Charles Lloyd has always led exceptional bands, and this is one of the finest. Following on from the live “Rabo de Nube” which won both the Readers and Critics Polls of Jazz Times, here is a studio album from the quartet with Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers and Eric Harland. Familiar material is reappraised and transformed in this session recorded in California in December 2009.

In 1976, bassist Charlie Haden recorded eight duets with musicians whom he admired; the results were originally released on two Horizon LPs as Closeness. In 1988, A&M reissued all of the music on a pair of CDs, titled Closeness" Duets. For this release, Haden is teamed with pianist Keith Jarrett, plays a memorable "O.C." with altoist Ornette Coleman, interprets a moody piece with harpist Alice Coltrane, and performs the highly political "For a Free Portugal" (which also utilizes excerpts from a record of Angolan music) with percussionist Paul Motian. Recommended, particularly due to the Ornette and Jarrett collaborations.

Charlie Hunter is the best kind of restless musician. Just about every new album brings another new ensemble and new possibilities. This time out, Hunter teams with drummer Bobby Previte (who he has recorded with extensively) and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes (who played on Hunter's 2003 album Right Now Move). Both players have been stalwarts of the N.Y.C. jazz scene since the late '70s but have played on any number of jazz, rock, and pop recordings. As players, they really know how to serve a song rather than put their imprint on it and Hunter takes full advantage with a really strong batch of tunes that play less like jazz and more like classic pop and soul tunes. They've got strong, catchy melodies, nice changes, and in-the-pocket grooves that can't be beat.

In their early days (1988-1990), Ricky Ross and his Deacon Blue bandmates (who all hail from Scotland) were one of the most prolific U.K. bands scaling the top of the European music charts. Early copies of their 1988 debut album Raintown contained Riches and More, a bonus CD featuring an album's worth of B-sides and other tracks that didn't make it on to the mother album. Although their 1989 follow-up, When the World Knows Your Name, did not feature a bonus disc, this 1990 two-disc release more than makes up for it. Containing almost two dozen non-album B-sides, soundtrack recordings and unreleased tracks (and no songs from Riches and More), this may be too much Deacon Blue for the average person, but is an absolute treasure trove for those smitten with the band since the debut album.

This release of Bach's well-explored violin concertos (plus a couple of arranged keyboard concertos) by Italian violinist Giuliano Carmignola delivers truth in advertising on its back cover: the violinist, playing a 1739 Guidantus and leading the historical-instrument ensemble Concerto Köln, "seems to cast fresh light on these much-loved masterpieces by imbuing them with all the joyfulness of his Venetian sound."

ELO Part II were an offshoot band formed by Electric Light Orchestra drummer Bev Bevan. The band also included former ELO bassist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and violinist Mik Kaminski for most of its career. After Bevan left the band in 2000 he sold back the rights of the Electric Light Orchestra name to Jeff Lynne and the band continued on as The Orchestra. This album recorded live in Australia.

This LP starts off with one of the underrated gems of the 1960s, an exciting match-up of tenors Sonny Stitt and Paul Gonsalves. Other than the brief throwaway "Theme from Lord of the Flies" (producer Bob Thiele's idea), this is very much a jam session, with "Salt and Pepper" being a heated midtempo blues and the two competitive tenors stretching out on "S'posin'" and a lengthy "Perdido." Actually, the most memorable selection from the date is the one on which Stitt switches to alto, "Stardust." His beautiful playing behind Gonsalves' warm melody statement raises the session to the classic level.

Britten‘s War Requiem: 50th anniversary in Coventry. 2012 brings the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Britten‘s War Requiem, one of the most powerful pacifist statements in music. The first performance took place in 1962 in the newly consecrated Coventry Cathedral, built alongside the ruins of the old cathedral, left as a sombre reminder of the wartime bombings. On 30 May 2012, 50 years to the day, Britten‘s masterpiece returns to the cathedral, performed as at the premiere by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and vocal soloists from three once warring nations. The anniversary performance is conducted by the CBSO‘s Music Director, Andris Nelsons, featuring the Canadian soprano Erin Wall, English tenor Mark Padmore singing the role written for Peter Pears, and German baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann.