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Olafur Arnalds - Talos:

A Dawning

A Dawning is a deeply moving collaborative album from Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds and the late Irish artist Eoin French, known to many as Talos. What began as a shared creative venture evolved into a powerful reflection on friendship, grief, and artistic exploration following French’s passing last summer. Alongside the release of the album, today sees the release of the music video and single ‘A Dawning’.

The video is a poetic, observational film built around a series of living tableaus that trace connection, presence, and quiet resilience from West Cork to Reykjavík and the surrounding areas – told through real people, real places, their memories, celebrations and the slow transformation that follows loss. It is a celebration of life and the things that make it worth living. Director Níall O’Brien says, “I’ve always felt that the idea of life moving on was something I took from this. No matter how hard things get, we keep going. This film lets us observe the richness of life in its simplicity, and how that simplicity becomes epic when you really consider what it means to live. The glory of living is in the minutiae.”

Ólafur and Eoin first began working on the album in 2023 after both were invited to take part in a residency at the Sounds from a Safe Harbour Festival in Cork. A fast bond was formed, with sessions taking place between Arnalds’ Reykjavík studio and French’s home in West Cork. But when French became gravely ill during a visit to Iceland, the collaboration took on new emotional weight. After his passing in August 2024, Arnalds completed the record in honour of the music they made together — and the friendship they built. Ólafur shares, “At its core this is an album about the importance of community. How making music is at its heart a service to our community, including ourselves. These songs tell the story of a beautiful friendship in its entirety and throughout everything we went through they became a place of solace, a reason to meet, a place to pour our grief into. It is a celebration of life and the time we shared together - as friends and as a community.”

Andre Schuen:

Mozart

“I’ve dreamt of recording a Mozart album since the early days of my career,” says Andrè Schuen. In November 2024, that dream came true, when he performed a selection of the composer’s works in Salzburg, Mozart’s birthplace. With the baritone on stage at the Mozarteum were the Mozarteumorchester and its Chief Conductor Roberto González-Monjas, Schuen’s friend since their student days at the Mozarteum University. Their interpretations, along with others recorded in studio conditions, now appear on Schuen’s latest Deutsche Grammophon album, Mozart. The singer’s carefully curated programme explores his long relationship with Mozart’s music. It includes excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Don Giovanni – with soprano Nikola Hillebrand joining him in a duet from each opera – as well as the concert aria Mentre ti lascio. Schuen performs three works for voice and piano with his longstanding duo partner Daniel Heide, with whom he has already released acclaimed recordings of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, Schwanengesang and Winterreise. Finally, Schuen sings “Komm, liebe Zither” with mandolinist and fellow DG artist Avi Avital, who can also be heard with the orchestra in the canzonetta from Don Giovanni. 

Mozart will be released on CD and digitally on 4 July 2025. A new production of Don Giovanni, directed by Robert Icke, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and starring Andrè Schuen in the title role, opens on the same date at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. The duet “Là ci darem la mano” from that opera, featuring Nikola Hillebrand as Zerlina, will be released as a first digital single from the album on 23 May. Schuen’s recording of Abendempfindung with Daniel Heide will follow on 13 June. 
In the notes he has written to accompany the album, Andrè Schuen discusses his choice of repertoire. “I didn’t just want to present a list of Mozart’s arias for baritone and bass,” he explains. “Instead I wanted to create interesting links and transitions that would draw the listeners in and establish a dramatic arc for the sequence as a whole.”

The first of the many strands in the album’s web of connections is autobiographical. Figaro was Schuen’s first major operatic role, so the album had to start with two of that character’s arias (“Non più andrai” and “Aprite un po’ quegl’occhi”). Later, he switches role and sings Count Almaviva’s duet with Susanna and “Hai già vinta la causa” in an extended excerpt from Le nozze di Figaro.

There is a similarity in character, meanwhile, between the recitative that introduces “Aprite un po’” and the two numbers that follow – Mentre ti lascio, and the intimate Abendempfindung. The latter, as Daniel Heide points out, has to be sung “very soulfully”, which Schuen amply succeeds in doing. 

