Spanish Night

From the liner notes: Byrd, in this album, has taken a rather wider view in exploring the guitar's possibilities in jazz. His use of finger style on the unamplified Spanish guitar reveals all the delicacy of shade and colour to be wrought from the instrument and the way Byrd infuses a rich jazz flavour into his playing makes really beautiful listening. In the years since this LP was recorded, Byrd has passed through several important phases – he was one of the main contributors to the bossa nova explosion of the early '60ies when he partnered Stan Getz on the million-selling Desafinado – and his musical presence has continued to make itself felt in many diverse areas of music, yet "Blues for Night People" remains the high spot of this recording career. In short, one of the great jazz guitar records of our time.

Two friends chart a daring path to freedom in this drama from Walt Disney Pictures. Peter Strelzyk (John Hurt) and Guenter Wetzel (Beau Bridges) are two men living in East Germany who can no longer tolerate the petty tyrannies of Communist rule. Together, they formulate a daring plan to escape to democratic West Germany in a hot air balloon, but Peter and Guenter realize that they have to build a very special lighter-than-air craft to carry both themselves and their families to safety. Night Crossing also features Jane Alexander, Doug McKeon, and Keith McKeon as members of the Strelzyk Family, and Glynnis O'Connor, Michael Liesik, and Geoffrey Liesik as the Wetzels.

Coati Mundi is the stage name of Andy Hernandez, vibraphone player and member of Kid Creole and the Coconuts as well as Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band. Mundi has worked with assorted musical groups and artists including Ralfi Pagan, Joe Bataan, Vernon Reid, N'Dea Davenport, Nona Hendryx, Tito Puente, Manny Oquendo & Conjunto Libre, Hall & Oates and Machito. He was known as Sugarcoated Andy while in Dr. Buzzard's band and played vibes, marimba and percussion for them...

“Better be good,” Gregory Porter quips, just before opening his mouth to sing for a crowd of thousands in one of London’s most historic venues. And it is good. One Night Only, a program venerating Nat “King” Cole (along the lines of Porter’s 2017 studio album of his songs), finds the authoritative baritone in a lush setting with a 70-piece orchestra led by famed arranger Vince Mendoza. But despite a prevalent focus on ballads—including the murderous, Cole Porter-penned “Miss Otis Regrets,” subject to intriguingly knotty reharmonization—Porter preserves the core of swing and soul that’s so central to his small-combo identity. Chip Crawford’s piano solo on “Pick Yourself Up,” Tivon Pennicott’s bebop tenor sax turns on “L-O-V-E” and “Sweet Lorraine,” bassist Jahmal Nichols’ bluesy aside on “When Love Was King,” the creative funk abandon of the quintet on the finale encore, “Don’t Lose Your Steam”: This is Porter in his element, formal setting or otherwise.