The Theodore Vassilikos Ensemble powerfully performing Petros Bereketis — extended variations on eight modes —  the most important composer of the golden age of Byzantine music, an eastward Bach.

Stirring, beautiful historical recordings of paralogues — deep, traditional melodies — drawn from folklore, everyday life and classical mythology: solo voice, or choral, or with clarinet, ud, lyre, violins.

Wonderful, previously-unheard recordings by the legendary Bahamian guitarist, at his peak in 1965, made at his only New York concert, at home in Nassau, and in a Manhattan apartment. Gripping, one-off playing, continuously stepping out of line, or surprising you with accents, like Monk; rough, enraptured singing in the age-old tradition of local sponge fishermen, with startling irruptions of humming, babble and scat.

The second son of King Jammy, Trevor James aka Baby G is at the cutting edge of the new wave of dancehall producers. Jammy’s stalwarts Ward 21 and newcomers Rasta Youth on the mic.

‘Classic Vinyl Series.’

A cor-blimey line-up, and a masterpiece, recorded on the first day of spring in 1964. Dorham, Dolphy, Joe Henderson, Richard Davis, Tony Williams.
‘Classic Vinyl Series.’

Booker Ervin! Mira!

Rugged songs with gurumi lute accompaniment to celebrate the opening of the bush, summon genies, honour animals and praise huntsmen.

The dignified, expressive music of Andean Indians — the huayno, the slower tonado, the syncopated pascua — sung and played on charangos and guitarrillas by the Alvis Family, including Barbara, aged eighty-six.

Masterful performances of two ragas. Liquid, luminous, swinging.

Kushal Das is a master of the surbahar, a kind of bass sitar, with long sustain, ideally suited to this profound and elevated, tricky and subtle, darkest-night raga, recorded in concert at the Radio France Auditorium in Paris.

Ritual music from Tamil country performed by nagasvaram oboes, tavil drums, talam castanets, and droning harmonium, or sruti petti (without a keyboard, powered by bellows).

Deeply moving violin-playing, unfolding and illuminating the emotional twists and turns of a single, hour-long raga.

Based on the raga and pan, these short hymns to Shiva, performed by the oduvar cantors, are sung at daily rituals and for calendar feasts in temples of Tamil Nadu.

Ragas with intensely controlled and expressive singing from South India, in the uncommon, neglected Carnatic tradition.

Epic poetry wrapped up in the rabab viol (a coconut shell covered with fish skin, with a long, spiked handle, two horsehair strings), the vertical suffara flute, the arghul double clarinet, droning and melodious.

Intense Moroccan singer improvisatorially lighting up the rare, refined nineteenth century wasla style, in suite form, with chamber orchestra — qanun zither, ud lute, kaman violin and riqq percussion.

Gaitas music, for flutes and alegre, llamador and tambora drums.