Unknown Rivers

Over the course of two albums, bandleader/composer/arranger John Beasley has reimagined Thelonious Monk’s iconic compositions through his inventive, versatile MONK’estra­ – a big band able to deftly navigate the legend’s eccentricities from a variety of perspectives, from boisterous swing to raucous funk to Afro-Cuban explosiveness. MONK’estra, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 each garnered a pair of GRAMMY® Award nominations, alongside widespread critical acclaim. Beasley veers off in new directions on his stunning third album in the series, MONK’estra Plays John Beasley. As the title implies, this time out the band shifts focus to its fearless leader’s own estimable compositions and piano playing, alongside a quartet of Monk classics and a tune apiece by Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.

In 2017 MAZE gave a stunning interpretation of Jitterbug at the Tactile Paths Festival in Berlin, full of subtle detail and fluid energy. That they have returned to the work now - and have also created this beautiful realization of bayou-borne, for Pauline - is something for which I am deeply grateful.

Digitally remastered deluxe collector's box set of Michel Cretu and Co.'s 5 original studio CDs ("MCMXC A.D.", "The Cross Of Changes", "Le Roi Est Mort", "The Screen Behind The Mirror" and "Voyageur") plus both of their DVD collections (in PAL/Region 2 formats), "MCMXC a.D." and "Remember The Future". The set also includes a 6th disc featuring something quite unique…

A melodic hard rock group from Sweden, H.E.A.T materialized in 2007 with a sound built on a foundation of classic hard rock and late-'80s-inspired commercial heavy metal. They released an eponymous debut in 2008 and found success after a strong showing at the 2009 Melodifestivalen with the hit "1000 Miles." They continued to find favor with melodic rock fans both at home and abroad on subsequent outings like Tearing Down the Walls (2014) and Into the Great Unknown (2017). Three years later the band returned with H.E.A.T II, which marked a return to the heavy melodic rock of their earlier albums.

If you’ve been following the site for some time, you may remember the name Tangled Thoughts Of Leaving. They were among the first bands that sent us their stuff for our listening pleasure—their 2008 EP Tiny Fragments—and it was one of my first reviews, which I won’t be linking to because my writing wasn’t so great at that point and the post was fairly insignificant. At any rate, I’ve known of the band for almost two years, but for some reason their new album passed by unnoticed until I stumbled upon it by chance when I was looking for a different album altogether. Lucky I saw it, because it was great to listen to these Aussies tear it up once more and I had nearly forgotten about them entirely.