In celebration of their 40 th anniversary, The Cure didn’t just hire out a little pub in their hometown of Crawley, Sussex – they hired out the whole of Hyde Park instead! What an epic location for an epic group. The recording of this concert on July 7, 2018 in London in front of a crowd of 65,000 people is a reminder that the style, sound, creativity, song- writing and atmosphere that Robert Smith and his gang bring to the table is like no other. With his mascara, lipstick and static hair-do, the lead singer of The Cure has never sung so well despite being only a few months off his 60 th birthday here. The concert journeys through four decades of hits (which are sometimes cold wave but are mostly pop) and you can really appreciate the breadth of their work, along with all those melodies that you recognise subconsciously and Robert Smith’s ability to just get on with it. Joined onstage by his long-time partner in crime Simon Gallup (bass), as well as Reeves Gabrels (guitar), Roger O’Donnell (keyboards) and Jason Cooper (drums), he sings some beautiful versions of Pictures of You, In Between Days, Just Like Heaven, A Forest, Disintegration, Lullaby, The Caterpillar, Friday I’m in Love, Close to Me, Boys Don’t Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night and Killing an Arab. © Max Dembo/Qobuz

The Official Archive Series, Vol. 2 captures Status Quo on their Quo Festive tour at London's O2 in December 2012. Featuring the lineup of Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andrew Bown, John Edwards, and Matt Letley, the set saw the band work through a barrage of classic Quo hits while also performing a medley of Christmas-themed songs, including "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree."© Rich Wilson /TiVo

Am 14. Juni 2008 stirbt Esbjörn Svensson bei einem Tauchunfall an der Küste vor Stockholm. Der Bandleader des Trios E.S.T. war erst 44 Jahre alt, konnte aber schon auf eine solide Karriere zurückblicken. Vor allem standen dr schwedische Pianist und seine Komplizen, der Kontrabassist Dan Berglund und der Schlagzeuger Magnus Öström ganz oben in der internationalen Jazz-Szene. Mit Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop oder Elektro inspirierte sich der Jazz von E.S.T. auf unterschiedlichste Weise, ohne jemals kühn zu werden. Jamie Cullum wiederholte oft: „E.S.T. ist das einzige Jazz-Trio, das ich meinen Freunden vorspielen kann, die von Jazz keine Ahnung haben“. Zehn Jahre nach diesem tragischen und vorzeitigen Ableben bringt das Label ACT zum Gedenken an die skandinavische Gruppe dieses Doppelalbum mit dem noch unveröffentlichten Live-Mitschnitt heraus, der am 20. Mai 2005 auf der Bühne des Londoner Barbican Center entstand. Die Fans von E.S.T. wissen natürlich, dass schon zwei Live-Platten auf dem Markt sind (das im Jahre 2001 veröffentlichte Live ´95 und das im Jahre 2007 erschienene Live In Hamburg). Man muss aber zugeben, dass diese Live-Aufnahme aus London einen wahren Höhepunkt darstellt, was die Kohäsion und den Inhalt der Interaktionen zwischen Svensson, Berglund und Öström betrifft. Es ist faszinierend, auf welche Art und Weise der Pianist hier Raum und Stille in seine Musik integriert; und auch mit einer gewissen überschäumenden Poesie spielt, ohne sich je mit bequemen Lösungen zufrieden zu geben. Selbst wenn gewisse Stellen herauszuhören sind, die mehr oder weniger an Keith Jarrett erinnern, so vollzieht Esbjörn Svensson anhand seiner eigenen rhythmischen Elemente eine Kehrtwendung, um sich selbst treu zu bleiben. Irgendwie das schönste Geschenk anlässlich des traurigsten Jahrestages… © Max Dembo/Qobuz

