Gentle Giant

 

Artist:  Gentle Giant

Origin:  London, England

Genre:  Progressive Rock, Experimental Rock, Jazz Rock, Art Rock

Original line-up:

Gary Green:  Guitar, Mandolin, Vocals, Bass, Drums

Kerry Minnear:  Keyboards, Lead Vocals, Cello, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Guitar, Bass, Drums

Derek Shulman:  Lead Vocals Saxophone, Keyboards, Bass, Drums Percussion

Phil Shulman:  Lead Vocals, Saxophone, Trumpet, Clarinet, Percussion

Ray Shulman:  Bass, Trumpet, Violin, Vocals, Viola, Dums, Percussion, Guitar

Martin Smith:  Drums, Percussion

Gentle Giant were a British Progressive Rock Band from London, formed in 1970.  The band were known for the complexity and sophistication of their music and for the varied musical skills of their members.  All of the band members were multi-instrumentalists, but not commercially successfully.  Their music including Folk, Soul, Jazz and Classical Music.  In 2015 they were recognised with the lifetime achievement award at the Progressive Music Awards.

Title:   Gentle Giant (2026)

Genre:  Progressive Rock, Experimental Rock, Jazz Rock, Art Rock

Label:  Alucard Records

Rating:   *****

Format:  CD

Tracks:

 1.  Giant (5:24)

 2.  Funny Ways (4:23)

 3.  Alucard (6:01)

 4.  Isn't It Quiet And Cold? (3:59)

 5.  Nothing At All (9:08)

 6.  Why Not?  (5:31)

 7.  The Queen (1:40)

Personnel:

Gary Green:  Lead Guitar, String Guitar, Backing Vocals

Kerry Minnear:  Hammond Organ on Tracks:  1-3, 5-7, Minimoog on Tracks:  3, 5, 7, Mellotron on Tracks:  1, 3, 6, 7, Electric on Track
5, Acoustic on Tracks: 2, 5, Hong Tonk on Track 4, Piano, Tympani on Tracks:  1, 3, Xylophone on Track 4, Cello on Track 2, Bass on Track 2, Backing & Lead on Tracks:  3, 6

Derek Shulman:  Lead Vocals on Tracks:  1-3, 5, 6, Bass, Backing Vocals on Track 4

Phil Shulman:  Lead & Backing Vocals on Tracks:  2-5, Alto & Tenor Saxophone on Tracks:  5, 6, Trumpet on Tracks:  1-3, 7, Descant on Track 6, Treble on Track 6, Percussion

Ray Shulman:  Bass on Tracks:  1-3, 5, 7, Violin on Track 1, Backing Vocals,  Electric Guitar on Tracks:  5-7, Acoustic Guitar on Track 5, Triangle on Track 2

Martin Smith:  Drums on Tracks:  1-3, 5-7, Brushed Snare Drum on Track 4

Additional Musicians:

Paul Cosh:  Tenor Horn on Track 1

Claire Deniz:  Cello on Track 4

Gentle Giant is the debut album by Gentle Giant , originally released on November 27, 1970 by Vertigo, remastered and reissued on November 6, 2026 by Alucard Records.

Coleman Hawkins

 

Artist:  Coleman Hawkins

Birth Name:  Coleman Randolph Hawkins

Born:  November 21, 1904.  St. Joseph, Missouri, USA

Died:  May 19, 1969 (Aged 64).  New York City, USA

Genre:  Jazz, Swing, Bebop, Early Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Post Bop, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz, Big Band

Occupation:  Musician, Saxophinist

Instruments:  Tenor Saxophone, Bass Saxophone, Clarinet

Coleman Hawkins was an American Jazz Tenor Saxophonist.  One of the first prominent Jazz Musicians of his instrument.  The main influence on a generation of Tenor Players that included Chu Berry, Buddy Tate, Don Byas, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Ike Quebec, Al Sears, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson.  While He became known with Swing Music during the Big Band Era, he had a role in the development of Bebop in the 1940s.

