Jazz — In Stock — CDs  

Definitely the standards promised in the title, but in the hands of Gregory Tardy, they're also something more – these beautiful little poems in sound, served up mostly by Tardy on tenor sax, but also featuring clarinet on a few sweet numbers too! The album's mostly a quartet outing –... read more

... read more

A set that's maybe a bit more subtle than you'd expect from the "vortex" in the title – but one that definitely has a compelling quality that really draws us in! The set features piano from Benjamin Taubkin and gentle percussion from Adriano Adewale – spun out over these long... read more

A real stormer! This was one of the few albums ever cut as a leader by the great hardbop drummer Art Taylor – and it's one of the best from the Blue Note catalog at the time! The band is a heavily smoking one – with Dave Burns on trumpet, Stan Turrentine on tenor, and Wynton Kelly on... read more

A real stormer! This was one of the few albums ever cut as a leader by the great hardbop drummer Art Taylor – and it's one of the best from the Blue Note catalog at the time! The band is a heavily smoking one – with Dave Burns on trumpet, Stan Turrentine on tenor, and Wynton Kelly on... read more

The Billy Taylor touch is mighty nice here – on a blend of tracks that were partially recorded during Billy's earliest years as a leader, and partially recorded during his big rise to fame in the late 50s! Taylor's handling of the piano is beautiful throughout – already quite soulful,... read more

A flurry of fantastic recordings from the legendary Billy Taylor – material the pianist recorded for Prestige Records in the early 50s – at a time when he was really helping to transform the sound of the piano in jazz! These sides have Taylor showing that a small combo piano date can... read more

A flurry of fantastic recordings from the legendary Billy Taylor – material the pianist recorded for Prestige Records in the early 50s – at a time when he was really helping to transform the sound of the piano in jazz! These sides have Taylor showing that a small combo piano date can... read more

A touch of Billy Taylor, but that's more than enough – as his trio here can pack plenty into just a very short space! The set's an early classic that features Billy with his legendary trio with bassist Earl May and drummer Percy Brice – a group who really transformed the sound of the... read more

That's five flies in the title – each of them warranted, given the incredible energy of Cecil Taylor on the keys of the piano! This obscure solo set is a gem all the way through – an unusual session recorded for MPS – with Taylor playing beautiful tones on a Bosendorfer Grand... read more

A very moody performance from Cecil Taylor – one long reading of the piece "Calling It The 8th", originally presented as 2LP set, but finally getting its due here as a single CD that presents the whole thing from start to finish with no interruption! Although as free as some of... read more

A pair of very unusual albums – back to back on a single CD! The set's a bit out of order – and actually starts with Panic, the sequel to Creed Taylor's previous album for ABC, and like that one, a very weird mix of jazzy backings, odd sound effects, and cool production techniques! ... read more

A pair of very different albums from John Tchicai – both hard to find, and brought together here on a nicely priced package! Strange Brothers is overlooked brilliance from reedman John Tchicai – a late 70s session recorded for the FMP label, and easily one of the most soulful sets on... read more

... read more

... read more

We've always loved the music of Jimi Tenor – but recently, he seems to get better and better with each new record – hitting a spiritual, soulful depth we never would have expected years ago! This album's one of his best efforts ever – and feels more like some lost 70s... read more

An interesting tribute to the passing of pianist Eddie Costa – mostly because the overall feel is much more in a soulful hardbop mode, quite different than the modern and chamber sides that Costa cut during the 50s! Side one features work by the Clark Terry quartet – with Terry on... read more

Really wonderful work from the postwar side of the Swedish scene – modern jazz from leader Gosta Theselius, recording here with one hell of a great group! Theselius may not be that well known on these shores, but the record features key work from players who are – including Bengt Arne... read more

A mindblowing collaboration – one that brings the soulful vocals of Nenah Cherry into play with the avant jazz sounds of The Thing – but all in a mode that's unlike anything either artist has recorded before! The mix of talents is no surprise – given that Nenah's dad is Don... read more

A remixed version of the collaboration between Neneh Cherry and The Thing – but a set with a sound so different, it may as well be an additional record from project! The remixes here really take a lot of liberties with the original music – so that the resulting tracks aren't just jazzy... read more

One of the strangest covers we've seen in years – and a perfect fit for this obscure session of unusual grooves! Drummer Bubbha Thomas is working here in a mode that's kind of an electrified 70s take on the Texas showband style of earlier years – a mode that has the core funky combo... read more

