The album is a culmination of his last few years touring and contains 14 songs, perfectly balanced between classic hits and new treasures from the Grammy Award-winning “Fair & Square.” Complete with duets from some of John’s favorite touring partners; Iris DeMent, Sara Watkins, Emmylou Harris, Josh Ritter, Kane Welch & Kaplan, this album shows Prine’s passion and relevance still hold true after all these years. These recordings were hand-picked from hundreds of recent concerts, and the result is Prine’s most memorable live album to date. If his biggest fans had a collective voice, it is no doubt these would be the recordings they'd choose. ( No Depression ) Tracks
1. Spanish Pipedream
2. She Is My Everything
3. In Spite Of Ourselves (with Iris DeMent)
4. Long Monday
5. The Late John Garfield Blues (with Sara Watkins)
6. The Bottomless Lake
7. Bear Creek Blues
8. Saddle In The Rain
9. Angel From Montgomery (with Emmylou Harris)
10. Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore
11. Mexican Home (with Josh Ritter)
12. Unwed Fathers (with Iris DeMent)
13. Glory Of True Love
14. Paradise (with Kane Welch Kaplin)
Barber's first live recording. This one followed a couple of years of touring with the quartet featured. This band was receiving rave reviews wherever it appeared and this record, a "companion" piece to modern cool, captures the band's infectious live vibe. Highlights include Barber's groovy version of Sonny & Cher's "The Beat Goes On" and her outspoken statement on the jazz scene, "If This Isn't Jazz?"
If Nightclub was a left turn, and it was, so too was Verse as Barber followed an all-standards album with her first all-originals album. This one was named #1 Jazz Recording of 2002 by the Los Angeles Times. It contains some of the most refined Barber compositions on record to date including the haunting "Clues," the sultry "I Could Eat Your Words" and the beautiful and poetic "If I Were Blue." A great band too including Dave Douglas on trumpet and Joey Baron on drums.
This record, a collection of jazz standards made partly at the request of her mother, was planned by Barber for over ten years but held. "It was important to me that I try and establish my own sound, my own music, before I did a record of standards. With 'modern cool' I felt I had done that," says Barber. Nightclub benefits from the long incubation period. Barber is a seasoned performer of classic jazz material. Highlights include her stunning version of "Yesterdays," the rarely recorded vocal version of "Invitation" and her version of Alfie, which features guitarist Charlie Hunter.
Barber's first for Premonition, this one introduced her powerful quartet of the time featuring John McLean on guitar and Mark Walker on drums. This might be the classic Barber album in that it blends pop covers, jazz standards, and original material in a thoroughly unique and interesting way. That was not the norm in 1994 as it would be years later. This one also features Barber's first attempt at setting poetry to music with "Mourning Grace," a haunting Maya Angelou work.
This one earned 5 stars in DownBeat. Say no more. Another strong, blending of material as on cafe blue but heavier on the originals. Features the same band as on cafe blue with the addition of trumpet star Dave Douglas. Highlights include Barber's originals "Touch of Trash," "Company," and "Winter," her version of The Doors "Light My Fire" and her setting of an e.e. cummings poem.
"Pianist Bill Carrothers brings together one hell of a trio with the inclusion of Drew Gress on Bass and Bill Stewart on Drums. Highly recommended for jazz and bop lovers!"
"Five on One": the work of five friends. Five musicians who can find each other in the dark and thereby have developed an intense interplay characterized by an intimate warmth. These are gorgeously harmonious, masterful recordings played by musicians who could care less about what happens to be in vogue. Five radical individuals who play as one 
Nato dal lungo e paziente lavoro di Alessandro Fabbri, classe 1961, eccellente batterista ma non solo, anche raffinato compositore ed arrangiatore, «Pianocorde» si inserisce brillantemente fra i non poi così numerosi progetti che utilizzano degli strumenti ad arco in un contesto squisitamente jazzistico. La formazione, infatti, è costituita da pianoforte e batteria, con l'aggiunta del già costituito gruppo Archæa Strings, quintetto con contrabbasso, due violini, viola e violoncello. Di fatto quindi un classico trio jazz “piano/basso/batteria” più un quartetto d’archi. In «Pianocorde», l'attento lavoro di scrittura di Fabbri risulta uno degli elementi centrali, accanto a quello della pregevole improvvisazione solistica del trio.