The excerpts from the masonic-themed opera Die Zauberflöte are introduced by “Die ihr des unermesslichen Weltalls Schöpfer ehrt”, a short cantata intended for masonic use. By contrast, the romantic setting of a garden links the lyrics of Das Traumbild with the duet from Le nozze di Figaro in which Almaviva entreats Susanna to meet him in his mansion’s grounds that evening. 
The sweet sound of the mandolin connects the song “Komm, liebe Zither” to the canzonetta “Deh, vieni alla finestra”, the first in the album’s final sequence of three extracts from Don Giovanni. Avi Avital observes that these are two of just three pieces Mozart ever wrote for the instrument, despite its popularity in his day. In the canzonetta, he adds, “it’s a symbol of the purity and sweetness of the young lady Don Giovanni wants to lure to her window!”

Christopher O'Riley:

J.S. Bach - The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II

Christopher O’Riley has immersed himself for the last several years in the study of J.S. Bach’s seminal keyboard work: The Well-Tempered Clavier. The initial result of his devotion was a set of video lectures/meditations on each of the 96 constituent parts, the Preludes & Fugues of The Well-Tempered Clavier, now available on O’Riley’s YouTube channel @ChristopherORiley360 entitled ‘Everything We Need To Know About Playing The Piano We Learn From The Well-Tempered Clavier.’ These presentations were supplemented a short time later when the pianist presented what can now be considered to be the only thorough-going method for the study of Bach and other musics as an eight-week course. All of these lectures, master classes and performances, again are available as YouTube Playlists on his channel All About Bach @U/U.
With last year's Navona release of O’Riley’s trail-blazing performances of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, the cycle is now complete with this release of Book II. 

The contrast between Books I & II of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier is manifest in their respective opening Preludes. Book I’s C Major is gentle enough to protect a fragile candle flame; Book II’s is sufficiently robust to herald the arrival of a nova-brilliant sunrise, a million candles in strength.

Book I, which was composed over a short period of time when Bach was a young man can be understood as a manual in training players to achieve the clearest keyboard counterpoint. Each prelude acts as an etude for a specific technical device. It presents Bach as a teacher. Book II, by contrast, illustrates a seasoned compositional master. Published some 20 years later and considered over many years, Book II is a more expansive and demanding set of pieces, reflecting Bach’s greater musical and lived experience. Part of that experience was exposure to new musical forms coming out of other European countries, primarily Italy.

In the 1730s, Bach was sensitive to criticism that his music was old fashioned. A central focus of his composing became the synthesis of new forms — such as aria ritornello, sinfonia, instrumental trio, and concerto — with his well-established dance forms and strict counterpoint. Book II is to a large degree predicated on the concept of one genre alluding to another. Bach was ever engineering ways to blend old and new in structure, finding authoritative and original updates to age-old problems of counterpoint.

A true expedition into the second set’s finest of details, O’Riley delves beyond the notes themselves and into the spaces between the notes, sifting through the silence for every last possibility of rhythmic flexibility and potential for expression. The Japanese aesthetic of Ma: The Space Between, acts as an overarching conceptualization in O’Riley’s detailed method. With preludes and fugues more intricate and complex than those of the first set, Book II has a more varied palette of forms and provides an even richer opportunity for the discovery of texture, articulation, improvisation and hidden meaning within the music.
 

Akira Kosemura:

Mirai

The new single is the first track of his upcoming album MIRAI, set for release on June 27, 2025. One of his most challenging and compelling albums to date, the record is his first-ever vocal project album with 7 notable singers such as Devendra Banhart, Mr Hudson, Baths, Benjamin Gustafsson & Miyuki Hatakeyama.

Since his record debut in 2007, Kosemura’s compositions have been reflecting his inner voice, and drawing various images silently and beautifully – from quiet nights, four seasons, to some stories about unknown people in unknown world. He garnered attention worldwide, collaborated with notable musicians such as John Legend and Devendra Banhart, and created scores for films/TV drama/video games like the Cannes featured film True Mothers (2020), Hollywood produced drama series Love Is__ (2018), the Nintendo Switch game Jack Jeanne (2021), TV anime Honey Lemon Soda (2025), and so many others. Completely self-taught composer/pianist has become one of the most streamed Asian classical artists, has signed Decca Records/Universal Music in 2022, and released diverse records including his renowned solo piano album, SEASONS (2023).

