The scene: Three percussionists (Ed Blackwell, Clifford Jarvis, Kumar Kramer), two saxophonists (Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp), two bassists (Jimmy Garrison, Cecil McBee), a vocalist (Tulsi Reynolds) and one bandleader, harpist Alice Coltrane, walk onto the Carnegie Hall stage and get set up with their instruments. It's Feb. 23, 1971. They've got exactly 90 minutes to play on a curious bill that also includes folk singer Laura Nyro and rock band the Rascals. It's Coltrane's first Carnegie Hall performance as a bandleader. Her label, Impulse! Records, has set up recording gear to capture the set for potential release, hoping that Coltrane's then-new album, Journey In Satchidananda, will do well enough on the market to warrant some sort of live record.More than a half-century later, Impulse! has finally turned that Carnegie Hall recording into a double album, delivering a gift to spiritual jazz disciples drawn to Coltrane's singularly exquisite work. The pianist-harpist-composer's legacy has only grown since her 2007 passing, and as such The Carnegie Hall Concert feels like a gift from the aether, one that drifts in as her octet eases into opening song "Journey In Satchidananda" and Coltrane introduces her instrument with a luxurious glissando. Over the next hour, they work their way through three other pieces: Her "Shiva-Loka" (also from Journey to Satchidananda) and a pair, "Africa," and "Leo," by her late husband John, who had died four years earlier.Like the concert's opening piece, "Shiva Loka" is a hypnotic meditation extending nearly 15 minutes, and it allows Coltrane and her eight, especially her longtime bandmates Sanders and McBee, to explore. McBee and Garrison twist through the low end, one using a moaning bow and the other plucking out a repetitive line.As the nine players progress, the band's sound deepens and expands. The bassists tangle in and around the three locked-in percussionists. Horn players Sanders and Shepp, both also part of the Impulse! roster, weave and converse in a musical call and response. Those first two songs seem to swirl around the hall, calm on the surface but churning with understated tension. That atmosphere shifts on "Africa," which begins with an extended percussion explosion, dueling saxophonists and Coltrane pounding out melodic chords on the piano. When Garrison moves into a looping bass line about 10 minutes in, the song, which he recorded on John Coltrane's Africa/Brass album as part of the tenor player's quartet, takes flight. The most memorable are the moments when all eight are unified by the mystical force that is music and create a precisely rendered kind of chaotic beauty. Often these awe-inspiring parts occur in the liminal space between solos, as if looking for purchase and order. The mere existence of The Carnegie Hall Concert suggests a similar pattern writ large: an untethered, dormant recording from 50-plus years ago drifts into the present and rolls into the cultural groove as if preordained. © Randall Roberts/Qobuz

Pianist Saskia Giorgini found both critical and commercial success with her 2022 recording of Liszt's Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, and this 2023 release, which immediately climbed onto classical best-seller charts, follows directly on the earlier album, with the same Bösendorfer piano and the same recording location, the Lisztzentrum in Raiding, Austria. Listeners will not be disappointed, for Consolations has all the virtues of her first Liszt album and adds a few more. The wonderfully controlled lyricism of the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses recurs in the heavily programmatic title work, where Giorgini's playing hints at the presence of all kinds of stories. She plainly excels in the religious, late Liszt, and there are two wonderful examples here, the Deux Legends, portraits of St. Francis of Assisi praying to the birds, and of St. François de Paule. These are difficult works that combine mysticism with Lisztian virtuosity; annotator Mark Berry is right to stress that Liszt did not fully renounce the virtuosity in his later years, but that is not all. Giorgini is just as good in the flashy Three Caprices-Valses and the reflective Liebesträume, the best-known music on the album. In the Valse-Impromptu, she has an uncanny way of suggesting the feeling of spontaneity that seems to have marked Liszt's own playing. Will Giorgini go on with Liszt? She certainly has the technical and emotional wherewithal to do so and to take on more famous works than these.© James Manheim /TiVo

