Not Excuses Transforming Brockton High School: High Standards, Hight Expectations, 2013

This extensive series has now reached volume 7 and will test the mettle of even the most fanatical lovers of music in the Czech lands. There is barely a name to cling to in the blizzard of diacriticals, and the like. Obscurity need not breed indifference - indeed it should be a spur to enthusiasm, in my book - and the programme has been thoughtfully compiled around the idea of Christmas and the winter season, so that a proper focus is given to what might otherwise be somewhat disparate.

From The Studio's earliest days, music has always been an integral part of the Disney creative process. But when 'Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf' debuted in 1933, it began a musical legacy that remains unmatched to this day. Disney Classics Box Set is a music collection that represents this legacy.

Indeed, bassist and educator Jeff Berlin is a modern era pioneer amid accolades that have piled high, spanning several decades via his astounding technique and contributions to progressive-rock, jazz fusion and modern mainstream jazz. Following up his jazz trio outing High Standards (2010, M.A.J. Records) also featuring bassist, pianist Richard Drexler, the core differentiator on Low Standards is that renowned drummer Mike Clark takes over the drum chair from Danny Gottlieb. Yet Berlin's game-plan is similar as Drexler uses the bass for a support role while toggling between piano duties. Nonetheless, the star of the show and lead soloist is Berlin, performing exclusively on electric bass.

It is easier to define Dionne Warwick by what she isn't rather than what she is. Although she grew up singing in church, she is not a gospel singer. Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan are clear influences, but she is not a jazz singer. R&B is also part of her background, but she is not really a soul singer, either, at least not in the sense that Aretha Franklin is…