Toru Takemitsu is widely regarded as the greatest Japanese composer of the 20th century. After the appearance of Folios in 1974 he was acknowledged as a formidable master of writing for the guitar, bringing to the instrument a sensibility and imaginative flair which have seldom been equalled. In the Woods was his final composition. Shin-ichi Fukada and Leo Brouwer were both close friends of Takemitsu, and this programme includes Brouwer’s two heartfelt homages in his memory.

Patrick Naylor has performed extensively as a guitarist and bandleader. He has released 3 critically acclaimed albums of original compositions and completed numerous Jazz Services tours of the UK. Patrick’s debut album was CD of the week in the London Evening Standard, and his 2003 album, Afternoon Moon, was in Chrissie Murray’s CD’s of the year. His latest CD, Days of Blue, was included in the Daily Telegraph Best CDs of 2015.

Dave Rodgers is an Italian songwriter, composer, and producer known for his contributions to the Eurobeat genre of dance music. Dave contributing to the long-running Super Eurobeat series. He owns Rodgers Studio and A-Beat C Productions alongside Alberto Contini.
Some of his songs, most notably "Déjà Vu", are featured in the anime Initial D, which contributed to the popularity of eurobeat music.

Gianni Coraini was born in 1954 in Italy, originally from Mantova. Even since he was a little boy, Ken had a special talent for music. He also learned to play the flute and graduated from the academy of music. When Ken was fifteen, he began his training as a musician by singing and playing in discos and clubs. Laszlo had his first big success in 1984. His songs "Hey, Hey Guy", "Tonight", "Don't Cry", etc. were not only the biggest hits in Europe but also in Asia and in Venezuela. Laszlo sold more than 1,000,000 copies of his records.

Dressed in a white jumpsuit, legs crossed, sandy blond hair perfectly coiffed, and sitting in a comfy tan chair with her trusty alto sax, Candy Dulfer looks perfectly angelic on the cover of her third album, For the Love of You. Some of the goofy shots on the inside sleeve cast her in the more mischievous light of her almost lookalike Jenny McCarthy, but the overall packaging – and that dazzling smile – caresses the eyes with femininity. But her deeper musical dimensions are decidedly masculine.

Harry Nilsson's debut album, Pandemonium Shadow Show, was notoriously loved by the Beatles, and it's easy to see why. This is the only record of its time that feels akin to Sgt. Pepper, and in some ways, it's every bit as impressive. Nilsson works on a much smaller scale, leaning heavily on whimsy yet cutting it with sardonic humor and embellishing it with remarkable song and studiocraft; it's as if McCartney and Lennon were fused into the same body.

Paris-based singer/composer F.R. David (born Elli Robert Fitoussi on January 1, 1947 in Menzel Bourguiba, Tunisia) is often regarded as a one-hit wonder since he failed to repeat the success of his 1982 monster hit "Words" that topped the charts in a dozen European countries and even peaked at number two in Great Britain.

Christmas is now more beautiful and cosy than ever! A fine collection of vintage Christmas songs from a host of the biggest names.

Best-known internationally for her poised, belting rendition of the theme to Goldfinger, the 1964 entry in the James Bond series (as well as 1971's Diamonds Are Forever and 1979's Moonraker), Shirley Bassey became one of the most enduringly popular vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century. Known as "Bassey the Belter" and also the "Tigress of Tiger Bay," her early career in touring shows and cabaret brought her a recording contract with Philips by the late 1950s. After reaching the top of the British charts in 1959 with "As I Love You" and later "Reach for the Stars/Climb Every Mountain," Bassey was tapped to sing the theme song to the third James Bond vehicle. Her voice, brassy and seductive, conveyed the James Bond myth perfectly, and the song became a Top Ten hit in the States.

Born to Sing the Blues is the debut album by Welsh singer Shirley Bassey. It was released on a 10" LP in 1958 by the Philips Records label. Long-playing records were newly introduced in the mid-1950s and the 10" album was briefly introduced as an album format, shortly before the 12" format became the standard long playing format.

Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz called on pianist extraordinaire Vince Guaraldi and his trio to compose and perform music that would reflect the humor, charm, and innocence of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the entire Peanuts gang for their 1965 Christmas TV special. It was a perfect match: Guaraldi strings together elegant, enticing arrangements that reflect the spirit and mood of Schulz's work and introduce contemporary jazz to youngsters with grace, charm, and creativity.

"O Holy Night" (original title: Cantique de Noël) is a sacred song about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ, described in the first verse as "the dear Saviour", and frequently performed as a Christmas carol. Based on the French-language poem Minuit, chrétiens, written in 1843 by poet Placide Cappeau, it was set to music by composer Adolphe Adam. The English version, with small changes to the initial melody, is by John Sullivan Dwight.

In the fall of 1983, a struggling singer from Ozone Park, Queens with audacious vintage style and a riot of candy-colored hair was about to go supernova in the new MTV-dominated music scene: Cyndi Lauper. She's So Unusual was just released and it blazed with a vivid kaleidoscope of styles including new wave, pop, post-punk, girl-group Motown and reggae. It was a perfect complement to Lauper's astonishingly supple voice and the irresistible vibrancy of the songs immediately endeared them to audiences all over the world.

One of the great new wave/early MTV records, She's So Unusual is a giddy mix of self-confidence, effervescent popcraft, unabashed sentimentality, subversiveness, and clever humor. In short, it's a multifaceted portrait of a multifaceted talent, an artist that's far more clever than her thin, deliberately girly voice would indicate. Then again, Lauper's voice suits her musical persona, since its chirpiness adds depth, or reconfigures the songs, whether it's the call to arms of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" or the tearjerking "Time After Time." Lauper is at her very best on the first side, all of which were singles or received airplay, and this collection of songs – "Money Changes Everything," "Girls," "When You Were Mine," "Time," "She Bop," "All Through the Night" – is astonishing in its consistency, so strong that it makes the remaining tracks – all enjoyable, but rather pedestrian – charming by their association with songs so brilliantly alive.

'I'm always looking for ways to be surprised,' says composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Parker as he explains the process, and the thinking, behind 'Suite for Max Brown'. 'If I sit down at the piano or with my guitar, with staff paper and a pencil, I'm eventually going to fall into writing patterns, into things I already know. So, when I make music, that's what I'm trying to get away from-the things that I know.' Despite its musical departures, in presentation 'Suite for Max Brown' is an informal companion piece to 'The New Breed' (2016).