Handel's Serse (1738), about romantic intrigues at the court of the Persian king Xerxes, bombed at its first performances and wasn't revived until the 20th century. Serse, sung here by mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo (it was originally a castrato role), gets an imposing entrance aria, the famous "Ombra mai fu," but much of the opera is comic, and the mixture of elements flummoxed 18th century hearers, including the critic Charles Burney. Audiences wanted big tripartite da capo arias and serious Greek themes, but instead, what they got, were brief one-section arias that flashed by and various bits of coquetry and satire that originated in Italian comic traditions and looked forward to Mozartian opera buffa. Nowadays, the opera is one of Handel's more popular, and its structure fits the talents on this recording perfectly. It is hard to decide which is more of a draw, the crisp conducting of Harry Bicket, leading the venerable English Concert and keeping the proceedings moving along as Handel intended, or the singing from a veritable all-star cast, at least among the women (there are no countertenors). D'Angelo is glorious, and Mary Bevan is equally good as the flirt Atalanta. The smaller roles are strong, too, and really, there is not a weakness to be found. A very strong Handel opera recording. © James Manheim /TiVo

The legendary Royal Albert Hall is the London counterpart of Paris’ Palais Garnier or Olympia. The venue is an ideal setting for the raw diamond that is Steven Wilson’s music. Wilson has harmoniously integrated a high-flying pop component into his ever unique and genuine approach. This new album is a bit different, something that Wilson wholeheartedly accepts (unlike numerous other artists). For To the Bone he is backed up by his devoted band. It’s a band that deserves special attention, even if Steven has decided not to hide behind a heavy and somewhat misleading shield anymore, like he did with the Porcupine Tree. In this regard, there could hardly be someone more subtle and respectable than Adam Holzman on keyboards. Holzman has worked with his Majesty Miles Davis − most notably on Tutu in 1986, and the subsequent tours for the next three years – as well as Michel Petrucciani, Marcus Miller, Robben Ford, and tens of others. Steven isn’t even the first Wilson he’s worked with, as he’s accompanied by Ray, former singer of Stiltskin (known for their hit Inside) and Genesis. Another member of the team is guitarist Alex Hutchings. Hutchings is less known than the others but performed in Thriller Live, the enormous spectacle in tribute to Michael Jackson, and despite the daunting task of following in the footsteps of Dave Kilminster and Guthrie Govan he passes with flying colours. Drummer Craig Blundell (Pendragon, Porcupine Tree…) also successfully replaces the amazing Marco Minnemann and Chad Wackerman…Another seems to have risen in prominence and been an influence on Steven Wilson’s recent musical orientation: the impressively talented bassist Nick Beggs (Ellis, Beggs & Howard, The Mute Gods, Steve Hackett, and… Kajagoogoo). And of course let’s not forget the amazing Ninet Tayeb on Pariah, People Who Eat Darkness and Blank Tapes. With such support throughout the 2 hours and 26 minutes of this live performance Wilson can only spread his wings and even be a little audacious by introducing the most pop track of TTB: Permanating. This track is more than just lyrics; he proclaims his love for the Beatles and ABBA, even if it means offending “music snobs”, and invites his audience to “dance on a little disco and pop”… Wilson takes six Porcupine Tree tracks and two titles from his dark and depressive side (as he admits) − The Sound of Muzak and the eminently gloomy The Raven That Refused to Sing – to close this live album and remarkable display of power. © Jean-Pierre Sabouret/Qobuz

