Die Lügen Der Sieger The Lies of The Victors (2014) Christoph Hochhäusler, Florian David Fitz, Horst Kotterba, Lilith Stangenberg, Thriller

Bach was still writing The Art of Fugue at the time of his death. The work was intended to explore the possibilities of counterpoint, but Bach never wrote dry, academic music. It served its didactic purpose, but always there is warm humanity bursting from it. The Art of Fugue has been arranged for many musical groupings, and is always at best a guess at what Bach had in mind. What Robert Simpson has done here is to transpose the work so that it is playable by a string quartet. He does so without apology–Bach himself was a great transposer–and the results are totally convincing. Simpson knows a thing or two about string quartets (his own are well worth checking out), and he has breathed life into a work that is given a terrific performance here by the Delmé Quartet.

While bandleader and pianist Arturo O'Farrill has always sought to preserve the legacy of Latin jazz, he's never been one to do so it for its own sake, but always for evolutionary purposes. The Offense of the Drum features his 18-piece Afro-Latin Jazz band – a whopping 28 percussion instruments from all over the globe – and a notable host of collaborators including Donald Harrison and Vijay Iyer. The program highlights the cultural sounds and prismatic influences of South America, Spain, and the Caribbean in modern jazz. "Cuarto de Colores" weds the Brazilian, Colombian and Afro-Cuban rhythms to post-bop big-band jazz.

The Lie of the Beholder is the debut full-length solo CD by Roy STRATTMAN, better known to most as Little Atlas guitarist and joint composer Roy Strattman,. The Lie of the Beholder is a tour de force of cutting edge modern progressive rock - complex, tense, and shot through with dark and menacing textures alternating with unexpected stabs of beauty and organic calm. In addition to writing all of the material on the album, Strattman performs the guitar, keyboards, and vocals. The album features Nick D'Virgilio (Genesis, Kevin Gilbert, Spock's Beard, Mike Keneally, Tears for Fears) on drums, and Ricardo Bigai (Little Atlas, Supersam, Julio Iglesias) on bass, in addition to guest appearances by Steve Katsikas (Little Atlas, The Dark Side of the Wall) on piano and cajon.

While bandleader and pianist Arturo O'Farrill has always sought to preserve the legacy of Latin jazz, he's never been one to do so it for its own sake, but always for evolutionary purposes. The Offense of the Drum features his 18-piece Afro-Latin Jazz band – a whopping 28 percussion instruments from all over the globe – and a notable host of collaborators including Donald Harrison and Vijay Iyer…