Title:  At Ease With Coleman Hawkins, Moodsville Volume 7 (2026)

Genre:  Jazz, Swing, Bebop, Early Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Post Bop, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz, Big Band

Label:  Craft Recordings

Rating:   *****

Format:  LP

Tracks:

Side A:

 1.  For You, For Me, For Evermore (6:07)

 2.  While We're Young (3:33)

 3.  Then I'll Be Tired Of You (5:08)

 4.  Mighty Like A Rose (4:00)

Side B:

 1.  At Dawning (4:39)

 2.  TroubleIs A Man (5:25)

 3.  Poor Butterfly (6:06)

 4.  I'll Get By (As Long As  I Have You) (6:36)

Personnel:

Colman Hawkins:  Tenor Saxophone

Tommy Flanagan:  Piano

Wendell Marshall:  Bass

Osie Johnson:  Drums

At Ease With Coleman Hawkins, Moodsville Volume 7 is an albumm by Coleman Hawkins, originally released in 1960 by Moodsville, remastered and reissued on November 6, 2026 by Craft Recordings.  Pressed on 180 Gram Vinyl.

Miles Davis & John Coltrane

 

Artist:  Miles Davis & John Coltrane
Origin:   USA
Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Modal Music, Jazz Blues, Cool Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz, Trumpet Jazz

Original line-up:

Miles Davis:  Trumpet

John Coltrane:  Saxophone

Miles Davis & John Coltrane is the one of the most influential collaboration in Jazz History.  Their work together spanned from 1955 to 1961, reshaping the lamdscape of Modern Music.

Title:  The Best Of Miles Davis & John Coltrane (2026)
Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Modal Music, Jazz Blues, Cool Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Saxophone Jazz, Trumpet Jazz
Label:  Sony Music/Legacy
Rating:   *****

Format:  LP

Tracks:

LP 1:

Side A:

 1.  Two Bass Hit  (3:45)
 2.  Dear Old Stockholm  (7:51)
 3.  Bye Bye Blackbird  (7:57)

Side B:

 1.  'Round Midnight  (5:58)
 2.  Straight, No Chaser (Alternate Take)  (10:30)

LP 2:

Side C:

 1.  Milestones  (5:46)
 2.  So What  (9:24)

Side D:

 1.  Blue In Green  (5:38)
 2.  Some Day My Prince Will Come  (9:04)

Personnel:

Miles Davis:  Trumpet
John Coltrane:  Tenor Saxophone
Cannonball Adderley:  Alto Saxophone on Tracks:  B2, C2
Hank Mobley:  Tenor Saxophone on Track D2

Red Garland:  Piano on Tracks:  A1, C1
Bill Evans:  Piano on Tracks:  C2, D1
Wynton Kelly:  Piano on Track D1
Paul Chamber:   Bass
Philly Joe Jones:  Drums on Tracks:  A1, C1
Jimmy Cobb:  Drums on Tracks:  C2, D2

The Best Of Miles Davis & John Coltrane is the compilation album by Miles Davis & John Coltrane, originally released on April 17, 2001 by Columbia/Legacy, remastered and reissued on November 6, 2026 by Columbia Records/Legacy Recordings, featuring Cannonball Adderley, Hank Mobley, Red Garland, Bill Evans, Paul Chamber and more!.

Jimmy Smith

Artist:  Jimmy Smith 

Birth Name:  James Oscar Smith
Born:  December 8, 1925.  Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA
Died:  February 8, 2005 (Aged 79).  Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Jazz Funk, Soul Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Fusion Jazz
Occupation:  Musician
Instrum

Birth Name:  James Oscar Smith
Born:  December 8, 1925.  Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA
Died:  February 8, 2005 (Aged 79).  Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Jazz Funk, Soul Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Fusion Jazz
Occupation:  Musician
Instruments:  Hammond B-3, Electric Organ

Jimmy Smith was an American Jazz Musician.  He wasn't the first organ player in Jazz but no one had a greater influence with the instrument that he did.  He recorded more than 30 albums for Blue Note Records between 1956 and 1963, collaborating with the likes of Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine and Jackie McLean.  In 1963, he signed a new record deal with Verve.  In 2005, he was awarded the NEA Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor that America bestows upon Jazz Musicians.

Title:  The Sermon! (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) (2026)

Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Jazz Funk, Soul Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Fusion Jazz

Label:  Blue Note

Rating:   *****

Format:  LP

Tracks:

Side One:

Date Recorded: February 25, 1958

 1.  The Sermon (20:12)

Side Two:

Date Recorded: August 25, 1957

 1.  J.O.S. (11:56)

Date Recorded:  February 25, 1958

 2.  Flamingo (8:02)

Personnel:

August 25, 1957:

Jimmy Smith:  Organ

Lee Morgan:  Trumpet

George Coleman:  Alto Saxophone

Eddie McFadden:  Guitar

Donald Bailey:  Drums

February 25, 1957

Jimmy Smith:  Organ

Lee Morgan:  Trumpet

Lou Donaldson:  Alto Saxophone

Tina Brooks:  Tenor Saxophone

Kenny Burrell:  Guitar

Art Blakey:  Drums

The Sermon! is the eleventh studio album by Jimmy Smith, originally released December, 1959 by Blue Note, remastered and reissued on November 6, 2026 by Blue Note.  Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl.

