Born in Dublin, Ireland, Imelda May is a unique vocal talent, one whose gift lies outside the normal order of pop culture time and trends. Inspired by the sounds of vocal jazz à la Billie Holiday and the sound and looks of rockabilly, May began performing with the swing outfit Blue Harlem, and released a handful of independent CDs before scoring attention in 2007 with her nomination for an award as Best Burlesque Singer as well as the release of her more official debut, Love Tattoo. The album, featuring her strong backing band comprised of players Dave Priseman, Darrell Higham, Al Gare, and Steve Rushton, was critically and commercially well received, leading to some high-profile live gigs, including hitting the road with Jools Holland. It was released in the U.S.A. by Decca in 2009, followed by two singles, and scored a mid-level success. Her sophomore effort, Mayhem, arrived in September of 2010, preceded by the single "Psycho".

One of the most obscure albums Covay cut, Funky Yo Yo slipped out in 1977 on the tiny Versatile label, with such little notice that it's even escaped getting listed in some discographies. It's a strange record, too, with production so sparse (and some dull muffle to the sound fidelity, though it's not a serious impediment) that one suspects these might be demos, or perhaps not even 1977 recordings. Yet in a way that very rootsy, stripped-down feel makes it appealing, particularly as it was appearing at a time when many fellow soul greats of Covay's generation were issuing bloated, hopeless attempts to jump on the disco bandwagon. Far from emulating Barry White, Covay sounds rather like Van Morrison on much of this material, though the similarity's probably coincidental. Particularly on the more bare-bones arrangements, these actually have a cool intimate feel, as if they're songwriter demos intended for pitches to '60s Atlantic recording artists.

Unless you frequent Los Angeles clubs like The Baked Potato and La Ve Lee, chances are you haven't heard of keyboardist David Garfield. But you've heard him. Appearing on over a hundred albums, Garfield has worked with artists like trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and guitarist Larry Carlton. He's a co-founder of Los Lobotomys and Karizma, two fusion-based jam bands that have included drummers like Vinnie Colaiuta and Simon Phillips, as well as guitarists Steve Lukather and the perennially-underrated Michael Landau. No recording dates are listed on The State of Things, but Garfield's clearly been working on it for years, given that a third of the tracks feature Carlos Vega—a versatile drummer who appeared on literally hundreds of albums before passing away tragically in 1998. This fusion-centric effort features many of LA's best session players, but in many ways it's as much Landau's disc as it is Garfield's. He pays tribute to Jimi Hendrix on a version of "If Six Was Nine that—as blasphemous as this may sound—might actually be an improvement on the original. While his tone says rock, his lines say jazz as he demonstrates complete facility navigating changes on the swinging version of Miles Davis' "Milestones and a more delicate mainstream take on John Coltrane's "Naima. He exhibits his more textural side on "Me and kicks things into extreme high gear on the greasy funk of "Five Storks and the more overtly rocking "Black Cadillac.

The sound of De Phazz is unique. The German based outfit combines the bouncing sounds and vocal stylistics of jazz, with the electro beats and twings of the modern groove and house scenes. The unique sound of De Phazz is mainly due to this perfect marriage of these two smooth genres. By employing the sounds of classic percussion and jazz instruments such as the trumpet and sax, De Phazz successfully create smooth electro-groove music with an unmissable swinging jazz theme. If your a fan of contemporary jazz, and dig the beats of groove, dub and house genres, De Phazz is a unique sound that you must check out. This CD is a collection of the best De Phazz tracks from their first three albums.

"Arthur! You don't know how long we've waited!" shouted one enthusiastic female member of the audience after Love had finished performing their first song. "But you know how long I've waited," Arthur Lee playfully tossed back, eliciting sharp cheers from the crowd. Such was the spirit at the Royal Festival Hall, where, on January 15, 2003, Lee and Love re-created the Forever Changes album live in London for the first time. What could have been a pathetic display – Lee, the onetime star, performing old hits by rote – actually becomes a transcendent experience through two virtues: inspired string and horn accompaniment from a Scandinavian eight-piece, and the sheer shock and relief that Lee is able to hold himself together despite his years of well-documented self-abuse. The Forever Changes Concert does not take any liberties with the content of the legendary Forever Changes album, preferring note-for-note replication over reimagining.

