Marcus Miller is known foremost as a Grammy-winning bass player, but as he proves on Silver Rain, Miller is equally formidable as an arranger. Taking songs from a disparate mix of artists that includes Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, Jimi Hendrix, Edgar Winter, Beethoven and Prince, Miller’s skills are in almost embarrassing abundance here. On Edgar Winter’s 70s rock jam "Frankenstein", his band (including the likes of Kirk Whalum on tenor and Kenny Garret on alto) flat out wails, but Miller’s slapping bass keeps the groove completely locked down. In contrast, his take on Beethoven’s "Moonlight Sonata" sets the stage for Miller’s mellow-groove skills while the cover of Stevie Wonder’s "Boogie On Reggae a Woman" is Miller at his intricate, funky best. On Prince’s "Girls & Boys", Macy Gray adds her swooping, sensual vocals while Eric Clapton sits in on the title track. Clocking in at around 75 minutes, this CD is full to bursting, but what’s striking here is not the quantity, but the quality. Miller is able to effortlessly make this material his own; moreover he is able to take an impossibly diverse set of songs and construct an album with real cohesion and flow. There is a lot happening on this album, as multi-instrumentalist Miller swaps instruments, moods and musicians from tune to tune, to his credit, however, he never loses the trail. The result is an extremely enjoyable album and an apt platform for Miller’s many, many talents.

Вероника Аркадьевна Долина родилась 2 января 1956 году и живет в Москве.
Песни пишет с 1971 г. преимущественно на свои стихи. Любимые авторы: Б.Окуджава, А.Галич, В.Высоцкий, Ю.Ким, Н.Матвеева.
Как автор песен стала известна в середине 70-х годов — "магнитоиздат" способствовал чрезвычайно широкому их распространению. В 1986 году, спустя десять лет после первых публичных появлений на сцене, после множества журнальных публикаций стихов выходит первый диск, вскоре — второй, тиражом более миллиона. В 1987 году выходит и первый сборник стихов (в Париже). В 1989 году фирма "Мелодия" издала, еще в разделе "Классическая музыка", первый компакт-диск Вероники Долиной "Элитарные штучки".
На сегодняшний день у В.Долиной выпущено более 10 сборников стихов, 9 виниловых дисков, 10 компакт-дисков. Была в творческих поездках по Франции, США, Канаде, Израилю.

Of all the numerous albums this influential pianist/composer has recorded in his illustrious career, "The Real McCoy" is the best, most consistent and most memorable Tyner CD I have ever listened to - not to mention the same adjectives used to describe jazz CDs in general. From the scorching up-tempo composition ("Passion Dance") to the slow yet profound ballad ("Contemplation") to the lively polyrhythmic inferno ("Four by Five") to even the artist's unique understanding of the blues ("Blues on the Corner"), this is undoubtedly one disc worth picking up at the local music shop.

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Amazon.com This is a compilation--plus three previously unreleased selections--of some of the glorious Renée Fleming's finest work, 15 selections covering 13 composers. The rose-in-full-bloom quality of the voice is staggeringly beautiful: Her rendition of Rusalka's "Song to the Moon" is justly famous and is, alone, worth the price of this CD. Other highlights are Marietta's Lied from Korngold's Die tote stadt, an odd arrangement of the aria from Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasilerias No. 5, Manon's Gavotte, and a knock-down-gorgeous reading of Gershwin's "Summertime." The three new recordings are of Violetta's big first-act scene from La traviata, which features one of the most perfect trills heard since Joan Sutherland, a thrilling Cäcilie (R. Strauss), and a version of "You'll Never Walk Alone" which is so over the-top that it might make you look away in embarrassment. On the basis of this CD, one would have to acknowledge that Fleming is more interested in--and more successful at--pure singing than she is at character delineation (Butterfly sounds oddly like Wally who sounds too much like Norma), but it's not hard to tell why she's a superstar. Her voice and technique are one in a million. Robert Levine

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For more than a decade, Lebanese oud master Rabih Abou-Khalil has infused traditional Arabic music of all stripes with elements of modern music from around the world, most notably jazz. Morton’s Foot, Abou-Khalil's 13th album, doesn't flavor its Arabic melodies and rhythms with electronic programming. Instead, Abou-Khalil's fusion is done much in the same way that jazz musicians have embraced Klezmer or Indian music: it uses top-flight musicianship instead of beats and sounds to build the bridges. Here, the leader plays lengthy leads on oud that concentrate on rhythm just as much as melody as a five-piece support cast (drums, accordion, vocals, tuba, clarinet) follows his every twist and turn. Sometimes one leaps ahead to solo on their own, with clarinetist Gabriele Mirabassi and tuba player Michel Godard both doing yeoman's work. A uniformly strong effort by a truly unique innovator, Morton's Foot is ideal listening for fans who put free-ranging musicianship and innovation at a premium.

