On Dukey Treats, George Duke returns to the big FONK of the late '70s and early '80s on this set for Heads Up. In truth, it's a bit of a surprise given the sheer laid-back tone of 2006's In a Mellow Tone, which was a piano trio date, but then, Duke hasn't been predictable for some time. What is interesting is that this return to the music that made him a commercial superstar and a platinum-selling artist coincides with a look back at his early fusion catalog by Universal in Japan, Europe, and the United States.

In February 2004, Arto Tuncboyaciyan recorded his new solo-project "Artostan" in Yerevan – a selection of songs from his solo performances - a radiophonic travel diary through Arto’s unlimited soundscapes and his philosophical homeland.

Music icon, multiple Grammy Award-winner and multi-platinum selling artist Janet Jackson returns with her new album Unbreakable. It is her first new music in seven years and leads with her new single "No Sleeep" on Rhythm Nation / BMG, the new label formed under her recent, barrier-breaking deal with BMG. Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (Prince, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson), commenting on the album said, "It's wonderful to be creating again with Janet. From songwriting, producing, arranging, singing, dancing, acting, she deftly does it all and truly personifies the word artist. Unbreakable is a gift to all of her fans who have steadfastly stood by her. It is a subject for conversation, a plea for compassion, and a call for action from someone who's come a long way, but has got a long way to go, and has much to say about it. In other words, if you want to know what's on her mind you only have to listen."

Edith Piaf is almost universally regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Still revered as an icon decades after her death, "the Sparrow" served as a touchstone for virtually every chansonnier, male or female, who followed her. Her greatest strength wasn't so much her technique, or the purity of her voice, but the raw, passionate power of her singing. (Given her extraordinarily petite size, audiences marveled all the more at the force of her vocals.) Her style epitomized that of the classic French chanson: highly emotional, even melodramatic, with a wide, rapid vibrato that wrung every last drop of sentiment from a lyric. She preferred melancholy, mournful material, singing about heartache, tragedy, poverty, and the harsh reality of life on the streets; much of it was based to some degree on her real-life experiences, written specifically for her by an ever-shifting cast of songwriters.

In the seventies the piano was the star instrument in the Jazz. The sax made its own in the eighties as the guitar in the nineties . In this sense Joe Sample pianism revealed such kind of freshness interpretative and original pages that made of him one of the top exponents in that moment and still today. Voices In The Rain by itself meant a personal triumph for Sample and reveals as other worthable recordings , his enormous expressive moods.

This brand new compilation in the ever-popular series is again a very special collection of eighties disco funk classics, packed in a luxury Super Jewel Box. As usual in the series this is a collection of rare tracks and 12-inch versions of hard to get but still highly in demand recordings, some of which have never been compiled on CD before. Included are fine tracks by the likes of: J.J. Johnson, The Cool Notes, Catch, Carl Sims, and many more gems of the eighties.

Grandpa Jones - Steppin' Out Kind (2006) {Ace Records CDCHD1098 rec 1945-1952}
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© 1945-52, 2005 King Records / Ace Records | CDCHD 1098 | The King & DeLuxe Acetate Series
Country / Old-Timey / Country Gospel / Traditional Country

Although Louis Marshall Jones was only around 30-years-old when he cut his first acetate for Syd Nathan's fledgling Dayton, Ohio-based King Records in 1943, he was already known as Grandpa Jones, earning the nickname because he supposedly sounded like an old man when he spoke on the radio (over his half-century career, Jones grew into the physical aspect of the name, as well). This interesting collection, Steppin' Out Kind, gathers the best of the surviving acetates Jones cut for Nathan during his initial nine-year run with King, and these sides will be revelatory for those who are only familiar with the latter-day Jones through his appearances on the Hee Haw television show in the early '70s.

“The role of Isabella is sung to perfection by Cecilia Bartoli – a clever, independent woman with an adventurous streak” (New York Times). Bartoli’s superb performance in Gioachino Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) at Salzburg Festival, directed by the BAFTA-winning stage director duo Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier, is a highlight among the Rossini celebrations on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s death. The DVD captures Bartoli’s excellent performance in a rare audiovisual recording of the Italian superstar, who is one of the most successful opera singers of our time. In this vibrant comedy, every look, every hand gesture brings Isabella to life: Bartoli presents the spirited Italian woman with fire, finesse and extraordinary acting abilities – “a Rossini masterclass” (Bachtrack).

Woody Shaw - Night Music (1982) {2013 Japan Jazz Best Collection 1000 Series WPCR-27366}
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© 1982, 2013 Elektra Musician / Warner Japan | WPCR-27366
Jazz / Hard Bop / Post Bop / Trumpet

Features 24 bit digital remastering. Comes with a description. After decades of being out of print and not issued on CD, the Elektra Musician series of recordings are slowly being trickled back into the marketplace, with Woody Shaw's Night Music being one of his strongest efforts in the latter days of the fiery, iconic trumpeter's brilliant career. A live recording at the Jazz Forum in New York City, Shaw's saxophone-less sextet sports an incredible front line, with trombonist Steve Turre and vibist Bobby Hutcherson assuring sparks will fly.

Picture This found Huey Lewis and the News developing a signature sound, but they truly came into their own on their third album, Sports. It's true that the record holds together better than its predecessors because it has a clear, professional production, but the real key is the songs…

Marty Paich - The Marty Paich Quartet featuring Art Pepper (1956) {V.S.O.P. Records TAMPA28 rel 1989}
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© 1956, 1989 Tampa Records / V.S.O.P. Records | V.S.O.P. #10CD / TAMPA 28
Jazz / West Coast Jazz / Cool / Piano / Saxophone

This CD from V.S.O.P. reissues a fairly obscure Tampa LP featuring pianist Marty Paich (better-known as an arranger), altoist Art Pepper, bassist Buddy Clark and drummer Frank Capp; the music on Marty Paich Quartet, Vol. 9 has also been issued under Pepper's name. Pepper and Paich would have several notable collaborations during the next few years, but this was their first. Pepper is generally the main star (particularly on such numbers as "You and the Night and the Music," "Over the Rainbow" and "All the Things You Are") while Paich (who has several fine piano solos) contributes three of the eight songs to this cool-toned, but hard-swinging set.

Previous recordings for the Accurate label yielded much the same type of instrumental music as on this, their major label debut. The Jazz Mandolin Project is less about straight ahead, mainstream jazz, and more into exploring a certain amount of improvisation within rock oriented and compositional contexts. Mandolinist Jamie Masefield churns out incessant chords like a guitarist, and his single line inventions fall along conventional staccato tonality. Bassist Chris Dalhgren cuts back his more progressive inclinations, while Ari Hoening provides steadying rhythms. On the rockier front, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio cameos on the hard edged "Hang Ten," as he and Masefield crisscross ascending and descending scales…

Archie Shepp - For Losers & Kwanza (2011) {Impulse! 2-on-1 Series Remaster rec 1970-1974}
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© 1970-74, 2011 Impulse! / Verve / Universal Music | 06007 5334722
Jazz / Jazz Funk / Spiritual Jazz / Modal Music / Saxophone

Archie Shepp started his career as a new thing firebrand, an acolyte of John Coltrane and a fierce advocate for civil rights. By the time these sessions were recorded in the late 60's and early 70's, Shepp had changed—developing a funky style of R&B tinged jazz that wasn't exactly fusion, but definitely showed an awareness of what people like James Brown and Sly Stone were up to. The first album on this 2-fer, is the rare disc For Losers, and it surprises you right from the jump with a straight up R&B tune called “Stick 'em Up," which wouldn't have sounded out of place on the AM radio of the time.