Harem Scarem Live at The Phoenix

This double recital, recorded on 9 November 1969 at the Berlin Philharmonic, takes place at a very special time in Sarah Vaughan's life. To everyone's astonishment, the small, awkward 45-year-old gave one of the most masterful stage performances of her career that could be captured on tape. In almost two hours she silenced all misgivings by proving how her approach to music remained eminently topical. Surrounded with an elegance as discreet as it is stimulating by a trio that is a master in the art of understatement, free of mannerisms, still as virtuosic as ever, developing her vocal technique to its highest degree throughout her incredible tessitura, between naturalness and sophistication, simplicity and refinement, Sarah Vaughan shakes things up. Sarah Vaughan resolutely favours sentimental melodies, making her warm, supple, suave and swinging voice the ultra-sensitive seismograph of the whole range of mixed feelings.

Omar Dykes tears it up big-time on this marvelous live outing. Pulling tunes largely from his then-current Hard Times in the Land of Plenty album, Dykes and his band deliver the goods with loads of panache and attitude for a hometown crowd hanging on every note. Dykes' voice is poised somewhere between Howlin' Wolf and Bob Seger, while his guitar style is a Texas version of John Fogerty's work with Creedence, but the sound he produces out of all this is totally unique. The disc is loaded with solid Dykes originals like "Mississippi Hoo Doo Man," "Same Old Grind," "Hard Times in the Land of Plenty," and a wild encore performance of Jerry McCain's "Rock'n'Roll Ball." One great little package.

'Live at the Royal Albert Hall' is Katie Melua's third live album, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 16th May 2023 to a sold-out audience. Bookending Katie's 'Love & Money' tour in 2023, promoting her ninth studio album of the same name, 'Live at the Royal Albert Hall' is a celebration of her remarkable 20-year career to date. Initially postponed from 2020 due to the global pandemic, the concert was the fulfilment of a long-held personal ambition of Katie's. The 21-track setlist takes in beautiful live renditions of some of Katie's best-loved and classic songs, including 'The Closest Thing To Crazy', 'I Cried For You' and 'Nine Million Bicycles', as well as the first live recordings of newer songs like 'Golden Record' and 'Quiet Moves'.