Leading Lightly

If metal was a war, Engel would be the reinforcements coming in for the Swedish melodic death front. This five-piece band has its roots planted firmly in that camp and finds itself picking up in the wake of In Flames. This makes perfect sense if you consider that Engel guitarist Niclas Engelin was just made a full member of In Flames this year and has also played in Gardenian. The band’s second effort is called "Threnody," and is named appropriately for a few reasons…

Along with Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Horace Silver, the prolific Benny Golson created some of the most memorable compositions in the jazz repertoire. This reissue features his first albums as a leader, and many of his most familiar originals are to be found here. In a 1958 Downbeat article Ralph Gleason highlighted “the extraordinary attention jazz musicians are currently paying to his compositions”. Indeed by the early 60s it seemed that every rehearsal band in the UK and everyone on the jazz club circuit had at least three or four of his originals in the book…

The Complete Motown Singles has been a dream project of Motown and soul fanatics for many years, ever since the first decade of Stax/Volt singles was compiled in an impressive nine-disc box set in 1991. Prior to that, no soul label had its output as thoroughly documented as that set – there had been the Atlantic R&B box, which collected highlights, but it never attempted to capture the label's entire run – and while The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968 missed a B-side or two, it was an exceptional piece of music history, and pretty damn entertaining to boot.

Tying in with his cameo appearance in Steven Spielberg's film The Terminal, saxophonist Benny Golson returns with Terminal 1. Featuring more of his sophisticated and swinging tunes, the album finds Golson in top form on some of his best compositions in years. Joining him on the front line here are esteemed trumpeter Eddie Henderson, deft pianist Mike LeDonne, bassist Buster Williams, and drummer Carl Allen. The title track is a mid-'60s-sounding angular piece designed to bring to mind the hustle of airports. Similarly engaging is the gorgeous ballad "Park Avenue Petite," which allows for some burnished melodicism from Henderson. It is also nice to hear Golson and company dig into the under-recorded standard "Cherry." Calling to mind the best Blue Note-era recordings, Terminal 1 is one flight of fancy not to be missed.