Midnight in Moscow

5-CD set featuring 79 (mostly vocal) smooth jazz classics from legends such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Nat 'King' Cole, Frank Sinatra, Jose Feliciano, Mel Torme, Astrud Gilberto, Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.

Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert, (16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980), better known as Bert Kaempfert, was a German orchestra leader, music producer, and songwriter. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the music for a number of well-known songs, including "Strangers in the Night" and "Moon Over Naples". Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany, where he received his lifelong nickname, Fips, and studied at the local school of music. A multi-instrumentalist, he was hired by Hans Busch to play with his orchestra before serving as a bandsman in the German Navy during World War II. He later formed his own big band, toured with them, then worked as an arranger and producer, making hit records with Freddy Quinn and Ivo Robić. In 1961, he hired The Beatles to back Tony Sheridan for an album called My Bonnie. The album and its singles, released by Polydor Records, were the Beatles' first commercially released recordings.

It is tempting to dismiss `Best Of' albums, especially when the musicians are well known and they have made many many recordings. However these 3 CDs really do stand out - starting Track 1 CD1 with `Stranger On The Shore' as the trad jazz number holding a record for the longest time in the charts - it's Acker's pension pot! This sets the scene for a further 60 tremendous tracks of good-time music from the `trad' boom in the late 1950s and 1960s. For fans of Chris Barber, Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk the listings confirm numerous favourites, and even newcomers are likely to recognise `trad' titles such as Barber's (Monty Sunshine really) `Petite Fleur', Ball's `Midnight In Moscow' and Bilk's `A Taste Of Honey'.

Aida Garifullina’s debut album is one of the most eagerly awaited operatic events of the year! Since her triumphant win at Plácido Domingo’s Operalia 2013, the young star soprano from Kazan has become the hottest newcomer of the opera world – winning audiences over with stand-out performances at Vienna State Opera and Mariinsky Theatre, recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Vienna Musikverein and a US tour with Andrea Bocelli. Boosting a unique media profile Aida has made her feature film debut in Florence Foster Jenkins alongside Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.

The Caiola Connection: The Creative World of Al Caiola is an extension of Jasmine's enormously popular THE CAIOLA BONANZA: Great Western Themes and Extra Bounties (JASCD743).

Aida Garifullina's debut album is one of the most eagerly awaited operatic events of the year!