"Egberto Gismonti’s first new ECM recording in 14 years is a double-album that indicates the range of his artistry. Disc one features Gismonti the composer on a 70-minute journey through Brazil: “Sertões Veredas – tribute to miscegenation”. It is a work that takes account of Brazil’s culture and history, landscapes and cityscapes, vividly evoked by Cuba’s all-women orchestra the Camerta Romeu, under the leadership of Zenaida Romeu. Disc two features Gismonti the guitarist in an exciting duo recital with his similarly-gifted son Alexandre, romping through a programme that includes such well-known pieces as “Zig Zag”, “Lundú” and “Dança dos Escravos”.

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band was one of the most original musical ensembles of the disco era. They were formed in the Bronx in 1974 by Stony Browder, Jr. (b. 1949), his brother August Darnell (born Thomas Browder, 1951), singer Cory Daye (b. 1952), Andy Hernandez (b. 1950), and Mickey Sevilla (b. 1953). The concept of the group was the re-creation of a '30s dance band, à la Cab Calloway, with witty lyrics and a disco beat. All of this was in evidence on their debut album, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, released in 1976.

TWhen the legendary Venetian Teatro La Fenice, which had been completely destroyed by fire in 1996, rose like a phoenix from the ashes again, its rebirth was celebrated with Verdi’s La Traviata, an opera that had seen its première more than 150 years earlier in the same theatre. Led by star conductor Lorin Maazel, a cast of brilliant singer-actors brought an exact replica of the March 1853 version to the stage, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the opera as the world first heard at its premiere in Venice. The original score had been found in the archives of La Fenice, so that La Traviata could relive its premiere without any revisions. The great Violetta-Germont duet, the second act finale and the opera’s last two numbers resounded through the theatre in just the way that Verdi initially intended.

In early 2013 !!! released one of their best albums, Thr!!!er, then followed it up in November with an EP collection of remixes of songs from the record and a previously unreleased song, too. They chose remixers who came back with a wide range of sounds. Maurice Fulton throws funky disco dust on top of "One Girl/One Boy," Anthony Naples revamps "Californiyeah" as experimental techno, and Patrick Ford ropes in rappers Main Attrakionz on his version of "Californiyeah" that takes !!! to uncharted waters. The song that wasn't on the album, "Broadway (Gimme the Lights On)," is a typically rubbery dance track that's given a fun redo by Jim Eno of Spoon and a pounding hip-house makeover by Romare. While none of the versions eclipse the originals, it's a nice addition to Thr!!!er that might supply a song or two to your next dance party mix.

Two great albums from Coffee – back to back, and with a bonus track too! First up is Slippin & Dippin – work by a wonderful female soul trio from the Chicago scene of the 70s – and one we'd stand strongly next to the best gal groups from the Philly or New York scenes! In fact, Coffee were a bit unique in the city – which mostly had male groups getting the record contracts during the decade – and they're given strong soul focus here by Clarence Johnson, the indie soul producer who'd given the city so much other great music over the years!

This disc, released with the help of Castle Music U.K. in 2000, compiles all of Rasputin Stash's Gemigo-era material and adds some previously unreleased material to sweeten the deal. The group featured experienced session musicians who knew how to lay down some loose soul/funk in the vein of early Kool & the Gang, the Meters, and the J.B.'s, while remaining true to their Chicago roots. The lyrical content is limited to getting high and making love, but there's plenty within the grooves – full of slick keyboard work, down-and-dirty basslines, nimble percussion, and the occasional accent of strings – to keep the mind from wandering. Devout fans of all things '70s Chicago would no doubt enjoy this.

“The Realms of Fire and Death” is a concept album with a strong story-telling, metaphors and symbols. It is divided into three major parts, each consisting of 3 songs. Each part outlines a separate story, bringing the themes of fire and death from different perspectives. Musically, “The Realms of Fire and Death” is a modern-sounding metal album, featuring the dynamics of shifting from lighter to more brutal parts, and yet, preserving the melodic side of it. While earlier the band was working towards a symphonic direction, the melodic side in the new album is executed through various synths and electronic sounds.

After releasing a couple of albums since their 2011 reunion, Confusional Quartet is back again with an extraordinary new project; a brand new release featuring the voice of the great late Demetrio Stratos, the legendary lead singer of Area - International Popular Group. At the tail end of the seventies, the Bologna based Confusional Quartet represented one of the finest examples of the Italian new wave scene. A complex and energetic mixture between experimental rock, jazz and fresh sounds resulting from the use of new technologies.