... read more

A very hip set of soul jazz tunes from Belgian guitarist Rene Thomas – one of the best European players of his generation! The album feature Thomas on guitar, backed by a group that includes Lou Bennett on organ, Jacques Pelzer on sax and flute, Gilbert Rovere on bass, and Charles Bellonzi... read more

... read more

A wicked little set from British pianist Eddie Thompson – a player who always wasn't as well noticed on this side of the Atlantic, but who will forever be remembered for this classic date for MPS! The set's got a great criss-crossing of styles – a punctuated way of playing the keys... read more

Some of Lucky Thompson's rarest work from the 50s – and some of his best! The American tenorist is working here in two different French groups – one a quintet with Henri Renaud on piano, the other a tentet with the core quartet of Renaud, plus some additional local horn players. ... read more

Mayo Thompson's one of those cats with a might wide pedigree – roots in the Texas psyche scene, later years in Brit post-punk, years in Germany, and even a close collaboration with the Chicago jazz and rock crowds of the 90s! This set provides yet another great slice of Thompson's talents... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

An amazing run of music – and key sounds from a time when the Chicago avant garde was finally getting its due in the mainstream! The set features all Novus and Columbia recordings from both the Air trio of Henry Threagill, Fred Hopkins, and Steve McCall – a seminal group from the AACM... read more

... read more

A heady power trio – stepping out here with a tight blend of tenor, drums, and bass – definitely jazz in formation, but with some funky and fuzzy touches as well! The bass often really informs the overall sound of the set – and bold basslines often drive the tunes with a punkish... read more

Is Bobby Timmons our all time favorite pianist? Well, if he's not, he's pretty darn near the top of the list! This sweet early side for Riverside finds him in his usual trio format, backed up by an agile rhythm section, Sam Jones and Jimmy Cobb, and serving up the hard swinging, soulful bop we... read more

Fantastic early work from pianist Bobby Timmons album – a set that shows all the brilliant young genius that marked his playing at the time! Although only a trio session, the album grooves with the best sort of vibe that you'd find in Bobby's recordings with Art Blakey or Cannonball Adderley... read more

A pretty wonderful live set of "spontaneous composition" from Keith & Julie Tippett – with moments of spare atmosphere and others of rapt tension – recorded at The Purcell Room in London, for the London Jazz Festival, captured for the BBC program Jazz On 3. The set is... read more

Amazing sounds from British pianist Keith Tippett – a startling crossroads of musical scenes that beautifully brings together the best jazz, rock, and jazz rock impulses on the UK scene at the time – still with a freshness and clarity that the work would never reach a few years later! ... read more

A blistering recent set from Brit jazz legend Keith Tippett – proof that his powers are still strong after all these years! The cover and title look a bit new-agey, but the album's got a very avant sound – a free improvisation that runs for almost 50 minutes – featuring a large... read more

Quite an unusual project from pianist Keith Tippett – a group that works in sparing, sensitive sounds – all at a level much gentler than other Tippett recordings of the time! There's a meditative, contemplative feel to the record – but one that's also inflected with some of the... read more

An early stunner from keyboardist Keith Tippett – served up with a punch and power that's missing from a lot of his later work! The music's a perfect blend of free-thinking jazz and some of the more progressive rock ideas of the time – not exactly jazz rock, not exactly avant jazz... read more

One of our favorite Cal Tjader albums ever – and one of the first to have his vibes working alongside Fender Rhodes! The record's a surprising little set from the start of the 70s – one that almost has Cal picking up some of the New York sounds of a few years before, then mixing them... read more

A beautiful little overview of the work that Cal Tjader recorded for the Skye Records label at the end of the 60s – some of his grooviest work ever, and all done with a unique blend of styles that Cal barely ever captured again! The rhythms are often inspired by bossa nova, but usually end... read more

2 totally great Cal Tjader electric albums – both recorded originally for the Skye label, and back to back on one CD! Cal Tjader Plugs In is a beautifully plugged-in, turned-on session from Cal Tjader – one that features the funky vibist alongside some sweet Fender Rhodes! The session... read more

Inventive percussion and amazing bass work – plus a host of other interesting elements as well – all wrapped up beautifully in this unique collaboration between Isao Suzuki and Masahiko Togashi! Both players were some of the most creative of the mainstream Japanese scene of the 70s... read more

Billed on the cover as "the big operation for 16 channels", this cooker from the Tokyo Cuban Boys really gives the sound spectrum a run for its money – taking the group's previous Latin vibe, and inflecting it with a good dose of 70s funk in the process! The album's a live one, but... read more

