Blue Music

Seven of Michael Torke's most popular orchestral showstoppers are presented on this 2012 compilation in Decca's 20C series, which surveys the most important works of the 20th century. The listener who is unacquainted with Torke's eclectic and ingenious compositions will get a clear idea of their originality as well as their slickness, and the high energy of his music as a whole is likely to leave a strong impression.

Music for Airport Furniture is a gorgeous minimalist work in which a string quartet broods on limited harmonic material; occasionally, a hint of melody ruffles its slow-moving and placid (but is it really?) surface. It doesn’t take much imagination to hear Whittington’s (b. 1953) description of the emotions associated with airports mirrored in this work, which is nearly monotonous but never boring, given the sensuousness of the harmonies. Imagine Bernard Herrmann crossed with Morton Feldman (Bernard Feldman? Morton Herrmann? Burton Mannfeld?), and you’ll get the general idea. ... It’s a beautifully creepy way to spend 23 minutes.

New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records release The Blue Hour, a song cycle written collaboratively by the female composers Rachel Grimes, Angélica Negrón, Shara Nova, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snider; this unique joint vision among a female collective is available October 14, 2022. The cycle was commissioned by, and is performed with, the Boston–based chamber orchestra A Far Cry. (Nova also is featured as vocal soloist.) Set to excerpts from Carolyn Forché’s epic poem On Earth, the music follows one woman’s journey through the space between life and death via thousands of hallucinatory and non-linear images. Exploring memories of childhood, of war, of love, and of loss, The Blue Hour amplifies the beauty, pain, and fragility of human life from a collective female perspective.

This German release of the rare Canadian Capitol LP Don't Make Me Over not only contains the original dozen tracks from this long lost album, but 19 extra bonus tracks culled from various European singles, and previously unreleased material…

Walking Back Home is an album by Scottish pop rock band Deacon Blue released in 1999. It was their first album since reforming that year after disbanding in 1994. A part studio/part compilation album, it contains nine of their earlier songs coupled with eight brand-new or previously unreleased songs.

A New York-based ensemble led by keyboardist Phil Clendennin, Tarika Blue released two recordings in the late '70s that blended silky jazz fusion sensibilities and the mellow soul sound of the day that's now considered old-school. Vocalist Erykah Badu rekindled interest in the group by using, without permission, its laid-back tune 'Dreamflower' as the background for her platinum hit, 'Didn't Cha Know,' which went on to be nominated for R&B song of the year in 2001.