Galliard were in on the ground floor of the British progressive rock movement, releasing their debut album, Strange Pleasure, in 1969 and mixing jazz, rock, folk, and psychedelic influences. The following year, New Dawn pretty much picked up where its predecessor left off, with one key exception. The band had initially featured two wind players, Dave Caswell and John Smith; though Smith was absent from New Dawn, a whole brace of additional horn players had been brought in to augment the sound. This was during the period when the likes of Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears (and their British equivalents) were starting out, and brass-rock was all the rage. That's not to suggest that Galliard were trying to ride the brass-rock gravy train – their work is too skilled and varied for that – but simply that they were right in time for the Zeitgeist.

The early blues-rock of Eric Clapton, featuring live performances. Includes 12 tracks : She's So Respectable; Got To Hurry; A Certain Girl; For Your Love; I Wish You Would; Louise and other…

From Norwegian folk singer and harpist Sinikka Langeland comes a seductively subtle contemporary jazz album. The lyrics are all Norwegian or Swedish (the sleeve notes have translations), and celebrate the poetry of Edith Södergran and Olav Håkonson Hauge – the first a shortlived pioneer of modern Swedish poetry, the second the Norwegian "lumberjack poet" who came to the art in his 40s. Langeland's band brings together trumpet-player Arve Henriksen and saxophonist/composer Trygve Seim, and it's a magical combination. Despite a predominant feeling of tranquillity, the singer sometimes adds an almost Nina Simone-like bite, for which Seim's smoky sound, Henriksen's ghostly multiphonics and Anders Jormin's bass are ideal foils. The mood is often broken by grooves that suggest some strange fjord-village cabaret music, or episodes that are like Nordic Miles Davis. It's a real one-off.

For Delta Crossroads, Robert Lockwood Jr., a former student of Robert Johnson, returns to his Delta blues roots. This 16-track album features Lockwood with only his 12-string acoustic guitar. It is rather strange hearing old Delta blues sung by one of its originals on a modern recording. All of the notes from the guitar are clear. Plus, his voice isn't scuffed up by the scratches and pop of the vinyl recording. Lockwood plays a mix of Robert Johnson tunes, a few of his own, and some blues standards including "C.C. Rider." With its high production quality and Lockwood's unique and possibly near-extinct style of singing, Delta Crossroads is a strong testament to the endurance of a Delta blues original.

Smile A While (1972). Brainstorm's debut offers an odd twist on jazz-rock, throwing in bits of Canterbury and Frank Zappa, as well as the Dutch band Supersister. The record starts off with the explosive energy of the instrumental "Das Schwein Trugt," a fast piece of complex prog-jazz. "Zwick Zwick" follows, beginning at an only slightly slower pace, with some wild flutes and clarinets over a choppy rhythm, and then halfway through the guitar, bass, and organ rip into the mix to add a furious energy to the piece. Though the album is mostly instrumental, a couple tracks offer quirky song structures, the very short "Watch Time Flow By" and a couple short sections in the long title track, while "Snakeskin Tango" has someone moaning in anguish and the middle section of "Bosco Biati Weiss Alles" contains strange wordless vocal drones…

Survivor is the second solo album by The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive's guitarist and singer Randy Bachman, released in 1978 on Polydor. It is a concept album about the rock and roll stars who have come and gone.

Galliard is a sextet formed in the summer of 68, and developed a psychedelic type of brass rock, fronted by twin wind players Caswell and Smith and singer Geoff Brown. They recorded two albums on the Deram Nova label (the subsidiary prog label of Decca records) around the turn of the 70's decade, when brass rock was the rage. Their first album Strange Pleasure By Galliard, released in 69, was quite eclectic, ranging from Medieval to Flamenco/Spanish music. For their second album New Dawn, wind player John Smith was gone, but the group adjoined a mega brass section of four player, plus keyboardist Morton.

Otto Klemperer's Beethoven is one of the towering achievements in the history of recordings. By today's standards, these performances are hopelessly old-fashioned: dark, heavy, and frequently very slow. But they are also the grandest, most unsentimental, most purposeful versions in the catalog.