Seven (1995)

The working trio of pianist Walton, bassist David Williams, and drummer Billy Higgins is not only bulletproof but in lockstep with Walton's extraordinary musical talents. This set, done at Yoshi's Nitespot in Oakland, CA for radio broadcast over KJAZ-FM, is a perfect example of the Walton trio's brilliance. Of the seven pieces, four are Walton's and comprise his better writings. "Bremond's Blues," an underrated composition in the Walton repertoire, starts and ends by quoting "Giant Steps" and paraphrasing "Sweet & Lovely" in the middle, and spreads buttery melodicism throughout. "N.P.S." is a Walton classic, with Higgins' tango-to-light-swing rhythm accenting a bluesy melody. "Fiesta Espanol" is quicker, brighter, and quite familiar to fans, with Higgins digging in on his lengthy drum solo, while "Ironclad" features an elongated intro and coda, stating the chiming staccato melody in two spurts over 14 minutes…

For many years, the Charlatans were perceived as the also-rans of Madchester, the group who didn't capture the Zeitgeist like the Stone Roses or the mad genre-bending of Happy Mondays. Of course, they were more traditional than either of their peers. Working from a Stonesy foundation, the Charlatans added dance-oriented rhythms and layers of swirling organs straight out of '60s psychedelia.

Now & Forever is the ninth studio album by Kim Wilde, released in 1995 via MCA Records. After three albums featuring a consistent pop sound, Wilde decided it was time for another change and chose to make an album with a decided soul/R&B feel to it. Ricky Wilde still produced, but joined forces with CJ Mackintosh for four of the album's tracks and co-produced with the Serious Rope team for seven others.

In the 1990s, smooth jazz was the whipping boy of the jazz world - everyone from hard boppers to Dixieland revivalists to fusion guitarists railed against the schlock that filled NAC play lists. And their anger was often justifiable; elevator versions of Michael Bolton hits shouldn't be described as jazz. However, commercial pop-jazz doesn't have to be bloodless elevator Muzak, and the German keyboardist/organist Nils Gessinger was obviously well-aware of that fact when he recorded 1995's Ducks 'N' Cookies for GRP. Make no mistake: Ducks 'N' Cookies is commercial music. The pop-jazz instrumentals that dominate the CD are meant to be accessible and groove-oriented, and when Gessinger features a vocalist on occasion, he tends to favor soul-influenced pop/rock melodies along the lines of Steely Dan (but minus the cryptic, abstract lyrics that Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were known for)…

Leaving To Nothing (1995). This album is truly authentic to the best of what was being recorded in the mid to late 1970s electronic scene. It's where rock meets electro. This recording is almost haunting. It's as if the talented musicians who recorded this album were transported through time and just started jamming. If you like Floyd, Parsons, Carlos, Tomita, Vangelis, Baumann, Tangerine Dream, or any of the other notables of that era…

Venja brings together the extremes of musical tradition. The computer technology of the high-tech era together with the soft timbre of classically trained female singers. The two are finely balanced. When anyone accuses the creators of electronic music that their sounds are subdued and bizarre, Venja can teach them the error of their ways. Even though this musician considers himself to be a synthesizer purist. Venja lives in the eastern part of Belgium and has an education into digital technologies and so he build his first instruments himself. The millions of sounds which he can entice out of these instruments fascinate him and fill him with enthusiasm. This is the raw material for his “sound painting” much simular to the paint which painters place on their palettes. “Combining sounds in the right way, i.e. using them in the right context and breathing live into them, this is what puts the harmony into my music”, he says.

Venja brings together the extremes of musical tradition. The computer technology of the high-tech era together with the soft timbre of classically trained female singers. The two are finely balanced. When anyone accuses the creators of electronic music that their sounds are subdued and bizarre, Venja can teach them the error of their ways. Even though this musician considers himself to be a synthesizer purist. Venja lives in the eastern part of Belgium and has an education into digital technologies and so he build his first instruments himself. The millions of sounds which he can entice out of these instruments fascinate him and fill him with enthusiasm. This is the raw material for his “sound painting” much simular to the paint which painters place on their palettes. “Combining sounds in the right way, i.e. using them in the right context and breathing live into them, this is what puts the harmony into my music”, he says.