The Everyday Gourmet: Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking is a course of 24 highly visual and instructional lessons in which you’ll learn about and build all the foundational culinary skills you need to turn out delicious and impressive meals. Filmed on location at the CIA’s Greystone campus in Napa Valley, California, and delivered by Chef Bill Briwa—one of the CIA’s experienced instructors and a chef with more than 35 years of professional experience—these lessons show you how to cook and evaluate dishes, from starters and main courses to desserts and vegetarian meals. They also offer a master chef’s insight into tips, tricks, and secrets that will elevate any dish you make from good to great.
Scott Bradlee is an American musician, pianist, composer, and arranger. He is known for his viral videos on YouTube, including his work under the moniker Postmodern Jukebox. Clearly, so does everyone else, as evidenced by PMJ’s presence on concert stages (stateside and abroad) and Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart, where its self-released 2014 opus “Historical Misappropriation” landed in the Top 10 alongside John Coltrane’s “Offering: Live at Temple University” and “All Rise: A Joyful Elegy for Fats Waller.”
Founded in 1947 by avid jazz fans and record collectors Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson with a $10,000 loan from Ertegun’s dentist, Atlantic Records ended up being one of the most successful independent labels in the history of recorded music, and a litany of the label’s artists over the past 60-plus years is stunning in its diversity, ranging from John Coltrane and Big Joe Turner to Kid Rock and Gnarls Barkley and several points in-between. This “time capsule” – nine discs of music, one DVD documentary, and a 45 rpm 7" of Sticks McGee's “Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-Oh-Dee,” plus several little bits of flare and memorabilia and a book of photographs, all of it housed in a sturdy metal box – simply confirms what most pop music fans already knew: Atlantic Records is one hell of a record company.
Australian rock veterans Cold Chisel may have continued to remain a crowd-drawing, if slightly sporadic, live presence throughout the last decade, but up until now have been strangely reluctant to add to their back catalog of national treasures. However, following the death of their drummer Steve Prestwich earlier in the year, Jimmy Barnes and company have regrouped for their first new compositions in over 13 years, ensuring that All for You is more intriguing than your average cynical cash-in compilation. Indeed, alongside the emotive barroom balladry of the title track and the old-school rockabilly of "HQ454 Monroe," both of which fit comfortably next to the other 18 more familiar favorites, the track list, selected by thousands of visitors on their official website, also highlights the fact that this is very much a fan-friendly affair.
Maynard Ferguson's sudden passing in the summer of 2006 was a surprise to many jazz fans, as the always upbeat bandleader seemed indestructible. Just a few weeks prior to his death, the trumpeter took his Big Bop Noveau into the studio to record what evidently is his final album. With a number of creative arrangements and original compositions contributed for the recording by Ferguson's bandmembers, the players took to each of them with the same enthusiasm that their leader showed on a everyday basis. Every track should be considered a highlight of the CD, though saxophonist Chip McNeil's scoring of the standard "Without a Song," trombonist Steve Wiest's percolating arrangement of Bill Withers' often bland "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone," and Denis DiBlasio's hip setting of Henry Mancini's "Days of Wine and Roses" merit strong praise.