Now in 2025, Kosemura looks at a new direction with MIRAI (means “future” in Japanese). “I came up with this project as I felt a sense of division during the COVID pandemic” he says. As a father raising his son, his focus on making music has been shifted from his inner voices to the message for next generations, and he decided to set the concept of this record to describe the future from his personal perspective with music, for future era.
Based on his background and experiences as a Japanese and composer, MIRAI unites various elements from Asian traditional instruments, film soundtrack to post-rock, neo-classical and electronica, in his one-of-a-kind musicality and several languages, just like post-war Japanese culture developed uniquely with the influence from western countries. The result is so colorful - we can hear the influences from post-rock such as Mogwai and Sigur Ros on ‘Atlas’ featuring Tom Adams, see ambient worlds featuring field recordings of songs of Nagas in Myanmar on ‘SECAI’ and ‘Lore’, and feel gentle winds in the mountains on ‘Autumn Moon’ featuring Miyuki Hatakeyama, which lyrics are cited from Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese waka by one hundred poets.

Says Kosemura, “It was a great time for me to be able to bring out the various musical elements that influenced me from my young age to the present and incorporate them one by one into the album. We would travel diverse worlds through the record, and it ends with utopian Japanese music. I wrote the last track ‘Ongaku’ with the image of a Japanese festival that doesn't actually exist. The ending of the song is also a little fantastical, with the sound flying off somewhere, as it is intended to be listened to again by going back to the first song.”

“This is very different to SEASONS. This looks at the world from a very different perspective” says the composer. Featuring various instruments such as dilruba, erhu, shakuhachi, koto, shamisen and many others, MIRAI is his phantasmal statement for the future, as well as his journey to the utopia of music.

Avi Avital:

Song Of the Birds w/Between Worlds Ensemble

In a new series of recordings for Deutsche Grammophon, virtuoso mandolinist Avi Avital paints captivating musical portraits of three distinct geographical regions. Together with the nine versatile musicians of his Between Worlds ensemble, Avital has already delighted audiences around Europe with genre-defying programmes that celebrate folk traditions and their influence on classical composers past and present. Now they are set to release three digital EPs – ITALY, IBERIA and BLACK SEA – and an album, Song of the Birds, which features a colourful sequence of music from all three regions. Guest artists Marina Heredia, Alessia Tondo and the Georgian choir Ensemble Rustavi join the musicians in a rich selection of vocal and instrumental arrangements (most of which were created by David Bruce or Jonathan Keren). These are woven together by the magical sound of Avital’s mandolin, the heart of the ensemble, to form a vibrant tapestry of musical traditions. 

ITALY comes out on 30 May 2025, with IBERIA following on 27 June and BLACK SEA on 11 July.  Song of the Birds will be released digitally and on CD on 8 August. Nine of the album’s 20 tracks do not appear on any of the EPs. Filmed versions of the Between Worlds concerts at Berlin’s Pierre Boulez Saal will be made available to stream on STAGE+, beginning with the premiere of the IBERIA concert on 5 July, and continuing with VoD releases of the BLACK SEA concert on 18 July and the ITALY concert on 15 August.

Italy is close to Avi Avital’s heart – not just as the birthplace of the mandolin, but as the country he called home for eight years, during which time he discovered the huge variety of musical traditions still flourishing throughout the peninsula. ITALY focuses on the south of the country, with vocalist Alessia Tondo, a leading exponent of that region’s folk music, joining the ensemble in songs such as Tarantella di Sannicandro. Song of the Birds also acknowledges the historical influence of Greece on Italy with the inclusion of Raiko, a traditional Macedonian dance arranged for the ensemble by violinist-composer Antonis Sousamoglou.
Avital’s journey continues with an exploration of the varied musical history of the Iberian Peninsula. The IBERIA EP features two works by Andalusian composer Falla, both rooted in the folk music of his native region: Andaluza from 4 Piezas españolas and an excerpt from El amor brujo, with vocals from legendary flamenco singer Marina Heredia. She also sings a contemporary arrangement of an Andalusian folk song harmonised by poet and musician Federico García Lorca. The album expands this repertoire with a selection of Ladino songs (Ladino being the language of the Sephardi Jews who established new communities outside the Iberian peninsula after being expelled from Spain in 1492). Heredia sings La Petenera, while the remaining arrangements are purely instrumental.

