Guitarist, harmonica player, and whistler Toots Thielemans' followup to the critically acclaimed Brasil Project doesn't stray far from its predecessor's path. There are 13 nice Afro-Latin selections with Thielemans backing such top Brazilian vocalists as Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Caetano Veloso, and Dori Caymmi, among others, and guitarists Oscar Castro-Nieves and Lee Ritenour assisting Thielemans with delicate shadings and accompaniment.

Funk legend Maceo Parker is to release his first new studio album in 8 years. Soul Food - Cooking with Maceo will be released on 26 June, 2020 and will be the first album on the Mascot Label Group new imprint, The Funk Garage.

In addition, UMe has released Funky Nation: The Detroit Instrumentals, a group of 14 tracks that Gaye recorded in late summer and fall of 1971, after the initial release of What's Going On. Instead of touring in the wake of the album's success, Gaye cut funk and rock jams with a one-time-only band led by Motown's then-touring drummer Hamilton Bohannan: 17-year-old Ray Parker, Jr., Melvin Ragin, a.k.a. "Wah Wah Watson" (himself just 20) and Leroy Emmanuel of the Fabulous Counts (a relatively experienced 25-year-old) on guitars, and Michael Henderson, age 20, on bass. Gaye played keyboards and percussion. While a few tracks on Funky Nation had been issued across previous special releases, most of the tracks were newly issued on the What's Going On 40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition in 2011, and now for the first time they will be getting their own individual digital release.

Universally acknowledged as the greatest of all Russian operas, this is a faithful and often dazzling production of the standard Rimsky-Korsakov version taped ³live² at the Bolshoi in 1978. As Boris, the renowned Yevgeni Nesterenko is as justifiably identified with the role in his generation as Chaliapin, London and Kipness were in theirs. Nesterenko gives a remarkably vivid, human portrait of the tormented half-crazed Tsar, and is supported by a first rate ensemble in a richly designed and costumed production that represents opera at its grandest.

A classic Pascoal mix of fine Luso-jazz playing, elegant moments of more traditional modes (as in a pretty song with fine accordion), and various avant-gardisms, new wave-derived and more purely personal (Pascoal even samples Brazilian radio football commentators in a pair of less-than-a-minute cuts, drawing parallels between the music at hand and the announcers' narration of the games). Far more adventurous than Nascimentos and such, it still has a very solid base of excellent musicianship.

5 CDs including remastered original album, live, rare and unreleased recordings. Plus 20 page 12" x 12" booklet. CD 1 Original studio album, completely remastered. CD2 B-sides, outtakes and alternate Versions - 9 track collection. CD 3 and CD 4 Elevation Live From Boston, 19 track set. CD 5 11 remix singles including 4 previously unreleased. Plus 32 page hardback book by long-time U2 collaborator Anton Corbijn featuring previously unseen photos.

Although Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) found the Heartbreakers regaining their strength as a band and discovering a newfound ease at songcraft, it just didn't sell that well. Perhaps that factor, along with road fatigue, led Tom Petty to record his first solo album, Full Moon Fever…

At its core, Lomelda is a project about shyness – that it’s okay to feel it, how to embrace it, and laying it all out to be examined in its primary elements. Over the last few years, Hannah Read has sang about introversion in simple terms, and her latest album continues to showcase her no-fuss, contemplative songwriting. Fittingly named after herself, Hannah is taken straight from the mind of a wallflower, apprehensive and always low-key.

Recorded for a small French label soon after Simone relocated to Paris, Fodder On My Wings found the artist in a difficult period in her life. Not only was Simone feeling isolated in a new country, but her mental illness was worsening and her family life was fractured. However, she channelled her despair into writing some of her most powerful material, including ‘I Was Just A Stupid Dog To Them’ and the near-title-track, ‘Fodder In Her Wings’, which Pitchfork included in their roundup of Simone’s most iconic songs.

First released in 1961, Improvisations features some ahead-of-the-curve jazz-Indian fusion, thanks to Ravi Shankar's collaboration with bassist Gary Peacock and saxophonist Bud Shank. The album also includes Shankar's improvisations on the theme he wrote for the film "Pather Panchali," by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, as well as the three-part "Raga Rageshri." A visionary recording…

The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band will be releasing their first ever live concert video this winter. 'Straight To You: Live' will be released on 27th November via Provogue. It will be released on DVD+CD, Blu-Ray+CD, 2LP red transparent vinyl and digitally.