Michael Horton

Saxophonist Michael Blake makes raw and playful yet elegant music. He has no allegiance to "jazz" per se, although there are pronounced elements of Ellington and Mingus on some of these tracks. Blake's home is clearly the avant-garde, but he freely borrows from rock, Afro-beat, and sounds from the American heartland (the rural scenery on the cover is fitting). Tony Scherr's dry electric guitar is one of the central sonic elements, as is the interplay between Blake and his fellow saxophonists Briggan Krauss and Peck Allmond. Frank Kimbrough plays Rhodes – a rarity – on the opening title track, and Marcus Rojas' tuba seems to emulate a turntable on the rambunctious "Teo Walks," a track on which slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein also appears.

Named after Mozart’s first publisher, having debuted with his delightful Oboe Quartet, five of Australia’s world class musicians unite to explore some of the extensive repertoire for oboe and strings. Founding member, Celia Craig, former Principal player with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, London, & current Principal Oboe of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, said the concept was inspired while playing the Bax Quintet at Royal Academy of Music. Artaria’s debut recording features Bax, Britten, Finzi & Vaughan Williams recorded in the highest possible resolution at the newly designed Jeffrey Kong Performing Arts Centre, home of Brighton Secondary School’s Government-sponsored Specialist Music Program.

'Don't Mess With Mrs Murphy' is the new solo album from Heather Lynne Horton. You may already know Heather as Singer, Songwriter, Fiddle player and one half of The Westies (the other half of which is her husband Michael McDermott). The Westies, received vast, critical acclaim while the urgency for Horton to get back to her own roots, remained impending after putting her career on hold upon the birth of their child, Rain in 2010.