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Really wonderful stuff – and one of Gary Bartz's greatest albums ever! This double-length live set was recorded around the time of his NTU Troup albums for Milestone – but it's a bit more straightforward than those sides, going back towards a searching soul jazz sound, with some slight... read more

A rare treat by Gary Bartz – and very different than most of his other work! The album's a small group session – with Charles Mims on piano, Curtis Robertson on bass, and Howard King on drums – recorded with the feel of a looser soul jazz set on Black Jazz or Strata East. Mims'... read more

A rare treat by Gary Bartz – and very different than most of his other work! The album's a small group session – with Charles Mims on piano, Curtis Robertson on bass, and Howard King on drums – recorded with the feel of a looser soul jazz set on Black Jazz or Strata East. Mims'... read more

Very righteous material from Gary Bartz – and one of his classic NTU Troop albums, with Andy Bey on vocals and electric piano, and the great Stafford James playing some mighty heavy bass! The tracks are nice and long, with a very soulful sound that mixes freer spiritual playing with a good... read more

A great 80s date – with Bartz on alto, Butch Lacy on piano, Clint Houston on bass, and Billy Hart on drums – a really great rhythm trio who help Gary soar on tunes that include "Samuel", "Never Never Land", "Monsoon", and "Uncle Bubba".... read more

A fantastic bit of jazz funk fusion – and one of the landmark 70s albums produced by Larry Mizell! This is Gary Bartz's second (and most amazing) collaboration with Larry Mizell – a studio genius who could focus on the best talent of a jazz artist, then expand it using additional... read more

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One of Basie's biggest albums – but still a work of pure genius! "April In Paris" is one of the darkest jazz standards ever written, and it never sounded better than in this original version, which features that great ending in which Basie and the band stop, then start, then stop... read more

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The genius of Basie meets the genius of Quincy Jones – a 60s pairing that's every bit as great as the 50s pairing of Basie and Neal Hefti! Jones and Basie worked together in a number of settings during the 60s – including a very successful album for Frank Sinatra on Reprise – but... read more

A really wonderful back to basics session for Basie – featuring arrangements by longtime band members Frank Foster, Erick Dixon, Bobby Plater, and Thad Jones! The set also features vocals on 2 tracks by bluesy vocalist Richard Boone – a singer with a really great scatting approach... read more

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Way before Sinatra first grabbed the "Chairman Of The Board" title for his own musical persona, Basie laid great claim to the tag with this tight little album for Roulette! The album's got the 50s Basie band working at the height of their powers – with original compositions written... read more

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A very handsome collection of Count Basie material for Roulette – easily some of our favorite Basie recordings ever!... read more

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Basie hits the hits of the 50s and early 60s – working here with some tight Billy Byers arrangements that really help transform the tunes! The groove is upbeat, bright, and brilliantly soulful – that punctuated Basie groove first formed when Neal Hefti was with the group, still carried... read more

Count Basie goes pop, and the results are mighty nice – a hard-swinging take on familiar tunes from the 60s, but all re-tooled the jazzy Basie way! The vibe here is right up there with the best Neal Hefti moments with the group – and although the arrangements are by Billy Byers, they've... read more

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An excellent gimmick – and yet another way that United Artists was trying to push its "Bond" catalog in the 60s! Count Basie brings a soulful swing to the work of John Barry – hitting hard on the tracks with his own smoking piano, and an orchestra filled with some of his best... read more

An amazing little record – with results that are even greater than the sum of its parts! As you'd guess from the title, Count Basie takes on the 60s sounds of The Beatles – but he's doing so with arrangements from the great Chico O'Farrill – who really keeps things interesting... read more

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Count Basie plays the piano and Joe Williams sings in his bluesy way and they are backed by a slew of musicians who include Thad Jones on trumpet, Ben Powell on trombone, Frank Foster on tenor saxophone, Sonny Payne on drums and many, many others. Frank Foster did all of the arrangements and the... read more

Live material recorded in Germany in the early 70s – also featuring Eddie Lockjaw Davis on tenor and Al Grey on trombone!... read more

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Features solos from Moe Koffman on soprano sax and flute, Guido Basso on trumpet, Rob McConnell on trombone, Peter Appleyard on vibes, and Phil Nimmons on clarinet.... read more

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Nice bit of funky fusion with production by Wayne Henderson. Roland Bautista plays electric guitar, and does a bit of singing, but a number of tracks also feature vocals by Side Effect, who were also recording with Wayne Henderson at the time. The LP includes the excellent Latin groover "Vida... read more

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Overlooked later work from trumpeter Harry Beckett – material that really sparkles with a lot of warmth and imagination, and which is pulled together from a collection of different sessions in the late 80s and early 90s! The package features Beckett in a number of settings – including... read more

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A wonderful set by the enigmatic Charles Bell – a 60s modernist, but one with a great sense of soul! The album definitely lives up to its title, and has a fresh approach to the medium – a style that has some of the Modern Jazz Quartet influence in its structure, yet which also shares... read more