Eydis Evensen:

'Eternal' from 'Oceanic Mirror'

Written in the depths of Iceland‘s winter, ‘Eternal’ unfolds as the second chapter of the new album – a sonic elegy for light and warmth in a season where daylight barely lingers. Brass sighs into slow, spiraling piano lines, capturing the weight and beauty of darkness. “There was a heaviness and melancholia behind this piece, so I love that it’s coming out in the summertime – a sense of positivity even when it’s so dark,” shares Evensen. Alongside the album announcement, she also announced a series of international tour dates, inviting audiences to experience the music live. You can find tickets here.

Turbulent and beyond prediction; serene and spiritually transformative - Oceanic Mirror captures the ocean in all its power, movement and contradictions to speak to truths which transcend language. Listening to this album reawakens you what you knew all along; the things that the pace of our lives can lead us to forget. Loss, reincarnation, the cycles of life and nature: Evensen’s compositions share elemental lessons which we can bring on our own voyages across troubled waters.

Another powerful aspect of Oceanic Mirror is the inclusion of compelling artistic collaborators,
whose contributions expand Evensen’s sound world in unexpected and resonant ways.

It follows on from her 2021 debut Bylur and its 2023 successor The Light - each an excavation of elemental truths told through nature. As an Icelandic artist, Evensen has spent her life awed and humbled by its lessons; her music teaches these to us without having to speak a word.

Jonathan Karrant:

'Your Song' - Live in Concert w/Joe Alterman Trio

Acclaimed vocalist Jonathan Karrant and celebrated pianist Joe Alterman are proud to announce the release of their highly anticipated live album, a dynamic recording that captures the electrifying musical chemistry they’ve cultivated over years of performing together.

Longtime collaborators both in the recording studio and on the concert stage, Karrant and Alterman have often dreamed of documenting the energy and spontaneity of their live performances. With this new recording, they deliver just that—an intimate, high-spirited set that brings listeners directly into the room with them.

Featured with Karrant and Alterman on this recording are two world-class musicians: bassist Mike Gurrola and drummer Kevin Kanner, whose artistry evaluate and bring the music to life with remarkable flair and finesse.

Across 14 tracks, the album showcases Karrant and Alterman’s shared musical taste and inventive style, moving seamlessly from classic jazz standards to reimagined interpretations of popular songs. Some of their selections reflect the influence of their close musical mentors such as Diane Schuur, Les McCann, Nancy Wilson and Ramsey Lewis, blending timeless tradition with fresh perspective.

Album highlights include a swinging take on “I Just Found Out About Love”, an exuberant version of “The Great City”, and soulful, genre-blending arrangements of “Your Song” and “How Glad I Am,”.

At its core, this album is about connection—between musicians, with the audience, and through the timeless joy of jazz music. Whether trading laughs during a breezy swing number or digging deep into an emotional ballad, these four masterful artists invite listeners to share in the pure pleasure of live, artful performance. This new release promises to be a feel-good favorite for jazz fans and music lovers alike.

First Single - Release July 11, 2025……Vocalist Jonathan Karrant and pianist Joe Alterman reimagine Elton John's popular song Your Song. Together with bassist Mike Gurrola and drummer Kevin Kanner, these artists bring a unique arrangement to this tune. The Alterman Trio sets up the vibe with a contemporary funk groove and Karrant joins them with a soulful interpretation of the lyrics. This live recording is a refreshing jazz take on this American classic.

