Western Wind Mason

Decca's 2015 limited-edition box set of the complete Argo recordings of the King's College Choir of Cambridge, directed by David Willcocks, consists of 29 CDs spanning the period from 1957 to 1973. The albums, presented with their original jacket art, offer some of the choir's finest performances, which include three recordings of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (1954, 1958, 1964), anthems by Gibbons, Blow, and Handel, masses by Byrd, Taverner, Haydn, Tye, and Blow, and other great choral works by Bach, Allegri, Palestrina, Tallis, Vivaldi, Howells, and Vaughan Williams. The choir is world famous for its purity of tone and beautiful blend, and under Willcocks' masterly direction it became the exemplar of British choral singing, unmatched by any other ensemble of men and boys.

King’s College Choir are the most famous choir in the world. This 29-CD set of the complete Argo recordings celebrates David Willcocks’ tenure from 1957-1973 and includes some of the most beautiful choral music sung with the choir’s trademark richness and purity of sound. Six albums are released on CD for the first time – David Willcocks’ 1964 Festival of Lessons & Carols and Tye Masses and four albums from Boris Ord, Willcocks’ predecessor. Also includes works by Bach, Tallis, Haydn and others.

The Cold Stares, known for their electrifying blend of blues-rock, have just announced details of their highly anticipated seventh studio album, The Southern, set for release on September 6th via Mascot Records. Delving deep into their Southern roots for the first time on record, the album embodies a true reflection of their heritage. “When it came time to record this album, I thought about everybody giving us this Southern rock tag, and decided to intentionally write songs that explore that,” says singer-guitarist Chris Tapp. “In doing so, I realized that being Southern, for me, is more than an accent, and a setlist of songs. It’s about family and tradition."

The Cold Stares, known for their electrifying blend of blues-rock, have just announced details of their highly anticipated seventh studio album, The Southern, set for release on September 6th via Mascot Records. Delving deep into their Southern roots for the first time on record, the album embodies a true reflection of their heritage. “When it came time to record this album, I thought about everybody giving us this Southern rock tag, and decided to intentionally write songs that explore that,” says singer-guitarist Chris Tapp. “In doing so, I realized that being Southern, for me, is more than an accent, and a setlist of songs. It’s about family and tradition."

Further distanced in time from John Coltrane's spiritual new-jazz and the influential second Miles Davis quintet, Doug Carn showed a close affinity with r&b when recording his fourth and final Black Jazz album Adam's Apple. Sharing his interest in r&b was a platoon of committed, resourceful jazz musicians including young star-in-the-making Ronnie Laws, who'd worked with Earth, Wind & Fire before that band's big commercial breakthrough. Of the others, ace guitarists Nathan Page and Calvin Keys had acquired intimacy with the soulful properties of African-American music of the time performing with the premier jazz organist Jimmy Smith.