Pattini D'argento Mary Mapes Dodge

Mary Lou Williams spent a fair amount of time in Europe in the early '50s, prior to a temporary hiatus from jazz. This CD from Verve's Jazz in Paris series compiles two separate sessions from 1954; one features a trio, a quintet, and a pair of vocals by blues singer Beryl Bryden, and the other is purely a trio. All of the selections are fairly brief, with only one running over three-and-a-half minutes. The first 11 songs are a bit of a mixed bag. The strongest tracks feature Williams alone ("I Made You Love Paris" and her "Club Francais Blues") or with her trio ("Avalon," "Swingin' for the Guys," and "Memories of You"). Weaker are the four tracks with trumpeter Nelson Williams and tenor saxophonist Ray Lawrence, who aren't up to the playing level of horn players who typically worked with the pianist, though bassist Buddy Banks somewhat makes up for their shortcomings by contributing an enjoyable original ("Leg'n Lou") and a strong solo…

Really beautiful later work from the great Mary Lou Williams - and one of the key records that shows just how much she'd evolved as a player since the early days! Part of the strength of the record is the rhythm work from Buster Williams on bass and Mickey Roker on drums - slightly more contemporary players who open up with a sense of warmth that Williams can't help but address - still work on the keyboard of the piano that's very much her own, and touched with the modern elements of her early days - but wonderfully sensitive in all the right ways, a richness that's perfect for the spiritual jazz generation of the 70s.

Really beautiful later work from the great Mary Lou Williams - and one of the key records that shows just how much she'd evolved as a player since the early days! Part of the strength of the record is the rhythm work from Buster Williams on bass and Mickey Roker on drums - slightly more contemporary players who open up with a sense of warmth that Williams can't help but address - still work on the keyboard of the piano that's very much her own, and touched with the modern elements of her early days - but wonderfully sensitive in all the right ways, a richness that's perfect for the spiritual jazz generation of the 70s.

Folk Songs from the Eastern Counties is is the third in a series of four albums recording all 81 of the folk songs in English that Ralph Vaughan Williams arranged for voice and piano or violin. 57 of the 81 songs have not previously been recorded in these arrangements.

American singer Mary J. Blige releases her 14th studio album with Good Morning Gorgeous, via 300 Entertainment and her Mary Jane Productions imprint. The album includes collaborations with Anderson .Paak, Dave East, DJ Khaled, Fivio Foreign and Usher. It was preceded and supported by three singles: the title track, "Amazing" featuring DJ Khaled, and "Rent Money" featuring Dave East. This Deluxe edition features 6 all-new tracks!

Mary Lou Williams spent a fair amount of time in Europe in the early '50s, prior to a temporary hiatus from jazz. This CD from Verve's Jazz in Paris series compiles two separate sessions from 1954; one features a trio, a quintet, and a pair of vocals by blues singer Beryl Bryden, and the other is purely a trio. All of the selections are fairly brief, with only one running over three-and-a-half minutes. The first 11 songs are a bit of a mixed bag. The strongest tracks feature Williams alone ("I Made You Love Paris" and her "Club Francais Blues") or with her trio ("Avalon," "Swingin' for the Guys," and "Memories of You"). Weaker are the four tracks with trumpeter Nelson Williams and tenor saxophonist Ray Lawrence, who aren't up to the playing level of horn players who typically worked with the pianist, though bassist Buddy Banks somewhat makes up for their shortcomings by contributing an enjoyable original ("Leg'n Lou") and a strong solo…

A rapacious dragon has been terrorising a Yorkshire village. Gubbins and his daughter Margery, together with Mauxalinda, decide to seek the help of Moore of Moore Hall. Moore needs persuading away from his beer but succumbs to Margery’s pleading, and her promises of love. Unfortunately, he had already promised to marry Mauxalinda, and so the love triangle has to be resolved in dramatic fashion before Moore heads out and defeats the dragon, restoring harmony and prosperity to the village. Following the BBC Music Magazine Opera Award for his recording of Malcolm Arnold’s The Dancing Master, conductor John Andrews returns with the world premiere professional recording of John Frederick Lampe’s operatic comedy The Dragon of Wantley. With librettist Henry Carey, Lampe combines a first-rate score with a quintessentially English plot, told in a tone of earthy satire, pastiching opera’s conventions with skill and affection, but also a razor wit.