Class of '55

One of the many delights coming from Frans Brüggen’s distinguished career has been the understanding which he brings to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach – such as here with the St. John Passion – whether on the concert platform or on record. Brüggen’s cultured feeling for Bach’s musical structures as much as for its style and expressive content permits a textural clarity enjoyed by few of his directing colleagues. A special wealth of experience in the music of Bach has also been gained by the members of the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century across the three decades of its existence and as part of its regular concert series (there have now been over a hundred of these tours!) and with a concentrated opportunity to focus on one work, Bach’s masterpiece was performed and recorded in Spring 2010.

Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and Nat Adderley are both legendary names in jazz now, but when the material on these two discs was recorded in 1955, they were newcomers on the New York jazz scene. These 21 tracks were originally released on three separate LPs: the first as Bohemia After Dark (with drummer Kenny Clarke billed as leader), the second under Cannonball's name as Spontaneous Combustion, and the third titled That's Nat. This reissue leaves the tracks in the same order as that found on the original LPs (with the addition of several alternate takes). The playing is stupendous, and Cannonball's alto sax is particularly reminiscent of Charlie Parker at the peak of his powers.

Written by a master story-teller, this nostalgic book recalls motor racing highlights from half a century ago, when the sport was passionate, heroic and highly dangerous. Pivotal moments in that eventful summer of 1955 include Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson winning the Mille Miglia, Alberto Ascari crashing into the harbor at the Monaco Grand Prix, the spectator catastrophe at Le Mans, and Juan Manuel Fangio's apparent gift of victory to Moss in the British Grand Prix.