Early and mid 70s big band masterpieces from Charles Tolliver for Strata East – plus a brilliant batch of German recordings from 1979 with Hamburg's great NDR group that was never legitimately issued before now – in an amazing 3CD set from Mosaic! Disc One features the classic Impact... read more

The first album from The Kevin Toney 3 – headed by the piano player and one-time leader of the legendary Blackbyrds – and it's a nicely melodic set of soulful trio jazz! There's a warm, affectionate vibe throughout, and it's played by skillful veterans with genuine passion. Toney... read more

... read more

Exciting flute from the Japanese scene of the 70s – a wicked little set that's filled with funky numbers throughout! The backings are large, but often nice and tight – kind of a groove-ified version of the 60s approach to bigger band jazz albums based around a single soloist – a... read more

A landmark album from one of the greatest European pianists ever! Stan Tracey first made his mark in the Brit bop scene of the late 50s – breaking out with a fresh style that was infused with modern touches of Monk and Tristano – certainly some of the most striking on his side of the... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

Nothing fatal about these guys – given the really life-affirming quality of the music on the set! The group features a compelling blend of reeds, trombone, and drums – often used in these really evocative ways that mix the rhythmic with the lyrical! The trombone does a great job of... read more

An incredible record by Lenny Tristano – one that features him playing solo piano, but in a way that's so inventive, so creative, so pyrotechnic, that Atlantic Records had to include text on the back cover saying "No use is made of multi-tracking, over-dubbing, or tape-speeding"... read more

... read more

One of Stanley Turrentine's few organ-based sessions for Blue Note – recorded in the company of his lovely wife Shirley Scott, who was really a cooker on the Hammond! The album's got a much stronger sound than most of Shirley's own from the time – played by a solid group that includes... read more

A stone smoker from the great Stanley Turrentine – an album that's got a lot more of an edge than some of his other Blue Note dates from the time – yet, for some odd reason, wasn't issued until the end of the 70s! The group's a crackling septet – yet still put together relatively... read more

A rare non-Blue Note 60s date as a leader from Stanley Turrentine – recorded for Impluse when his (then) wife Shirley Scott was contracted to the label – and featuring the talents of both players on some very groovy tracks! The quartet features both Stan's tenor and Shirley's Hammond... read more

One of the greatest Stanley Turrentine albums ever – a hard-blown session that's been one of our favorite Blue Notes for years! Turrentine's tone here is amazing – really raspy and earthy, with a quality that never shows up much in later recordings – a mode that's incredibly... read more

The title's not a reference to Robert Crumb's famous comix character – and instead, it's a great name for this unreleased batch of work from Stanley Turrentine – a perfect summation for the easygoing soul that's always made Stan so great! The group's a nice bridge between the two... read more

Stanley's soulful horn is set in a slightly larger group, in the style that would dominate his later years for the Blue Note label. Duke Pearson arranged the set, and players include James Spaulding, Blue Mitchell, Grant Green, Pepper Adams, and McCoy Tyner. Tracks are of medium length, with Stan... read more

An incredible album by avant saxophonist Charles Tyler – and one of his most unique albums ever! Tyler's playing here in a wild setting – alto sax mixed with three stringed instruments, one cello and two basses – which makes for a very unusual sound. The album's got a deep, dark... read more

One of the best ESP sessions from the mid 60s – and a startling album of avant tracks from Charles Tyler and his group that included Henry Grimes, Charles Moffet, Joe Friedman, and a young Ronald Jackson. Moffet plays vibes on the session, and combined with Friedman's cello and Grimes' bass,... read more

An overlooked trio date from McCoy Tyner – and a record that's just the sort of musical journey you might guess from the title! Tyner's piano is as full of fire and flight as always – and the group has some especially great work from bassist Avery Sharpe, who changes his approach from... read more

Brilliant work as a leader from McCoy Tyner – and easily one of his most righteous albums ever – a true batch of spiritual gems that really takes the John Coltrane legacy one step further! Most numbers build with a modal vibe that's more Impulse Records than Blue Note – and... read more

A great album from McCoy Tyner – a set that's steeped in the modal soulfulness of his years with John Coltrane, but also handled in a way that really has him breaking away from the pack a bit! Half the album's played with a trio that features Jimmy Garrison on bass – but the strongest... read more

A nice little tribute to soul, jazz and fusion legend George Benson – and a project that's a labor of love for Benson-devotee, soulful spirit and brilliant guitarist U-Nam – with an allstar lineup that features Ronnie Foster, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Andreas Oberg, Tim Owens, Marcus... read more

