Paris

Massenet was not only the composer of Manon and Werther. In the shadow of his stage works slumber many mélodies decked out in subtle and delicate orchestrations, which we are delighted to revive here. These previously unrecorded works have been entrusted to a team of first-rate artists, most of them fervent champions of French poetry and its musical settings.

Inaugurated back in autumn 2000, the Jazz in Paris collection has marked the past decade as a reference in the French capital's jazz recordings. Thanks to the unrivalled quality of the albums it features, the series provides a complete panorama of Parisian jazz from the 30s to the 70s.

Mary Lou Williams spent a fair amount of time in Europe in the early '50s, prior to a temporary hiatus from jazz. This CD from Verve's Jazz in Paris series compiles two separate sessions from 1954; one features a trio, a quintet, and a pair of vocals by blues singer Beryl Bryden, and the other is purely a trio. All of the selections are fairly brief, with only one running over three-and-a-half minutes. The first 11 songs are a bit of a mixed bag. The strongest tracks feature Williams alone ("I Made You Love Paris" and her "Club Francais Blues") or with her trio ("Avalon," "Swingin' for the Guys," and "Memories of You")…

The two 1957 sessions that make up this CD featuring Earl Hines with a pickup rhythm section in Paris were recorded originally for Phillips, with bassist Guy Pedersen and drummer Gus Wallez. The pianist is in top form, including just a little of the Dixieland repertoire ("Royal Garden Blues" and "Muskrat Ramble") that typically dominated most of his recordings made in the U.S. during this period, and spending more time exploring favorite warhorses like "Hallelujah" and "Makin' Whoopee," as well as already classic jazz compositions such as "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight" and "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)." While the tracks are generally brief, the music is consistently swinging at a high level and four bonus tracks have been added to the CD reissue, so it should be considered an essential purchase for fans of Earl "Fatha" Hines.

As everybody knows, Paris Hilton is famous simply for existing. Even before she was a household name the heiress to the Hilton hotel fortune was famous in certain circles, partially because of her pedigree, partially because she was at every exclusive party, partially because of her very name, an instantly memorable and malleable moniker that spawned T-shirts ("Paris Hilton Is Burning") and gossip websites alike. All this hipster activity was bound to spill over into the mainstream and it did in a spectacular fashion in 2003 when she and Nicole Richie – her best friend for life circa 2003 – starred in the reality series The Simple Life, which saw the two pampered socialites attempting to fit into the real world of Wal-Marts and roadhouse saloons.

BBE Records proudly presents its 5th and arguably most exciting compilation with the French dj and ambassador of disco, Dimitri from Paris. This compilation focuses on Dimitri’s essential disco era tracks - made in Philadelphia, that feature the core of the rhythm section that created and defined the sound of the genre. For this compilation Dimitri has exclusively reworked 5 tracks from the original multitrack tapes of Gamble and Huff with a further 4 being edited from the original 2 track stereo masters.

Klaus Mäkelä brings the Orchestre de Paris to Decca Classics for a major new album of Stravinsky’s most iconic ballet scores. The album represents Mäkelä’s first recording with his French orchestra, which will be followed by a further Ballet Russes release in 2024 featuring Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Debussy’s Jeux and L’Apres midi d’une faune.

Joue Andre Hodeir is the second recording by le Jazz Groupe de Paris, a piano-less nonet originally formed by André Hodeir, with the help of Bobby Jaspar, and dedicated to his music and arrangements - Hodeir, who used to be a proficient violinist, only conducts. By the time this session was recorded Jaspar had already left for the United States and was replaced by Georges Grenu. In addition to six originals, the program is rounded out with tunes by Bud Powell, Duke Jordan, Thelonious Monk, and John Lewis. Hodeir's compositions are not as tuneful and memorable as the covers, but this is irrelevant since his musical concerns deal almost exclusively with textures and colors…