2.russell, S.j

In the late 1920s, pianist Luis Russell was one many performers that helped lay the foundation for the Big Band era, yet his career wound down just as Goodman's and Basie's were kicking into high gear. Russell's band featured such New Orleans jazz players as Pops Foster, Albert Nicholas, and Paul Barbarin, along with future Ellington stars Rex Stewart and Barney Bigard. The music - energetic, hot, witty, danceable - was the bridge between the New Orleans and swing styles of jazz. This collection features a generous 24 tracks, and with cuts such as "You Rascal, You," the ribald "It's Tight Like That," and the eerie "New Call of the Freaks," it's a wild party waiting to happen.

Sinuous rhythms, conversational singing, and, most of all, intricate, bluesy guitar playing characterize Cale's performances of his own songs. This compilation, covering 11 years of recording, includes the songs Eric Clapton, who borrowed heavily from Cale's style in his 1970s solo work, made famous: "After Midnight" and "Cocaine".

Alice Russell’s Pot of Gold, was issued at the end of 2008 by American independent imprint Six Degrees. It was met with wide critical acclaim for its strict adherence to soul tradition. That said, there is so much pure emotion in Russell’s voice and discipline in her phrasing, that none of what she presented sounds staid or overly reverential.

Edinburgh University’s Russell Collection is one of the world’s finest collections of early keyboard instruments. The second volume in John Kitchen’s ongoing project to bring its musical exhibits to life matches music by Handel, Purcell, the Scottish composer Robert Bremner and others including Mozart’s son Franz Xaver with a gloriously vigorous menagerie of spinets, virginals, chamber organs, clavichord and harpsichords.