Chick Corea:

The Visitors w/ Gary Burton and Kirill Gerstein

Chick Corea wrote The Visitors specifically for Gary Burton and Kirill Gerstein – two masters of their instruments and in their respective fields. The 12-minute piece blends classical and jazz languages seamlessly: some sections are fully written-out, others partially improvised, and others again entirely open to the interpreters’ in-the-moment inspiration. Vibraphone and piano conspire in graceful interplay throughout, navigating rowdy ostinatos and subtle counterpoint in the process. Commissioned by Kirill Gerstein with support from his Gilmore Artist Award, and co-commissioned by Berklee College of Music, The Visitors was premiered by Burton and Gerstein at the 2012 Gilmore International Piano Festival. Gerstein and Burton only recently rediscovered this recording of that premiere, subsequent to which Manfred Eicher and Gerstein mixed the piece in Munich, in Spring 2025. Released as a digital single only, The Visitors appears on the occasion of what would have been Chick Corea’s 84th birthday, on June 12. Kirill Gerstein: “With Chick no longer with us, and Gary now retired, this is a singular document—both musically and personally meaningful”

Wilhelmina Smith:

sweetgrass - music by Dawn Avery

American cellist Wilhelmina Smith discovered Dawn Avery’s composition Gratitude during the pandemic while searching online for music by Indigenous composers that could accompany a video project connecting music to nature. After that project, Avery— who draws from her devotion to sacred world traditions, including those from her own Kaniènkéha (Mohawk) heritage, sent other works to Smith, including Decolonization, a piece with a narrative thread that starts with Geronimo’s song and moves through several traditional Indigenous dances and songs, including a Hendrix-y version of the American national anthem. Avery has described the work as exploring “what it means to be truly ‘American.’”

Also a skilled cellist, Avery writes technically virtuosic music for her instrument, but never at the expense of its message, which inspired Smith to commission a new work from her that became Sweetgrass (Ohònte Wenserá:kon), the album’s title track. Smith finds the work to be not only evocative of nature but also a metaphor for innocence, vulnerability, and beauty. Smith and Avery chose the remaining works on the album together. Some had originally been for two instruments; these were either re-scored by the composer or the two lines recorded separately. The first and last pieces, We Enter Together and Orèn:ta, are musically connected: the first represents the partnership between cellist and composer, and the last—along with the other vocal tracks on the album—features Avery’s own voice, as she describes, “singing deep from the heart.” Smith comments: “Her voice is, in my opinion, the soul of this album.” 
 

Tony Ann:

ICARUS - Helios Remix

A sleepless solstice?
Drift away with Tony’s dreamlike remix.

Icarus is the last piece Tony plays at his shows around the world and the final melody he hears before falling asleep. Its soft, delicate notes linger like a lullaby, carrying him gently into his dreams. Naturally, he began to imagine recreating that same feeling, not just for himself, but to share with his fans. That’s how the ambient remix was born: a dreamy, stripped-down version of Icarus, crafted in collaboration with remixer Helios to capture its most intimate essence, a lullaby for anyone who needs one. Icarus (Ambient) is releases today on the shortest night of the year to invite listeners to drift into sleep with his soothing music.

Camille Thomas:

The Chopin Project Trilogy, Extended

In celebration of the second anniversary of her ambitious album, "The Chopin Project: Trilogy" (now available), Camille Thomas is releasing a special digital EP titled "The Chopin Project: Trilogy (Extended)." This extended version comprises six tracks that were previously unreleased, all recorded during the original sessions. 

Beyond its status as a mere musical tribute, "The Chopin Project: Trilogy" has emerged as a landmark endeavor, accumulating more than 23 million streams worldwide. It has also received widespread international media coverage across both European and Asian territories, being featured in prominent outlets such as France Musique, ZDF, Le Figaro, Elle Japan, Polish Radio 2, and Ai Yue Magazine in China. The core of "The Chopin Project: Trilogy" was to illuminate the historic camaraderie between Franchomme and Chopin, while simultaneously honoring the enduring bonds of friendship and the artistic legacy transferred between successive generations of musicians. Camille's performances on the album were executed on the iconic 1730 Feuermann Stradivarius, an instrument formerly belonging to Franchomme himself, renowned for having played for Chopin in his final hours.

This new digital EP, released to commemorate the two-year anniversary of what stands as Camille's most ambitious recording to date, features its six previously unreleased tracks, which were recorded amidst the Covid-19 lockdown. These tracks provide a natural and potent expansion of the trilogy's foundational spirit and thematic universe. Furthermore, the EP sees the re-collaboration of Camille and pianist Julien Brocal on the initial two tracks, thereby extending their proven artistic partnership.

