Oneechanbara Kurenai (2009) 1 Issues

In Poland, the younger generation of jazz musicians such as Leszek Możdżer and Marcin Wasilewski are celebrated like pop stars, and have made themselves well known outside of Poland. 25 year old pianist Paweł Kaczmarczyk is on the right path to follow them - ever since his Live album with the KBD trio was chosen as the “Album of the Year” in the 2005 Polish Public Television Channel2 Awards, he has been considered a major force in polish jazz music. In the same year he won the Melomani jazz society’s major prize, Poland’s so-called “Jazz Oscar”. Since then the readers of Poland’s prestigious Jazz Forum magazine have regularly voted him “most promising” musician in the publication’s yearly poll, and in 2007, the magazine named Audiofeeling, Kaczmarczyk’s first album as leader “Album of the Year”…

Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1996. The band consists of vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and pianist Chris Martin; lead guitarist Jonny Buckland; bassist Guy Berryman; drummer Will Champion; and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University College London and began playing music together from 1996 to 1998, first calling themselves Pectoralz and then Starfish…

Mike Zito is one who enjoys returning to his blues roots, playing electric guitar and ripping though songs with his sawtooth-sharp voice. Pearl River – his fifth album – is quite different than the previous effort Today, which was more rock-oriented, and focuses on not only contemporary urban tunes but a few acoustic folk-oriented ones, and the basis of all of his music, the sound of New Orleans. He's got help from guitarist Anders Osborne and keyboardist Reese Wynans from Stevie Ray Vaughan's band, and there are guest appearances from Cyril Neville, Johnny Sansone, Lynwood Slim, Randy Chortkoff (also his producer,) and Susan Cowsill (yes, she of the Cowsills fame). It's good to hear Zito dig deep into songs like the title track, Neville's pure, slow blues, the New Orleans shuffle treatment of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind," and Mel London's rocksteady "Sugar Sweet."

Sony's Bar Lounge Classics: Late Night Mix Edition is a triple-disc set of 47 chill-out cuts from a variety of European acts. Its stylish mood music with a hint of sophistication delivered by the likes of Blank & Jones, Leftfield, Jet Tricks, Blue Wave, Bliss, Stardelay…