A Soldiers Plaything (1930) Michael Curtiz, Ben Lyon, Harry Langdon, Lotti Loder

The two jazz giants Ben Webster and Harry "Sweets" Edison had long wanted to record an album together, and in 1962, they did. Although associated with two different orchestras (Edison was with Basie and Webster was with Ellington), these two swing kings found that they had a lot in common. This album features both horn men on three medium tempo blues, "Better Go", "Kitty", and "Did You Call Her Today". Other than this, Webster gets two tenor features, contributing absolutely luscious solos on both "How Long Has This Been Going On", and "My Romance". Newly remastered for Hybrid SACD.

Michael Jackson helped shape the sound and style of the 1970s and '80s and was one of the 20th century's defining stars, an artist and all-around entertainer who greatly informed pop culture on a global scale. The singer, songwriter, producer, and dancer rose to stardom at the dawn of the '70s as the prodigious focal point of the Jackson 5. Amid early success with the sibling Motown group, who would remain prominent for several years, Jackson branched out as a solo artist, and with "Ben" (1972) he topped the pop chart for the first of 13 times. A later starring role in The Wiz sparked a creative partnership with producer Quincy Jones. The first result was Off the Wall (1979), a dazzling disco-era album that announced Jackson as a mature talent with the number one hits "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You." Determined to appeal to R&B, rock, and pop audiences at once, he responded with Thriller (1982).

Does music add substance to words or is music inspired by them? Songs of departure and farewell are deeply rooted in the great tradition of British choral music, nourished by ancient myths of testing journeys, wayside transformations and homecomings. The transcendent nature of music and the power of poetry to challenge and alter perceptions of reality – harnessed by English composers over many centuries – flow through a programme that invites contemplation of life and death, of love and loss, creation and eternity. In a journey covering six centuries of musical history, The Sixteen performs a cappella anthems with powerful texts by writers as varied as Edmund Spenser, Christopher Fry and W.H. Auden.