Flugzeug From 1996 06

This album of originals and covers shows Paul at the top of his game, whether that game be blues or baseball. Paul's amazing slide guitar work and nuanced electric guitar styling will enchant and excite the casual listener and the blues aficionado alike. The sideman chores are masterfully handled by "west side" Andy Linderman (an equal contributor to the heart and soul of this recording) and Brian Howard on drums. The bass player is excellent too.

The 1996 release Mississippi Kid sounds like it could have been released a quarter-century or more before, which is a compliment. Bracingly free of the rockist clichés that bog down so many latter-day blues albums, Mississippi Kid is solid Chicago-style blues, with Smith's guitar and vocals supported by two organists and a full horn section. Presented as a sort of musical autobiography, with the personal title track ending the album as a kind of summation, the album dusts off a couple of Smith's earlier hits, most notably a slow, gripping version of his signature song, "Give Me My White Robe," and the playful shaggy-dog story "Blues on the Moon," given a suitably light-hearted and sly treatment. Smith is in excellent voice throughout and his playing is as fine as always, making Mississippi Kid a late highlight in his long and sometimes underappreciated career.

J. Geils and Magic Dick's debut duo recording, 1994's Bluestime, was a straightforward tribute to hard-core Chicago blues, but the follow-up, Little Car Blues, embraces such far-flung blues offshoots as Kansas City jump, Duke Ellington swing, Louis Armstrong hot jazz, Etta James R&B, and Marvin Gaye soul. If the truth be told, Geils and Magic Dick are much more enjoyable as generalists than as specialists, for they can't compete with the top artists in any one genre but they cover many styles better than most. Magic Dick is a gifted harp blower, especially when he's imitating old jazz solos by Armstrong or Charlie Parker, with a quicksilver phrasing and big, reedy tone. Geils isn't particularly fast or flashy a guitarist, but he has a rare rhythmic instinct that makes the swing and jump of his tunes lively indeed.

J. Geils and Magic Dick's debut duo recording, 1994's Bluestime, was a straightforward tribute to hard-core Chicago blues, but the follow-up, Little Car Blues, embraces such far-flung blues offshoots as Kansas City jump, Duke Ellington swing, Louis Armstrong hot jazz, Etta James R&B, and Marvin Gaye soul. If the truth be told, Geils and Magic Dick are much more enjoyable as generalists than as specialists, for they can't compete with the top artists in any one genre but they cover many styles better than most. Magic Dick is a gifted harp blower, especially when he's imitating old jazz solos by Armstrong or Charlie Parker, with a quicksilver phrasing and big, reedy tone. Geils isn't particularly fast or flashy a guitarist, but he has a rare rhythmic instinct that makes the swing and jump of his tunes lively indeed.

As the title suggests, Japanese music explorer Osamu Kitajima takes the listener beyond the known on a musical voyage into new territory where his compositions are a synthesis of Western electronics and ambient dance rhythms, tempered by the wisdom of ancient Japanese traditions. "Beyond The Circle" is music that is as energizing as it is spiritual and melodic.

Alanis Morissette – The Singles Box, commonly abbreviated as just The Singles Box, is an Alanis Morissette box set that includes five of her six singles from 1995's Jagged Little Pill: "Ironic", Hand in My Pocket, Head over Feet, You Learn and "You Oughta Know", as well as live tracks and alternate versions of JLP tracks spread across five maxi CDs…

Always one of the most tasteful of musicians, guitarist Kenny Burrell is in fine form on this set from 1996. He is joined by a rhythm section led by pianist Sir Roland Hanna, trumpeter Jimmy Owens (who is in excellent form), either Steve Turre or Benny Powell on trombone and the underrated tenor-saxophonist and flutist Jerome Richardson. Burrell sings a heartfelt "Dear Ella" (his voice is just average) and there is a vocal apiece by Jeannie Bryson (a sensuous "I've Got A Crush On You") and Vanessa Rubin ("All Blues"). Other highlights of this relaxed bop set include Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer," Richardson's "Groove Merchant" and a medley of "Embraceable You" and Charlie Parker's "Quasimodo."