Guide to Essential Math, 2nd Edition

For some, the most important part about this recording will be the two tracks ("Ray's Ideas" and "Everything Happens to Me") on which Chet Baker blows trumpet and sings. While Baker is not in top form, he is a fine complement to the group sound. Lightsey's trio (with bassist David Eubanks and drummer Eddie Gladden) picks an interesting collection of pieces for the remainder of the program, with his well-known Wayne Shorter emphasis. A largely uneventful, if nonetheless relaxingly swinging set, Lightsey deftly walks through the chords with consummate skill. An underrated performer, the pianist is a skillful interpreter of American song, a performer who understands the meanings of tunes and infuses them with his own interpretations. Not terribly innovative, Lightsey is one of those few serious mainstream jazz piano soloists who pushes the edges ever so slightly but feels comfortable smack dab in the middle of traditional interplay.

From humble origins in New Orleans to its journey upriver to Chicago, this Rough Guide charts the 1920s “golden age” of jazz with classic tracks by legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington & Jelly Roll Morton as well as many other pioneering artists.

As one of the biggest names in doom metal, Candlemass release onto the world their latest LP, The Door to Doom. With their original vocalist Johan Längqvist making a return to the band, the album makes for a stellar work of ominous atmosphere and delicious riffs. Across eight songs, the Swedish doom metallers demonstrate their mastery over the doom genre…

From the pioneering string bands and old-time banjo maestros to country music’s first superstar Jimmie Rodgers, this Rough Guide features many of the trailblazing artists who paved the way for the country music explosion to come.

Too Mean to Die is the sixteenth studio album by German heavy metal band Accept, released on 29 January 2021. It is the first Accept album to feature Martin Motnik, who replaced original bassist Peter Baltes in 2019, and rhythm guitarist Philip Shouse, who joined the band that same year. Speaking of heavy metal kingpins, when ACCEPT first launched at the end of the 70s, the metal genre didn’t even exist - at first the band could only be labelled with the (quality) seal “crazy loud and crazy wild”. Today we know that this was (and is) metal par excellence. And we also know that ACCEPT opened the door to thrash metal, inspiring giants such as Metallica. Guitarist Kirk Hammett recently stated in the German magazine “Gitarre & Bass”: “Wolf Hoffmann has a huge influence on me.“

An intriguing collection of rare cuts highlighting the sheer wealth of remarkable material that comes to light by digging that bit deeper into the country blues archive.