Japanese Jazz Sax Girl

X-Legged Sally (XLS) is a Belgian avant-garde rock/jazz-band founded in 1988 by composer Peter Vermeersch, and disbanded in 1997. They were one of the first bands from Belgium to combine a set of very different musical styles (jazz, rock, improvisation and classical), becoming a starting point for the Belgian indie music scene that developed in the nineties. Initially, X-Legged Sally was formed to compose and perform the music Peter Vermeersch wrote for dance productions, such as Immer das Selbe Gelogen (Always the Same Lies), released as a live cd in 1991. Vermeersch' composing style was becoming too demanding for the constraints of sheet music such as was used in his earlier band Maximalist! From the beginning, improvisation played an important role in XLS' songs. The first X-Legged Sally concert took place in November 1988. Soon, XLS became a band in its own right, although there would be cooperations with dance ensembles throughout the existence of the group.

An elegant and sophisticated pianist, his encyclopedic harmonic approach and wide range of his repertory made him one of the most distinctive jazz pianists to come out of Chicago, gaining the respect of local and visiting musicians for his notable mastery of the instrument.

A really beautiful chapter in the career of reedman Sadao Watanabe - a batch of mostly original compositions, as you might guess from the title - and a double-length record that really showed an evolution of his talents! The sound is often highly lyrical - with Watanabe blowing alto, soprano sax, and flute in modes that are clearly informed by his bossa nova recordings of the late 60s, but which also spring forth in even more complicated styles - with echoes of French soundtracks, European jazz, and other sweet styles of the time. The group's a small one - with Yoshiaki Masuo on guitar, Kazuo Yashiro on acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, Masabumi Kikuchi on piano, Yoshio Suzuki on bass, and Fumio Watanabe on drums.

Since finishing second to Joshua Redman in the Thelonious Monk Institute's tenor sax competition, Eric Alexander has built an impressive discography as a leader, while also drawing a lot of attention in both the U.S. and Japan. This Venus CD, recorded in 2005 and one of the last sessions by pianist John Hicks (who died just over a year later), primarily focuses on standards, with the exception of Hicks' tense hard bop vehicle "Avotcja." A loping treatment of "Sunday in New York" is a solid opener, conveying the image of a brisk walk in Central Park on a cool autumn day. Alexander's driving arrangement of "Dearly Beloved" and the lush, slowly savored duet with Hicks of "Like Someone in Love" are obvious highlights. He also revives the unjustly obscure "My Girl Is Just Enough Woman for Me" in swinging fashion.

Chicago XXXVI: Now, sometimes stylized as "NOW" Chicago XXXVI, is the twenty-third studio album, and thirty-sixth overall by Chicago. It was written and recorded in 2013—2014, and is scheduled for release on July 4, 2014. Aside from the sprinkling of new tracks found in the band's many compilation and cover albums, Now is the band's next full album of new compositions in the eight years since 2006's …

In the Land of Grey and Pink is considered by many to be a pinnacle release from Caravan. The album contains an undeniable and decidedly European sense of humor and charm. In addition, this would mark the end of the band's premiere lineup. Co-founder David Sinclair would leave Caravan to form Matching Mole with Soft Machine drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt in August of 1971. As a group effort, In the Land of Grey and Pink displays all the ethereal brilliance Caravan created on their previous pair of 12" outings. Their blending of jazz and folk instrumentation and improvisational styles hints at Traffic and Family, as displayed on "Winter Wine," as well as the organ and sax driven instrumental introduction to "Nine Feet Underground"…