Christmas Under Cranberry Sky

Christmas in September, the brand new single from Irish folk singer Heidi Talbot is a beautiful modern day Christmas song. Written by Boo Hewerdine and produced by John McCusker, the song was recorded in Talbot's own studio in the Scottish Borders countryside and finished in various hotel rooms across America. Christmas in September features Richard Bennet (Mark Knopfler, Neil Diamond), Glenn Worf (Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette), Nigel Hitchcock (Tom Jones, Robbie Williams), John McCusker, Phil Cunningham, James Mackintosh and Adam Holmes…

Herbie Hancock's V.S.O.P. project with his former bandmates from the Miles Davis Quintet – Ron Carter, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams – and trumpeter Freddie Hubbard was a band that almost single-handedly tried to re-establish acoustic jazz in the United States. And though they made three recordings, all of which were favorably reviewed and heralded by true jazz fans, none of them sold very well, and the band could find few gigs in the United States. The 1978 tour of major cities was thought to be a triumph at the time, but the unit could find few gigs afterward, and so its various members all went back to their other projects. In 1979, they got the opportunity to tour Japan and jumped at the chance. Sony, Hancock's Japanese label, recorded the two evenings, and the first, which took place during a furious rainstorm, was broadcast live on national television! Live Under the Sky marks the first time that this album has been available in the United States in any form.

If you are familiar with the fragile, faltering trumpet sound Miles Davis revealed on his return to music in 1982 the first thing that will strike you here is that by 1985 the 'prince of darkness' had his strength and his embouchure back. By '85 Miles is both up to it and up for it. As are his band. Seasoned tenor firebrand Bob Berg and guitarist John Scofield share the frontline; Darryl Jones deploys his industrial strength funk bass to maximum effect and Miles' nephew Vince Wilburn Jr. proves that the drum kit Davis bought him as a Star kid was a sound investment. As always with Miles the set list is drawn from contemporaneous releases: Star People (1983), Decoy (1984) and predominantly You're Under Arrest (1985). Performed on July 28, 1985 at Yomiuri Land, Open Theatre East, Inagi, Japan and broadcast on NHK radio.

Two years after the demise of Return To Forever, virtuoso fusioneers Chick Corea and Al Di Meola are joined on stage by legendary drummer Tony Williams and fretless bass wunderkind Bunny Brunel. The set, mainly of Corea compositions, also features All Blues, a tribute to his former employer Miles Davis. The band is tight, the solos are state-of-the-art and the Live Under The Sky crowd are very enthusiastic. Performed at the Den-en Coliseum, Tokyo on the 27th July 1979 and originally broadcast by NHK-FM.

Polish group Slow was founded by Tomasz Kaczmarczyk (guitar) and Krzysztof Wermiński (piano). Their debut album Art of Silence (2011) was followed by Songs For Everyone (2015). Their newest project is Under Everchanging Sky (2022)…

The Chick Corea Band featured here is a high energy quartet plus saxophonist Sadao Watanabe. In fact, the concert feels at times like a showcase for the world's preeminent Japanese jazz musician who was very much a local hero. The music is electric jazz with heavy Latin and funk elements rather than high concept fusion. Bunny Brunel on fretless bass and Tom Brechtlein on drums were Corea regulars at the time and the addition of legendary (even then) percussionist Don Alias makes this 1980 Live Under The Sky performance something special. Performed at the Denen Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan, 27 July 1980 and originally broadcast on NHK radio.