Whakanuia Te Wiki o te Reo Maori with the release of Toni Huata’s new album Whiti. This beautifully crafted album is Toni’s third release. Whiti was co-produced by Toni, with Maaka McGregor (Southside of Bombay, Wai). It features a performance from Gareth Farr on the track ‘Taku Tamaiti e’ (the core inspiration for Whiti), while longtime collaborator Charles Royal composed the track ‘Koa’. From London’s smoky jazz clubs to Europe’s music festivals and back home in the heart of Te Papa Tonarewa, Toni Huata’s strength as a performer, alongside her style, warmth and depth as a songwriter, allows her to stand confidently in Aotearoa and abroad. MORE

The impressive debut from Wellington jazz singer Tessa Quayle is a fantastic collection of standards performed with a modern twist. Tessa is backed here by Ben Wilcock (piano), Nick Tipping (bass) and Reuben Bradley (drums) with special guest Lex French (flugel/trumpet). Tessa is an accomplished singer with her own unique flavour of jazz styles, including a refreshing approach to scat singing. “…a collection of standards that should put jazz in New Zealand back on the map. Quayle wouldn’t be out of place at the Village Vanguard in New York. You’d want to be there.” – Grant Smithies, Sunday Star Times, 4 star review. MORE

Ten original tracks, and a heady mixture of blues, country, rock and more than a little bluegrass from Auckland-based singer, songwriter and musician Donna Dean. Donna has toured with/supported the likes of Jimmy Webb, Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham, Jeff Lang, Barry Saunders, Willie Nelson, Eric Bibb and many more since 1998. Her album Money won Best Country Song and Best Country Album at the NZ Music Awards in 2003. Look for Donna on tour nationwide throughout July and August. MORE

“Few pianists have shown themselves to be so sensitive to music which is the response of a complex visionary to the corrosive banality of Soviet life at the time...[Melnikov] responds to all this with an impeccable all-Russian mastery and with a poetic commitment few could equal.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2010 This Harmonia Mundi release features the music spread over two compact discs, and includes a DVD by Christian Leble about the Preludes and Fugues, plus interviews with Alexander Melnikov and Andres Staier. MORE