Zulema Ms. Z

Internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano and Grammy Award-winner Joyce DiDonato stars as Dido in this recording captured at Essen Philharmonie, part of a European tour that included prestigious venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Teatro Real de Madrid. The whole Dido & Aeneas team is a terrific ensemble featuring tenor Michael Spyres (Aeneas), soprano Fatma Said (Belinda), Beth Taylor (Sorceress),… and Il Pomo d’Oro, under the baton of Maxim Emelyanychev.

Z.Z. Hill (1981). The initial step in Hill's amazing rebirth as a contemporary blues star, courtesy of Jackson, Mississippi's Malaco Records and producers Tommy Couch and Wolf Stephenson. The vicious blues outings "Bump and Grind" and "Blue Monday" were the first salvos fired by Hill at the blues market, though much of the set - "Please Don't Make Me (Do Something Bad to You)," "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - was solidly in the Southern soul vein.
Bluesmaster (1984). Issued the year he died, Bluesmaster boasted more competent soul-blues hybrids by the man who reenergized the blues idiom with his trademark growl. LaSalle's "You're Ruining My Bad Reputation," "Friday Is My Day" (written by legendary Malaco promo man Dave Clark), and a nice reading of Paul Kelly's slinky "Personally" rate with the standouts.