On her sophomore album for Blue Note, 2024's deeply enveloping Echoes of the inner Prophet, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana pays homage to her idol, the late Wayne Shorter. The album is the follow-up to 2022's Grammy-nominated 12 Stars and again finds the Chilean-born improviser working in close collaboration with guitarist Lage Lund. Also on board this time are pianist Fabian Almazan (taking over for Sullivan Fortner), bassist Pablo Menares, and drummer Kush Abadey. While Shorter's work is a clear influence for Aldana on Echoes of the Inner Prophet, she never sounds overly indebted to him and instead uses his work as inspiration for her own artful and distinctive playing. The title track is specifically dedicated to Shorter, who sat on the judging panel when Aldana won the 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. The song, as with much of the album, nicely brings to mind the moody lyricism and spectral harmonic qualities that the legendary saxophonist, composer, and Miles Davis band alum was known for. This is especially true of his albums like 1969's Super Nova and 1974's Moto Grosso Feio, productions where Shorter danced at the edges of avant-garde modalism, Brazilian jazz, and electric fusion, foreshadowing his groundbreaking work with Weather Report. Here, Aldana similarly dances on a stylistic edge, pushing towards ambient soundscapes, classical, and folk traditions, just as her playing and her group's sound is the epitome of acoustic post-bop jazz. Anther similarity Aldana shares with Shorter is a warm, tremulously soft, vocal-like tone on lithe improvisational lines that seem to rise, flutter, and dive through a song like a bird through clouds. It's a gentle yet powerful style and one that often pulls you deeper into a song's atmosphere. With his equally bird-like fretwork, pecking and fastidious one second and soaring through harmonic sunlight the next, Lund is a sympathetic collaborator for Aldana. There's an organic, almost nature-like quality to their work, as on "Unconscious Whispers," where his muted notes fall like rain on a window before Aldana and the band come rushing in like a summer storm. Similarly, on "A Purpose," Aldana and Lund play the soulful, R&B-esque melody in unison, meshing their sounds like trees in a fall breeze. With Echoes of the Inner Prophet, Aldana has crafted a gorgeously Zen album that finds her listening as much to the spirit of Shorter as to her own inner artistic voice.© Matt Collar /TiVo

Melissa Aldana's nuanced and superbly executed 2022 album 12 Stars feels like a new beginning for the tenor saxophonist. Though not her first album, 12 Stars is the Chilean-born improviser's debut for the storied Blue Note label. The 2013 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition winner, Aldana has spent much of the last five years earning accolades, including picking up her first Grammy nomination for her 2019 album Visions. Named after the 12 stars pictured on the crown of the tarot card figure The Empress, 12 Stars builds upon that success, showcasing Aldana's growing maturity as both a soloist and bandleader. Helping Aldana achieve this balance is Norwegian guitarist Lage Lund, who produced the album and collaborated with her on the songs and arrangements. Joining them is pianist Sullivan Fortner (who has distinguished himself as a member of vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant's Grammy-winning albums), drummer Kush Abadey, and longtime Aldana bandmate bassist Pablo Menares. Aldana and Lund are a magical team, often playing melodies in tandem. On the opening "Falling," Lund bathes Aldana in sparkling, otherworldly drones, her warm shooting-star sax refracting off the hull of his alien spaceship guitar. More evocative feelings arise throughout 12 Stars, as on "Emilia," in which Aldana dreams of her future daughter against Fortner's warm Rhodes keyboard bed. Equally hypnotic is "The Bluest Eye," a rippling, modal-sounding piece inspired by the Toni Morrison novel. There's a warm, cocoon-like quality to Aldana's compositions as she envelops herself and her audience in shimmering tonal cascades. She's also mutable, with a tone that's water pure one minute before rising to a high-pitched squelch the next, à la Wayne Shorter, as on the dreamy, tango-inflected "Intuition." Even on the vibrantly propulsive "Los Ojos de Chile," an anthem inspired by the 2019 political turmoil and protests in Chile, Aldana plays with an easy warmth that belies just how athletic and harmonically adept her improvisational skills are. With 12 Stars, Aldana puts all of her colorful sonic and emotional textures on display.© Matt Collar /TiVo

A tribute to the dearly departed Duane, Eat a Peach rambles through two albums, running through a side of new songs, recorded post-Duane, spending a full album on live cuts from the Fillmore East sessions, then offering a round of studio tracks Duane completed before his death. On the first side, they do suggest the mellowness of the Dickey Betts-led Brothers and Sisters, particularly on the lovely "Melissa," and this stands in direct contrast with the monumental live cuts that dominate the album. They're at the best on the punchier covers of "One Way Out" and "Trouble No More," both proof of the group's exceptional talents as a roadhouse blues-rock band, but Duane does get his needed showcase on "Mountain Jam," a sprawling 33-minute jam that may feature a lot of great playing, but is certainly a little hard for anyone outside of diehards to sit through. Apart from that cut, the record showcases the Allmans at their peak, and it's hard not to feel sad as the acoustic guitars of "Little Martha" conclude the record, since this tribute isn't just heartfelt, it offers proof of Duane Allman's immense talents and contribution to the band.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo

Between 1915 and 1934, the newly-independent island of Haiti was occupied by the Americans. The island's indomitable people united around traditional or originals songs, which affirmed their creole identity and gave voice to their resistance. It is from this repertoire, shaped and haunted by the figures of Voodoo, that Mélissa Laveaux has taken the raw material for her third album. By taking on this intimate piece of national culture, the singer, of Haitian descent but born in Canada and living in France, has found an excellent way of symbolically exploring the land of her ancestors. With the exception of Jolibwa, which tells the story of a journalist who was killed in prison, she is at once the author and the performer of these songs, which were often freshly written immediately before their recording. She appropriates this cultural heritage with a freedom which is only equalled by her profound and instinctive understanding of the emotions that were first expressed. Working together with her brilliant accomplices in the A.L.B.E.R.T. collective, (the Jazzbastards Vincent Taurelle, Ludovic Bruni and Vincent Taege), who recently helped with the latest release by Oumou Sangaré and were present on his album Dying Is a Wild Night, Melissa Laveaux has gone the distance in her quest for identity. Inspired by the pioneering traditional singers Martha Jean-Claude or Emerante de Pradines, she has rifled through old documents, liberated songs that were made to be heard, and freed herself from the weight of convention. She has created a freedom which is as poetic as it is musical, in which traditional troubadours' airs take on new life in tones of deep soul or elegant pop rock. The sensitive and inspiring track list of her Radyo Siwèl deserves to be rewarded with record audiences. © BM/Qobuz

The record industry's blatantly greedy ploy of remastering and "upgrading" CDs is shameful. The sonics are usually improved, but the CDs could have been mastered properly the first time. But then fans wouldn't buy the same titles twice. The Allman Brothers Band's indispensable compilation A Decade of Hits 1969-1979 was reissued in 2000, just nine years after the original release. The remastered 2000 edition still features the same 16 songs, but the packaging and liner notes include an essay by Guitar World journalist Alan Paul, photos, and detailed recording credits. It would be easy to argue that individual albums like Idlewild South, Live at Fillmore East, Eat a Peach, or Brothers and Sisters are more cohesive artistic statements, but no self-respecting rock & roll fan should be without a copy of A Decade of Hits 1969-1979, which includes the cream of those albums. It's impossible to go wrong with one CD featuring Gregg Allman's harrowing "Whipping Post" and gorgeous "Midnight Rider," Dickey Betts' soaring "Ramblin' Man," and the lovely instrumentals "Jessica" and "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed," let alone the blues covers "Statesboro Blues" and "One Way Out," which many people probably don't realize are covers because the band embodies them so much. Fans shouldn't have much of a problem recognizing the 2000 version. The cover featuring the band logo stitched on the denim jacket is still intact, but the white lettering is laid out a little differently on both the front and back covers. Plus, the shrink-wrap has an identifying sticker. Better still, just look at the copyright date. The first pressing's liner notes include a typographical error; there's a noticeable gap within the essay text where the Enlightened Rogues title is missing.© Bret Adams /TiVo

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Mercyful Fate's debut album, Melissa, took Black Sabbath's dark occult obsessions to an extreme, fusing them with the speed and tightened, twin-guitar riffing attack of British metal bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. But the band had a distinctive sound of its own, thanks to the neo-classical flourishes of guitarists Hank Shermann and Michael Denner and the unpredictable vocal leaps of King Diamond, who could jump from a deathly growl to an unearthly falsetto wail in the next line. The band was still finding itself, and some of the songs on Melissa have a tendency to move into long, meandering instrumental sections, but the basic components of Mercyful Fate's influential European gothic black metal sound were already in place.© Steve Huey /TiVo

This was one of the most stunning debut albums of the 1980s. Given the domination of synthesizer pop on the radio, Melissa Etheridge was a breath of fresh air when she burst out of the gate with this roots rock album sung with a sensitive bravado often compared to Janis Joplin. Although the passionate vocal deliveries are similar, the comparisons end there: Etheridge is a Midwesterner who was clearly influenced by classic rock artists such as Bruce Springsteen and John Cougar Mellencamp. The main theme explored is the emotional complexity of relationships, and throughout the album she sings about the hunger for affection, the pain of unrequited love, and the fire of obsessive romance. While the limited scope of the songwriting requires the listener to enter her world and exorcise the demons of relationships past, the album is full of infectious, up-tempo songs that propel the album forward. Etheridge's true talent, however, is reconciling uncontrollable emotions such as jealousy with a strong and fiercely independent spirit ("Similar Features," "Like the Way I Do"). Perhaps that's why Etheridge became a role model for a generation of young women who found her to be an uncompromising artist unafraid to expose (and celebrate) her strengths and weaknesses. This is a fine introduction to Melissa Etheridge, and it is one of her most enjoyable albums.© Vik Iyengar /TiVo