It's natural to suspect that In Concert is simply the hastily constructed live album cash-in that comes after the long-awaited reunion (2012's Anastasis was the group's first studio album in 16 years), but it's actually a sweet souvenir of the world fusion duo's return to the stage, tastefully presented and impeccably recorded. Rarely do live albums sound so luxurious and warm, but besides being a fine demo disc for high-end speakers, this chamber concert on wax offers some more comfortable, more alive versions of Anastasis' studio material, along with a quick stroll through the group's early work. "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove" always sounded vintage but here it sounds downright wise with Brendan Perry's full-bodied voice properly aged and not weathered in the least. Speaking of voices, Lisa Gerrard is absolutely majestic on the aptly titled closer, "Return of the She-King," and anyone who puts "Sanvean" in a list of top ten heart-movers ever deserves to hear the fine version she delivers here. That fan favorite made its debut on the band's first live album, Toward the Within (1994), but this second live effort differs from that one in that very little new material is premiered. There are only two "new" tracks and they are cover songs, the first being the centuries-old Arabic song "Lamma Bada" and the second being the Tim Buckley (via This Mortal Coil) tune "Song to the Siren," both performed by Perry and the latter to perfection. The only thing left of concern is the editing out of the in-between song chatter (Perry's usual, informative intro to "Lamma Bada" is gone), but otherwise this is a well-executed capture of a great performance, pure and simple.© David Jeffries /TiVo

For her arrival to Philips, the label that would represent her between 1964 and 1967, Nina Simone started with a live recording from Carnegie Hall. One year before, she had already recorded a performance on the very same legendary stage. However in the time that had elapsed, her status had changed and the singer had become a figurehead for the Civil Rights movement. Indeed, on the tracklist are Old Jim Crow, Pirate Jenny, Go Limp and especially Mississippi Goddam, a hugely important song which closes this album and refers to the murder of Medgar Evers (an activist killed by a Ku Klux Klan member on June 12th 1963) as well as the attack on the 16th Street Baptist Church (also carried out by KKK members and which claimed the lives of four young girls on September 15th 1963). Supported by an impeccable trio (Rudy Stevenson on the guitar, Lisle Atkinson on the double bass and Bobby Hamilton on drums), who create a refined and almost understated backing score, Nina Simone is out to shock the audience’s ears by being herself to the utmost: chanting, being outraged, imploring, confronting, reflecting, engaging, and ultimately trying to understand the madness of humankind. She allows her unique self to shine through on this album more than any others from the same era. This powerful vocal force cuts through to the soul every time and stands out differently to Billie, Ella and Sarah. With In Concert, suffering and freedom resound together in unison with a great power, something rarely seen elsewhere. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

The vigour and richness of the Concerto grossi, Op. 6, which Handel based on Corelli’s model, seems to have dictated this full-bodied and highly structured performance by the Accademia Bizantina (directed by Ottavio Dantone). Their vision isn’t some long, quiet road; rather, the listener is taken on a journey, discovering varied landscapes as they travel an often arid and meandering path.The Italian baroque conductor and harpsichordist has been delighting musicophiles during his time as head of the Accademia Bizantina, founded in Ravenna, for over thirty years. Alongside a number of others, he’s contributed to many musical discoveries and to a standard of interpretation which today’s music lovers have become accustomed to. Always looking to uncover new scores, Ottavio Dantone maintains contact with European libraries through his appointed musicologist, Bernardo Ticci, whom he claims is ‘a real truffle hunter’.His in-depth knowledge of Handel’s operas led him to examine the Concerto grossi, Op. 6, in great detail. He says that these ‘extraordinary pages are dear to my heart, and I have approached them with all the meticulousness I’m known for’. This diligence is perceptible throughout the twelve Concerti grossi, which display a skilful blend of Nordic earnestness and Mediterranean joy. © François Hudry/Qobuz

François Couperin's Concerts Royaux were keyboard dance suites from 1714, preceding those of the set known as Les Goûts Réunis. Couperin wrote them for a single keyboard but noted that they could also be performed by a small ensemble, and the many available recordings of the pieces have availed themselves of both options. This one by Pierre Gallon and Matthieu Boutineau, however, is unique; it is for two harpsichords, with a few continuo additions from theorbo and Baroque guitar. The suites are presented as versions for two harpsichords; these are not credited to anyone but have been created by the performers. The reasoning for this, as presented in the booklet, draws from the ideas that Couperin, even if he did not suggest this option, clearly imagined the instrumentation as flexible, that Couperin did suggest a two-harpsichord option for the Apothéoses for chamber ensemble, and that harpsichord works by the composer Gaspard Le Roux were said by the composer to be playable on two harpsichords. These factors do not quite prove the point being made by the performance, and this recording might better be regarded as an elaboration on Couperin's music. In some pieces, the two players each perform the bass line, distributing the rest of the music between them, and this creates a rich, monumental sound that differs quite a bit from the usual intimate detail one associates with Couperin. The effect is intensified by Harmonia Mundi's booming church sound environment, which doesn't correspond with what Couperin imagined, either. It is true that those who want the versions Couperin himself approved have plenty of major recordings to choose from, and this one is genuinely novel. The bottom line is that a bit of sampling will inform listeners as to whether they find the approach convincing or not.© James Manheim /TiVo

