For almost 50 years, Gustav Leonhardt - harpsichordist, organist and, most recently, conductor - has counted among the most respected specialists in both the theory and practice of early music. Acclaimed for his numerous recordings of music ranging from keyboard masterpieces of the early Baroque to Mozart's sonatas, Leonhardt has played a critical role in bringing period-instrument performance into the mainstream of classical music life.

A superb combination at this live event, held 1991 in Cologne. The two musicians joined their forces to create an outstanding work of Berlin School / rhythm and drum music. 3 long pieces show a good expresion of the evening. Overall, a synth album with plenty of live atmosphere, an attractive and unusual emphasis on live drums, and involving variations from abstract to highly integrated sounds.

Given Richard Fearless' moonlighting gig as a DJ, Dead Elvis is invested with an often overburdened need to push the right buttons, resulting in occasionally formulaic tracks - like the single "Dirt" - which leave little room for surprise. Where Fearless and Steve Hillier opt to explore different waters, dub rhythms and funky acid instead of just sampled guitar riffs, the results are much more impressive.

As We Are Now is another wonderful session from pianist Renee Rosnes, finding her nativgating a challenging set of six original compositions and three covers. Rosnes is supported by drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Christian McBride and saxophonist Chris Potter, an impressive lineup that alows Rosnes to stretch her limits. As We Are Now finds the limits of hard bop and pushes it further, resulting in an adventurous, rewarding listen.

The Greatest Hits Volume III album includes hits from 1983 to 1997. Two previously unreleased studio tracks are included, "To Make You Feel My Love" and "Hey Girl", while the third new track, "Light as the Breeze", was originally recorded for a Leonard Cohen tribute album known as Tower of Song in 1995. All three tracks are newly recorded covers (a rare occurrence in his catalogue). Chronologically, Greatest Hits Volume III overlaps slightly with Volume II, as the first two tracks, "Keeping the Faith" and "An Innocent Man", first appeared on his album An Innocent Man.

Sergiu Celibidache's penchant for meticulous orchestral balances and spacious tempi threatens to embalm Iberia's swaggering rhythms. On the other hand, the late conductor's patient, sumptuous detailing makes for one of the most riveting (and longest) versions of La Mer on disc. Every Debussy lover should try to hear it.

At 73, with hundreds of albums and countless sessions to his credit, Chet Atkins still had another great recording in him – this splendid duo session with the young Australian guitarist/composer Tommy Emmanuel. Here, Atkins leaves all of the smooth jazz experiments from the previous decade and a half behind him, choosing superior material for their acoustic guitars, with the rhythm section laying down swinging country-pie tracks underneath. Emmanuel's fingerpicking style isn't quite as tied to the rhythm as Atkins'; it's a little sharper in attack, fleeter in technique and a bit flashier in temperament, yet remarkably well-matched to that of the east Tennessee master, almost an alter ego.

Perhaps to prepare fans for their next release, Marilyn Manson have decided to release a five-track EP of dance remixes and live songs. The group does show that they have what it takes to come up with sometimes interesting dance makeovers of popular songs (such as "The Horrible People," a reworking of their hit "The Beautiful People"), but the originals are better and definitive. You'll also find a pair of live tracks, "Dried Up, Tied and Dead to the World" and "Antichrist Superstar," which catch the band in all of their shock-rock glory. And closing the mini-album is a mellow acoustic piece (consisting of just guitar and voice, with a few sound effects here and there) entitled "Man That You Fear," which is a departure from their usual sound.

This disc received the 1998 Cannes Classical Music Awards for "Record of the Year" and "Best Instrumental Solo or Chamber Performance - 17th/18th Centuries." It also received the 1997 Gramophone magazine award for "Best Instrumental Recording," was Gramophone's "Recording of the Month" for May 1997, and was nominated for the 1998 Grammy Award for "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra)."

The six Hamburg String Sinfonias are magnificent examples of Bach’s later style when, after the years at the Berlin court, he had greater freedom in Hamburg. They are particularly striking in their unexpected twists of imagination, and they contain some of his most inspired and original ideas. Using modern instruments at higher modern pitch, Benda directs light, well-sprung accounts, with extra light and shade. The excellent sound is full and open, as well as immediate.

Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen continues to pursue the edges of "in" on her second disc as leader. This time around, Jensen gets some assistance via the ever explosive drummer Bill Stewart as well as the equally searching reedman Gary Bartz. This is solid post-bop jazz that deserves a listen.

The second ECM album from this Polish-Swedish-British edition of the Tomasz Stanko Quartet follows the critically-heralded Matka Joanna. As Jazz Journal wrote, 'Trumpeter Stanko's vibrant breadth of tone and poetic feeling for cross-rhythmic drama are second to none.' Leosia marks a further progression, incorporating six first-rate Stanko compositions in his brooding 'Slavic' style, darker than the darkest Miles (and incorporating a tribute to Lautréamont, literature's Count of Darkness), as well as bracing and exploratory duo and trio improvisations, and solos of the higherst calibre by all concerned. The group has an unusual claim on idiomatic completeness; it seems to summarize, in highly original manner, many of the important developments of jazz of the last 30 years…

An atmosphere of early morning in the Shoyama mountains of Japan. The sun rises above a mountain crest. A monk rings the bell, signalling the time for prayer. It is in such surroundings that Kosei Yamamoto takes his saxophone and warms up on filigree improvisations, to a background of natural sounds. His friends Hiroki and Takashi used a digital MTR and mixer to record this sound, which tunes in to the earth’s gravity.

By the late '90s, Björk's playful, unique world view and singular voice became as confining as they were defining. With its surprising starkness and darkness, 1997's Homogenic shatters her "Icelandic pixie" image. Possibly inspired by her failed relationship with drum'n'bass kingpin Goldie, Björk sheds her more precious aspects, displaying more emotional depth than even her best previous work indicated. Her collaborators - LFO's Mark Bell, Mark "Spike" Stent, and Post contributor Howie B - help make this album not only her emotionally bravest work, but her most sonically adventurous as well. A seamless fusion of chilly strings (courtesy of the Icelandic String Octet), stuttering, abstract beats, and unique touches like accordion and glass harmonica, Homogenic alternates between dark, uncompromising songs such as the icy opener, "Hunter," and more soothing fare like the gently percolating "All Neon Like"…