Il primo disco da leader della cantante Alessia Obino, nata a Bologna ma veneta d’adozione, è un progetto davvero originale, che non strizza l’occhio alle mode né alle indicazioni del mercato, perché nasce dalla sua esigenza di metabolizzare le esperienze fatte in diversi ambiti musicali, non solo jazzistici, passando soprattutto attraverso la composizione di brani originali. La sua passione per il jazz e la musica brasiliana, unite ad un forte desiderio di conoscere tutto il mondo musicale, costituiscono i presupposti per la formazione di questo quintetto e per la realizzazione del disco «Echoes» registrato nel novembre 2008 e pubblicato nel 2010 dalla nostra etichetta. In verità Caligola aveva già incontrato la bella voce di Alessia, ospite dello splendido «Frenico» (Caligola 2072) di Marco Tamburini.
Let's Live It Up is Mississippi Heat's third recording for Delmark. For this outing, the band recorded 14 new original songs, eleven by leader, harmonica player Pierre Lacocque. Special guest John Primer sings on 3 cuts. Another great blues guitarist Carl Weathersby and keyboardist Chis "Hambone" Cameron can be heard throughout the album. Inetta Visor sings on 8 tunes, while singer Rhonda Preston delivers two songs. The Chicago Horns, percussionist Ruben Alvarez, and background vocalists also appear on this exciting and best Mississippi Heat recording to date. More Mississippi Heat on Delmark: One Eye Open, Live at Rosa's
Blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader Dave Weld got his start on Chicago's west side in the late 70s. At the 1815 Club on Roosevelt Road, Dave was in the house band with Chico Chism, Shorty Gilbert, Hubert Sumlin, Detroit Junior, and Eddie Shaw. Dave played there with Otis Rush, Guitar Junior, Tail Dragger, Little Arthur, Johnny Littlejohn and more. During this time Weld was under the tutelage of JB Hutto, a Grammy winning, Blues Hall of Fame slide guitarist. JB introduced Dave to his nephew, Lil Ed. They started the band "Lil Ed and the Blues Imperials" and played every joint in the West side for ten years. Dave started "Dave Weld and the Imperial Flames" in 1988 with Lil Ed's blessing. Burnin' Love is Weld's Delmark debut and it features the legendary Abb Locke on saxophone.
With Louis Myers, Dave Myers, Mac Simmons and Big Moose Walker! Blues vocalist Willie Buck was born in 1937 in the small town of Houston, Mississippi. Willie performed on what became known as the "Chittlin Circuit" bouncing between Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, North & South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Shortly after developing his reputation, Willie migrated to Chicago in 1954 where he truly immersed himself in the Chicago Blues scene and became a real force on "Maxwell Street". Willie was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in Chicago in the summer of 2004. The Life I Love was recorded in 1982 and was issued then in a very limited edition LP. It appears on CD for the first time now and features previously unissued live tracks totaling 65 minutes of genuine Chicago blues.
Featuring the piano boogie woogie triumvirate: Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson in more 1939 Sherman Hotel (Chicago) recordings. The liner notes to Boogie Woogie Stomp (Delmark 705) said "Their blend of traditional blues and boogie with a good dose of swing created an impeccable drive, and there is more than just a hint of the rock `n' roll years to come...you can hear boogie woogie on the loose, played by the greatest masters at the time of their public `arrival' when everything was new and fresh". Also features the primitive genius of "Cripple" Clarence Lofton and Speckled Red. Also available Pete Johnson (Delmark 656), Speckled Red (Delmark 601).
