Cirque Du Soleil Alegria (1994){rca Victor 09026 62701 2}

"O" is a water-themed stage production by Cirque du Soleil, a Canadian circus and entertainment company. The show has been in permanent residence at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, since October 1998. "O" was inspired by the "infinity and elegance of water's pure form," which pays tribute to the beauty of the theater. The music of "O" was composed by Benoit Jutras and features a mix of classical Western and world instrumentation, including Chinese violin (erhu), bagpipes, African guitar and harp (kora), Colombian guitar, cello, ancient woodwinds and a wide variety of percussion instruments. During the show, the score is performed by a live band situated behind glass walls above and to the side of the stage.

Dave Douglas - El Trilogy (2001) {RCA Victor 09026-63736-2}
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© 2001 BMG / RCA Victor | 09026-63736-2
Jazz / Post-Bop / Modern Creative / Avant-Garde Jazz / Trumpet

What a pleasure it is to hear this recording of pieces commissioned for composer/trumpeter/bandleader Dave Douglas and his ensembles to accompany performances by the Trisha Brown Dance Company. By 2001, Douglas had proven to have appeal beyond the more narrowly avant-garde New York downtown scene where he was ensconced throughout much of the '90s, and El Trilogy presents a fine example of his broadened appeal. For one thing, Charms of the Night Sky (Douglas on trumpet along with accordionist Guy Klucevsek, violinist Mark Feldman, and bassist Greg Cohen), presented on most of the CD, was always one of Douglas' most warmly beautiful outlets, with intimate, evocative, and lyrical qualities that effectively balanced the rigorous and challenging compositional and improvisational aspects of Douglas' conception.

Paul Gonsalves - Ellingtonia Moods & Blues (1960) {RCA Victor ‎09026 63562-2 rel 1999}
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© 1960, 1999 RCA Victor / BMG | ‎09026 63562-2
Jazz / Bop / Saxophone

Paul Gonsalves was considered some kind of new genius of the tenor saxophone after he blew an astounding 27 choruses with Duke Ellington's Orchestra on the Duke's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. As part of RCA's reissue series to celebrate Ellington's 100th birthday, Ellingtonia Moods & Blues brings back a 1960 date featuring Gonsalves and other Ellington soloists. Although nominally credited to Gonsalves, this, in fact, is a co-chaired date with Johnny Hodges. Hodges shares the composing, arranging and – as always – swinging soloing.

Tom Harrell - The Art Of Rhythm (1998) {RCA Victor 09026-68924-2 rec 1997}
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© 1998 RCA Victor / BMG | 09026-68924-2
Jazz / Post Bop / Straight-Ahead Jazz / Trumpet

Best known as a superior and advanced cool-toned trumpeter, Tom Harrell shows throughout this consistently brilliant set that he has also developed into an excellent composer and a particularly talented arranger. All ten songs and arrangements are his, and the music both swings and is quite original. Harrell doubles on flügelhorn and utilizes a wide variety of interesting musicians, including clarinetist Greg Tardy (who plays beautifully on the opening "Petals Danse"), acoustic guitarist Romero Lumbambo (heard on the more Brazilian-oriented numbers), the great free bop tenor Dewey Redman, pianist Danilo Perez, electric guitarist Mike Stern, tenorman David Sanchez, and several strings (including Regina Carter) among others.

Rue Du Soleil consists of Dragan Jakovljevic, Yavuz Uslu , Alfonso Bianco, Claudio Montuori. These four friends formed Rue Du Soleil in 1999 by pooling their equipment and building a studio. Until now they have spent most of their time creating and searching for new sounds and grooves. Their creative capacity is so spectacular that Cafe del Mar Music proposed a recording contract to them. "Emotions" is their 3rd album.

Benny Goodman - The Complete RCA Victor Small Group Recordings (1997) {3CD Set BMG 09026-68764-2 rec 1935-1939}
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© 1935-39, 1997 RCA Victor / BMG Music | 09026-68764-2
Jazz / Swing / Jazz Quartet / Clarinet

Benny Goodman's formidable work in front of the big band made him one of the world's most popular musicians, but his work with these "chamber jazz" groups made him one of the world's most respected musicians. Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Jimmie Noone's Apex Club band, to name two, had prospered in the 1920s as small groups playing traditional New Orleans-style fare, but until Goodman's forays beginning in 1935, the small band had been limited to blues, Dixieland, and the group improvisations of the New Orleans style. Goodman applied the small-group concept to the steady 4/4 rhythm and the repertoire (mostly standards) of swing. Instead of being dance music, this small-group swing showcased the individual and collective talent of the musicians involved–and the talent and telekinetic interplay of these men were considerable to say the least.

Louis Armstrong - The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (2001) {4CD Set Bluebird-BMG 09026-63846-2 rec 1932-1933, 1956}
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© 1932-33, 1956, 2001 Bluebird / BMG | 09026-63846-2
Jazz / Early Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / New Orleans Jazz / Swing / Trumpet

Most of the music on this four-CD set from 1997 has been reissued many times, both on LP and CD, but this is the most "complete" set thus far. Louis Armstrong recorded for RCA during two separate times. During 1932-1933, he led an erratic (and under-rehearsed) big band on a series of numbers, but all of the selections have their moments of interest. Although not up to the level of his Hot Five and Seven recordings of five years earlier, these spirited tracks find Armstrong mostly in excellent form both instrumentally and vocally, and the reissue has four alternate takes never released before.

Sonny Rollins - The Complete Sonny Rollins RCA Victor Recordings (1997) {6CD RCA-BMG Music 09026-68675-2 rec 1962-1964}
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© 1962-64, 1997 RCA / Victor / BMG Music | 09026-68675-2
Jazz / Bop / Hard Bop / Saxophone

This six-CD set has all of tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins' recordings for RCA, including the complete contents of The Bridge, What's New, Our Man In Jazz, Sonny Meets Hawk, Now's the Time, and The Standard Sonny Rollins, the three selections originally included in the sampler Three in Jazz, and 11 alternate takes only previously released on the French album Alternates. Less well-known than Rollins' earlier Prestige and Riverside records and slightly later Impulse albums, his output for RCA was recorded right after the great tenor came back from an extended sabbatical.

Gil Evans - Plays the Music of Jimi Hendrix (1974-1975) {Bluebird 09026-63872-2 rel 2002}
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© 1974-75 RCA Victor / Bluebird / BMG | 09026-63872-2
Jazz / Modern Big Band / Post Bop / Progressive Jazz

This CD reissue (which adds additional material to the original LP program) is much more successful than one might have expected. Jimi Hendrix was scheduled to record with Gil Evans' Orchestra but died before the session could take place.