Around this time in their heyday, the Crusaders were experimenting with orchestral/jazz fusions in concert – and MCA thought enough of them to capture the music in London's Royal Festival Hall one fine summer. Crusader pianist/sparkplug Joe Sample evidently arranged and orchestrated all of the Royal Philharmonic's parts himself, not necessarily with the expertise of a full-time practitioner of the craft. Too often, the orchestrations are piled on with a shovel; the orchestral "Overture" is a particularly mawkish piece of work.

Recently hailed by Down Beat as “one of the visionaries of the current wave”, Craig Taborn has a unique perspective on creative music-making. Just as Avenging Angel subverted expectations of solo improvised piano, so does “Chants” find its own response to the vast tradition of the piano trio. The pieces that Taborn has been writing for the band in the eight years of its existence are set up to generate a new group music by channelling the special skills of drummer Gerald Cleaver and bassist Thomas Morgan.

Since the advent of acid jazz in the mid-'80s, the many electronic-jazz hybrids to come down the pipe have steadily grown more mature, closer to a balanced fusion that borrows the spontaneity and emphasis on group interaction of classic jazz while still emphasizing the groove and elastic sound of electronic music. For his second album, French producer Ludovic Navarre expanded the possibilities of his template for jazzy house by recruiting a sextet of musicians to solo over his earthy productions.

Newly remastered onto 12 CD's and in wonderful, refreshed sound for this 2013 release in honor of Wagner's 200th birthday, this cycle, recorded live in Bayreuth during 1966 and 1967, remains one of the greatest "Rings" on record. Legendary singers Theo Adam as Wotan, James King as Siegmund, Leonie Rysanek as Sieglinde, Thomas Stewart as Gunther, Wolfgang Windgassen as Siegfried, and Birgit Nilsson as Brühnnhilde lead an outstanding cast in this fast-moving and dramatic reading led by expert conductor Karl Böhm.

Black Oath were formed in 2006 by A. Th (vocals, bass, guitar) with the intention to perform obscure and dark heavy metal, inspired by the traditional masters like Ozzy Osbourne, Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Celtic Frost and Venom. Being Italian, A. Th was also influenced by home grown acts such as Black Hole, Death SS, Paul Chain, Goblin and prog rock, too. Black Oath released various EPs, cassettes and are now ready to unleash their fourth album »Behold The Abysss« via High Roller Records. "It's our best album so far," comments A. Th. "We were very proud of »To Below And Beyond« and couldn't be sure to make a better album. But we did. It contains all our influences and the prog influences show more than ever before. It's like old Ozzy playing with Goblin/PFM."

Danish thrash metal veterans ARTILLERY will release their ninth studio album, "The Face Of Fear", on November 16 via Metal Blade. The follow-up to 2016's "Penalty By Perception" is ARTILLERY's third effort with the current lineup. ARTILLERY comments about the video for "The Face Of Fear": "Most of the scenes for the video were shot at Amager strand park right outside of Copenhagen. And the live scenes go back to when the band visited Japan and played at the Thrash Dominations together with EXODUS, VOIVOD and SANCTUARY. The video was shot by the band's good friend Terkel Christensen, who also did the video 'When The Magic is Gone', from the last album, 'Penalty By Perception'. The song is about dealing the end of man by himself. We create our own phobia about the destruction of the world, but remain disrespectful to the globe."

TQ, a veteran singer from Southern California who made her debut Italo Disco singing career in November 2012.

After 2 album releases, Methexis, a "loose ends" band formed around prog-rock mogul Nikitas Kissonas (ex-Verbal Delirium, ex-Yianneis), have done it again. 'Topos', their third studio album, is going to make any serious art-rock lover melt with joy. Two side-long tracks that recall the finest from the past, still carrying some timeless quality that make Methexis one of the finest exponents of the art of progressive rock.

Viele der bekanntesten Melodien von Johann Sebastian Bach stammen aus den ausdruckstarken langsamen Sätzen seiner Konzerte, Suiten und Sonaten. Aus Anlass von "330 Jahre Bach" erscheint nun die Doppel-CD Bach Adagio. Sie lädt dazu ein, Ruhezonen im Alltag zu entdecken und sie zur Entschleunigung zu nutzen. Die reichen Klangwelten, die der Barock-Meister erschuf, animieren zum Träumen und Entspannen. Mit den renommierten Bach-Interpreten wie John Eliot Gardiner, András Schiff, Friedrich Gulda, Albrecht Mayer, Janine Jansen, Riccardo Chailly, Christopher Hogwood und vielen mehr.