The electric blues guitar boss -- only in his early twenties at the time of this release -- Christone "Kingfish" Ingram brought his tight quartet to London's Garage on June 6, 2023, for a standing-room-only crowd. Live in London, the guitar slinger's third album for Alligator, appeared just three months later. It's a beautifully recorded, incendiary gig captured in the moment. The 17-track program is equally split between selections from his first two albums: 2019's Kingfish and 2021's 662, plus new tunes and a cover.Kingfish leaves plenty of room for spontaneity live. Set opener "She Calls Me Kingfish" is introduced by DeShawn Alexander's reverbed, floating Rhodes piano that's replaced by a Hammond B-3 organ before Paul Rogers' bumping bassline and Chris Black's drum kit establish a funky shuffle. Ingram's playing crisscrosses jazz, prog rock, soul, and blues before it's time to solo. In contrast, his biting Stratocaster delivers a strolling break that melds the phrasing of B.B. King and Jimmy Johnson with an innate, deeply personal lyricism. Over seven minutes, its dynamic and intensity shift several times, drawing the enthusiastic crowd in. "Fresh Out" is even longer, a slow, wrangling, Chicago blues, it offers locked-on group interplay even during the solos by Ingram and Alexander. The tempo remains relatively laid-back through the poignant soul blues of "Another Life Goes By." (Interestingly, one can hear the influence of Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson in the melody and lyric.) Michael "Iron Man" Burks' "Empty Promises" is Hendrixian in invention, drama, and tension. Its loss-laden lyric is underscored by the B-3 and sets a perfect frame for Ingram's arrestingly soulful singing on top. The nasty, gritty "Hard Times" is a keyboard and rhythm collision that Ingram elevates with his hip vocals and distorted wah-wah soloing. "Mississippi Night" is a previously unissued scorching ten-minute instrumental that puts all of Ingram's considerable improvising skills on display. The middle section offers two solo acoustic Delta jams. "Been Here Before" is an autobiography and tribute to his grandmother with canny fingerpickinging and percussive strumming. The other -- "Something in the Dirt" -- is also a testifying autobiography of person and place set to a celebratory I-IV-V shuffle with killer turnarounds. The second half commences with the swaying blue soul of "You're Already Gone," driven by B-3 as Ingram testifies with conviction in his vocal. His solo adds depth, dimension, and power. While "Rock 'n' Roll" remains a deeply moving tribute to his late mother complete with gospel overtones, "Not Gonna Lie" combines blues, funk, and rootsy rock in a personal manifesto. "Midnight Heat," another new song, is snarling and potent, as Ingram's lyric offers intimacy to a lover with a loose groove that crisscrosses electric Southern blues and Meters-esque R&B. Closer "662" is bursting with the uptempo dancehall Texas groove of Albert King, the Vaughan Brothers, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. Live in London provides more evidence that Ingram is a force to be reckoned with: Not only can he play like the legends, but he's an original vocalist, a solid songwriter, and a disciplined bandleader.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

This 2007 concert, twice postponed, took place at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire, and reminds us of the singer's flamboyant energy. This live recording was entitled I Told You I Was Trouble, as Amy Winehouse was unpredictable and many of her appearances were punctuated by incidents and accompanied by permanent chaos. This is fortunately not the case for this recording where we find brilliant performances of such worldwide hits as Rehab or Back to Black, as well as a cover of Valerie by the Zutons, recorded by the star with producer Mark Ronson on his album Version, released in 2007. Of the sixteen tracks that make up this live record, note three other covers, Doo Wop (That Thing) by Lauryn Hill, which Amy Winehouse follows up with her very own He Can Only Hold Her, and two covers of numbers by the legendary ska group led by the no-less-legendary Jerry Dammers: the Specials. Winehouse offers a beautiful version of Hey Little Rich Girl and chooses to end her concert with a perfectly festive, very spirited version of their Monkey Man... This London performance has lost nothing of its freshness and immortalises an hour from the life of this exceptional artist with an exceptional voice and unforgettable charisma. Unfortunately she passed away in 2011 at the age of twenty-seven, joining the likes of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain in the 27 Club... But the one they called “Trouble” has left some of her very best here for us to hold onto forever. © Yan Céh/Qobuz

Sabina Sciubba has a warm voice and guitarist Antonio Forcione is a sympathetic accompanist who often challenges her. The duo, which is often joined by bassist Davide Mantovani and occasionally a few other musicians, performs atmospheric music that includes "Take Five," Al Jarreau's "Could You Believe," "Estate," some folk music and a few originals. Sciubba's versatile, mature, strong and sometimes-haunting voice makes this a disc worth searching for; she is a name that should be remembered.© Scott Yanow /TiVo