After twenty-five years and eighteen albums, it is unlikely that Rabih Abou-Khalil is going to spring any great surprises; long ago he found a distinctive individual style and has stuck to it since – with sufficient variations to keep it fresh and interesting. One need only hear this music for a few seconds to identify its creator. Aficionados will find everything that keeps them coming back for more; the characteristic blend of jazz-inflected Arabic melody with subtle rhythms combines into a hypnotic whole, as ever with Abou-Khalil’s fluent oud playing in a central role. On this album, the variation that stops the music becoming formulaic is the inclusion of guest artist Gevorg Dabaghyan, who plays duduk, a Georgian instrument similar to an oboe. In Dabaghyan’s hands, it has a haunting, mournful sound that dominates the album. The opening track, “Mourir Pour Ton Décolleté” is a prolonged showcase for Dabaghyan, and one of the album’s highlights.

The outstanding tracks from this recording are the first four from a 1960 session with McCoy Tyner, Steve Davis and Billy Higgins. This session released on Roulette marks a bridge between Coltrane's Prestige/Blue Note recordings and those on Atlantic. The quartet sounds fresh, relaxed and spontaneous, the session has an effervescent spirituality and transcendence that is more subtle and less weighty than some of his later "religious" recordings, e.g. A Love Supreme. McCoy Tyner sounds light and joyous, and on these four cuts, Coltrane seems to have found whatever he was searching for all those years.

This CD reissue of Gil Evans' There Comes a Time differs greatly from the original LP of the same name. Not only are there three previously unreleased performances ("Joy Spring," "So Long," and "Buzzard Variation"), but "The Meaning of the Blues" has been expanded from six minutes to 20, and two numbers, "Little Wing" and "Aftermath the Fourth Movement/Children of the Fire," have been dropped (the former was reissued on Evans' Jimi Hendrix tribute album) and the remaining four tracks were re-edited and remixed under Evans' direction. So in reality, this 1987 CD was really a "new" record when it came out. The remake of "King Porter Stomp," with altoist David Sanborn in Cannonball Adderley's spot, is a classic. The "new" version of "The Meaning of the Blues" is memorable, and overall the music (which also has solos by Billy Harper and George Adams on tenors, along with trumpeter Lew Soloff) is quite rewarding, it's a creative big band fusion that expertly mixes together acoustic and electric instruments. This was one of Gil Evans' last truly great sets

Tremendous series of archival CDs by this late, rarely documented Iranian master of the tanbur lute, Ostad Elahi (1895-1974). This first volume features recordings from Tehran, 1964-72. For music of transcendational quality via stringed instruments, these are some of the most important releases of recent vintage. "Ostad Elahi is a fascinating figure, a unique 20th century musical giant. His whole adult life he worked as a magistrate in Iran, yet he was acclaimed as a musician embedded in a tradition of Islamic mysticism stretching back to the tenth century. Even after retiring aged 62, in order to devote himself full time to music and spiritual research, he never performed a concert either in public or for the radio. Elahi's instrument of choice was the humble Kurdish tanbour, a long-necked lute associated more with the epic ballads of central Asian nomads than the sophisticated delights of Persian classical music. In fact, Elahi doesn't play Persian classical in the strict sense, though that is one of the many traditions he studied. He is a prime example of a musician stepping out of the tradition, drawing on Persian, Azeri, pre-Islamic musics, even Kurdish popular tunes, stretching all forms to his own visionary purpose.

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Amazon.com Created as a benefit project for Artists' Project Earth, an organization devoted to protecting the environment, reversing climate change, and tendering disaster relief, this compilation pairs Western pop stars (U2, Sting, Artic Monkeys, et al) and their hits with all-new arrangements performed by members of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club plus other Havana-based talent. The overall effect is of a well-meaning but not entirely simpatico mutual admiration society. Coldplay's "Clocks" is a good example; the lead vocal is coolly lethargic, engulfing the spiky crags of the rhythm section like syrup on a waffle. But then, most of the singers sound strangely unconnected to the frisky 1-2-3/1-2 of the clavé beat. The contrast between the two groups of players could have been bracing, and to many ears it perhaps will be, but most of the time, they seem to transmitting from parallel universes. Not surprisingly, the best tracks are those in which hometown icons are left to do what they do best. But the late, great Ibrahim Ferrer's marvelous interpretation of "As Time Goes By" (his final recording) and Omara Portuondo's wistful yet powerful cover of "Killing Me Softly" only serve to further showcase what’s amiss with the rest of the album. Christina Roden

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His first album (1968) was an instant success in France. It made him a star! Almost 40 years later he is still as good, as original, as charming and intense. This album has it all: The first songs (La Cavalerie/Ivanovitch/La Californie), the ‘romantic’ Julien ( Ma preference/This Melody/Fais moi une place), Passinate (Jaloux), Outradged (L’assassin). It's impossible not to feel energetic listening to "Macumba/Quand je joue/Si on chantait". Julien writes most of the music, Roda-Gil wrote the lyrics for 13 songs. Listen with attention to Dadabie’s lyrics: That man knows a lot about love! Great compulation album, great as all Julien Clerc albums. Take French lessons if you have to! It’s worth it! (amazon.com)

The fifth album from acclaimed singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier is a spare, rootsy gem. Like the shadowy dusk alluded to in the title, the album’s gallery of foredoomed killers, hobo kings, wayward lovers and prison visitors are navigating the murk of life. It’s the musical equivalent of film noir. The 10-track collection was produced by Joe Henry and cut live with minimal overdubs. Guest artists Van Dyke Parks and Loudon Wainwright contribute piano and backing vocals, respectively.