An amazing collaboration between musicians from three different nations – recorded high in the mountains in Northern Italy – with an equally majestic sound to match! The album's especially noteworthy for being a great space for vocalist Cleveland Watkiss to really rediscover the jazz-ba... read more

A beautiful little record from Matt Ulery – double-length in size, and even more than double in terms of feeling and depth! Matt's a figure on the Chicago scene – and in a way, his music represents the return to arrangements in the city's recent avant jazz world – yet his music... read more

Raspy guitar from James Blood Ulmer – cut right at the end of the 80s decade when he was clearly one of the most inventive players on his instrument! The set's got a quality that's similar to some of James' other records from the US of the time – as it's trying to branch out to a wider... read more

One of our favorite Ulmer records, probably because there's a nice groove running underneath most of the numbers, in a sort of post-Prime Time 80s out-funk sort of way. It never drops into a flat out back beat, but there's always some sense of time, while Ulmer's guitar and Charles Burnham's... read more

A landmark album of the New York downtown scene – and one of the most groundbreaking guitar jazz albums of the 70s! James Blood Ulmer plays here with members of Ornette Coleman's group of the time – including Ornette himself, Denardo Coleman, and Jaamaladeen Tacuma. The style is very... read more

Sounds sleepy – but it's totally groovy!! The mad talents of Italian soundtrack genius Piero Umiliani are turned towards his love of Duke Ellington – and the result is an incredibly groovy batch of tracks that mix up jazz, electronics, and plenty of great keyboards! The bulk of the... read more

One of the sweetest fusion sets ever recorded from guitarist Phil Upchurch – a set that's less trippy than his earlier albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a tightly soulful groove! Production is by John Tropea and George Benson – and you can definitely hear their... read more

One of the sweetest fusion sets ever recorded from guitarist Phil Upchurch – a set that's less trippy than his earlier albums, but one that more than makes up for that with a tightly soulful groove! Production is by John Tropea and George Benson – and you can definitely hear their... read more

... read more

One of the most soul-based albums in Michal Urbaniak's catalog – a session originally done with TK records during the height of their dancefloor years, fitted up with some really great clubby grooves! The sound here is a mix of fusion and soul – done in a way that still gives Urbaniak... read more

A Parisian player gives a strong tip of the hat to the great Bud Powell – the American bop genius whose work and presence were an undeniable force on the French jazz scene of the 50s and 60s! Rene Urtreger does a wonderful job of catching some of Bud's fire here – working through a... read more

... read more

An excellent album of spare Latin jazz, played by the legendary leader of the Cuban group Irakere! Chucho Valdes is playing here with a small combo that only features bass, drums, and percussion – plus some additional vocal accompaniment by Mayra Caridad Valdes. But the main focus is on... read more

Some of the most important recordings in the career of Sarah Vaughan – rich package of albums that really helped her refine her style strongly, and unlock an approach to jazz that nobody else could touch! Vaughan had always been a great singer, no matter what the setting – but here,... read more

One of the only American releases from Eastern European jazzman Karel Valebny – the force behind some great albums on MPS and other overseas labels, sounding equally great here on a late 60s set for ESP! The music is as bizarre as the cover – modern jazz overall, but done with a great... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

... read more

A great showcase for the mighty talents of alto saxophonist Will Vinson – who blows these beautiful long solos here in a sharp live setting! The album's got a great sense of personality – individual musicians who each have a strong voice of their own, coming together under Vinson's... read more

A really unusual album from guitarist Al Viola – all solo material, recorded in the mid 50s – and quite a change from some of the more dynamic albums that Al would record in later years! The guitar here has a warmly acoustic feel, yet is still quite jazz-based overall – yet also,... read more

... read more

... read more

That's "swinging pool", not "swimming pool" – a distinction that's easy to get once you hear the first few notes of the album! The set's an obscure 80s vocal jazz date from East Germany – recorded by female singer Pascal Von Wroblewsky in a style that feels more... read more

... read more

... read more

A beautiful album by Mal Waldron – recorded in 1960, after the passing of Billie Holiday, and a very loving tribute by Waldron, who was her accompanist for a number of years. The set moves way past the usual "Holiday songbook" mode, and features instead a dark batch of tracks, two... read more

A beautiful little solo session from the late Mal Waldron – recorded in Paris in 1972, and featuring (as you'd guess from the title) Mal stretching out wonderfully on a well-tuned Steinway! The mood of the set is softer and more introspective than some of Waldron's other work from the time... read more