Diana Krall

As 2006 nears its end, no one can argue that the world of country music isn't, at this moment, the most adventurous in the mainstream pop music industry and that Nash Vegas is taking more chances on its acts as the rest of the biz relies more on narrowing things into smaller and smaller niches that can easily be hyped and digested. Sure, as always, artist's images and many recordings are calculated to score big as in any pop industry. The difference is in approach. The country-listening audience/demographic has widened considerably; therefore, there is a need – as well as an opportunity – for experimentation to see what sticks. This is the most exciting the music's been since Willie and Waylon hit the charts in the '70s, or perhaps to be a bit more fair, when Garth Brooks turned them upside down in the early '90s…

On this unusual CD, the remarkable harmonica player Toots Thielemans explores a variety of mostly French melodies. The music is often nostalgic and wistful but generally swinging, with enough different tempos to hold one's interest throughout. The oddest aspect of the set is that there is an overdubbed vocal apiece by Diana Krall ("La Vie en Rose"), Dianne Reeves, Johnny Mathis, Shirley Horn, and a promising newcomer known here only as Chip; Krall, Reeves, and Chip sing in French. Thielemans plays beautifully throughout the relaxed date, which includes "I Wish You Love," "The Windmills of Your Mind," "Once Upon a Summertime," and "Moulin Rouge." Easily recommended.

Kisses on the Bottom is the sixteenth solo studio album by Paul McCartney. The album's title, "Kisses on the Bottom", comes from the album's lead track "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter", originally a hit for Fats Waller in 1935. Said McCartney on the album, "I worked with Diana Krall, and great jazz musicians like John Clayton. This is an album very tender, very intimate. This is an album you listen to at home after work, with a glass of wine or a cup of tea."

Because Emilie-Claire Barlow is a female jazz singer from Canada, some American jazz enthusiasts have inevitably compared her to Canada's most famous jazz export: Diana Krall. But truth be told, Barlow doesn't sound anything like Krall. While Krall's performances have a sultry, dusky, very nocturnal quality, Barlow's singing has favored a youthful, girlish sweetness. That isn't to say that Barlow's bop-oriented work is unswinging — in fact, she has no problem tackling complex arrangements, high-speed scat singing, and vocalese. Besides, Barlow is from Toronto, not western Canada (where Krall grew up). Barlow has spent her entire life in Toronto, where she was born on June 6, 1976. Her father is jazz drummer Brian Barlow…

French piano star Jean Yves Thibaudet is joined by young Chinese violinist Yue Deng for this album of intimate classical music for piano and violin by the celebrated jazz composer/ arranger Claus Ogermann. Grammy Award Winner Claus Ogermann is a musician of rare breadth and versatility who has worked with all the great song stylists including Frank Sinatra, Stan Getz, George Benson, Nelson Riddle, Astrid Gilberto, Michael Brecker and Antonio Carlos Jobim. Well known for recent collaborations with Diana Krall (including the album The Look Of Love), Claus Ogermann has also written works performed by legendary pianists Bill Evans and Glenn Gould, and is the arranger of the classic recording of The Girl From Ipenema. Classical style has always been important to Ogermann, and his compositions include concertos-both classical and jazz- a song cycle (premiered by Brigitte Fasbaender and an orchestral suite commissioned for the American Ballet Theatre. Praised as "one of the most exciting talents before the public today," pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet is renowned for his eloquent phrasing, lustrous colors and brilliant technique. His poetic interpretations have won him a following throughout the United States and around the globe, having performed with virtually every major orchestra in the world. Yue Deng is one of today's outstanding Chinese violinists, having trained in China and at New York's Juilliard School.