Michael J Thomas – Stream’ n Love (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 26:55 minutes | 311 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © 2020 Harbor Breeze Records – Distributed by Perry Music Group
Florida based saxman Michael J. Thomas is back with his latest single, “Sippin’ The Yak,” the second lead single from Stream’n Love, his highly anticipated new EP. Written by Thomas and keyboardist Trammell Starks and produced by Thomas, Starks and Carl Griffin, the track is a silky, mid-tempo light funk ballad that begins in a dreamy and inviting atmospheric flow before bursting into one of Thomas’ most infectious soprano driven hooks ever. Longtime urban jazz fans may detect the slight influence of the late George Howard – and with good reason. Just before recording the track in Atlanta, co-producer Carl Griffin – who as an exec with GRP Records worked with the R&B/jazz soprano sax legend in the 90s – played Thomas some classic Howard tracks. Another cool connection is Sam Sims, the bassist on “Sippin’ the Yak,” who played with Howard back in the day. As for the quirky title, “Yak” is an urban euphemism for “Cognac.” Smooth and Tasty!
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Michael Hofstetter, Giessen State Theatre Philharmonic Orchestra – Weber: Oberon, J. 306 (Live) (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:51:37 minutes | 1,89 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Oehms Classics
For the specific atmosphere of Oberon Michael Hofstetter found it crucial that the performance was played on the period instruments Weber composed for. In Giessen, he worked with four natural horns, natural trumpets, finely tuned trombones and not least flutes made of wood instead of metal. This produced an inexhaustible wealth of acoustic colours, enabling us sensually to experience what might really be meant by the concept of ‘German Romanticism’ on the musical level.
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Michael Heupel & Martio Häring – Continuum (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:05:19 minutes | 1,03 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Genuin
The internationally sought-after cellist Michael Heupel and his pianist Mario Häring, who has also won several awards, enter into an exciting dialogue with the past. On their new GENUIN CD, they present works related to early music. Gaspar Cassado composes a sonata in the “old Spanish style,” and Igor Stravinsky sets off into the world of commedia dell’arte. Zoltán Kodály explores Johann Sebastian Bach, and Alfred Schnittke serves up sugar-sweet, baroque-inspired gems, holding up at times a miniature distorting mirror. A virtuosically played, inspiring collection that transcends the past and future.
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Michael Henderson – Solid (Expanded Edition) (1976/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 40:07 minutes | 853 MB | Genre: Funk, Soul, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Buddah – Legacy
Michael Henderson’s solo debut Solid brought immediate recognition to the longtime backing vocalist/musician. The mesmerizing ballad “Be My Girl” was the first release, and it propelled Henderson to number 23 on the R&B charts. (He later produced the same song for the Dramatics.) Composed by Henderson, “Valentine Love” is an even more indelible ballad. The spirited, seductive sax introduction bows to a poetic narrative and a smooth rhythm in which Henderson gives a ample vocal exhibition. The single was originally featured on Norman Connors’ Saturday Night Special album, with Henderson sharing lead vocal duties with Jean Carne. The injustice here is that Henderson’s solo version was never a release, though it is just as good as the duet. (Connors’ version peaked at number ten on the R&B charts.) The second release from this impressive debut release was the upbeat “You Haven’t Made It to the Top.” While it’s clear Henderson has his own style, the Brothers Johnson come to mind on this number. The remainder of the album is pleasantly diverse. The Mississippi native’s grooves are inviting, from blue-funk instrumentals like “Time” and the title track to the free-flowing “Let Love Enter,” where he vocally strides into the lyric. Henderson interjects his jazz roots on “Treat Me Like a Man,” setting an urban mood while he patiently pleads his case. The songs on this collection are truly R&B gems, and Henderson’s efforts are very underrated. ~ Craig Lytle
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Michael Henderson – Do It All (Expanded) (1979/2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 41:52 minutes | 904 MB | Genre: Funk, Soul, R&B
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Buddah – Legacy
First ever fully expanded edition of this classic album Features Vocalists & Musicians: Barbara Ingram, Paula Benson , Rudy Robinson and Ollie E. Brown FunkyTownGrooves 2014 reissue of Do It All contains three bonus track Liners Notes By Alex Henderson Digitally Remastered from the master tapes by Sean Brennan at Battery Studios, This funk swagger of a fourth album by Micheal Henderson includes the smoldering smash “Playing On The Real Thing”, the funkiest tune of the album, and from the bassy growls to expressive falsetto s the album get its chance to expand your ears in every direction. “Everybody Wants To Know Why” and “Do It All” are dance tunes that are so energetic and polished disco-funk classics that will make any Henderson fan, boogie on down . Do It All peaked inside the top twenty by charting in the Top 20 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart. Michael Henderson uses his best vocal skills, his bass brings the pain as the bassist delivers another all-time fusion classic.