Hank Mobley

 

Artist:  Hank Mobley

Birth Name:  Henry Mobley
Born:  July 7, 1930.  Eastman, Georgia, USA
Died:  May 30, 1986 (Aged 55).  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Mainstream Jazz, Saxophone Jazz, Post Bop
Occupation:  Musician, Composer, Saxophonist
Instruments:  Tenor Saxophone

Hank Mobley was an American Hard Bop and Soul Jazz Tenor Saxophonist and Composer.  He wasn't as aggressive as John Coltrane or Sonny Rollins, but neither was it as soft and cool as Stan Getz or Lester Young.  He is one of the most underrated musicians of the Bop Era.

Title:  Dippin' (Blue Note Tone Poet Series) (2026) 

Genre:  Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul Jazz, Jazz Instrument, Mainstream Jazz, Saxophone Jazz, Post Bop

Label:  Blue Note

Rating:  *****

Format:  LP

Tracks:

Side One:

 1.  The Dip (7:57)

 2.  Recado Bossa Nova (8:13)

 3.  The Break Through (5:51)

Side Two:

 1.  The Vamp (8:21)

 2.  I See Your Face Before Me (5:29)

 3.  Ballin' (6:49)

Personnel:

Hank Mobley:  Tenor Saxophone

Lee Morgan:  Trumpet

Harold Mabern, Jr.:  Piano

Larry Ridley:  Bass

Billy Higgins:  Drums

Dippin' is an album by Hank Mobley, originally released on August, 1966 by Blue Note, remastered and reissued on November 6, 2026 by Blue Note.  Blue Note Tone Poet Series 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl.

David Garrett

 

Artist:  David Garrett

Birth Name:  David Christian Bongartz

Born:  September 4, 1980.  Aachen, West Germany

Genre:  Classical, Crossover, Easy Listening, Classic Crossover, Chamber Music, Concerto, Orchestral, Symphony

Occupation:  Violinist, Composer, Arranger

Instrument:  Violin

David Garrett is a German Classical, and Crossover Violinist, Composer and Arranger from Aachen, West Germany.  He picked up. violin at age four after his older brother received one.  By the age of seven, he studied violin at the Lubeck Conservatoire.  When he was nine years old he gave his debut at the Festival Kissinger Sommer, and  the age of 12, he began working with Polish Violinist Ida Haendel, often traveling to London and other European cities.  After leaving home at 17, he enrolled at the Royal College of Music in London.  In 1999, he moved to New York to attend the Juilliard School.  In 2003 winning the School's Composition Competition with a fugue composed in the style of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Title:  Rock Symphonies (2026)

Genre:  Classical, Crossover, Easy Listening, Classic Crossover, Chamber Music, Concerto, Orchestral, Symphony

Label:  Decca

Rating:   *****

Format:  CD

Tracks:

 1.  Smell Like Teen Spirit (4:06)

 2.  November Rain (3:59)

 3.  The 5th (3:33)

 4.  Walk This Way (feat. Orianthi) (257)

 5.  Live And Let Die (3:25)

 6.  Vivaldi vs. Vertigo (3:15)

 7.  Master Of Puppets (3:47)

 8.  80's Anthem (3:33)

 9.  Toccata (3:52)

10. Asturias (2:57)

11. Kashmir (3:36)

12. Rock Symphony (4:31)

13. Peer Gynt (2:33)

14. Mission Impossible (3:16)

15. Rocking All Over The World (3:43)

Personnel:

David Garrett:  Violin

Marcus Wolf:  Guitar on Tracks:  2, 8, 10-14

Frank Van Der Heijden:  Guitar on Tracks:  1, 3, 5-7, 9-11, 14, 15

Orienthi:  Guitar on Track 4

John Haywood:  Piano on Tracks:  2, 8, 9, 12,15

Jeff Allen:  Bass

Jeff Lipstein:  Drums

Prague City Philharmonic Orchestra

Rock Symphonies is an album by David Garrett, releassed on September 24, 2010 by Decca Records.