Contains one CD and one DVD! Delmark 55th anniversary blues bash at Buddy Guy's Legends on March 7, 2008 was suitably festive, with most of Delmark's local blues roster on hand and a Delmark Day proclamation from Mayor Daley. The role that Bob Koester, his label and his Jazz Record Mart haveplayed since relocating some fifty years ago from St. Louis in nurturing and furthering the Chicago blues scene have broadened its horizons and benefitted virtually everyone involved in some way. CD features Junior Wells, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Speckled Red, Willie Kent and more. DVD features Tail Dragger, Byther Smith, JimmyBurns, Zora Young's performance from the 55th anniversary bash and more.
Little Walter cut eight tracks for the short-lived Parkway label, with Muddy Waters as a sideman (and ensemble vocalist). These sides convinced Chess to record the full Waters band. We fill out the album with other session by Waters-connected artists to give a picture of the Chicago blues scene just before the Chess sound took over. Hours were spent cleaning up the disk-to-tapes of the Walter sides (which had been widely bootlegged with surface noise). The studio tapes of the other tracks were clean. Marvelous and historic music now available again on LP with the original cover painting by Jeanette Walzak and liner note by Jim O'Neal (CD still in print as DD 648).
On his sixth Criss Cross leader date, saxophonist Tim Warfield reconvenes his bandmates – trumpeter extraordinaire Terell Stafford, Hammond B3 master Pat Bianchi, and Joey de Francesco’s drummer-of-choice Byron Landham – from the 2007 date One For Shirley (Criss 1304) for an informed, soulful exploration of American Songbook repertoire.
With Generations, his eighth Criss Cross outing as a leader, trumpeter Alex Sipiagin honors the legacy of the great Woody Shaw, reimaging five stellar pieces from Shaw’s repertoire and balancing the progam with four originals.
See The Pyramid marks only the third occasion in Walt Weiskopf’s eleven-album relationship with Criss Cross (it began with the 1992 date Simplicity Criss 1075) on which the tenor saxophonist-composer presents his musical vision in the quartet format.
When it comes to New York’s top-shelf gigs, few pianists get the job done like David Hazeltine. Much sought for his sensitivity as an accompanist, Hazeltine is also an inventive composer and arranger who is able to bring a fresh approach to the mainstream.
Recorded at Dublin's Vicar Street during The Moving Hearts sold out four-night stand in February 2007, Live In Dublin captures some of Ireland's finest instrumentalists at the very top of their collective game. Percussionist Noel Eccles says: "There's unfinished business! When we last played it was as an instrumental band and we always felt we hadn't finished exploring the possibilities of our unique line up." This the first release from Moving Hearts in over 20 years and sees the band play a blistering set to a packed house in one of Dublin's most intimate venues.
Girls Need Attention, Richard Julian’s new album, is a musical atonement: vulnerable, honest, and painfully direct as it chronicles a break-up. “I don’t know how to not write confessionally… the songs always feel like an shopping cart that veers in that direction no matter which way I try to steer it.” This, Julian’s Compass Records debut and first album since 2008’sSunday Morning in Saturday’s Shoes, still serves up the occasional helping of his razor-sharp wit but ultimately reveals the singer at his most emotionally-charged. “This is by far the most raw I’ve ever been on an album,” says Julian, and his uncloaked narration is served well by lean and elegant arrangements.
Chicago-based Special Consensus celebrates its 35th anniversary with the release of 35. The new album, and the group’s 10th release, features band founder Greg Cahill (banjo and vocals), Rick Faris (mandolin and vocals), David Thomas (bass and vocals) and Ryan Roberts (guitar and vocals) on a high powered bluegrass set which includes six new tracks and six tracks compiled from now out of print releases featuring lead vocals from some of the band’s most illustrious former members. Over the course of their lengthy career Special Consensus has proven themselves to be one of the top selling bands in the genre; in terms of its theme, 35 is a follow-up to the band’s 2000 release 25th Anniversary which has been the band’s best seller to date.
Nuala Kennedy, although rooted in the Celtic music of her native Ireland and adopted homeland of Scotland, is increasingly recognized for her eclectic cross-genre work. Her sophmore release on Compass, TUNE IN features her six-piece band plus special guests Bonnie Prince Billy, Norman Blake, Oliver Schroer and more and was inspired by the discovery of an old fashioned radio dial in her local junk shop. Tune In bears testimony to the many influences and collaborations Nuala has been enjoying in recent years.