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Michael Heitzler’s Klezmer Band – Ode Hashem (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 45:25 minutes | 494 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Neuklang
Together with three excellent musicians the clarinetist Michael Heitzler found his own band in order to give a special tribute to the big American and East-European bands of the 20s to 50s and the spiritual melodies of the hassidim of Eastern Europe.
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Michael Grant & The Assassins – Always the Villain (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 49:39 minutes | 505 MB | Genre: Hard Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Frontiers Records s.r.l.
In the works since 2018, “Always The Villain” is Michael Grant & The Assassins debut album. Michael Grant & The Assassins play a diverse and exciting brand of hard rock music incorporating elements from alternative and metal. While exploring different textures, genres, and influences, band mastermind Michael Grant (who plays all instruments on the album) creates a sound that is intense, heavily melodic, and anthemic.
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Michael Gordon – Placid (2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 46:00 minutes | 413 MB | Genre: Ambient, Piano, Modern Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Polar Seas Recordings
New pieces from Michael Gordon (Mike Abercrombie of North Atlantic Drift). Delicate piano and ambient works.
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Michael Giacchino – War for the Planet of the Apes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:15:19 minutes | 696 MB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Masterworks
In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.
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Michael Giacchino – Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 44:07 minutes | 912 MB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Varese Sarabande
Academy Award winning composer Michael Giacchino reunites with director J.J. Abrams to steer the Enterprise through its darkest territory yet. The legendary director delivers an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
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Michael Giacchino – Spider-Man: Far from Home (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:19:57 minutes | 1,62 GB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sony Classical
Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (OST) from the Marvel’s film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The music composed by Michael Giacchino (Bad Times at the El Royale, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Incredibles 2, War For The Planet Of The Apes). Spider-Man: Far From Home (Spider-Man 2) is a 2019 American superhero action comedy film, based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). The film is written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, directed by Jon Watts, stars Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson.
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Michael Giacchino – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:09:28 minutes | 1,23 GB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Walt Disney Records
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens in U.S. theaters on December 16, 2016.
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Michael Giacchino – Incredibles 2 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:15:07 minutes | 1,46 GB | Genre: Soundtrack
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Walt Disney Records
“Incredibles 2” is a 2018 American 3D computer-animated superhero film, produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it is the sequel to 2004’s The Incredibles. The plot follows the Parr family as they attempt to put superheroes back in the spotlight while dealing with normal life, only to combat a new foe who seeks to turn the general public against all supers. While several of the characters and voices from the previous film return, the sequel includes new characters voiced by Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Sophia Bush and Bill Wise. Michael Giacchino returned to write the score.
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Michael Franti & Spearhead – Stay Human Vol. II (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 50:01 minutes | 589 MB | Genre: Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Boo Boo Wax
For the past 25 years, singer-songwriter Michael Franti has been wrapping his arms around the world with his band Spearhead, stockpiling an arsenal of uplifting hits like “The Sound of Sunshine” and “Say Hey (I Love You).” In 2019, Franti will release two Stay Human projects: an album and documentary. The latter follows the artist meeting people doing extraordinary things (a midwife in Bali, a Georgia couple living with ALS, a tribe in Indonesia practicing sustainable forestry), as well as experiencing personal epiphanies like coming to terms with his father’s alcoholism, examining the roots of his depression, even learning of his mother’s stroke and son’s kidney ailment. The album Stay Human, Vol. 2 is an extension of the film, inspired by and created during these moments, all the while searching for what it means to be human in inhumane times. Much like Franti, the music is a shot of positivity, rippling with regenerative acoustic pop, reggae, hip-hop, even country. Apple Music chatted with him about the themes behind some of the songs, as well as his own challenge to stay optimistic.
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Michael Franks – The Music In My Head (2018)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 52:46 minutes | 579 MB | Genre: Vocal Jazz, Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Shanachie
Seven years after Time Together, Michael Franks confirms he’s still his best imitator. At more than 73 years old, the Californian remains this cool singer, with a cool voice on cool tunes… Produced notably by Gil Goldstein and Chuck Loeb, The Music In My Head represents a new height of this barely dreamy smooth jazz on which Franks lets his velvet organ slide with delicateness… We once more tell ourselves that time seems to have stopped for him between 1976 and 1985, when his albums The Art of Tea Reprise, Sleeping Gypsy, Burchfield Nines, Tiger in the Rain, One Bad Habit, Objects of Desire, Passionfruit and Skin Dive were beautiful and sensual soundtracks, completely smooth, of an idealized California. This 2018 batch will probably not change the minds of either his fans or his detractors. – Clotilde Maréchal
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