Coco Montoya's second album for Alligator records finds the guitarist moving away from the sound of his mentor, Albert Collins – although there certainly are licks throughout the album clearly inspired by "the Iceman," particularly when the tempo slows down – and toward big rock productions. This album sounds huge: The rhythm section provides a gigantic foundation, sprawling from speaker to speaker, then the keyboards and backing vocals are added, with guitars pushed to the forefront. On top of that, Montoya is demonstrating a greater inclination to soul and R&B than ever before, choosing to cover Holland-Dozier-Holland (a terrific take on "Something About You"), along with other tuneful soul tunes, and writing it that vein as well.

Giovanni Marradi is a composer, pianist, arranger and television presenter. He is the son of Italian trumpeter and conductor Alfredo Marradi; his great-grandfather, also named Giovanni Marradi, was a poet and composer. Marradi began playing piano at age five, and three years later was sent to study composition and technique with Michael Cheskinov at the Russian Conservatory. As a young adult, he played throughout Europe and the Middle East, but his dream was to come to the U.S. to pursue his music career. After arriving in California as an Italian immigrant, Marradi played small concerts in Southern California and was asked to perform at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. While performing on stage, an entertainer took notice of this young talent and a long lasting friendship developed. That entertainer was Frank Sinatra. The two became close friends and Sinatra mentored Marradi throughout the years.

The small string ensemble of Oxford Baroque plays the Praeludium with a juxtaposition of sensuousness and decorum…The choir's interjections are fantastically articulate - with gentle use of inégales, gorgeously shaped ornamental cadences and sincere delivery of the texts.

This recording of duets by the great composers of the Restoration is one of the gems of Hyperion’s catalogue. It features the celebrated countertenors James Bowman and Michael Chance at the peak of their powers, and the combination of their two voices with the sympathetic accompaniment of The King’s Consort creates something uniquely glorious. Purcell was a countertenor himself and in his writing for the voice produced some of his most felicitous music. John Blow, Purcell’s predecessor and successor as organist of Westminster Abbey, reached his compositional zenith with the extended duet (almost a small cantata) on the subjects of Purcell’s tragic early death and inextinguishable influence.

The most comprehensive edition devoted to Gioachino Rossini marking his 150th anniversary. Born in 1792, Rossini was the most popular opera composer of his time. Although he retired from the Opera scene in 1829, he continued to compose in other genres, including sacred music, piano and chamber works. He did gather his late works under the ironic title Péchés de vieillesse (Sins of Old Age), which veils a true collection of masterworks.

Given that Jimi Hendrix's career as a frontman lasted only about three years, it might be hard to believe that there's still great material that hasn't been officially released even 40 years after his death (of course, unofficially released is a different matter). But here is Jimi's three-night stand at Winterland in San Francisco from October of 1968, which, despite excellent recordings by Wally Heider, sat largely unreleased until 2011. A single disc was compiled and released by Rykodisc in the late '80s (there was also a hard-to-find three-track bonus disc), but had been out of print for years when this box set arrived.
The Winterland shows were notable for a few reasons. The original Jimi Hendrix Experience had been together for two years and were probably playing at the height of their powers in October 1968 (they would break up in June of 1969)…

Guitarist Lee Ritenour decided to celebrate his 50th year as a guitar player by inviting a bevy of name guitarists into the studio to jam out some tunes, all in the name of love for their chosen instrument. Ritenour's subsequent album, 2010's 6 String Theory, is just that, a varied celebration on the many styles and players who have utilized the guitar. The result is an expansive, ambitious, but never belabored album that touches on jazz, blues, funk, and rock and expands beyond the usual Ritenour approach while remaining true to his unique six-string sound.

Tommy Castro's sixth release for the Blind Pig label, Painkiller, picks up where his 2003 set, Soul Shaker, left off. This time around, producer John Porter – who has worked with Santana, Taj Mahal, B.B. King, and Buddy Guy – positions Castro's Delbert McClinton/Southside Johnny vocal grit in front of a punchy horn section and rounds out the date with a few guest artists. Unlike many similar modern blues projects of good intentions but lackluster performances, the combinations on Painkiller never sound forced. In particular, the Albert Collins track, "A Good Fool Is Hard to Find," has Coco Montoya and Castro trading vocal jabs and guitar riffs, and Angela Strehli's passionate vocal on Freddie King's "If You Believe (In What You Do)" is likewise another highlight of this overall triumphant rock 'n' soul album.

Any blues fan dedicated to live music will testify that when musicians play with their peers, the energy rises a few notches. That's the concept behind this meeting of the minds hosted by guitarist Debbie Davies. Fellow string-benders Tab Benoit and Coco Montoya (both have worked with her previously) join harmonica veteran Charlie Musselwhite and let the resulting fireworks naturally explode. Typically, these projects wind up being overdubbed affairs, a process that dilutes and often negates the concept. But except for a few instances, largely with Benoit, Davies and her musical friends assembled in the studio, resulting in the titular explosion.