A fixture on the southwestern Pennsylvania circuit, Tim Woods has been singing and playing acoustic and electric guitar for over 25 years. Showcasing his distinctive style, in which he plays and picks using his thumb, Tim's prowess is his ability to play both lead and rhythm while interchanging chords and licks...

The follow-up EP to Relient K's breakthrough album, MMHMM, 2005's APATHETIC finds the Ohio Christian pop-punk band mixing new songs with acoustic renditions of tunes from earlier outings. Highlights include "The Truth," a surging anthem, and a stripped-down rendition of "Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet" (from the aforementioned debut) that plays up the tune's winning melodies.

Braden was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began playing tenor sax at age 13 and started playing professionally at 15. As a high schooler he played in the McDonald's All-American High School Jazz Band. He attended Harvard University from 1981 to 1984 and studied engineering there, but also played in the school's jazz ensemble. He moved to New York City in 1984, where he played with The Harper Brothers, Lonnie Smith, and Betty Carter. In 1986-87 he toured with Wynton Marsalis, and following this played with Out of the Blue, Roy Haynes, Tony Williams, Freddie Hubbard, J.J. Johnson, Tom Harrell, Art Farmer, and the Mingus Big Band.

One of new age electronic music's earliest and best-known proponents, Shadowfax was formed in Chicago in 1972 by saxophonist Chuck Greenberg, guitarist G.E. Stinson and bassist Phil Maggini. Originally a blues band, the trio soon began exploring chamber jazz and folk; even medieval music began creeping into the mix, appropriately enough for a group named in honor of a horse from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series. Adding drummer Stuart Nevin in 1974, Shadowfax issued their debut LP, Watercourse Way, two years later; failing to make an immediate impact, the quartet did attract a cult following which continued to grow following their subsequent signing to the Windham Hill label. 1982's eponymously titled effort was their commerical breakthrough, reaching the upper rungs of the Billboard jazz charts; for the follow-up, 1983's Shadowdance, Shadowfax's ranks swelled with the additions of violinist Jamii Szmadzinski and pianist/synth player Jared Stewart. The group endured multiple personnel changes in the years to follow, with founding members Greenberg and Maggini both remaining constants well into the 1990s

This native Harlem girl gone self-proclaimed Parisian diva is a woman who has defined her own way in this city and on the international music scene. She moved to Paris in 1990, playing clubs ever since and working her way up to a sort of fame not only in Paris, but Europe as well. She's produced five records, two of those with Warner Bros. Last year her recording of "Groovin" was at the top of French radio charts for weeks.

Bob Enevoldsen was undoubtedly one of the most versatlie performers in the Hollywood jazz scene. But his talent was so multifaceted that besides the fact that he was a completely schooled instrumentalist, he also developed into an impressive and gifted arranger.

Dick Katz (March 13, 1924 – November 10, 2009) was an American jazz pianist and arranger. He freelanced throughout much of his career, and worked in a number of ensembles. He co-founded Milestone Records in 1966 with Orrin Keepnews. He studied at the Peabody Institute, the Manhattan School of Music, and Juilliard. He also took piano lessons from Teddy Wilson. In the 1950s, he joined the house rhythm section of the Cafe Bohemia, and worked in the groups of Ben Webster and Kenny Dorham, Oscar Pettiford, and, later, Carmen McRae. From 1954 to 1955, he was part of the J. J. Johnson/Kai Winding Quintet. He also worked in Orchestra USA and participated on Benny Carter's Further Definitions album, and worked on some of Helen Merrill's recordings. In the late 60s, he played with Roy Eldridge and Lee Konitz. In the 1990s, he worked as a pianist and arranger with the American Jazz Orchestra and Loren Schoenberg's big band.

With sensual vocals and dynamic Guitar playing, this collection of her original songs is meant to 'groove' you with emotional authenticity and real world sound as Soulstress Jeanne Ricks brings a tasty blend of Neo-Soul, Jazz and R&B.

Bud Shank began his career pigeonholed as a cool schooler, but those who listened to the altoist progress over the long haul knew that he became one of the hottest, most original players of the immediate post-Parker generation. Lumped in with the limpid-toned West Coast crowd in the '50s, Shank never ceased to evolve; in his later years, he had more in common with Jackie McLean or Phil Woods than with Paul Desmond or Lee Konitz. Shank's keening, blithely melodic, and tonally expressive style was one of the more genuinely distinctive approaches that grew out of the bebop idiom.

Here’s a lesson for all the young saxophone players out there who are so keen to focus on the past. Septuagenarian saxophonist James Moody, who was a fixture in Dizzy Gillespie’s band for many years, may have some reverence for his past, but his approach is resolutely about moving forward. His first record in six years, Homage , is a testament to that ethic, with a sound that is absolutely contemporary and all about keeping things vital.

Natacha Atlas has never lacked ambition and desire in her music, and there are times here where she seems to be trying to channel the spirit of the great Egyptian singer Oum Kalthoum. The strings sweep along and are twists that keep it from being a straightforward Egyptian album, such as the addition of piano that crops up so often, or the programming on "Batkallim" (actually the CD's most ambitious track, as it fuses Middle Eastern culture with the 21st century quite successfully).