A.r. Leo

The Emerald Duets is a crowning achievement among Wadada Leo Smith's many recorded duo collaborations with drummers/percussionists, that have previously featured such creative giants as Ed Blackwell, Jack DeJohnette, Milford Graves, Louis Moholo-Moholo and Gunter Sommer, among others. The Emerald Duets features four master drummers who have each, in their own unique fashion, contributed to the way modern drumming has developed in the past six decades and how it is now perceived. Pheeroan akLaff, Andrew Cyrille and Han Bennink are each featured on one disc and Jack DeJohnette on two discs, including Smith's five-part composition "Paradise: The Gardens and Fountains" that fills the fifth disc of this boxed set in its entirety.

This Rigoletto, filmed live at the Zurich Opera House in 2006, has three strong leads to recommend it. In the title role, Leo Nucci fully represents all of Rigoletto’s character traits and range of emotions—the hunchback’s lancing wit, fearfulness, and self-loathing when we first meet him and later, his obsessive need for revenge. Both Rigoletto’s sense of righteous triumph when he believes he’s got the Duke dead in the bag and his inconsolable grief at the drama’s end are palpable.

What's Trending is Leo Sidran’s eighth solo record. In many ways it picks up where his celebrated 2021 release The Art Of Conversation left off. If The Art was a “hymn to empathy” (El Pais, Spain) and “a treasure chest of intimate and introspective portraits of family life during the pandemic” (West Coast Soul, Germany), this latest release is a hip, deeply personal exploration of how music can make life more livable in difficult times.

Oldie Night Series is a great one to have in a collection, full of great artists and great songs. I would recommend this CDs to others. If you enjoyed the 60"s-80"s music, you will surely like this CDs!