There used to be an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records to the effect that Ravel wrote the least amount of music of any great composer. And if you look at the orchestrations that he made of piano originals, then the amount of music becomes smaller still. Many of his most popular works, including the ubiquitous Pavane for a Dead Princess, the Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, Alborada del Gracioso, Le Tombeau de Couperin, Mother Goose, and Une Barque sur l'Ocean exist in both orchestral an piano versions, but there's still a good bit of original piano music, including the lovely Sonatine and most importantly, Gaspard de la Nuit. Thibaudet has played all of this music since he started teething: he knows it and loves it, and it shows. —David Hurwitz

Feed your head with the rare mono edition of this spellbinding time-capsule from the epicenter of the Summer of Love, San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, circa 1967. On their groundbreaking first album with Grace Slick, the Jefferson Airplane brought their freshly-blooming psychedelia to the world at large with "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love." On high-definition vinyl, from the original analog masters.

This new recording sets exceptional standards for the performance of classical works of historical
interest Beethoven s Kreutzer Sonata, in the cello version by disciple Carl Czerny, is coupled with
five of Ignaz Moscheles re-compositions of the Bach Preludes from the Well Tempered Clavier
with obligato cello. Jelena O ci´c concertizes internationally as a soloist with chamber and philharmonic
orchestras, and as a recitalist in Eastern & Western Europe as well as the United States and Asia.

Montana Skies creates a unique new sound with the unusual pairing of cello and fingerstyle guitar. Combining classic with modern, the group has created their own "new acoustic" sound with innovative original compositions and arrangements. As the group moves ahead, they continue to stretch the boundaries of contemporary instrumental music.

The presence of Pat Metheny on Jim Hall's 1998 By Arrangement fulfilled the younger guitarist's long-standing dream of recording with Hall. But these duets confirm how beautiful their performing together could become. Unlike many encounters between high-profile guitarists, these recordings, from both a New York studio and a Pittsburgh concert, show no sense of competition or interest in displays of empty virtuosity. Instead, the CD's true to the enduring spirit of Hall's music, emphasizing interaction and a subtle complexity. Hall plays the lightly amplified electric guitar that is his trademark, with a gorgeous liquid tone, while Metheny brings a bevy of instruments to the meeting, including a standard electric (no synth), several acoustics—including a fretless classical—and his 42-string model for some remarkably harplike effects. There's tremendous variety in the music and thought in the choices of tunes and approaches. "The Birds and the Bees," played in memory of its composer, the late guitarist Attila Zoller, has a haunting depth, while the frequently played "Summertime" achieves a new identity in Metheny's arrangement, with spare and vibrant lead contrasting with animated rhythm guitar. Both musicians are adept composers, and highlights include Metheny's "Ballad X" and Hall's increasingly propulsive "Cold Spring." Given that Hall participated in one of the first recorded examples of free improvisation, "Free Form" with the Chico Hamilton Quintet in 1955, and Metheny has recorded with the British avant-gardist Derek Bailey, it's fitting that the two guitarists test the limits of their empathy in five brief and intriguing collective improvisations that sometimes explore unusual textures and microtonal harmonies. Whatever the material, though, the earmarks of the set are a quiet energy and a sustained lyric invention that invite and reward repeated listenings. The recording quality is superb, capturing every nuance of this music that seems to live near the core of the jazz guitar ethos. —Stuart Broomer