Zola Diamant du Bled

Female blues singer and songwriter Zola Moon was born in San Jose, CA, but her powerful song stylings might mislead listeners to guess that she was raised in the Deep South of Louisiana or Mississippi on grounds better known for producing great blues artists. She is self-taught, though she does mention numerous musical influences, ranging from B. B. King and Muddy Waters to Hank Williams and Tina Turner. Even with all of those wonderful influences, Zola Moon has worked hard to keep her sound all her own. Lost in the BluesZola Moon began her career in blues about 1983, in the San Francisco area. After seven years of performing, which helped her grow a large fan base, she finally released a debut album in 1990. It was titled Dangerous Love and recorded under the BareMoon Records label. Five years later, and with a new label, she finished work on an enjoyable sophomore offering, Lost in the Blues. It was followed in 1998 by Almost Crazy and then in 2000 by Earthquakes, Thunder, and Smiling Lighting. Some of the original blues tunes fans can sample on Zola Moon's albums are "Doll House," "Lucky Me," "I Look at the Fool," "Imagination," "Alley Cat," "Hollywood to the Hood," and "I Don't Think So."

A TRIPLE-CD of radio broadcast live recordings of Minneapolis' finest. Two of the discs feature Hüsker Dü live action, taped at a 1981 show in Portland and in Minneapolis 1985. Disc #3 features a fine 1989 performance, given by singer-guitarist Bob Mould (after the band split up) at a radio station in Germany.

That globetrotting composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote La Princesse jaune in 1872, exemplifying the current craze for all things Japanese. Kornélis, played by the tenor Mathias Vidal, dreams only of the Land of the Rising Sun. Under the influence of a hallucinogenic potion, he becomes infatuated with Ming, a fantasy princess. His cousin Léna – the soprano Judith van Wanroij – despairs of this passion and does not dare to confess her own feelings to Kornélis, who eventually comes to his senses. The running time of this opera enables us to offer a coupling in the shape of a previously unrecorded version of Saint-Saëns’s six Mélodies persanes, thus extending the guiding thread of a yearning for exotic horizons in another direction. Leo Hussain conducts the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in both works.

André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry’s three-act opera Guillaume Tell was first performed in 1791 at the Salle Favart of the Comédie-Italienne in Paris. The opera deals with the Swiss fight for freedom in the 14th century against the domination of the Habsburgs. The story of Wilhelm Tell is well-known.

Ce disque renferme de la musique de circonstance rythmant la vie de la cour de Versailles de Louis XIV à Louis XVI. Les deux compositeurs mis en valeur sont peu connus mais de leur temps étaient les familiers des souverains et les compositeurs des musiques servant à accompagner les chasses, festins, mariages, fêtes, divertissement qui marquaient les temps forts de la vie de Cour.

La Simphonie du Marais under their director Hugo Reyne are terrific. They bring this music alive with such stylish performances that bring fine textures, variety, colour and often some exotic moments, Hugo Reyne knowing just how to lift these suites to reveal every fine moment … These performances remain the benchmark.

Dutch/Belgian group Gare du Nord was formed in 2001 by Ferdy Lancee and Barend Fransen. Signed to Play It Again Sam, the lounge-oriented style synthesists released several albums during their first few years, beginning with 2002's In Search of Excellolounge and concluding with Sex 'n' Jazz. They aligned with Blue Note, beginning with 2007's Jazz in the City, which was heavy on interpretations of the label's '60s and '70s output (from Duke Pearson's "The Phantom" to Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Brew"). The same year, Italian singer Dorona Alberti (KMFDM) was added to the lineup and featured prominently. In 2001, Gare du Nord established a performing version of the group, fronted by Alberti, while a studio-based entity remained driven by Lancee and Fransen. The Blue Note association resulted in additional releases such as 2011's Lilywhite Soul and 2012's live release Lifesexy.