Red Dawn Poledouris

Laid back, jazz of great subtlety and artistry by two masters of their instruments.
Joe Pass did the near-impossible. He was able to play up-tempo versions of bop tunes such as "Cherokee" and "How High the Moon" unaccompanied on the guitar. Unlike Stanley Jordan, Pass used conventional (but superb) technique, and his Virtuoso series on Pablo still sounds remarkable decades later.
Joe Pass had a false start in his career. He played in a few swing bands (including Tony Pastor's) before graduating from high school, and was with Charlie Barnet for a time in 1947. But after serving in the military, Pass became a drug addict, serving time in prison and essentially wasting a decade…

Finding that luck, love and letting things roll works out for him just fine, Michael Head leads his Red Elastic Band into a fresh chapter with optimism and some of the best music of his career, with his new, Bill Ryder-Jones-produced album, Dear Scott via Modern Sky UK.

Red Byrd is certainly among the most unusual ensembles before the public today: at its core are two singers, a tenor and bass, who typically engage the services of other vocalists or choral groups, and/or employ the accompaniment of various instrumentalists or instrumental ensembles. It has performed much early music repertory both in concert, including festival appearances, and on recordings.

Anyone who listens through the previous six volumes of Red Norvo on Classics will likely experience a visceral sense of excitement from 1943 onward as Norvo switches from xylophone to vibraphone and adopts a noticeably modern attitude toward the music. Norvo underwent a profound artistic transformation in 1944-1945, his many years of experience enabling him to settle into a new role as established recording artist and bandleader with an open-minded respect for young artists bearing new ideas. Norvo's remarkable skills as an improviser coupled with a willingness to participate in what music critics call the bop revolution often placed him squarely within the eye of the rapidly evolving cultural hurricane of modern music…

With a command of countless genres and a vast list of credits, composer/guitarist Jason Schimmel is a musical polymath whose talents know no bounds. A long time member of Trey Spruance’s legendary ensemble Secret Chiefs 3, his brilliant guitar work embraces a wide variety of traditions and styles, from blues, jazz and surf rock to Balkan folk and heavy metal. Visions of the Void is his masterpiece, an intense program of eclectic music that jumps quickly and seamlessly from one style to another. Years in the making, this is powerfully imaginative instrumental music by an all star ensemble of masters at the top of their game.

Simply Red are a pop institution, at least in areas of the world that are not the United States, and like all institutions, they're in need of a monument to their longevity. Song Book 1985-2010 is that monument, a four-disc box set that tells their story, concentrating on their hits but also adding a disc of new recordings where they revisit deep cuts from their catalog, refashioning them so they sound similar to latter-day Simply Red. This last disc is for the diehards but the rest is for those who have enjoyed hits from "Holding Back the Years" through "Stay," the group's last charting U.K. Top 40 single. All the hits are here, along with enough album tracks to give this weight, and if it's too much for American fans who only remember "Holding Back the Years," "If You Don't Know Me by Now," and maybe "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)," with its comprehensive sprawl it nevertheless illustrates the longevity of Mick Hucknall's blue-eyed soul group.

Picture Book is the debut album by British pop group Simply Red, released in October 1985. It contains the #1 single "Holding Back the Years", the band's most successful single, and a cover of The Valentine Brothers' "Money's Too Tight (To Mention)". Three other singles were released from the album: "Come to My Aid", "Jericho", and "Open Up the Red Box". The album includes 'lively' and 'energetic' groove beats and ballad orientated keyboard undertones that help songs such as "Holding Back the Years" to be so effective. Members Tim Kellett and Fritz McIntyre are acclaimed by Hucknall to be the most influential in the album based on the distinctive sound of their playing.