Reeve Carney:

America

Grammy Award winning singer, multi-instrumentalist and actor, Reeve Carney has carved an excitingly unconventional career path for himself. Having originated the roles of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in Julie Taymor and U2’s Spider-Man:Turn Off The Dark, and Orpheus in Anäis Mitchell’s smash hit musical Hadestown on Broadway, he has spent the other side of his professional life writing and recording his own original music and performing around the world in various theaters, rock clubs, and festivals. Signed by Jimmy Iovine to Interscope Records at the age of 22, Carney released two records under the name of his eponymous band, Carney. After going fully independent in 2017, he received 5 Independent Music Awards for his solo debut effort Youth Is Wasted, including Best Album. His upcoming single AMERICA confronts a fractured nation with a prayerful plea, as it soars and stumbles in pursuit of its full and promised potential.

Jon Fadem:

Thankful

‘Thankful’ is the solo debut from Jon Fadem, a talented guitarist who has spent years honing his craft. It consists of all-original, guitar-oriented instrumental songs, telling a collected personal life story through music. The songs cross over many genres, creating a blend of rock, jazz, and soul with echoes of Jeff Beck, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Jerry Garcia, Jimi Hendrix, and Steely Dan. It is an album of organic melodies and grooves that will find a welcome place in the minds and bodies of its listeners.

Jon Fadem on the making of ‘Thankful.’     “This album is a collection of original, guitar-oriented, instrumental songs taken from different periods in my life. After many years of playing and touring nationally with different cover bands, I decided to make an album of my own music, and it is a very personal project to me. It took countless hours over two years to complete this album, and to make sure it sounded exactly how I wanted it to sound. I played all of the instruments myself, with the exception of drums and percussion, which were played by John Kimock, who plays with Mike Gordon of Phish, and Oteil Burbridge of Dead and Company. The template for the overall sound of the album was my favorite music from the seventies, specifically these three albums: Jeff Beck's 'Blow by Blow', Stevie Wonder's 'Talking Book', and Joni Mitchell's 'The Hissing of Summer Lawns.' I wanted it to be an album that people would enjoy listening to. Theoretically, they would be able to either sit down and listen to it carefully and enjoy it, or just put it on and go about their day, allowing the music to become part of the fabric of their life. Either way, I sincerely hope that people like it, and that it finds a welcome home in people's lives.” 

Apollo Chamber Players:

BAN - Stories of Censorship

Through Apollo commissions from a kaleidoscopic array of today’s composers, Apollo reflects on the threat of censorship, drawing from multiple cultures and historical episodes in this musically vibrant call to cherish and defend our freedom of expression. Legendary actor, author, and activist George Takei performs as narrator in composer Marty Regan’s The Book of Names, delivering a powerful account of his personal journey and life of activism following his family’s experience in an internment camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. Through his inspired, timely plea for the preservation of American democracy, Takei’s story offers a stark reminder that even our most basic rights must never be taken for granted. The album also features works by Emmy Award–winning composer Jasmine Barnes in collaboration with Houston Poet Laureate Emeritus Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Houston-based composer Mark Buller, Turkish-American composer Erberk

Eryilmaz, Afrofuturist flutist/composer Allison Loggins-Hull, electronic and experimental hip-hop artist Paul Miller (AKA DJ Spooky), and Afghan-born composer and rubab performer Homayoun Sakhi.

“BAN: Stories of Censorship is Apollo Chamber Players’ bold musical response to rising global threats against freedom of expression,” said Apollo founder and Director Matthew J. Detrick. “Featuring new commissions by composers from politically embattled regions—including Afghanistan, Turkey, and the U.S.—the album amplifies voices often silenced. In connective harmony, these works form a musical call to conscience, reminding us that in dark times, art is both resistance and refuge.”

Fred Hersch:

The Surrounding Green w/Drew Gress, Joey Baron

Masterful trio interplay reliant on deeply honed three-way communication and a refined sense of understatement make Fred Hersch’s third recording for ECM an essential entry into the piano trio canon. Hersch tackles a handful of 20th century compositions – spanning from standards to less frequented jazz tunes – as well as three originals, with Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums.

