Steely Dan-Katy Lied (1975)

With Steely Dan's fourth album, its two leaders, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, abandoned the conventional rock band approach to become a project of musical research and experimentation. From then on, each song on all subsequent albums would feature meticulously chosen musicians, musicians who adapted to the concept and idea of ​​the compositions in question. "Katy Lied" also marked a stylistic evolution from everything previously released; here they moved towards structured soft rock, leaving behind (albeit subtly) the jazz arrangements. Among the twenty or so collaborating musicians, notable figures include Larry Carlton, Jeff Porcaro, Hugh McCraken, Rick Derringer, Elliott Randall, David Paich, and Victor Feldman. These rock sounds are present in elegant and sophisticated tracks like "Black Friday", "Chain Lightning", "Everyone's Gone to the Movies", "Throw Back the Little Ones", and "Doctor Wu", while the usual pop-jazz and blues sounds appear in "Bad Sneakers", "Your Gold Teeth II", and "Daddy Don't Live in That New York City No More". "Katy Lied" is arguably their most balanced and consistent recording to date, maintaining the refined atmosphere, the usual perfectionist production, and impeccably executed compositions, all adorned by the twisted and ironic lyrics of the duo Fagen & Becker.

Ornette Coleman-The Shape Of Jazz To Come (1959)

"The Shape of Jazz to Come" is considered one of the most groundbreaking albums in the free jazz genre, recorded by one of its legendary figures, saxophonist Ornette Coleman. For this recording, Coleman dispensed with one of jazz's fundamental instruments, the piano, using a quartet composed of drums, bass, trumpet, and saxophone. Recorded at Radio Recorders Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Coleman was joined by Billy Higgins (drums), Charlie Haden (bass), and Don Cherry (trumpet), under the supervision of producer Nesuhi Ertgun. With this album, the jazz world was shaken by its collectively improvised musical language, breaking the mold of established bebop rules and dismantling the most purist notions of harmony and melody. Without a doubt, this is a landmark of the free jazz movement and a cornerstone of modern music.

Billie Holiday-Lady In Satin (1958)

Billie Holiday is one of the great divas of jazz; it has been said that her voice changed the art of singing forever. Her life was always turbulent; from childhood, Holiday had a difficult and tumultuous life. Her artistic career began when she was almost a teenager in the early 1930s, singing in seedy clubs in New York. Some time later, thanks to her manipulation of phrasing and vocal style, she released her first recorded song, "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" (1933), which earned her some prestige in the city's jazz circles. From then on, her collaborations with legends like Count Basie, Lester Young, and Artie Shaw, among many others, were constant, resulting in dozens of immortal recordings. However, her tumultuous personal and emotional life took its toll, with alcohol and drug use leading to many problems, including a year in prison for heroin possession. In 1958, she released her penultimate album before her death, "Lady in Satin", with arrangements and orchestra by Ray Ellis. On this album, the singer, in a lamentable state of health, exhausted and utterly devastated by her addictions, managed to capture her tremendous vulnerability in a series of songs. Her broken, hoarse voice conveyed a powerful and overwhelming emotional intensity, blending the melancholy and bittersweet sorrows of her life with a certain indulgence and joy. Without a doubt, this was the best epitaph for one of the great storytellers in the history of jazz and contemporary music.

Count Basie-The Atomic Mr. Basie (1957)

Count Basie was one of the aristocrats of jazz, famous for his distinctive style, his diverse influences, his great dynamism, and that unique and peculiar sense of swing. All these qualities are present in one of his most dazzling and famous recordings, "The Atomic Mr. Basie", made in late 1957 at Capitol Studios in New York and released by Roulette Records. In this legendary recording, Basie managed to resurrect the Big Bands from the ashes after years in which they had lost the public's interest and were almost forgotten. All the material presented here was written by arranger Neal Hefti and features a powerful horn section. However, the common thread is Basie's understated yet fiery piano, which, with its playing, achieves moments of great instrumental cacophony. Vigorous pieces are interwoven with others of great melodic beauty, subtlety, and delicate orchestral nuances. 

GNP-Safety Zone (1989)

In 1986 the members of Saga; Jim Gilmour and Steve Negus, left the band to form the group GNP (initials of Gilmour Negus Project), next to the singer Robert Bevan.
Their only album "Safety Zone" was released in 1989 and unlike the progressive rock of Saga, the group is oriented towards more commercial sounds with an AOR in a vein to what contemporary bands like Toto or Journey did at the time. However even so, you can still sense certain sounds inherited from Saga, such as great keyboards, a very polished sound and great addictive melodies. Gilmour's skills become the highlight of this album, with the melodic voice of singer Robert Bevan.

Frumpy-Frumpy 2 (1971)

In the early 1970s, Frumpy were at the height of Krautrock's popularity and, along with Kraan, Guru Guru, Neu!, Agitation Free, and Ash Ra Tempel, were one of the most acclaimed bands in Germany and across continental Europe. Their debut album, the excellent "All Will Be Changed", was a work brimming with sounds that blended psychedelia, blues, gospel influences, soul, and progressive rock. A previous tour supporting British rock heavyweights like Yes, Humble Pie, Spooky Tooth, and Renaissance only served to solidify their status as a promising band, and this first album achieved overwhelming commercial success and garnered numerous positive reviews from the music press of the time. A year later, with the addition of guitarist Rainer Baumann, Frumpy released their second album, "Frumpy 2". On this album, the band, led by singer Inga Rumpf and featuring keyboardist Jean-Jacques Kravetz and a rhythm section comprised of bassist Karl-Heinz Schott and drummer Carsten Bohn, presents four expansive songs leaning towards progressive hard rock. With a more technical and elaborate production, they showcase superb instrumentation that at times evokes the British heavy rock of contemporary bands like Atomic Rooster, Quatermass, and Uriah Heep. Brilliant guitars, prominent Hammond organ sounds, and Rumpf's emotive and powerful vocals are present in tracks such as the mesmerizing and hypnotic "Good Wings", the heavy hard rock track "Take Care Of Illusion", the thrilling "Duty", and the progressive mini-epic "How The Gipsy Was Born". With this second release, Frumpy managed to create one of the masterpieces of the native German genre, and a true masterpiece of progressive and psychedelic rock from the 70s.