When you're an institution like Paul Simon, and strictly speaking you don't have anything to prove, you can do whatever you like. So surely Art Garfunkel's former bandmate was doing exactly that when he recorded this ample (two hours!) live set in Hyde Park in London on 15 July 2012, as part of the Hard Rock Calling Festival. As so often in this kind of situation, when the artist possesses an XXL-sized body of work and discography, the recording plays the role of a kind of Best Of. And that is precisely what it is. All Paul Simon’s hits get an airing here, in pretty vigorous versions. The concert reunites Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who were present on the album Graceland, but also features a guest appearance by the great Jimmy Cliff. Solo career (Kodachrome, Graceland, Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover) or works from the Simon & Garfunkel period (The Boxer), nothing is missing from this first-rate performance. © CM/Qobuz

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The music on this album by countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, keyboardist Christina Pluhar, and Pluhar's ensemble L'Arpeggiata might qualify as obscure, with composers ranging from the barely moderately known (Robert de Visée, Marin Marais) to all but unheard-of, except by specialists. Pluhar's aim might indeed be called specialized; she seeks to illustrate the role of the passacaglia in the French air de cour ("court air") of the 17th century. The air de cour is not a common subject for recordings in itself beyond French Baroque circles, but surprise, surprise; this is an album of great general appeal that landed on classical best-seller lists in early 2023. The key to its appeal is that Pluhar and Jaroussky cast an entirely new light on the music of the French court, which has the reputation of having the mood of a closed-in hothouse. The perception of the instrumental music of the era comes from the gloomy rooms of the film Tous les matins du monde: that of the vocal pieces from the recollections of anyone who has visited Versailles. The perceptions are not incorrect, but what Pluhar and Jaroussky show is that the French tradition was bending under breezes coming from the south in the form of the passacaglia, here given its original Spanish name of passacalle. This dance, as it did elsewhere, introduced virtuosity into the French instrumental tradition, and there are several impressive works by de Visée here, handled confidently by members of L'Arpeggiata. Even a vocal piece like Michel Lambert's Ma bergère est tendre et fidèle, with its conventional shepherdess text, takes on a new sensuousness. All the pieces are passacaglias or closely related to them, yet the variety of treatments ensures that the program never drags. Jaroussky is the star draw here, though in truth, it is Pluhar's show, and she lives up to her reputation for delivering compelling programs.© James Manheim /TiVo

During the 1990s and 2000s, all the stars paraded in front of the cameras of MTV to perform live acoustic. From Oasis to Jay-Z, not forgetting Nirvana, Neil Young, Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, Hole, Alice In Chains, Maxwell or even Kiss, everyone came to prove that by unplugging the amps they can still hold their own... Bruce Springsteen could hardly avoid this challenge. On September 22, 1992, at Warner Hollywood Studios in Los Angeles, while he was about to start his tour Human Touch/Lucky Town without the then separate E Street Band, he boxed up his own MTV Unplugged. Apart from the Boss cheated: his unplugged is in fact… plugged in! It begins with an acoustic of Red Headed Woman but the twelve tracks that follow are very much electric. Eight of them come from Human Touch and Lucky Town which he published on the same day, March 31, 1992 (two honest albums but not among his most impressive). The classics Atlantic City (from Nebraska), Darkness on the Edge of Town (from the eponymous album) and Thunder Road (from Born To Run) complete the track listing of this solid live album, though this record is probably reserved for hardcore Bruce Springsteen fans. © Max Dembo/Qobuz