Slave Girls of Sheba Aka Le Verdi Bandiere di Allah (1963) Giacomo Gentilomo, Guido Zurli, José Suárez, Linda Cristal, Cristina Gaioni

Le Orme have created so many great prog albums that they all should be talked about more than they are. "Uomo Di Pezza" is on of their finest moments ever in the studio and offers some brilliant moments. "Uomo.." is full of PFM-like orchestral interludes with the unmistakable sound of Aldo Tagliapietra and company. Like so many other Le Orme albums this one ends far too earyl and only clicks in around 35 mins. "Uomo Di Pezza" is a very complete album and should definitely appeal to fans of the classic early 70?s Italian prog scene. The quiet moments on this release are quite magical and very spiritual in many ways fitting nicely the concept behind this progressive rock masterpiece.

Jazz at Preservation Hall: The Eureka Brass Band features New Orleans street parade jazz with bristling horns, sousaphone, and two marching drummers. Trumpeter Percy Humphrey leads an ensemble notable for the presence of saxophonist Emanuel Paul and Percy's brother, Willie, who blows some of the best clarinet he ever recorded. What makes this an unforgettable listening experience is the dual trombone action supplied by Albert Warner and Oscar "Chicken" Henry. Tailgate trombone is almost always fun, but these two seem to have discovered some sort of harmonic convergence, as two trombones, in unison glissando with a slight burr, deliver an almost intoxicating thrill. The best example of this effect occurs in "Take Your Burden to the Lord," while "Panama" allows the 'bones to interact with the saxophone in marvelous ways. A gem of an album, certainly among the finest extant examples of classic Crescent City jazz as played in the early '60s.

Perhaps no opera is closely and affectionately associated with a single house as Le nozze di Figaro is with Glyndebourne. Effortlessly witty yet shot through with pain and sadness, this deeply ambivalent life in the day of masters and servants as they scheme and outwit one another was Glyndebourne's opening production in 1934. Michael Grandage's staging is the seventh, set in a louche Sixties ambience. Marshalled by the 'ideal pacing of Robin Ticciati, a youthful cast of principals has 'no weak link' and 'looks gorgeous' (The Sunday Times) in a production that continues Glyndebourne's rewarding history of engagement with Mozart's and da Ponte's 'day of madness'.