Our music team pick the songs or albums, old or new, they just can't turn off
Charlie Haden Quartet West Sophisticated Ladies The great American bassist and bandleader Charlie Haden, a key figure in Ornette Coleman's free-jazz revolution of the 50s and 60s, has been running his more lyrical and song-celebrating ensemble Quartet West for 25 years. This session has a standard-song repertoire, but with an all-star cast interpreting it in addition to Haden's subtly-swinging group ? the six guest singers being Cassandra Wilson, Diana Krall, Melody Gardot, Norah Jones, Renee Fleming and Haden's wife Ruth Cameron. John Fordham
Fatoumata Diawara Kanou Born in Mali, and based in Paris, Diawara deserves to become the next African celebrity, with her easy-going folky style, backed by her acoustic guitar work. This is from her debut EP, released next month. Robin Denselow
X-Ray Spex I Live Off You I could have picked so many tracks to remember Poly Styrene, but this one always touched me: not just the message about exploitation, but the quiver of vulnerability in her voice. One of British music's true originals. Dave Simpson
The Undisputed Truth Big John Is My Name Norman Whitfield's psychedelic funk project with a glorious slab of proto-disco from 1974. The beefy baritone makes the title character sound huge and cartoonish, halfway between nightlife king and Marvel Comics heavy. Tom Ewing
Kylie Minogue Nothing Can Stop Us Originally a B-side on Kylie's 1994 Confide In Me single, this unlikely cover of one of Saint Etienne's finest songs appears on a bonus edition of her fifth album, which is now on Spotify. Her lush, richly-orchestrated version is actually rather better than I remember it. Chris Salmon
The Zombies Breathe Out, Breathe In The Zombies are back with a new studio album and an unexpected new direction. There's a great deal of Steely Dan about the songs; I had to check the label more than once to make sure the lush harmonies and jazz-rock arrangements weren't actually the work of Becker and Fagen. Caroline Sullivan
Bleeding Knees Club Have Fun The latest bunch of Antipodeans to decamp to London in search of fame are a garage rock duo bearing a terrible name and a single of ferocious, fizzing infectiousness. Michael Hann
Miss Fire Rock Ur World The British urban club scene is notoriously London-centric, but Leicester's Miss Fire has emerged as a must-follow artist. Both producer and vocalist, she's equally adept making sleek, propulsive house and ? as here ? irresistibly summery R&B that evokes happy memories of prime Mis-Teeq. Alex Macpherson
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/apr/28/playlist-film-and-music-april-29
christmas music online for free workout music free legal music downloads halloween music music rescue
