Celeste Bright

"Young, Gifted and Black" is the 18th studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, Released on January 24, 1972, by Atlantic Records. The album is Top 10 Gold-certified. The album won Franklin a 1972 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance of the year. It takes its title from the Nina Simone song "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", which was originally recorded and released by Simone in 1969. In 2003, the TV network VH1 named it the 76th greatest album of all time.

A Western Circular is Will Archer’s debut under his new nom-de-plume, following early EPs and an album under the now-retired Slime moniker. On A Western Circular, Archer has uncovered new depths and forged an invigorating singular sound – supple and multi-layered, honouring his acoustic heritage and influence, while building a sonic universe that commands contemporary references to everything from Frank Zappa to Yasuaki Shimuzu, Robert Wyatt to Arthur Russell.

Vocalist/guitarist/composer Camila Meza is a rarity, a glorious triptych of an artist. She possesses a gift for composing brilliant musical landscapes, a captivating, soulfully pure vocal instrument, and a consummate prowess on guitar, ablaze with irresistible melodies and improvisations. Camila Meza, originally from Santiago, Chile, has garnered rapt attention from her colleagues, the press, and audiences in South America, New York City, and internationally, for her distinctive ability in blending jazz with her broad musical world (that includes Latin American, Brazilian, folk and pop), and for the emotional depth of her music.

There are 24 Odes and Welcome Songs composed by Purcell between 1680 and 1695: 4 celebrate St Cecilia, 6 are to welcome royalty, 3 celebrate King James II’s birthday and 6 celebrate that of Queen Mary (from 1684 to 1694). The others were written for specific events – royal wedding, Yorkshire festival, Duke of Gloucester’s birthday, hundredth anniversary of Dublin’s Trinity College, etc. For these occasions, Purcell composed incredibly imaginative music of amazing quality – often keeping his most beautiful pieces for less remarkable texts, most of the time conventionally obsequious when it came to royalty. According to the registers, the number of singers and musicians were surprisingly small during special events. Purcell’s most elaborate Odes (namely Come Ye sons of Art and Hail! bright Cecilia) seem to have been designed for about twelve instruments and four singers, for solos and choruses. The Banquet Céleste chose a chamber music-like spirit for these extremely expressive and musical works.

Over the course of a career that began more than a quarter of a century ago, Boney James' sound has evolved into one that fused instrumental and vocal R&B with jazz improvisation, making him an artist who has popular acclaim through multiple top selling albums and critical success of multiple Grammy nominations. His 2015 record "Futuresoul" was suited for that intimate evening, while "Honestly" provides the soundtrack for that drive to the spot, cuts for the dance floor, conversation and yes that private moment for two. Sounds like Boney James was trying to create a little something for everybody, and he pulls it off.