World Perfect Ken Spiro

Welcome To My World, Grammy Award-winning bass-baritone Mark Steven Doss’s debut recording for Cedille Records, is a solo vocal recital showcasing Doss’s extraordinary career and artistic versatility. The recording provides a rich and varied musical experience, reflecting Doss’s range as a performer.

Ken Peplowski is among the top clarinetists and tenor saxophonists of his generation. After a long, fruitful period recording as a leader for Concord, Peplowski started getting a number of offers to record for overseas labels. He alternates between the two instruments during these 2006 sessions, well accompanied by pianist Ted Rosenthal, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi (long Marian McPartland's bassist of choice), and drummer Jeff Brillinger, all veterans like the leader. Peplowski's lush tenor in the first interpretation of "Memories of You" recalls Ben Webster with his soft, breathy vibrato and lyrical style. He also caresses Roland Kirk's infrequently heard ballad "Bright Moments" and renders an elegant "Dream Dancing" as well…

Arguably the most gifted Jamaican performer of his generation, Ken Boothe is today widely regarded as a living legend, having recorded innumerable ska, rocksteady and reggae classics over a period spanning some 60 years. After making his recording debut in 1962, Ken enjoyed a hugely successful career in Jamaica before achieving international stardom in 1974 with his chart-topping interpretation of "Everything I Own" and the top 10 follow-up "Crying Over You." Both of these hugely popular tracks feature on this collection, which forms part of Trojan Record's new Essential Artist series, which showcases the best-loved recordings of some of Jamaica's greatest musical talents.

From 1973 until this very year (2019 at time of writing) one-time Uriah Heep man Ken Hensley has treated us to a huge amount of music outside of the band that he still can’t quite shake of his long standing link with. The first of these solo sojourns, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf, arrived in 1973, when Hensley was still part of The ‘eep and very much ‘appy to be so. Together with 1975’s Eager To Please and 1980’s Free Spirit these three albums have been brought together under the banner The Bronze Years 1973-1980 by Cherry Red/HNE Records with a newly recorded DVD, which finds roughly an hours’ worth of new chat with man himself regarding the three albums re-released here and the era in which they were recorded…