Drake: To Kynigi Tou Thisavrou

"Fantastic studio recording, caught by Taylor Hales at Chicago's legendary Electrical Audio, documenting the first full meeting of all the players on this album. Mako Sica, at this point in time revolve around the core duo of Przemyslaw Krys Drazek (electric trumpet, mandolin, electric guitar) and Brent Fuscaldo (vocals, electric bass, harmonica, thumb piano, gong, percussion). For this session, these two are joined once again by Chicago's always-revelatory percussionist, Hamid Drake, with whom they have previously recorded Ronda (FTR 409LP) and Balancing Tear (FTR 513LP). In addition, Ourania features the upright bass and shamisen of Tasu Aoki (Drake's longtime partner in Fred Anderson's trio).

Released in 1994 and curated by Joe Boyd, the 16-track collection Way to Blue held true to its claim as An Introduction to Nick Drake. Though largely unknown during his lifetime and brief career, the beguiling English folksinger ascended to a kind of romantic cult hero in the two decades following his 1974 death. His name was known among artists and hardcore record collectors and thanks to Boyd's Hannibal Records label, his three lone albums along with the essential 1986 rarities disc Time of No Reply were all back in print. Artists like R.E.M., the Cure, and the Dream Academy had all cited him as an influence in the mid-'80s, but it really wasn't until the '90s that his gentle, austere music began to achieve the legendary status that it would enjoy well into the 21st century. A handful of other Nick Drake compilations had existed before this one, but Way to Blue remains the definitive primer for aspiring and casual fans.

Fruit Tree is a four-disc box set featuring all three of Nick Drake's studio albums (Five Leaves Left, Bryter Layter, Pink Moon) and the rarities collection Time of No Reply. In other words, it contains every known recording Drake made during his brief lifetime, and listening to the set, the depth of his talent becomes abundantly clear…

Piano-Drums Duos are the preferred playing arrangement of pianist Irène Schweizer. Her mastery of duets with important drummers of contemporary jazz are documented on numerous Intakt CDs. Han Bennink, Pierre Favre, Louis Moholo, Günter Baby Sommer, Andrew Cyrille and Joey Baron among them. The Chicago drummer Hamid Drake, born in 1955, and Irène Schweizer, born in 1941, have performed together on numerous occasions both in Europe and Chicago. Together they have appeared on the Intakt CD "Irène Schweizer-Fred Anderson-Hamid Drake". At the 40th anniversary festival "Kontrontationen in Nickelsdorf" (Austria), Schweizer and Drake were the highlight of the event. A celebration of the moment and a declaration of love to South African songs along with their thrilling energy and rhythmic lightness produced a firework of improvisation. A parade of successful interplay. The CD Celebration is released on the occasion of Irène Schweizer's 80th birthday (2. Juni), accompanied by a catalogue of the pianist's works on Intakt Records.