In the Pierre Boulez Saal Opening Concert, Daniel Barenboim, the Boulez Ensemble and renowned soloists are celebrating the idea of what this new concert hall of the Barenboim Said-Academy in Berlin stands for: to create a space where beloved classics, modern masterworks of the early 20th century, and music of our time can be heard side by side and inspire audiences and performers alike.

The Way Up is the Pat Metheny Group's debut offering for Nonesuch Records. Comprised of a single, sprawling, 68-minute composition by Metheny and Lyle Mays divided into four sections on CD it is an unprecedented new direction for the band. The lineup is the same as on the live Speak of Now from 2003 Metheny and Mays on keyboards, bassist Steve Rodby, drummer Antonio Sanchéz, and trumpeter/vocalist Cuong Vu. New to the roster is Swiss/American harmonicat Gregoire Maret.

Raoul Björkenheim's guitar playing is often described as a force of nature, the conventional traits usually associated with jazz or rock having given way to a more visceral, expressionistic approach to creating timbre and velocities. Experimenting with various tunings on 6 and 12 string guitars, Raoul makes full use of the subtleties offered by electronics and the deft touch of his fingers, creating startling textures that imitate everything from birds, opera singers or flutes to heavy industrial machines, string orchestras or butterfly wings. Constantly discovering new sonorities on his guitar, he has created a uniquely personal language which speaks to audiences all over the world through his concerts and recordings. Influenced at first by Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King, Raoul progressed gradually from Frank Zappa to John McLaughlin and John Coltrane, finding great inspiration in the highly charged expression of their music.

Florian Fricke's soundtracks always added a distinctive dimension to the films of Werner Herzog and that's especially true of his recordings for Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (starring Klaus Kinski as the most spectacularly grotesque Count Dracula ever). This CD brings together Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts and Nosferatu: Fantôme de la Nuit, two 1978 Popol Vuh albums containing material for Herzog's film. The director drew initially on the first of these records but subsequently asked Fricke for more music conveying fear and dread. In response, Fricke raided his archive of unused work – this was the origin of the second record. Featured prominently in the film, "Brüder des Schattens, Söhne des Lichts" moves from a spectral choral beginning to a lighter, almost pastoral conclusion with piano, guitar, and sitar, echoing the chiaroscuro dynamic of its title ("Brothers of Shadow, Sons of Light").

"A Brazilian Love Affair" is a labor of love, something I have believed in for a long time but have not had the means to bring to life until now. It is not a pure Brazilian recording bur rather a blend of Brazilian musical concepts with the diverse musical ideas of my mind. For most of the selections, I have intermixed Brazilian artists with American artists to archieve a true fusion of the styles. ~ George Duke

Landowska's custom made harpsichord was a giant beast, with a powerful, percussive sound and a variety of available registrations that she exploited to the maximum. She was trying to get the attention of people who had Rachmaninov in their ears, and today her playing would seem over the top if it weren't so intelligently put together. The Dances of Poland album is definitely an oddity, but the pulsing rhythmic power of Landowska's playing makes the music work surprisingly well. Hear the very first work on the album, Michal Kleofas Oginski's Polonaise No. 1 in A major, "Farewell to the Fatherland" – a rousing work that sounds like a predecessor of Chopin's "Revolutionary" Etude.

Eighteen albums into nearly a four-decade career finds blues-rocking guitar slinger Tinsley Ellis still growing as a recording artist, singer, and songwriter. In 2018 he returned home to Alligator Records after delivering four albums on his own Heartfixer label. The chart-topping set was met with Blues Music Association nominations for album of the year and artist of the year. Ice Cream in Hell was recorded in Nashville and co-produced by Ellis and longtime co producer/keyboardist Kevin McKendree. Its 11 originals were consciously inspired the examples of the three Kings: B.B., Albert, and Freddie, as well as Peter Green, Carlos Santana, and Hound Dog Taylor. This is one of the rawest-sounding records in his career…

“Justice Road” is a collection of eleven original songs that combines southern rock, the blues, and hard rock, with explosive guitar solos to tell the auto biographical story of singer/guitarist Mike Westcott. Mike's childhood, adolescence and young adulthood was spent entirely on a backdrop of music in Rockville, MD. The child of working musician parents, his muse and voice began with their passion for music. He spent countless hours spinning 45s and LPs from his parents record collection; listening to Rock, Soul, Country and Jazz and everything in between. Filled with music, he began collecting skills like bottlecaps; playing drums, piano, saxophone, bass and guitar, performing in jazz band, marching band, concert band, and orchestra simultaneously.

The House Jumpers bring you authentic up-tempo blues from America’s Heartland. The band’s great vocal melodies, big guitars, and jumpabilly grooves are designed for dancing. This album is true American music, combining jump blues and rockabilly flavors, by a powerful new band from USA. This music was born in American cities such as Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Kansas City. Early versions of jump blues featured horns, but well-known guitarists, such as T-Bone Walker, pioneered the addition of electric guitar to swing and jump music after WWII. Rockabilly music emerged during the same time through the marriage of rural country music to blues and swing rhythm.