemble in the 1950s, the Miles Davis Quintet, along with the bands of Herbie Hancock, Chet Baker and Elvin Jones. Mention must also be made of his work as a leader, which has inspired literally generations of saxophonists. Even with such an all-inclusive career, Coleman is still full of surprises and here on his new recording he gives his audience something they've never heard from him before - his first recording backed by a string orchestra. If you're into jazz history, you know this kind of project has some serious roots. Think Charlie Parker's "With Strings," or Stan Getz's "Focus"-albums where sax players let their lyrical side shine through lush orchestral arrangements. Coleman Hawkins did it. Ben Webster, too.

Time Life Music’s Singers & Songwriters: Troubadours offers up 34 rock, folk, and pop cuts from the '60s and '70s. The two-disc set, which is part of Time Life’s Singers & Songwriters series, hits mostly high notes, covering everything from soft rock (Dan Fogelberg's “Longer”) to hippie folk (Scott McKenzie's “San Francisco [Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair]”) to classic rock radio staples (Peter Frampton's "Baby, I Love Your Way").

This contains straight-up reissues of two of T-Bone's Imperial albums, themselves merely collections of the original 78s. Everything on these 24 sides was recorded between 1950 and 1954 – not as trailblazing a period as the one from 1946 to 1947 on Black and White, but still prime T-Bone by any yardstick. The majority of these sides were cut in Los Angeles, with the exception of the New Orleans-recorded "I'm Still in Love With You" and the Windy City cut of "Bye Bye Baby." Loads of great T-Bone guitar and a cool West Coast sound to most everything on here make this an important addition to anyone's blues collection.