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Smooth, soulful piano from David Benoit – sounding stronger than ever here in a collection of classics recorded for the GRP label! Although the setting's often a bit electric, David plays acoustic throughout – bringing in a core sense of humanity to the tracks, and often a strong sense... read more

Pretty mellow stuff from George Benson, but with some nice moments! Don Sebesky handled the arrangements for this set of larger backings – but Benson's guitar is right out front, hitting some super-dope lines at the best moments, stretching out from the warm Fender Rhodes or horn heavy... read more

George Benson more than earns the title on this one – given that most of the tracks feature backings from the Count Basie Orchestra under the direction of Frank Foster – a great ensemble who really help keep things soulful throughout! Despite the date of the set, the feel here is a bit... read more

A super huge hit for George – the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar! The album features George playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, ones that mix together his trademark pillow of sound... read more

A super huge hit for George – the record that took him from being a funky jazz guitarist into an R&B superstar! The album features George playing and singing over arrangements by Claus Ogerman – some of Ogerman's best of the 70s, ones that mix together his trademark pillow of sound... read more

Yipes! This one made everyone a bucket of money – especially Quincy Jones, whose new Qwest imprint the record was one of the first to grace. George has come a long way from his roots with Jack McDuff here – but in a way that kind of has us impressed, as he's grooving away slickly on... read more

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Seminal Chicago sounds from cornetist Josh Berman – and a record that's not just a key example of his talents, but of the whole energy of the Windy City scene as well! There's a nice gag in the "His Gang" on the cover of the record – but it's also somewhat well put, too... read more

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A trio of modern talents, working beautifully together on a set of extended live tracks! The group features guitar from Peter Bernstein, Hammond from Larry Goldings, and drums from Bill Stewart – coming together in ways that remind us of the hipper side of 60s organ combos – those... read more

Elmer Bernstein serves up some of his most famous soundtrack themes – but in a style that's even more jazz-based than the original! The group here is a large one, filled with great west coast players – and Bernstein's tunes sparkle even more in this rich setting than they did in their... read more

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Peter Bernstein really makes things kick here – thanks to a hip quartet that features Richard Wyands on piano, John Webber on bass, and Jimmy Cobb on drums! With a rhythm section like that, the session better cook – and it does so nicely, in the open freedom of the Smalls Live setting... read more

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A later MPS session that features some incredibly mellow guitar/bass duets between Gene Bertoncini and Michael Moore. Bertoncini's guitar is at the forefront, and Moore's playing is mostly to back him up as he solos virtuostically on titles like "Pavane", "Pensativa", "Elea... read more

A beautiful session of spiritual soul jazz – and one of the rarer albums on the legendary Strata East label! The obscure combo is led by drummer/percussionist John Betsch – and instrumentation includes guitar, piano, electric piano, and reeds – all used with plenty of warm... read more

Trombonely jazz from Harold Betters – the Pittsburgh legend who had a tremendous reach in the 60s! The album features Betters working his magic in a variety of settings – from catchy soul jazz-inflected numbers, to gentle ballads, to the more R&B-tinged numbers that were most... read more

Although we've been fans of Andy Bey for years (ever since his early 60s recordings with Andy & The Bey Sisters), we've got to admit that we're stunned at how successful his recent revival has been! This CD is probably the main reason for Andy's success – as it's a compelling batch of... read more

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The most fully-formed album from Nat Birchall so far – and one that has him definitely going into another dimension in jazz, thanks to a slightly expanded lineup! The shift here is almost that betweeen the 60s spiritual sounds on Impulse Records, and the label's groundbreaking material in... read more

The most fully-formed album from Nat Birchall so far – and one that has him definitely going into another dimension in jazz, thanks to a slightly expanded lineup! The shift here is almost that betweeen the 60s spiritual sounds on Impulse Records, and the label's groundbreaking material in... read more

The earliest work we've ever heard from tenorist Nat Birchall – a player who's really blown our minds with his recent albums from the UK! This set's from the late 90s, and already has Birchall really finding his voice – a freewheeling approach to tenor that's unlike most of his... read more

The deepest album to date from saxophonist Nat Birchall – a set that's steeped in all the spiritual elements of his previous records, yet also stretches forth into rich new dimensions as well! Birchall's reeds have this complexity we've never heard before – soaring, searching in these... read more

A dream band indeed – as the set features a cast of excellent players who manage to come together tightly as a unit, then break out in really strong and hard-blown solos! Even by a "pulled together for this jam session by the record label"-type group there's a swinging style firmly... read more

The keys are coral, and the sound is sublime – one of the greatest albums ever from pianist Walter Bishop Jr, and proof that he can really stretch out, given the right setting! The piano here is all acoustic, but there's an almost-electric vibe to the date – long, open tracks that sway... read more

An album on Muse, but one with the same hip grooves as Walter Bishop's excellent work on the Black Jazz label! Like those gems, this set features Bishop working on Fender Rhodes – hitting a groove we never would have expected in the old days, and really going for a style that's at the... read more

