David Sprintzen Camus

As early as 1976, Nat Hentoff wrote: "Once in a great while, a musician emerges with such authority and such seemingly effortless originality that his place in the front ranks of his instrument is unquestioned." Hentoff was not speaking of promise or potential, but actual performance, and forty-two years later, with My Faith, My Life, bassist David Friesen has added immeasurably to his stature. With its two CD suites complementing each other so fully, it's an epochal achievement - a testament to the offers of faith, matched with a purposeful life. Disc One is a 13-piece solo performance on his Hemage Bass, which calls attention to the intimacy and immediacy of his compositions. The solo piano of Disc Two highlights Friesen's supple touch on an instrument he's not generally known for. Closing the set, the composition "My Faith, My Life" sums it all up: a credo, affirmation, reverence - lower register continuity laced with sublime melody: a hymn to the Source of all song, with a fitting Amen at the close.

The House of David was David "Fathead" Newman's comeback album of sorts, marking his first release after the end of his association with Ray Charles and a few years spent with his family in his hometown of Dallas. Organist Kossie Gardner, guitarist Ted Dunbar, and drummer Milt Turner support Newman's gritty "Texas tenor" sound, which captures the straightforwardness of R&B pop and the improvisational elements of jazz. Newman plays the flute on the spunky "Miss Minnie," but one of the most interesting songs on the album is the untypical rendition of a Bob Dylan tune, "Just Like a Woman." the artist's warm tenor lifts this song to angelic heights, and it's fathomed that he had only heard the song a few times before laying down this recording…

Renowned electric violinist from King Crimson, David Cross, presents this new collection of studio recordings featuring a diverse array of styles and moods! Includes both instrumental tracks as well as vocal performances by guest singers Sonja Kraushofer of L'Ame Immortelle, Anne-Marie Hurst of Skeletal Family, acclaimed Israeli singer Ofra Haza, Christian Death vocalist Eva O and more!

David Crosby's debut solo album was the second release in a trilogy of albums (the others being Paul Kantner's Blows Against the Empire and Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder) involving the indefinite aggregation of Bay Area friends and musical peers that informally christened itself the Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra. Everyone from the members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane to Crosby's mates in CSNY, Neil Young and Graham Nash, dropped by the studio to make significant contributions to the proceedings. (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, and Bill Kreutzman, primarily, act as the ad hoc studio band, with other notables adding bits of flavor to other individual tracks.)

David Arkenstone's career has been a long and unusual one. On one hand, he makes new age music that takes influence from composers like John Williams, Brian Eno, and Tangerine Dream. On the other hand, most of his songs are highly based in fantasy and science fiction, taking their inspiration from the works of Mercedes Lackey and J.R.R. Tolkien. It is this bizarre mishmash of influences that produces some of the most recognized and respected instrumentals of the '80s and '90s. The album is programmed quite nicely, taking the listener on a sonic journey through Arkenstone's career by attempting to capture certain moods and styles from song to song. The transitions are flawless, leaving the listener without any tracks to skip through or slow moments…