Elbow

On Blue & Sentimental, tenor saxman Guy Laffite leads a quartet through a series of ballads originally composed by the likes of Count Basie (the title track), Duke Ellington ("Krum Elbow Blues"), and Ted Koehler ("Get Happy," "I've Got the World on a String"), among others. It's a rather laid-back and unchallenging set that's intended more for relaxing than analysis, and when approached as such, it proves quite effective. Laffite's quartet includes Raymond Fol (piano), George Daly (vibraphone), and Peanuts Holland (trumpet).

John Abercrombie and Ralph Towner have forever been tied to the ECM roster as leaders and individualists, and initially it was hard to imagine their styles being compatible. As an amplified electric guitarist, Abercrombie's steely, sometime unearthly sound was an uneven puzzle piece alongside the graphic, stoic, classically oriented style of Towner. Yet on Sargasso Sea, there are several instances where they merge together as one, feeling their way through pure improvisations, angular and colorful motifs, or thematic nuances and a certain strata of consciousness that makes a world of common sense. There are selections where they both play acoustic guitars, but it is mostly Abercrombie's hopped up sound through an amp over Towner's bold and beautiful unplugged instrument, tossing in a piano overdubbed on two tracks…

Though this masterpiece foreshadowed the Americana movement by nearly 25 years, that these chaps are all Englishmen is even more astounding. Drawing from the same creative vein as the some of the Grateful Dead's countrified work, the twang and rock go down smooth like a good sip of smooth whiskey…

Celebrated trumpeter and vocalist Bria Skonberg forges new foundation with What It Means, a heartfelt and hard-grooving homage to New Orleans, releasing July 26, 2024 via Cellar Music Group.

Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, Dave Meredith, Luther Grosvenor, and John 'Poli' Palmer - collectively known as the Deep Feeling - came close in 1966 to being the "next big thing" to come out of the West Midlands. As events would have it, the group folded when on the verge of success, leaving behind precious few recordings previously unavailable until now. Sunbeam Records has finally done the group justice by issuing this CD that will help ensure their place in the region's rich rock music history. Deep Feeling evolved from the Worcester group The Hellions whose origins can be traced back to that town's early 1960s beat scene.

Bioscope is the highly anticipated collaborative project from guitar maestro Steve Rothery, founding member of Marillion, who has sold millions of albums worldwide and helped define the sound of progressive rock with chart-topping records — and from electronic visionary Thorsten Quaeschning, musical director of Tangerine Dream, credited on over 100 album releases and known for his acclaimed work on major film and game soundtracks. The word ‘Bioscope’ comes from the Greek ‘bios’ meaning life and ‘skopeein’ meaning to look; prior to the invention of cinema, it meant ‘a view or survey of life’. And that’s what Bioscope is about.