Téada, now firmly established as one of Irish music’s leading exponents on the international world music stage, continues to be driven by a fascination with the timeless, expressive force of traditional tunes inherited from previous generations of musicians. Téada are Oisín Mac Diarmada (fiddle), Paul Finn (button accordion), Damien Stenson (flutes), Seán McElwain (bouzouki/guitar), and Tristan Rosenstock (bodhrán).
“John McSherry is one of the only pipers whose playing embraces the ancient strangeness of music passed on to us from centuries before while also possessing the harmonic and rhythmic sensibilities of the best of rock and contemporary music. This album spans these great fields and conveys the depth and breadth of John’s musicality!” – Donal Lunny
Nearly a decade after his passing, Memories of John was recorded to commemorate the life and music John Hartford. The core of the project is the John Hartford Stringband—Chris Sharp/guitar, Bob Carlin/banjo, Matt Combs/fiddle, Mike Compton/mandolin and Mark Schatz/bass—the same group of musicians who appeared on Hartford’s last five Rounder Records projects and who were his touring band during the last years of his life.
As a co-founder of best-selling Irish instrumental outfit Lúnasa and current member of Celtic favorites Capercaillie, flautist and piper Michael McGoldrick has played a great part in expanding the audience for British Isles instrumental music with his expert technique and visionary sensibilities. His genius for wedding traditional styles with contemporary textures has made him a welcomed contributor to albums and performances by such acclaimed contemporary roots artists as Kate Rusby, Sharon Shannon, the Afro-Celt Sound System and Youssou N’Dour. AURORA is the long-awaited follow-up to his groundbreaking 2005 album Wired, and finds McGoldrick surrounding his fluid, soulful performances and compositions with a startling variety of rhythmic backdrops. From spacious jazz trappings to surging Indian percussion, electronic loops to breathy whistles and flutes, AURORA brilliantly harnesses the rhythmic momentum of Celtic music while pushing into new sonic realms.
“A well made and brilliantly sung 15 track album”
Just in case you are someone who actually reads the liner notes…I am writing this for you. Turns out this is a collection of stories that deals in the duality of the human condition. Darkness and Light. Turns out we all have some of each—light and dark on the inside. I know I do.
t was by bringing together four outstanding international jazz masters, for a tribute to the purest jazz music in a true and simple way, that this project came to life. This album has been recorded “live” in a historical jazz club located in the town of Busto Arsizio ( Italy) and it’s imbued with those very genuine but volatile flavours such as : immediacy, complicity and the spontaneous feedback coming from the audience. These four talented musicians took on this nice challenge and the result is evident. Four musicians who are now a worldwide reference: saxophonist Bob Mintzer is one of the most studied for his modernity of language and arrangement. Dado Moroni is perhaps the most famous Italian jazzman and appreciated worldwide. Joe La Barbera is not only known for his intense collaboration with Bill Evans, but also because few people today are equipped with expressiveness and ability to enter the music like him. Riccardo Fioravanti is now one of the most solid rhythmic international reality and his collaborations and his records speak for themselves. 
I’m in the promised land,” says proud American immigrant and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/guitarist Anders Osborne. The Swedish-born, longtime New Orleans resident is among the most original and visionary musicians performing today. In a city overflowing with stellar artists, bands and performers, Osborne is one of the Big Easy’s favorite musical heroes. His Alligator Records debut, American Patchwork, is a moving collection of soul-baring rock, blues and ballads. Many of the songs on American Patchwork deal with healing and redemption, spirituality and acceptance. It is about rebuilding what has been destroyed, not only a ravaged city, but also a hollow man. Often compared to Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison, Osborne is an exceptional and singular talent. Paste Magazine says, “Osborne has an impossibly great, soulful voice and the songs to match.” Living Blues adds, “Osborne is a songwriter of enormous depth and an incredibly passionate musician.”