A spiritual jazz classic by Harry Whitaker's Black Renaissance – plus a trippy GB remix on the other side! The original version of "Magic Ritual" is here in full – and it's essentially half of the group's classic Body, Mind And Spirit LP – a legendary session that... read more

Pure genius from the hipper side of the LA scene – 2 rare early sessions from trombonist Lou Blackburn, both cut in collaboration with a young Horace Tapscott! The style here is quite hard to peg – a unique blend of soul jazz and modernism – handled with a key focus on unusual... read more

Cindy Blackman's looking a bit foxy on the cover, but her sound here is solidly soulful – a forceful batch of tunes that really match the best energy of the Muse Records soulbop scene of the early 90s! There's a nice blend of modern ideas and straight jazz energy here – sounds that... read more

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A wonderful pairing of talents – the moody, enigmatic piano of Ran Blake – and the sharp-toned alto of Anthony Braxton! The set's a sublime piano/sax duet to match similar experiments by Mal Waldron and Marion Brown, or Archie Shepp and Dollar Brand – and it's an added plus for... read more

An unlikely pairing, but a great one too – quite an unusual chapter in the career of pianist Ran Blake – but in a way, a great set to unlock the soulful undercurrents that have always been in his music! About half the tracks feature the tenor of Houston Person joining in –... read more

Nicely-structured performances between pianist Ran Blake and guitarist David Knife Fabris – done with plenty of free-thinking elements, including those bold-ringing tones that we've always loved in Blake's recordings – yet still based around some relatively tight song structures overall!... read more

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Killer work from the classic late 50s years of the Jazz Messengers – and an album that Blue Note didn't choose to release until the end of the 70s! The record's a historic one – as it mark's Wayne Shorter's first session with the group, and the first time that they recorded his great... read more

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his... read more

One of Art Blakey's first true moments of genius! This transitional version of the Jazz Messengers included two parts – Lee Morgan and Bobby Timmons – of the holy Morgan/Shorter/Timmons trilogy, and it's also got the added bonus of Benny Golson on tenor, who was at the height of his... read more

Quite an unusual record from Art Blakey – a rare big band session, recorded with a lineup that's quite different than the usual Jazz Messengers! Turns out, Blakey's quite good in this setting – and has the same firey energy to direct a larger ensemble that he has when working with a... read more

One of the many albums that the Jazz Messengers recorded live at Birdland, and one that features a transitional lineup for the band that has new guard players Lee Morgan on trumpet and Bobby Timmons on piano, and old guard player Hank Mobley on tenor. Everyone grooves in a very hard fashion... read more

Pounding! This is the long-awaited re-release of a lost session that Blakey recorded in 1958, with a triple-drum rhythm group that included himself, Philly Joe Jones, and Roy Haynes – plus some additional conga work by Ray Barretto. Unlike other Blakey "drum orgy" sessions, though... read more

Killer material from the 1964 edition of the Jazz Messengers – an incredibly hard-hitting sextet that features Freddie Hubbard, Curtis Fuller, Wayne Shorter, Reggie Workman, and Cedar Walton. The mix of players is amazing, and Walton's warm lyricism is a haunting combination with the sharp-ed... read more

The rarest of all of Art Blakey's percussion group projects – and quite possibly the best, too! The session features Blakey at the head of a strong mix of jazz and percussion players – with Art Taylor and Philly Joe Jones on the regular drum kit, Donald Byrd on trumpet and Ray Bryant... read more

An excellent live set by the Jazz Messengers – recorded in Paris in 1958, but with a hard heavy groove that's right up there with their best Blue Note work. The group at this time – Blakey, Bobby Timmons, Lee Morgan, Benny Golson, and Jymie Merritt – plays hard, heavy, and... read more

A true orgy in rhythm from Art Blakey – a set that not only features his drums next to the kit of Art Taylor, but which also adds in a bevy of other percussionists – including Sabu Martinez, Patato Valdez, and Jose Valentine! Joe Jones and Specs Wright also bring in additional jazz... read more

A fantastic live set from Art Blakey – recorded in Paris in 1960, with a version of the Jazz Messengers that includes Lee Morgan on trumpet, Wayne Shorter on tenor, Walter Davis Jr on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass! Best of all, though, is that the group is joined by two Paris jazz giants... read more

An amazing album that has Art Blakey completely reinventing himself for the 70s! Blakey shifts from straight hardbop to kind of a modal soul jazz groove, touched with some of the electric playing of the younger jazz generation, but not enough to qualify as fusion or funk. Instead, he's working... read more

A reissue of one of Blakey's best non-Blue Note sides from the late 50s, a killer album that sports a great lineup of the Jazz Messengers that included Jackie McLean, Johnny Griffin, Bill Hardman, Sam Dockery and Spanky DeBrest. The three of them sparkle and shine with the sort of brilliance that... read more