Beggars and Saints
Artist: Jai Uttal

Folklore meets science on the computer-manipulated cover of this latest release from Jai Uttal; the music behind the cover reveals more of the modern world meeting folklore and tradition head on, with Uttal putting traditional chants to new music and mixing together western and oriental instruments along with the traditional and the contemporary... Read More

Paradise Found
Artist: Tuck & Patti
Club Nocturne
Artist: The Yellowjackets

For their fourteenth album as a band, the Yellowjackets announced the desire to go in a different direction from their previous outings. The difference on Club Nocturne is the inclusion of four vocal tracks. Fortunately, there is no difference here in the high level of musicianship and compositional quality long associated with this quartet. In... Read More

All and Enough
Artist: Kobi
Essentials: The Very Best of George Benson
Artist: George Benson

Essentials: The Very Best of George Benson is an 18-track collection that collects highlights of his records for Warner Brothers between 1976 and 1986. Many of Benson's best-known songs are here, along with his crossover hits, making it a nice sampler and introduction to his mellow crossover jazz fusion. ~ Leo Stanley, All Music Guide Read More

Avenues of Love
Artist: Marilyn Scott

A top-notch adult contemporary vocalist still awaiting a well-deserved crossover commercial breakthrough, Marilyn Scott adds powerful fuel for her cause on Avenues Of Love by helping herself with a well-balanced array of production and songwriting talent. George Duke surrounds her with party voices and a kneejerking Latin groove on a playful... Read More

Mamaloshen
Artist: Mandy Patinkin

Documenting the Jewish-American experience in song, Patinkin weaves a rich tapestry of legend, oral history and popular song, all in Yiddish. The most interesting tunes include Paul Simon's "American Tune" and "Maria" from West Side Story which become perfectly adapted to Patinkin's use. The lush arrangements by Paul Ford lend a sweeping... Read More

Best of George Duke: The Elektra Years
Artist: George Duke

Best of George Duke: The Elektra Years culls the highlights from Duke's three mid-'80s albums for Elektra -- Thief in the Night, George Duke and Night After Night. During these years, Duke completed his shift from jazz to smooth jazz, fusion and urban R&B, which means there is very little here of interest to serious jazz fans. However, listeners... Read More

Bridging the Gap
Artist: Mark Johnson & Clawgrass

The difference between bluegrass banjo and clawhammer banjo may not be obvious to those who don't spend a lot of time listening to banjo players, but the difference is significant: bluegrass banjoists play in a three-finger picking style, using steel picks and an arpeggiated "rolling" technique that results in the immediately identifiable... Read More

Pin-Up Girl - 2-CD
Artist: Betty Grable

This 48-track, two-hour-and-seven-minute double-CD set presents soundtrack recordings from 19 films featuring Betty Grable that were released between 1930 (when she was 13) and 1945. Grable didn't really become a major star until her appearance in Down Argentine Way in 1940, and that film and its successors over the next five years take up 42 of... Read More

What's Going On
Artist: Everette Harp

Conventional contemporary wisdom says that performing covers of beloved pop classics is a cheap way to lure the curious. But when care is taken to create an entire, imaginative tribute to a great artist, with no two arrangements alike, some latitude should be in order. On his eclectic reworking of all the songs on Marvin Gaye's legendary What's... Read More

East Meets Midwest
Artist: Kenny Poole

New Yorker Bertoncini and Cincinnatian Poole have contrasting styles on acoustic nylon string guitars: the former is more classic and classical, while the latter is a bit more swing-oriented. Together they are perfectly in tune with one another's notions and inclinations, playing these 12 standards faithfully and with tender loving care.... Read More