Kenny Rankin

Hearing old favourite songs redone in a totally different manner from the original can be a challenge. It’s especially true when vocal songs that are basically embedded in your DNA are turned into instrumentals. So fans of the Beatles should approach this new compilation of jazz treatments of the Fab Four’s tunes with an open mind and fresh ears, because there are some magnificent performances here. Starting right off with Chick Corea and Gary Burton’s take on Eleanor Rigby. The two master musicians are totally in sync as they turn the tune into a driving, meditative work.

For over a decade, The World's Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings has served as an Audiophile must-have. Whether used to test out a new piece of hardware, or simply to sit back and enjoy, the album has been an enjoyable tool for many. It's time for a 2018 update of the material to this same premise. The World's Greatest Audiophile Vocal Recordings Vol. II features some of the most stunning and haunting vocal performances the label has produced during its thirty plus year tenure.

As iconic in 2014 for her timeless beauty and stage appeal as she is for her artistic versatility, Freda Payne remains among music’s and show business’ brightest shining star survivors. Her latest album, Come Back To Me Love (her first for the Artistry Music imprint) marks not only a return to the big band and stringsladen classics from her mid-`60s beginnings with Impulse! but also marks a return to her hometown of Detroit. That makes this 14-song album featuring Grammy® award-winner Bill Cunliffe’s musical arrangements—from the vibes-kissed Kenny Rankin waltz “Haven’t We Met” to the lonely evening fireplace musings of “Lately”—a beautiful homecoming.

Subtitled "Barrio Breaks, East Bay Grease, Folk Funk And More From The Vaults Of Atlantic, Reprise San Francisco & Warner Brothers 1967 - 1975", "From Burbank to The Bay Area" is not only a musical trip between two locations in the sunshine state; Burbank in Los Angeles, home of Reprise / Warner Brothers Records and the vibrant Bay Area, comprising Oakland and Berkeley, then across the Bay Bridge back to San Francisco, but also a convenient way to round up some differing styles of music. Latin-tinged funky rock, latin-soul, the funky, syncopated rhythm and horn sections of Oakland's Tower Of Power and Cold Blood, a radical instrumental gem by easy listening orchestra Mystic Moods, a disparate band of singer-songwriters, funky session guys, jazzy progressive folk types and a bona-fide soul diva all add a little soulful something to the melting pot. Includes The Ides Of March, Fred Ramirez, Labelle, Tower Of Power, Jo Mama, Bamboo, Seatrain, Hard Meat, Mystic Moods and more - 20 tracks in total!.