"Rhythms Del Mundo" finds the Afro-Cuban band Buena Vista Social Club reinterpreting a string of hits from Coldplay, Maroon 5, U2 and more. One of the highlights is "Dancing Shoes", a passionate blend of Sheffield and Cuba that provides a thrilling Latino-punk rock dance-floor filler. But the subtle guitars and Latin flavour of the Buena Vista musicians also works wonders with Coldplay's "Clocks", featuring Chris Martin's vocals, Kaiser Chiefs' "Modern Way" and Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved". There's some wonderful Latin-flavoured acoustic guitar work on Sting's "Fragilidad", Ibrahim Ferrer's poignant take on "As Time Goes By", the upbeat fusion of Franz Ferdinand's angular guitars and Coco's smooth vocals on "The Dark Of The Matinee" and a virtually unrecognisable version of Radiohead's "High & Dry" that replaces guitars for piano and delivers its vocals in Cuban. The album is in aid of Artists Project Earth, a charity that lends support for natural disaster relief and climate-change awareness.

Ray Sings, Basie Swings

Ray Charles (Concord)

Throughout their careers, Ray Charles and Count Basie frequently shared the same stage, yet they never managed to make an album together, which is precisely why "Ray Sings, Basie Swings" is such an unusual collection. This album created by combining recently discovered soundboard tapes of Ray Charles' vocals from a mid-'70s European show and newly recorded backing by the Count Basie Orchestra. Charles is in exceptional voice, singing the heck out of standards like "How Long Has This Been Going On?", genius classics like "Busted" and pop covers like Melanie's "Look What They've Done to My Song". His performance is a thrilling corrective to forgettable posthumous albums like Genius Loves Company, as the Basie band fills in the blanks under the direction of Bill Hughes, with Joey DeFrancesco guesting on organ. Most of the new arrangements are rather pallid, and the ensemble lacks the personality of both the Basie orchestra and Charles' best groups.

Givin' It Up

George Benson and Al Jarreau (Concord)

Jazz guitar great George Benson and legendary vocalist Al Jarreau have teamed up on this new release and it's a harmonic convergence of superstars, friends and label-mates for over three decades. They have recruited an all-star cast for this highly anticipated duets album: The 13-song CD is a mix of cover songs and originals. Trumpeter Chris Botti and vocalist Patti Austin are featured on a song written by Jarreau called "Let it Rain", while Paul McCartney joins Benson and Jarreau on a cover of Sam Cooke's "Bring It On Home to Me". Elsewhere, there are two new versions: Jarreau wrote new lyrics for Benson's "Breezin'," while Benson returns the favour by performing an instrumental version of Jarreau's "Morning". Both push each other plenty, inventing new versions of their respective hits and crafting vocal melodies for Miles Davis' "Tutu". The album is a masterful collection of smooth, seductive grooves and inspired reinterpretations of Benson's and Jarreau's most classic songs.

Diva: The Singles Collection

Sarah Brightman (Angel Records)

Sarah Brightman has changed as much as her music has, from Broadway singer to an astounding pop diva. "Diva: The Singles Collection" is an outstanding CD for newcomers to get acquainted with both her best pop tunes and her earlier work on Broadway. It opens with the dark, dramatic "Phantom of the Opera" and the sensual "Music of the Night", which has her sweet voice accompanied by an orchestral sweep of strings and gentle brass. The tone switches to "Pie Jesu", a traditional hymn that is raised to almost ecstatic levels by Brightman's soaring voice, and then to her gentle classical-pop tunes like the soaring "Who Wants to Live Forever?", the childlike "Tu Quieres Volver" and the bittersweet, fragile "What You Never Know". The more rocking style of "Question of Honour" makes it stick out like a sore thumb, but the others are delicate spins of classical instrumentation and operatic pop tunes. Some of the songs are covers - Puccini, Procol Harum and folk songs among them - but Brightman fits into them very well.

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by mr badboy