Total Guitar 2012

On October 6, 1953, RCA held experimental stereophonic sessions in New York's Manhattan Center with Leopold Stokowski conducting a group of New York musicians in performances of Enesco's Roumanian Rhapsody No. 1 and the waltz from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin. There were additional stereo tests in December, again in the Manhattan Center, this time with Pierre Monteux conducting members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In February 1954, RCA made its first commercial stereophonic recordings, taping the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Münch, in a performance of The Damnation of Faust by Hector Berlioz.

Alive (2010). Alive is a creation by finger style guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Todd Boston, featuring a collection of live looping compositions performed on acoustic guitar, flute and percussion. This musical offering is intended to take the listener on a journey of heart and soul, to uplift, inspire and transform…
Touched By The Sun (2012). Produced by Grammy winner Will Ackerman (Windham Hill Records) with an ensemble of heartfelt world class musicans. "Touched by the Sun", featuring award winning guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Todd Boston creates an uplifting and inspiring instrumental acoustic world fusion sound that paints a tapestry of organic textures from guitar, percussion, tabla, flute, sarod, slide, violin, cello and female vocals.

The Aleph Guitar Quartet is one of the most interesting and innovative ensembles in the guitar world. They have performed groundbreaking pieces and have greatly strengthened the position of the guitar in the world of contemporary music. The pieces performed here have all been commissioned by the Quartet.

Swedish band Änglagård is part of a whole breed of young progressive rockers who have cut their teeth on King Crimson's Red. Like the other Crimson Swedes, Anekdoten, Änglagård crams angular hooks and start/stop tempos into every moment they can spare. Writing lengthy symphonic pieces, the band sound like many big '70s acts but always play with a very tough sound. Meaty bass and scorched guitar tones duel it out with organ, mellotron, and hyperactive drumming, while folky Swedish singing and flute occasionally break the tension.

This is Omar Dykes' 50th anniversary CD and the first Omar & the Howlers release with new material since Boogie Man in 2004. With a recorded history of over 20 titles, this is the first release on Omar's own Big Guitar Music label, with more planned from this still active 21st century bluesman. Omar's diverse musical roots are show-cased on each track, with all songs being written by Dykes except I'm Mad Again by John Lee Hooker. The Howlers include Wes Starr and Bruce Jones, who have been playing with Omar since Big Leg Beat (1980), as well as Mike Buck, Ronnie James, and smokin' guitar from Casper Rawls and Derek O'Brien.

2-on-1 set that brings the albums All Over You and All Over You… Too together in one package.
All Over You (1996). Whenever "classic rock" bands choose to re-record new versions of their old hits, the results are infamously less than favorable. Indeed, Caravan purists and other such enthusiasts may find it necessary to re-evaluate All Over You - as well as its companion release All Over You…Too - within their own standards. This single disc features a few acoustic-based reworkings, as well as some otherwise overhauled renditions of some of Caravan's most enduring standards. The remastered version - issued in 2000 on the Castle label - also contains two additional recordings. The tracks on this release basically fall into two categories. The first consists of new performances featuring the original arrangements…

Pat Martino has released a duo album with Grammy Award-winning keyboard player/arranger Gil Goldstein. This is also a re-performance of their classic 1976 album "We'll Be Together Again." With that in mind, Gil dared to use a Fender Rhodes. The sound it produces has a healing taste that will soothe not only jazz fans but everyone. The compositions included are mainly famous jazz songs that are popular in Japan in response to offers from Japan, but also include Pat's originals.

Symphonic Prog band with strong classical influences. Many accoustic instruments are used, giving the band almost a chamber characteristic. The project started in 1990, Paolo Lucchina, Mose Nodari, Luigi Bonacina, Andrea Costanza, and Francesco Vedani were the original original line-up. After three years the Court were contacted by the indie label Music is Intelligence who proposed them to record their first studio album, "And You'll Follow the Winds' Rush 'Till Their Breath Dwells", in the Roxanne Studio in Stuttgart.
In 1997 the second album Distances was recorded near Frankfurt. The magazine Rockerilla commented "It seems that the four years passed from the previous realise have been devoted by the band to develop furthermore its technical and emotional capabilities…

On her 19th album, Cassandra Wilson, ever the musical chameleon, changes directions once more. She is arguably the greatest living female jazz singer. Well known for her blues, soul, pop covers, and jazz standards, her smoky alto bends almost everything to its will. Wilson's phrasing is utterly unique, as original as any horn player's or pianist's music. Another Country, co-produced by Wilson and guitarist Fabrizio Sotti, was recorded in three different studios in Florence, New Orleans, and New York. She wrote all but three selections here: there are two instrumentals by Sotti and a reading of "O Sole Mio." Other players include bassist Nicola Sorato, Julien Labro on accordion, and percussionists Mino Cinelu and Lekan Babalola…