Quintet 1979

"Chamber music from two female composers who were overshadowed by men. It's amazing how much great music has gone unperformed because the composer was a woman. ""In the end, Rebecca Clarke and Louise Farrenc didn't compose in the shadow of men, but in spite of men. And their voices carry all the way here."" Dramaturg and freelance writer Maija Alander's text in the album's booklet ends with these words."

L'Ensemble Rayé is a quirky and generally lighthearted band with roots in the European avant-prog scene of the '70s and '80s, which included such groups as Henry Cow, Samla Mammas Manna, and Picchio Dal Pozzo. Switzerland's principal contribution to this innovative scene was the band Débile Menthol, formed in 1979 and varying in size from seven to nine members. Featuring a wide array of instrumentation, including violin, reeds, keyboards, guitar, bass, and drums, Débile Menthol mixed post-punk and new wave energy with Rock in Opposition elements to create adventurous and virtuosic music that was nevertheless much lighter in tone than such RIO mainstays as Univers Zero and Art Zoyd…

A Norwegian jazz vocalist of legendary stature, Radka Toneff made her award-winning album debut in 1977 and recorded only three albums during her lifetime, which was cut short by her tragic death in 1982. Born on June 25, 1952, in Oslo, Norway, she is the daughter of a Bulgarian folksinger and studied at the Oslo Musikkonservatorium from 1971 to 1975. After founding the Radka Toneff Quintet, whose membership included Arild Andersen (bass), Jon Balke (piano), and Jon Eberson (guitar), among others, she made her solo album debut in 1977 with Winter Poem, an English-language effort. Highly acclaimed, the album was awarded a Spellemannprisen (i.e., Norwegian Grammy) in 1977 for Vocal Album of the Year and was a Top 20 hit on the Norwegian albums chart.

A Norwegian jazz vocalist of legendary stature, Radka Toneff made her award-winning album debut in 1977 and recorded only three albums during her lifetime, which was cut short by her tragic death in 1982. Born on June 25, 1952, in Oslo, Norway, she is the daughter of a Bulgarian folksinger and studied at the Oslo Musikkonservatorium from 1971 to 1975. After founding the Radka Toneff Quintet, whose membership included Arild Andersen (bass), Jon Balke (piano), and Jon Eberson (guitar), among others, she made her solo album debut in 1977 with Winter Poem, an English-language effort. Highly acclaimed, the album was awarded a Spellemannprisen (i.e., Norwegian Grammy) in 1977 for Vocal Album of the Year and was a Top 20 hit on the Norwegian albums chart.

Duran Duran personified new wave for much of the mainstream audience. And for good reason. Duran Duran's reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamorous sense of style. Without music videos, it's likely that their pop-funk – described by the group as the Sex Pistols-meet-Chic – would never have made them international pop stars…