Here are four very interesting CDs released in late 2012 that I intended to review previously, but which slipped through the proverbial cracks for various reasons. Two are jazz discs from Sweden, one is an entirely improvised collaboration between Hungarian and American artists, and the third is a solo album from a composer based in Istanbul.

I'm always on the lookout for great new recordings that fly below the radar of popular culture. Here are three that I am currently digging, along with audio streams generously provided by the artists and their labels. If you dig what you hear, investigate further—and please consider supporting these fine artists by purchasing the music rather than copping it for free on some pirate site.

Tucked away amidst a mostly pedestrian street, the Douglas Beach House in Half Moon Bay, home of the non-profit Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, hosts some amazing shows on Sunday afternoons (as well as serving up tasty food and drink).

If you are a Duane Allman fan—and who isn't?—you will likely want to pick up this amazing new 7-CD/129-track box set despite its hefty $120 price tag.

A relentless seeker of tone, playability, and function, Allan Holdsworth has cycled through his share of guitars during his nearly 40-year career. Holdsworth’s quest isn’t one of hallowed boutique “unobtanium” or musty old pawnshop finds, however. No way, Jose.

 Holdsworth wants an instrument that facilitates his approach, which, if you’ve ever heard a single note the man has played, is one of the most frighteningly original and unique approaches on any instrument, much less the guitar. His left-hand legato style coupled with a pianistic right-hand attack that eschews strumming in any way, shape, or form, has taken the guitar to dizzying, decidedly inspirational, un-guitar heights.

 

From a Gibson SG on through to a variety of Super Strats, Holdsworth has certainly played more “traditional” instruments, but he officially split the trad world in the late ’80s with various...

Based on Jim Weider’s original design, the Big-T ($125 street) is designed to enhance the sound of your Tele’s neck-pickup setting.  Hand-wound by Lindy Fralin, the Big-T is highly specialized pickup that delivers a rich, beefy tone with clear, well-detailed highs, and enough output to balance well with hot bridge pickups. I installed one in a G&L ASAT Classic, and the Big-T proved more useful for rhythm and lead playing than other neck pickups I’ve tried in this guitar.

 

I admit I never wanted to see an over-the-hill Zeppelin because prime Zeppelin always meant so much to me. I kept afar of any footage from the 2007 reunion show with John Bonham’s son Jason filling in on drums, but now it’s out on film and in all sorts of take-home formats including the 2DVD/2CD package I just had to check out. I’m so happy I did.

The main thing going for Celebration Day is the sound. Led Zeppelin may not look like the rock gods of yore, but they sound amazing, and the sound of these discs is clear, deep, and punchy. Zep Fan’s main reason not to be interested in Celebration Day is Zeppelin’s 2003 double live CD set How the West Was Won and the associated eponymous dual-DVD that immediately became the definitive video document of the band during its 1970s glory decade. But nothing on either is sonically close to Celebration Day’s state-of-the art sparkle. These audio CDs...

The 5E3 “narrow panel” Fender Deluxe is one of the most sought after vintage combos due to its proven performance as a blues/roots-rock amp par excellence. Victoria’s recreation of this 14-watt tweed classic is the model 20112 ($2,095 retail), which features the original-style circuit using two Russian made Tung-Sol 6V6GT power tubes. The cathode-biasing scheme also allows you to change tubes without having to readjust the bias (handy from a maintenance standpoint), and the other tubes are a NOS CBS-made 5Y3WGTA rectifier, a NOS GE 12AY7 in the preamp (an E-H Gold 12AY7 comes stock), and a TAD 12AX7 phase inverter.

 

The beautifully crafted combo shows superb attention to detail in all areas, including the tidy handwired circuit on a vintage-style fiber board, which sports high-grade Sprague Atom electrolytics, custom “orange drop” audio caps, and carbon-comp resistors....