Blackbird

American composer Benjamin Broening (b. 1967) drew inspiration for the eight haunting pieces on this disc from the natural world in Estonia. The combinations of acoustical instruments and electronics are so deftly achieved that textures come and go with surprising enchantment and tension. The disc’s title comes from the virtuosic flute solo that evokes a conflicted environment. Eighth blackbird, the chamber ensemble founded at Oberlin College, play Broening’s collection to the expressive skies.

An alienated teenager's posturing online threat ignites a firestorm of fear in a small community.

This is the Keith Jarrett Trio's – featuring bassist Gary Peacock and drummer Jack DeJohnette – elegy for their former employer Miles Davis, recorded only 13 days after the maestro's death. The lonely figure in shadow with a horn on the cover contrasts with the joyous spirit of many of the tracks on this CD, yet there is still a ghostly presence to deal with – and in keeping with Miles' credo, Jarrett's choice of notes is often more purposefully spare than usual. There is symmetry in the organization of the album, with "Bye Bye Blackbird" opening and the trio's equally jaunty "Blackbird, Bye Bye" closing the album, and the interior tracks immediately following the former and preceding the latter are "You Won't Forget Me" and "I Thought About You." The centerpiece of the CD is an 18-and-a-half-minute group improvisation, "For Miles," which after some DeJohnette tumbling around becomes a dirge sometimes reminiscent of Miles' own elegy for Duke Ellington, "He Loved Him Madly." As an immediate response to a traumatic event, Jarrett and his colleagues strike the right emotional balance to create one of their more meaningful albums.

With influences ranging from Siouxsie and The Banshees to Tom Waits and Journey Los Angeles emcee Blackbird has styles aplenty.You may know Blackbird as a member of the psychedelic hip hop group Dark Leaf or from his stellar vocal performance on the seminal Beneath the Surface compilation produced by OMID. His newest offering Birds Eye View is a perfect amalgamation of spoken word and avant garde beats produced entirely by Paris Zax known for his work with Busdriver and The Shapeshifters.