French Love Songs 2021

Massimo Farao' is a wonderful Italian pianist who has played and recorded with Red Holloway, Albert "Tootie" Heath, Tony Scott, Franco Ambrosetti, Nat Adderley, Jeff Tain Watts, Jack DeJohnette and Chris Potter, among others. Farao's passionate style and stoic romanticism are very attractive along with the rich harmonies he creates. This collection of French love songs features the vocal talents of Claudia Zannoni on "Les Feuilles Mortes (Autumn Leaves)", "La Vie En Rose" and "Que Reste-t-il De Nos Amours (I Wish You Love)".

‘This programme reflects a personal journey: I am Belgian, I studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and now I live in France.

The acclaimed British soprano Louise Alder returns for her second recital on Chandos, joined once again by star pianist Joseph Middleton. Enthusiastic praise was widespread for her Chandos début, Lines Written during a Sleepless Night: The Russian Connection, which earned significant accolades in the USA and continental Europe in addition to the UK.

Newly released from Navona is CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SOUL, a collection of new chamber works from acclaimed composer-pianist Bun-Ching Lam. The music sets in different languages the poetry of Shelley, Heine, Rimbaud, and Lasker-Shüller, as well as the poems of 9th Century Chinese mystic Han Shan and contemporary writer Etel Adnan. In a compositional voice The New York Times has called “alluringly exotic,” Lam incorporates baritone voice, piano, viola, flute, French horn, and harp to elucidate timeless works concerning life’s fundamental questions. With a thoroughly contemporary sensibility informed by tradition, Lam’s CONVERSATIONS WITH MY SOUL offers listeners a fitting soundtrack for their own existential ponderings.

From the minute she first heard jazz, Brigitte Zarie knew what her purpose was in life: to follow her heart and pursue the music she loved. With parents originally from Casablanca, Morocco—her father was a multi-instrumentalist while her mother was a singer and French teacher—and a grandmother from Spain, it’s no wonder she was raised in a home alive with exotic rhythm and melody. And, of course, singing, especially with nine other siblings to play and perform with. “My brother Joe used to play guitar and make me sing and make up words to everything he would play,” says Brigitte. “And my brother Danny always had Stan Getz playing, so I was writing songs since day one.”

'The air de cour has been with me for almost as long as I've been playing the flute… For me, it is one of the finest creations of French art. I have assembled these airs from the second half\u0301 of the seventeenth century to complete the exploration begun with Et la fleur vole (early seventeenth century, ALPHA314) and A l'ombre d'un ormeau (early eighteenth century, ALPHA342)', says Francois Lazarevitch in the introduction to this new release. 'I am particularly interested in combining the qualities of sound and breathiness of the voice and the flute.'Love songs, dance tunes and brunettes on pastoral themes follow one another in a programme at once moving and erudite. These miniatures are magnificently interpreted by the two outstanding singers who join the instrumentalists (lute, flute, musette, harp, viol) of Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien: the soprano Julie Roset and the mezzo Lucile Richardot.

The second compilation approaches the roots of Daft Punk !? The name is "Funky Flamenco", which bears the blockbuster number of the soul Iberica band! What a music critic and DJ Masaharu Yoshioka's first remix in Japan. A 12-inch promo version of "Funky Flamenco", which is also a compilation title song, is included as a miracle world's first CD bonus!
Based in Belgium and France, Jean Kluger is a Belgian disco producer who dominated the world disco scene in the 1970s. Introducing a disco compilation album that collects a wide range of songs from world-famous disco hits to rare songs that he sent out from Belgium and France. From Gibson Brothers, Ottawan, L.A.X., which was a big hit in the US and Europe, to Soul Iberica Band, which was a big hit in Japan, there are a lot of disco hits that everyone has heard once. The world's first CD version of the precious promo 12-inch version of Soul Iberica Band "Funky Flamenco", the first remix work in Japan by music critic and DJ Masaharu Yoshioka, has been miraculously realized! Daniel Vangarde is the father of Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. This is a valuable collection of works that can be enjoyed as the roots of Daft Punk.

For his debut song disc, baritone Julien Van Mellaerts honours his heritage with a selection of New Zealand, British, and French song, recorded with pianist James Baillieu. "I wanted to share where I feel connected to and explore the idea of home and identity through song. Having grown up knowing I was from many places, I feel a strong connection to the protagonist in Vaughan Williams / R. L. Stevenson’s Songs of Travel. I am lucky to call so many beautiful places home, and ultimately, that’s how we settled on the title, Songs of Travel and Home.” — Julien Van Mellaerts.

Above the album worked the 'Now That's What I Call Eurovision', and his release took place on 2021. The album has got songs with a total duration of more than an hour. A compilation is a compilation of original music.

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of a re-mastered and expanded 3CD digipack edition of the archive release SON OF AMERICA by SPIRIT.First issued in 2005, the set originally featured a collection of previously unreleased songs, demos and instrumentals recorded between 1983 and Randy California’s final recording session in late 1996, along with unreleased and alternative takes from the California Blues and Cosmic Smile albums.