Drew and Joey are longstanding companions of Fred’s who have played with him on and off since the early and late 80s respectively – in various combinations Fred was joined by the one or the other on over a dozen recordings. This however marks their first studio recording as a trio, and their exceptional collective approach, shaped by decades of experience, can be heard (and felt) in every song.

“Joey is such a genius with dynamics that it was no problem at all for us to hear each other in the Auditorio,” notes Hersch. “And the way that Drew plays, for example on ‘Plainsong’ and ‘The Surrounding Green’, there’s so much trust in how we get through the harmony, where we pause and where we move on. I feel that on this record you really hear the history! I hope that people can feel the maturity of the interaction, the sonic world and the sensitivity at play.”

Fred’s own pieces are striking in their lyrical intensity, beaming with elaborate harmonies and interwoven counterpoint on “Plainsong”, timeless melodic invention on the title track “The Surrounding Green” and irresistible Brazilian groove on “Anticipation”. While previous solo renditions of “Plainsong” already introduced the melody’s intimate quality, the trio formula heard here proves quietly revelatory, with bass and drums adding a fresh pulse and expanded harmonic dimensions to the tune. The title track and “Anticipation” are new entries into the Hersch songbook.

Kevin Olusola:

Dawn Of A Misfit

Kevin Olusola, the dynamic singer, cellist, and beatboxer best known for his work with the 3x-GRAMMY® Award-winning a cappella group Pentatonix, releases his debut solo album, DAWN OF A MISFIT, via Sony Music Masterworks, available everywhere now. To mark the album’s release, Olusola has also unveiled the music video for standout track “Hallelujah (I Don’t Think About You).” The song masterfully showcases Olusola’s blend of classical, pop, and hip-hop genres. It starts a bit unassuming: wrapped around a sample of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” oratorio, beginning with a worship-worthy melody before exploding into a percussion-heavy beat as Olusola unleashes a massive kiss-off to those who have done him wrong. “You used to be my sweetest song / Turns out the autotune was on,” he sings with a wink.

“’Hallelujah (I Don’t Think About You)’ is my absolute favorite song on this project,” shares Olusola. “I remember driving home from the songwriting session, blasting the demo I produced in the car, and thinking, ‘This is exactly the sound I’ve been chasing all my life!’ This song sums me up artistically and personally - it’s about embracing your true self and letting go of the past (toxic people, habits, etc.). I hope you feel the energy and joy that pours into this song, helping you step into the freedom you’ve been dreaming of.”

The multi-faceted artist first previewed his new LP with the electrifying lead single “DARK WINTER," blending Vivaldi's Four Seasons and symphonic strings with Olusola's potent beatbox percussion, 808s & elastic R&B hooks. He followed with the spoken word and deeply personal “I Feel Misunderstood” and “Crazy,” an instrumental reimagining of Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 mega-hit that showcases Olusola’s powerful talents as a cellist. Most recently, Olusola released “Smile,” an uplifting number that showcases the purity of Olusola’s vocals and his signature beatboxing, along with the soothing sample of Bach’s “Cello Suites.”

Signum Quartett:

A Dark Flaring - Works for String Quartet from SA

A Dark Flaring marks the Signum Quartett’s return to ECM’s New Series after debuting for the label with striking performances on Erkki-Sven Tüür’s acclaimed chamber music recording Lost Prayers (2020). Here, the quartet has put together a unique programme dedicated to South African composers, born in the 20th century, whose works for string quartet are united by the way they blend respect for the past with an instinct for the future in a wide-flung idiomatic scope. The grid of references unravelled between the six composers here – their dates of birth span from 1903 to 1983 – is as geographically wide as it is idiomatically deep, with large musical bridges connecting inspirations ranging from South African Xhosa and Zulu traditions through the late Renaissance to 19th century Romanticism as well as 20th century impressionists and minimalists. There’s even a nod to popular culture, as Matthijs van Dijk’s (rage) rage against the borrows inspiration for its title from the rock group Rage Against The Machine.

