Estimo

This 1995 concert represents one of Tete Montoliu's last recordings prior to his death in 1997. What's unusual about this CD is that it is not a solo or trio date, but one with a sextet, which includes drummer Winard Harper, trumpeter Philip Harper, flugelhornist Danny Harper, tenor saxophonist Stephen Riley, and bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa. The blind pianist is in terrific form, particularly in "Muntaner 83 A," his thinly disguised reworking of the standard "On Green Dolphin Street," and his blues-drenched "T'estimo Tant," which showcases Riley. Though the remaining tracks aren't at all familiar, they also bring out the best in the band.

In August 1995, two generations of jazz made in our dollars come together at the Cafe Central in Madrid, around a shared intuition. The idea came from a chance encounter on the same stage a year earlier, from which Tete Montoliu and Javier Colina decide to re-experience the feeling of playing together, without any trial whatsoever. Fans familiar with the intention that this apparent nonchalance hides, the way jazz musicians are measured at a meeting of this kind.

Sol y vida is Elīna Garanča’sjourney to the South, from Spain to Italy and Latin America, and is her first album focusing entirely on non core-classical repertoire.

Sol y vida is Elīna Garanča’sjourney to the South, from Spain to Italy and Latin America, and is her first album focusing entirely on non core-classical repertoire. Be ready to expect a personal album from the mezzo-soprano, whose centre of life has been Spain for many years. A selection of songs, canzone and tango pieces, both mirroring and spreading a flamboyantly emotional array of beaming happiness, passionate longing and exuberant joy. A feast of vocal colours, and a firework of passion, from the well-known Granada to the intimate world of La Llorona.