Mike Whitaker

Louis Philippe may still be best known as a purveyor of creamy pop confections for Mike Alway's wonderfully eccentric él label, yet his work continued to deepen and develop long after él bit the dust in 1989. He once described his music as "covering the range from pure bubblegum to symphonic sweep, with detours via jazz and soul along the way. A typical album might mix influences from vintage pop, French chanson, Ravel, bossa nova, Duke Ellington, the Shirelles, or the Beach Boys, while classical instruments and intricate backing vocals often feature in the arrangements."

In jazz or any music for that matter, there’s nothing quite like low brass. And within that family, there’s nothing like the trombone — warm and lyrical as a cello, yet able to swing hard and stand out in any ensemble, summoning the widest range of emotion and expression. Altin Sencalar and Chris Glassman, with their co-led debut Realization, have found their own way of showcasing the instrument to its fullest sonic potential: combining the tenor trombone (Sencalar) and bass trombone (Glassman) in one frontline unit.

If you are a fan of phenomenal guitarist Russell Malone, you must have been craving for his recording output. After getting his "break" from recording and touring with Diana Krall, Malone is now leading his own group and just began to issue a steady stream of albums from MaxJazz. But, in 1995, before he joined Krall's band, he had recorded this wonderful gem of an album for the Japanese label Venus Records. Supported by a trio of good musicians, he displays all his talents and soulful playing in this well-recorded release. You'll also love it if you are a fan of straight-ahead, bop- and blues-oriented jazz guitar.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their seminal debut, iconic French duo Air releases a 2CD/Bluray reedition with rare and even unreleased material of their most legendary album Moon Safari. The package includes a Spatial Atmos audio version of the original album, along with a remarkable selection of previously unreleased track versions, as well as the 1998 documentary film "Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing" by acclaimed director Mike Mills in HD format. This documentary follows band members Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel during their first ever tour stops in New York, London, and Paris.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their seminal debut, iconic French duo Air releases a 2CD/Bluray reedition with rare and even unreleased material of their most legendary album Moon Safari.
The package includes a Spatial Atmos audio version of the original album, along with a remarkable selection of previously unreleased track versions, as well as the 1998 documentary film "Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing" by acclaimed director Mike Mills in HD format. This documentary follows band members Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel during their first ever tour stops in New York, London, and Paris.

"The blackest of Italian pianists" was born May 16th, 1965, in Genoa. He studied piano with Maestro Flavio Crivelli and began his career collaborating with musicians from the Genoa Area, especially with the bassist Piero Leveratto. In 1993 he was invited for the first time in the USA. He plays with Red Holloway and Albert "Tootie" Heath on a tour on the West Coast.

featuring Kenny Weldon