In the latter half of the '90s, Phil Collins' career hit a bit of a sales slump, and instead of shamelessly chasing after another number one single, he decided to change pace and try something different. Returning to the drums, he assembled the Phil Collins Big Band, reviving the sound of such idols as Buddy Rich and Sonny Payne, but largely sticking with his original material. After a brief European tour in 1996 (which happened to feature Quincy Jones as conductor and Tony Bennett as vocalist), he created a new version of the band featuring several accomplished jazz and studio musicians in support – notably alto saxophonist Gerald Albright, but also guitarist Daryl Stuermer, tenor saxophonist James Carter, and pianists George Duke and Brad Cole, among many others, in varying roles.

Mambo Sinuendo is a collaboration between Ry Cooder and Buena Vista alum (and formerly of many other groups as well) Manuel Galban. The album attempts to catch an old style popularized in Cuba by Galban, and was, surprisingly, never followed up on by anybody after Galban. It's a guitar-based romp closely based in the pop/jazz crossovers of the 1950s-1960s (Henry Mancini, Nelson Riddle, etc). There's a touch of exoticism here and there, and a larger touch of a relatively Hawaiian feel throughout the whole via the guitar techniques employed by the pair. It's all somewhere in a form between lounge, mambo, and Esquivel's old space-age-bachelor-pad music. In rare instances, there's even a little bit of a house drum loop added in by the percussionists.

Ian Venables studied composition with Richard Arnell at Trinity College of Music, London and later with John Joubert, Andrew Downes and John Mayer at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. His works encompass many genres and he has added significantly to the canon of English art song. Described as “Britain’s greatest living composer of art song” (Musical Opinion) and “a song composer as fine as Finzi and Gurney” (BBC Music Magazine), Ian Venables has written over 80 works in this genre, including nine song-cycles.As the title suggests, the works on this disc are predominantly reflective in mood, although this does not preclude the use of faster-moving music whenever the poetry requires it.

“Avenging Angel” is Craig Taborn’s distinguished contribution to the great solo piano tradition at ECM, a powerful, purposeful and rigorous album, which rises to the challenges of the format and transcends them. The disc explores the textural dimensions of sound, builds new structures, uncovers a rugged lyricism. Recorded in the optimal acoustics of the recital room at Lugano’s Studio RSI, with Manfred Eicher producing, it’s Taborn’s first disc under his own name for ECM, following on from inspired sessions with Roscoe Mitchell, Evan Parker, David Torn and Michael Formanek.

The inspired pairing of guitarist Dusan Jevtovic and pianist Vasil Hadzimanov, mobilized by the convincing playing of Asaf Sirkis on drum kit, has resulted in a sound that cross-pollinates the most forward thinking aspects of progressive music with the excitement of post-jazz. Think ECM record label vibe filtered through Radiohead played at an intimate after-hours jazz venue and you’ll catch the vibe. Choosing to work without a bass player opens new dynamic possibilities and allows the guitar and keyboard voicing to dance and weave in a textural ballet. Vasil’s beautiful arpeggiated piano serves as delicate counterpoint to Dusan’s raw textured playing. Asaf alternates between the delicacy of Jon Christensen and the driving power of vintage Billy Cobham…

SimpleMinds Rejuvenation 2001-2014 – 7CD + DVD set is released on the 29th March 2019. Includes the albums Neon Lights (2001), Cry (2002), Black & White 050505 (2005), Graffiti Soul (2009) and Big Music (2014), plus twenty four bonus tracks.

Although Albéric Magnard’s oeuvre is relatively small, the uncompromising perfectionism with which he worked created a catalogue that is filled with expansive, complex and beautifully crafted music. Composed while he was still a student of Vincent d’Indy, the Suite d’orchestre dans le style ancien follows 18th-century models and is simultaneously solemn and joyful in mood, while the Chant funèbre is seen as his first true masterpiece. The importance of justice in Magnard’s life is expressed in the Hymne à la justice, while the Hymne à Vénus reflects every aspect of love, from tenderness to elation. This new release continues the Magnard’s symphonies recorded by the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestraunder Fabrice Bollon. The Third and Fourth Symphonies was released in September 2019 (8.574082), in which ClassicsToday.com commented: ‘Bollon delivers confident, flowing performances that fully encompass the music’s wide-ranging expressive vocabulary, from the haunting modal opening of the Third Symphony, to an amazing clean and clear fugal development in the finale of the Fourth. He and the Freiburg orchestral clearly enjoy the rustic charm of the two scherzos, while the profound lyricism of the slow movements emerges naturally and songfully, without dragging.’ The First and Second Symphonies were released on January 2020 (8.574083).