The complicated historical and in the same breath cultural backdrop that goes hand in hand with musical repertory composed over this specific period, in the South African context, is not only impossible to ignore but moreover serves as catalyst, canvas and disrupter – sometimes all at once – for most of the music presented here. The country after all didn’t become united until 1910, when South Africa was declared a self-governed country under the Commonwealth in the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer Wars. Apartheid ensued following the World Wars – racist segregational policies that lasted until 1990 and continue to be worked through, digested and dealt with today. 

Raphael Feuillatre:

Spanish Serenades

When Raphaël Feuillâtre was given the opportunity to play guitars owned by three of Spain’s finest composers, he jumped at the chance. For his second Deutsche Grammophon album, Spanish Serenades, he has created a programme built around works by Albéniz, Llobet and Tárrega, adding others by their compatriots Granados and Rodrigo. A talented and prolific arranger, Feuillâtre plays five of his own inventive transcriptions of works for solo piano. These include Granados’s Andaluza, which he performs with violinist and fellow DG artist María Dueñas. Spanish Serenades also features the French guitarist’s first recordings with orchestra – he is joined by the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Gábor Takács-Nagy, in Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez.

Through the generosity of several different collectors, Feuillâtre was lent guitars owned by Albéniz, Llobet and Tárrega for this recording, and began planning a tracklist by selecting works by these three influential figures of the Spanish classical world.
Known as the “Sarasate of the guitar”, Francisco Tárrega was a composer, arranger and teacher as well as virtuoso performer. Feuillâtre captures his legacy in the colourful Recuerdos de la Alhambra and Capricho árabe, together with eight of his ingenious preludes for guitar. 

Miguel Llobet, who studied with Tárrega, made history as the first classical guitarist to create an electric recording. As a composer, he is perhaps best-known for his harmonisations of Catalan folk songs, four of which feature on Spanish Serenades, as does his transcription of Danza triste. Melancólica from Granados’s Danzas españolas. 

Klaus Makela:

berlioz ravel wOrchestre de Paris

Klaus Mäkelä’s forthcoming album with the Orchestre de Paris is out today, June 6, 2025 on Decca Classics. This is the third album in Mäkelä’s series with the orchestra and features two famous French works: Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique and Ravel’s La Valse.

The centrepiece of the album is Symphonie fantastique, recorded live at the Philharmonie de Paris in December 2024.  “Berlioz’s masterpiece has a very special meaning for the Orchestre de Paris” says Klaus Mäkelä. “It was one of the works that Charles Munch performed and recorded as the orchestra’s first Music Director in 1967, and it has remained core to their repertoire ever since. I have had the privilege of performing Symphonie Fantastique with these wonderful musicians on numerous occasions, both at home and on tour, and it amazes me how fresh the music still feels today, nearly 200 years after it was composed.”

Erik Deutsch:

This Was Then

This Was Then is the ninth full-length album by pianist/composer Erik Deutsch. His long-running NYC sextet has once again been enlisted to conjure their magic: Tony Mason on drums, Jeff Hill on bass, Avi Bortnick on drums, Mike McGinnis on Reeds, and Brian Drye on trombone; plus special guests Mauro Refosco on percussion and Victoria Reed on vocals. In between touring full time with The Black Crowes, piloting multiple projects, and recording with an incredible variety of artists, Deutsch has found the time to create an excellent new album of original material.

Stylistically, This Was Then may be Deutsch’s finest work yet, as the music cruises effortlessly thru genre, tempo, and mood. Sure, some of Deutsch’s previous musical tendencies are present once again, but nothing feels like a redux--rather an updated vision or a glance towards a fresh path altogether. The production team of Erik and Jeff Hill has elevated their vision and skill (they’ve been working together editing, overdubbing, mixing, and producing Deutsch’s records since the 2012 release Demonio Teclado). Once presented with what the duo has accomplished sonically, it’s nearly impossible to deny the uniqueness present within the artistry of this record. Simply put, “jazz” artists these days don’t typically offer this level of production to their records; and having said that, it’s clear that Deutsch’s vision of jazz music (evident in his catalog over for the past 20 years) has been thoughtful and clear, and that he has continued to not only stay the course but expand and elevate his concept along the way.

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