"Her buttery tone and fluid lines wind their way through 'Pasos' with effortless flair..." © TiVo

Mercyful Fate's debut album, Melissa, took Black Sabbath's dark occult obsessions to an extreme, fusing them with the speed and tightened, twin-guitar riffing attack of British metal bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. But the band had a distinctive sound of its own, thanks to the neo-classical flourishes of guitarists Hank Shermann and Michael Denner and the unpredictable vocal leaps of King Diamond, who could jump from a deathly growl to an unearthly falsetto wail in the next line. The band was still finding itself, and some of the songs on Melissa have a tendency to move into long, meandering instrumental sections, but the basic components of Mercyful Fate's influential European gothic black metal sound were already in place.© Steve Huey /TiVo

Talk about the human condition. When Melissa Etheridge released Lucky in early 2004, it was in celebration of a new romance and her status as a veteran singer/songwriter. Sadly, just a few months later, she announced she had breast cancer. But then, almost exactly a year after Lucky's release, Etheridge was on-stage at the Grammys singing a powerful version of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart." Her bold, and bald, performance proved that cancer wasn't Melissa Etheridge's goodbye. But it also gave hope to anyone experiencing the same ordeal. Etheridge celebrates her career again with 2005's Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled, which joins highlights and singles from her albums to unreleased material and a rousing studio version of "Piece of My Heart." The cover shot's great, an update of 1992's Never Enough depicting a short-haired Etheridge and her trusty Ovation, and so is her cover of the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers classic "Refugee," which builds from a raw acoustic track to a full-blown rock band/backup singer belter. From there the set continues chronologically. The breathy keyboards of "Similar Features" date it to 1988, but "Like the Way I Do" and "Bring Me Some Water," its fellow singles from Etheridge's self-titled debut, are shots of bluesy, brassy rock & roll that renew amazement in Etheridge's unchecked passion as a vocalist. (Actually, this collection could consist of "Bring Me Some Water" 17 times in a row and still be awesome.) Brave and Crazy's gently evocative "You Can Sleep While I Drive" plays out like a little movie, while the 1993 hit Yes I Am is represented by three slicker yet still strong tracks. Later albums like Breakdown and Your Little Secret get one song each. While she's always been brave, it's clear as Road Less Traveled plays out that Etheridge became less crazy as the 1990s unfolded. She adjusted the swagger of her earlier records with turns toward conventional album-oriented rock and lighter, more tasteful singles ("Come to My Window," for example). But her songwriting always endured, as the previously unreleased "This Is Not Goodbye" and "I Run for Life" show. Both inspired by her cancer, the former is an elegiac meditation on mortality while the latter celebrates recovery, endurance, and belief. Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled is a comprehensive, entertaining, and ultimately redemptive collection from a woman who truly deserves it.© Johnny Loftus /TiVo

Si On Chantait: 1968-1997 features 20 tracks by French pop vocalist Julien Clerc. The set includes "Si on Chantait," "Femmes... Je Vous Aime," "Ivanovitch," and his first hit, "La Cavalerie." For the casual listener who wants to get deeper into the music of Julien Clerc, this EMI compilation is recommended.© Al Campbell /TiVo

For her 15th album, the singer-songwriter explores pain—physical and emotional—and the ways Americans medicate. It’s a call for marijuana legalization, a rallying cry against opioids and a plea for unity. On expansive rocker "Faded By Design," the cancer survivor eschews Western medicine for self-care: "Don't call the doctor / The cure is in my mind." The spare and lovely "Here Comes the Pain" empathizes the root cause of addiction, while "Woman Like You" explores feminism and changing norms against a swirling, McCartney-esque melody. Etheridge has said that she was going for a ’90s rock sound—"moody and fierce." With its giant grunge guitars and swooning chorus, "Shaking," a look at collective national anxiety, hits the bulls-eye. As does the fierce, arena-rock title track which proves that Etheridge can make "e-i-e-i-oh" sound tough as nails. Even drawing courage from the survivors of a mass shooting on period-perfect power ballad "Last Hello" she never condescends. There is nothing small or shy in Etheridge’s songs, and it’s refreshing. © Qobuz